Day of the Dead

Last Thursday and Friday are the traditional celebrating days of "Day of the Dead" or "Dia de los Muertos". A tradional holiday celebrated by many communities and cultures in Mexico, Central and South America. It is a day of honoring people that have died. It is a respectful and cheerful holiday and one that my family has begun to embrace. Debbie talked with Kyle and Ryan about this holiday a few weeks back as part of their homeschooling. Smart Kyle (6 years old) put together this information with the sad memory of his preschool friend dying last year. He wanted to celebrate the holiday in memory of Dylan.

I sent Oasis away with Papel Picados and sugar skulls for the boys to decorate and enjoy. I assume Debbie is taking lots of pictures and will upload them for our viewing pleasure when they arrive in Cabo San Lucas. In the meantime, you will have to be tortured with pictures of my papel picados and children decorating sugar skulls.

Here are some helpful links if you are interested in learning more about this holiday. http://www.dayofthedead.com/ and http://www.deayofthedeadblog.com/

Photoshop

If you are an avid reader of blogs you might be familiar with weekly techical tips, like Typepad Wednesday, or Photoshop Thursday. But don't you worry, I do not have any technical knowledge to share with you and certainly not enough to do a chronology of tips. Anyhow, the picture I posted a few days ago has been inhanced by a reader and I thought it would be fun to see the side by sides (or up and down my HTML leaves a bit to be desired) of the two and talk about what we like and don't like about the pictures.



Okay, I'll go first. The most frustrating thing for me and my little point and shoot was how hazy the day was. Nothing was very sharp or full of color. The after picture helps Oasis pop out and gives a little more color to the sky.

Halloween on the Boat

I bet you were hoping to have an update from team Oasis and a cute story about their Halloween out at sea from the title, sorry to disappoint. I too, am disappointed not to have heard from them. We get accustom to having communications at all times. It is an adjustment for me and I'm sure for the crew as well.

This picture was snapped the morning Oasis shoved off. It was that time of the morning were Debbie was lashing down rollie chairs in the salon, strapping the oil lamp to prevent it from swinging, and can't forget, stowing away the pumpkin from its top deck perch. We bantered about what they were going to do with the pumpkin. Debbie talked about carving it and throwing the guts overboard for fish food. Rich shook his head and mumbled something about it being too messy. My wager is that the pumpkin was carved and that my husband roasted the seeds for a mid afternoon snack. Wish he was here to roast some for us. I have 5 cook books layed out on the counter trying to figure out how to roast those suckers.

Kyle and Ryan were Red Power Rangers for the parties last weekend. I wonder if they, again, donned their red crime fighting outfits for the holiday or if they just stayed in their jammies today.

Gaffs

A Gaff was one of the last non sailing items that we picked up for Oasis. A gaff is a pole with a large, sharp hook on one end used for bringing big fish on board. The gaff was added to the list of necessary items after this Mako Shark was caught on the Catalina trip.

We bought this gaff from a tiny shop in the middle of a revitalized district called Little Italy. He is a hold out from the booming tuna industry back in the '60's. Built up all around his shop are upscale urban lofts and expensive restaurants. Our gaff is made from Calcutta, a member of the bamboo family but infinitely stronger. Used back in the days of 300 pound tuna and pole fishing for them.

I hope the gaff will get lots of use and bring in many many nights of sushi.

Sailing into the Sunset

This is the last picture I took of Oasis today. They are, of course, not sailing into the sunset. The race began promptly at 11am. The smoke from the recent fires was still lingering, adding some color, but mostly just inhibiting visibility.

On the way out to the starting line there was no wind at all. I was concerned about whether they were going to be able to start the race without their engine on. When the 10 minute warning was called the wind checking thingy jumped up to 10 knots of wind and by the time the race started the wind filled in to a steady 15 knots. Just perfect for Oasis.

So, my plan is to post everyday. If I get an update from Oasis, I will post it (hopefully with an embarrassing picture or two). If there is no update, I will wax on about various topics about the start of their journey. We, the collective "WE" (you are included), are writing and reading this blog in order to give our friends some beer money when they get to port. In order to do this, WE need you log in often, comment if you are so moved, and most importantly, click on the advertisers to your right. The more we click the more money Rich and Deb get. I'm working on a few more advertisers but I need to get the numbers up. /end of begging

And They are off

Our friends had a terrific start to their adventure this morning. I have thousands of pictures, videos, and comentary. It will probably take all night to sort out. This is just a quick sampling. There's a chance my computer is dying. I have to post these in case the end is near.

Baja Ha-Ha Pre Halloween Pre Race Party

I’m sure you all have been anxiously awaiting the blackmail Baja Ha-Ha pre race party pictures. Debbie and Rich had a great time showing off their dancing moves today.

For those of you just joining the blog or just don’t know, Debbie, Rich and the kids are leaving Monday 10/29 for Mexico. The first part of their journey they are joined by 177 other boats and they call it a race. It is more of a party and camaraderie than competition, and many continue south after the race ends in Cabo San Lucas. So the pre race party was a big deal for many many people. They have been planning for years, getting their finances in shape, getting their boats in shape, getting crew, provisioning and a few thousand other tidbits that need to be in order. It was obvious from the jubilancy just how ready the teams were for the race to start and a new chapter in the lives to begin.

With Halloween just around the corner most people arrived in costumes. Here are a choice few:

Here’s a line up of all the kids going on the cruise. It is so great to see so many. And a relief to their parents as well. I’m just imagining the playdates now. Getting on the single side band radio and saying “Hi, can Johnny dingy over for some tuna and games?”

I can’t wait to hear stories of their adventure. I’m sure you all agree.

3 Days to Go...

With only three day to go until we leave, we're finishing up the last minute things (which there seems to be a lot of..) Put the dinghy engine on the rail, put the dinghy on deck, buy provisions, secure everything on deck, take-off satellite dish, buy more provisions, laundry, clean, buy more provisions, say goodbyes to friends, sell cars, withdraw some cash, exchange some money to pesos, buy more food..... yikes!! Rich has all general maintenance stuff done on the boat like changing the oil, checking the coolant, etc.....The weather is looking really good for our departure on Monday. There should be a slight off-shore flow, sunny and warm....

Little bit more on the fires

This picture was taken Weds. night, from just above where Debbie and Rich have their boat. The bottom right of the photo is their marina.

San Diego Wildfires

Well I'm sure most of you have all heard by now about the devastating wildfires that have occurred this past week in San Diego. For the latest information, check this link: http://www.fox6.com/content/news/fire/story.aspx?content_id=f18be951-72fa-433b-83bc-82656a20db8f This is one of the many times we are really happy living ON the water!! This past Monday our friends Mark, Harriet, Garret, & Izzy got evacuated from their home in Scripps Ranch. Rich gave them a quick call and they came down here to spend the evening with us. The kids had a great time having their friends spend the night with them on the boat! Luckily for them, they were able to go back to their home the next day. There have been so many people here at the marina that it looks like a busy, hot summer weekend instead of a fall day in October!

Watching the Weather

With only 11 days until we leave, we're starting to watch the weather and the current patterns. There are many sources for weather, but the folks at http://www.oceanweather.com/data/ have a great visual representation of the wave direction and wave height. You can spot the highs and lows out in the ocean and watch how they begin to effect the coastal waters. Also, another interesting sight to watch is the National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ As you can see, there is currently a tropical storm just on the mainland part of Mexico, just south of Puerto Vallarta.

A Bunch of Cowboys

Here's a picture of the boys and some of their friends. From Left to Right you have Bryce, Carson, Kyle, Josh, Robert and Ryan in front of Bryce. They were playing sheriffs at last weekends fundraiser for the Jr.'s program.

First Test Score

Here's Kyle holding the results of his first test. He got the report back in the mail the other day. He did a great job!! He got all 1's (Excellent) which earned him a gold seal, and he got a red star as a reward for completing all his work neatly. He also got a letter from his assigned Advisory Teacher, Mrs. Adams. She gave him lots of praise and encouragement for his work and told him how she looks forward to seeing more great work from him in the future....

Bon Voyage Party

Here's a picture of Aunt Mia and Sierra driving the boat in San Diego Bay. We were lucky enough to have them come down for the weekend and join us for our Bon Voyage party. It was really nice to spend the weekend with them. We and the boys all had a great time - so thanks Aunt Mia for coming to visit!!

After our bay cruise, we pulled into the yacht club for the weekend and hoisted on Baja Ha-Ha flag. We've been waiting for so many years for this -it almost seems surreal... Oh, and in front of us at the guest dock was another Ha-Ha boat from the bay area!!

Here's captain Tony. Tony was my Program Manager for the time that I worked at General Atomics. Both he and his wife (Ann) as well as the Deputy Program Manger Sue (and her husband Arnie) joined us for our party. It was really nice to see them. This picture is really funny because as the Program Controller I spent 2 plus years making sure Tony didn't go to jail - now look at him!!!. Actually, there was a fund raiser for the juniors program going on, and Kyle arrested Tony - just for the fun of it!!

Words of Wisdom - From my Big Brother

This is a copy of an email I got the other day from my big brother in Seattle (who has a power boat). I think this is his way of saying - be careful:

However you will most likely get "advice" on every aspect of your trip, maybe worth something...????For example, cargo ships DO have the right -of-way, in the fog, rocks always win, Navy gun boats have NO sense of humor, Rocks always win, just because you got it at West Marine, doesn't mean it will work or they will take it back, Rocks never lose, just because the chart says you have depth, but you can see bottom...(see the part about rocks),drifting logs DO go faster then sailboats most times (logs with birds sitting on them, go faster), If you plan your trip and need 100 more things, 1 mile out your going to find the 101 thing you forgot., if it can break, it will, if it can break at a really bad time, it going to,if you see a "bright light" its not god, it's the cargo ship your about to hit in the night, sat. phones will not work when you need them to,but a wrong number comes in real clear, always, your outboard motor knows when you need it to start,and will not. It will start every time when a line or fish net is close to the prop. Anyway you get the idea, I can see a book deal here somewhere if you do it right.... maybe a title could be..."OH GOD I'm ON A SAILBOAT"....

Out With the Old....

Out with the old, in with the new - batteries that is. This was our last Big job! We carry 12 golf cart type batteries (very heavy). Luckily our neighbor Chuck was around to help Rich get them all out and the new ones back in... With the new ones, we should be good for several years before having to worry about replacing any again.... (Rich and Chuck's backs are very thankful for that)!!!

Candy designer too.

Rich hard at work. He was our key designer in making Carson's 7th birthday cake. He did a great job.

Halloween Card

Since we're not going to be around to send out the traditional holiday cards, we thought we send out Halloween Cards. We're not sending them to everyone, just the people that we really only correspond with during the holiday season. The kids were more than happy to put on their Halloween costumes for the picture.... In fact, as I'm typing this - Ryan still has on his costume!!

Grandpa in the Pool!!

Grandpa decided to spend some time in the pool yesterday. He and Kyle had a water fight - not sure who really won! Kyle said that Grandpa swims pretty good. Grandpa told him that he practices at it - at least once every ten years!!

Rich finally got to spend some time in the float!!

Fun at the Pool....

After school yesterday, we spent most of the day hanging out at the pool with the kids Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). They met another little girl who's Dad has a boat here in the marina too. They had a great time playing with our float in the water. Rich brought it for him to use, but, he didn't get much time in it before getting tipped out by the boys!!

Grandpa was so relaxed after lunch that he needed a little siesta! He's wearing his new hat that I got him for an early birthday present - looks like he's adjusted to relaxing by the pool!!!

Grandma/Grandpa Visiting (Debbie's Parents)

Grandma & Grandpa came to town this past weekend. They've been having a great time playing with the boys. Kyle has been showing Grandma how his video games work. He spent a few hours with her on Sunday while we took Grandpa out for a little bay tour on the boat. Grandma was very impressed with his computer skills in playing Monsters Inc.!!

This is one of the many pictures we took while giving Dad his two hour bay tour. We saw three aircraft carriers in port, the Midway (which is now a museum), a few tall ships, and another Navy boat (destroyer type) coming back into port from a deployment. Today we're going to be hanging out at the pool....