March 10th – Barra Lagoon – Jim’s Blog #31

I’m embarrassed to say this, but I finally saw the “green flash” last night for the first time in the 37+ years I have been informed of its existence. I mentioned in my Blog #27 that I was becoming an unbeliever, and that the story had to be an excuse for drinking alcoholic beverages while watching the sun sink into the sea. Last night (Saturday the 8th of March) Sheilagh and I were dining with Ed and Cornelia of A Cappella and two friends of theirs named Sandy and Anne who were visiting from Oakland to celebrate Ed’s birthday. We were on the upper terrace of a restaurant overlooking Bahia Navidad (Nativity Bay) and facing the West. We noticed that there were no clouds on the horizon (a condition for seeing the “green flash”), but it was with no belief in my soul that it could happen, when I called attention to the fact that the upper edge of the sun (called the upper limb in celestial navigation) was just about to disappear for the day.

Everyone at the table turned to note the sun and see if the “green flash” might appear. Several other tables also turned to see it as well. Anne at our table had her camera poised for the shot and suddenly the sun dropped into the sea turning a greenish shade of yellow and then showing a full green flash as it did so. I was blown away as were all of the diners in the restaurant. Two diners, including Ed at our table, who had previously seen the phenomenon, said that it was the longest “green flash” they had seen. Then Anne produced a photograph of the flash to prove that it had happened. I was astounded that she had caught the flash so precisely, whereupon she said she had been clicking the camera continuously to get that picture. She passed the camera around with the picture displayed and promised all of us that we could get a copy of the digital image. Then a diner at the next table apologized for butting in, but said he just had to have a copy of the picture, too, and he presented his boat card with his email address so Anne could send it to him.

The result: I can now testify that I have seen the “green flash” – a fact which should allow me to die a happier death at some future date. I may also have a picture to show you in this blog when Anne gets around to sending a copy.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I would walk you through a typical local net communication session – usually held at 8:30AM or 9:00AM in the larger anchorages. Since we are not doing anything really exciting at the moment except preparing our income taxes, I will take the opportunity to describe a local net – using Zihuatanejo as the anchorage where this might take place. The net controller is usually a volunteer who will be in the anchorage for several weeks and he/she agrees to serve as the controller on a specific morning of the week. What you see below is how these nets are conducted, along with the usual content.

“Good morning and welcome to the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa Cruisers’ Net”

“Everyone switch to high power as we listen for any emergency, medical, or priority ham traffic.” Here the net controller waits about 10 seconds to see if there are any emergencies. If there were an emergency, the controller would find out the nature of the emergency, the name of the boat, the number of persons onboard, the location (latitude/longitude), and what kind of assistance was requested. This could involve help from other cruisers who might be nearby, or the Mexican or U.S. Coast Guards. I have yet to hear something of an emergency nature on one of these local nets.

“This is …(the name of the net controller)… aboard the vessel …(boat name)… along with …(names of others onboard the vessel). Today is ...(today’s date).”

“This is a controlled net, when you come to the net, please say your boat name and wait to be recognized.” This rule prevents folks from talking to one another on the frequency in use without identifying which boat is talking, and it gives the net controller the right to curtail unwanted communications. Naturally someone could transmit without identifying himself just to cause trouble, but I have yet to hear that happen.“We’ll have general check-ins now.” This is when each of us identifies our boat name. Sometimes the net controller will repeat the name of each boat as the cruiser checks in, and sometimes he has the cruisers just say their boat names and counts them. VHF range is normally only 12 to 15 miles, but the local net sometimes covers several different anchorages. In order to keep the check-ins organized, the controller will break them up into the different locations. In the case of the Zihuatanejo these different anchorages include the Municipal Anchorage, Madera, La Ropa, Ixtapa-Grand Isle, and then any land-based contacts such as local vendors for fixing sails, water makers, outboard engines, internet services, etc.

“Are there any more check-ins within the sound of my voice?” Sometimes cruisers get up a bit late and this is when they can check-in if they desire to. This also brings in cruisers who are supposedly out of range of the net at a different anchorage, but the atmospheric conditions allow them to hear the net at a greater distance than usual.

“Do we have any new arrivals? Please tell us about yourself, who’s on board, your home port, and a little about your plans.” Here’s where we find out if friends from previous ports have arrived that we might want to contact for social purposes after the net.

“Do we have any departures? Is there anyone leaving the area today?” This helps us determine if there will be additional space in the anchorage, and it lets us know when friends are leaving.

“Does anyone have the tides and weather for us today?” Usually someone takes the initiative to check the tides to announce the time and height of the low and high tides for the day to the group, although most of us have software that tells us what the tides will be for the day. This is a chance for some to become aware that a low tide might affect their boat. The weather for Western Mexico is presented on the SSB (Single Side Band – equivalent to the HAM frequencies) Amigo Net at 8:15AM Central Time that many of us listen to prior to the local net. If there are local winds or temperatures predicted that could affect the anchorage, it is presented at this point.

“Mail call – are there any vessels holding mail for another vessel or is there anyone who can carry flat, stamped mail to the U.S. or Canada?” There are often guests or cruisers heading north who will carry already-stamped mail – not packages – to be mailed from the U.S. or Canada. Guests and returning cruisers are often contacted before they come down to have them bring mail or packages with them when they come down. When someone has brought something down, this is where they notify the boat that is expecting the equipment that they have arrived with the material.

“Crew Positions – Is there anyone needing crew or anyone wanting to be crew?” There are a number of sailors who have no boat, but who want to crew on a boat to get to Tahiti or through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean for instance. This is where they can identify themselves and make contact with a boat that needs or wants crew for the next leg of the trip. Sometimes a cruiser’s spouse has sailed down from the U.S., decides that she doesn’t enjoy it, and goes back to the States by airplane. Then the cruiser looks for possible crew persons to help him take the boat back up to the U.S. – sometimes to sell the boat to keep the marriage together. There can also be bad skippers whose authoritarian ways cause a pick-up crew to jump ship in the next port. We can usually tell who these are by the frequency with which they need crew in every port.

“Lost and Found – anyone lose or find anything?” I’ve heard reports here that someone found a wallet on the beach or a credit card in an ATM machine. If a cruiser lost something he will contact the person who found the item after the net and arrange for it to be returned.

“General Announcements…” This is where cruisers can pass the word about an event in the local town, or a planned activity on the beach that could include volleyball, bocce ball, Mexican Train, or card games of some type, along with the time for the activity. Today we heard that a former cruiser, who now lived in Barra de Navidad, had died the previous day. There was also a message out last week that a cruiser, who had set out sailing single-handed from San Diego to somewhere along this coast, has not reported in for over a month – a long-enough time that the relatives are getting worried. The trip should only take a couple of weeks, but this individual may have lost the use of his radio, or lost a rudder, or had a heart attack, etc.; so all of us will keep a lookout for the vessel as we move from port to port. Sometimes a message like this will be sent about a boat that just anchored near you, and you can let folks know that the individual is safe and sound. This last message was passed on the Amigo Net for wider coverage along the coast of Mexico, but it is repeated at each local net to spread the word.

“Local assistance or services offered or needed…” When one arrives in a new anchorage, there are usually cruisers who will share what they know about where to shop for food, marine supplies, electrical or mechanical services, etc. Sometimes the questions about these general areas are raised at this time by new arrivals. For the most part this is where someone wants to find out if there is a welding shop (aluminum, flat steel, stainless steel) in the town, or an outboard dealer/mechanic for a specific outboard motor type. The response to a question can be quite detailed. For instance, here in Barra de Navidad there is a Yamaha dealer on the beach in Camarillo next to Mary’s Palapa who doesn’t speak any English but who is recognized as an expert in Yamaha outboard engines. If you want to deal with him you take a translator or the piece of equipment you need repaired and you find him on the beach, not in a building of any sort.

“Treasures of the bilge – anyone have anything to swap or trade for coconuts? Remember we do not sell in Mexico.” There is always someone who wants to get rid of something that is cluttering up his or her boat. At one cruiser flea market Sheilagh bought a manual, plastic washing machine with a handle that allowed the clothing to be spun around to help in the wash cycle. It turned out to help a bit, but it was cumbersome and had to be carefully wedged into the shower when we weren’t using it. We advertised it and sold it to another cruiser for the 20 coconuts ($) we paid for it. I would venture to guess that this particular washing machine will be traded off many times for the very reasons we found it difficult to own. In another case we bought a dinghy anchor from a cruiser in one anchorage to use in another anchorage where previous experience told us we would have a good use for it. When the seller finally made it to our anchorage, he asked if he could buy it back, but we declined to sell it. So you need to be careful that you don’t get rid of something that could be of value somewhere else.

“Anything I forgot or you would like to back up to?” This is where late arrivals to the net go back to a previous category and add to what we have already heard. Any category is fair game to be reopened.

“Let’s close with trivia or a thought for the day!” Usually someone has gotten onto the net the day before and found out what happened on this day 50-200 years ago, and repeats it for the group. Yesterday it was a joke: What did the fish say when it ran into a concrete wall? DAM! This is the usual level of deep thought that is shared with the net before terminating it.

“That’s the end of the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa cruiser net for the day.”

Immediately following that pronouncement, dozens of cruisers call each other’s boats to transact the business they want to accomplish based on the content of the net. One boat will say “Aurora, Aurora, A Cappella.” We will answer, “A Cappella, Aurora, what frequency?” A Cappella will say, “Let’s go to 68 and up.” We will both switch to channel 68 and listen to see if anyone is already using the frequency. If it is being used, we will switch to 69, and do the same until we find an empty frequency. Then we will identify ourselves and agree on a time that we plan to meet for dinner that evening, for example. Naturally, there will be inquisitive cruisers who listen in on the conversations of boats they know; so it is best to keep the communications short and to the point. Yes, we listen in to others as well, as we have pointed out in an earlier blog.

That’s enough for this blog. I hope it gives you some idea of how we communicate in the cruising community. This happens every morning, but the time can vary by anchorage; so we usually dinghy over to a boat after we have arrived and find out the local information, including the time for the local net. More Later . . .