March 7th – Barra Lagoon – Jim’s Blog #30

[Please see my brother Ken's comments on the reusing of oyster shells that I could not explain in my previous blog. His comment is attached to this blog. I actually went back and updated blog #29 with Ken's information; so new readers will not be faced with the uncertainty of not knowing this when they first read that blog. Thank you, Ken]

On Wednesday morning I decided I needed some exercise, so I took the dinghy into the golf course dock and hiked across the course to the beach on the south side of the golf course. Sheilagh was in a baking mood, as in dessert, and not into any sort of physical exercise, so I went alone. I had my IPod with me and found that the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has just the right beat for hiking. I also had my compass to make sure I kept in a generally southern direction as I attempted to stay on the cart paths and roads rather than cross the course itself. I needn’t have bothered to stay on the cart paths, because in the hour and a half I was on the course I saw one twosome and one threesome (with a guide). I’m not sure what the guide was for, but at $250 a round, he may have been sent along to order drinks, advise on club selection, and point out any particular challenges on the course.

I am not a golf course connoisseur, but this course would have to measure up to the fancier ones I have seen, including the one at La Quinta near Palm Springs, Pebble Beach in Monterey, and of course Strawberry Farms in Irvine. The grass was immaculate (and this was on Wednesday – not just the day before the weekend); there were water hazards on nearly every hole on the Lagoon course (there is also an Ocean course and a Mountain course – each making up 9 holes); there was little rough to speak of, and tall palm trees and attractive plantings everywhere. The golf carts and roads were all of hand-laid brick and painted-and-polished coconuts designated the various tee positions and the length and par of each hole. And it was entirely empty of players!

When I got to the beach I found that it was extremely steep and faced the incoming swells, so the waves immediately moved back out to sea after they hit the beach, amplifying the incoming waves to a height of 6 -10’ and causing the incoming waves to smash down with a tremendous noise and shoot spray out the back at the same time. These were not waves for surfing, as the entire wave as far as the eye could see broke at exactly the same time. There would also be no way to land a dinghy onshore without a sure capsize, and certainly no way to launch one out into the ocean. As I watched the waves for a bit, a flight of several pelicans came soaring along the top of the dune that edged the water, no doubt riding on the updraft caused by the sea breeze being deflected upward along the dune. They had no need to flap to stay up, and I was carried back to the days when I used to fly sailplanes along the edges of hills, cliffs, and mountains for hours at a time.

Along the beach there were several very nice compounds (as opposed to homes) being built, but I was struck by the fact that the beach was not very usable for anyone. It sloped too abruptly for kids to be able to play in the sand, it was not appropriate for either board or body surfing, and even sun bathing might result in sliding down into the waves without warning. The water appeared dirty, as if there was some underground leaking of oil into the water. And the sand itself seemed to have a lot of tar or some other blackish substance mixed in.

I was able to check out one of the homes that had been completed. They don’t understand Feng Shue (spelling?) here, since all the houses have glass fronts and backs with sliding glass doors that allow one to see the ocean through the front of the house and actually walk straight through. This is a no-no for Asians I am told, at least that style was avoided in the San Francisco Bay area if one ever intended to sell to an Asian family some day. Apparently it is important that the spirits not be allowed to go through a house from front to back without being detoured around some corners, but I am not an expert in this area by far.

This particular house had an infinity pool in back for swimming and another smaller one for fish or for just gazing into. For those of you who have not been exposed to the good life, an infinity pool appears to have no edge on one side – the water simply spills over one side (usually the side facing the ocean) so smoothly that it appears to merge with the sea behind it. There were four covered chaise lounges positioned on the deck in the sun with another two positioned under a palapa-like thatched roof that was open on all sides and provided shade to those who might not be sun worshipers. There were also two lavish hammocks strung between palm trees that were probably planted just the right distance from each other to support the hammocks. There was also an outside dining area, and another sitting area, and that was just the back area of the estate.

I thought about what it might be like to live there. One would be isolated from almost everything, and it appeared that all of the outdoor activity centered on sitting or lying down. It would be a great place for a retreat for a few weeks, but that would get old very quickly. It would also be a great place to entertain, but any night life would require a drive of several miles just to get to Barra de Navidad or even further to Manzanillo or some other larger city.

I prefer a sailboat that provides a “moveable feast” (taken from a book title), where we can position ourselves wherever we like – isolated in small bays or enjoying nightlife in larger towns or cities – and we have a constantly changing menu of things to see and do. We can change our climate, our neighbors and our neighborhood at will. Cruising provides us with a constant source of new friends and the chance meeting of old friends in a variety of locations. If we don’t like where we are, we can always move by simply pulling up the anchor, setting the sails, and pointing the bow of the boat where we wish to go. Wouldn’t it be great if houses could be moved so easily!

We had some excitement the other night. We heard a radio transmission from a sailboat saying that it was 25 miles off the coast south of here heading north from Zihuatanejo and that it was about to be boarded by a supposed Mexican Navy ship that was not following standard protocol. They gave the coordinates of their position; so that if something happened to them, someone would know what was going on and could follow up. That’s the last we heard until the cruiser’s net the next morning when someone asked if anything had been heard from that sailboat since its transmission. The sailboat itself responded (having arrived that evening) saying that they had called the U.S. Coastguard on their satellite phone and voiced the same message as we had heard. They said the U.S. Coastguard had gotten in touch with the Mexican Navy and the Mexican patrol boat had withdrawn. It sounded as if a satellite phone might be a good acquisition for the future.

Someone asked what protocols the Mexican Navy hadn’t followed, and the sailboat in question mentioned that 1) they were outside the 12 mile international limit, 2) the Mexican Navy would not identify the name or number of its vessel, 3) the supposed sailors were wearing ski masks to hide their faces, and 4) they were carrying automatic weapons and had them trained on the sailboat. A discussion ensued between more knowledgeable members of the cruising community where it was pointed out that the U.S. was spending a lot of taxpayer money to have the Mexican Navy interdict drug smugglers, and 12 miles out was not their limit of coverage or all the smugglers would operate outside that limit. Also, it is standard practice for them to conceal their identity as to which naval vessel they are, as well as to conceal their own identities in order to avoid reprisals from the drug smugglers on them and their families. Finally it was pointed out that even the U.S. Coastguard carries automatic weapons and has them trained on vessels when approaching them for an inspection. So, apparently, the sailboat in question was being handled appropriately by the Mexican Navy, which backed off as a favor to the U.S. Coastguard in this situation.

Several of the cruisers here in Barra de Navidad had been boarded by the Mexican Navy while transiting to or from Zihuatanejo, since this is an area of the coast where a lot of drug smuggling takes place. In every case they have been treated with respect by the Mexican Navy (included masked sailors) and there has always been an officer in charge who spoke good English. Some of the boats had been approached twice within a day or so, and they were waved on because their boat name was found in a database of those that had been recently boarded. I can imagine the fear and trepidation that would emerge as we were being approached by armed men in ski masks telling us to stop the vessel and prepare to be boarded, but we have to expect that to happen. It’s another good reason not to carry fire arms on the boat; since firing a pistol, rifle, or shotgun at the Mexican Navy could be disastrous to one’s health and the floating ability of the boat.

Last night another strong wind came up out of the northwest, similar to the one I mentioned in the last blog, but the wind was even stronger. Most of the cruisers returned to their boats from town in order to be ready to handle any dragging anchors. Sure enough, the radio began to squawk with notifications of several boats dragging their anchors. In one case the owner started up the engine, pulled up his anchor, and moved it back into place, setting it more firmly with a longer length of chain. Just behind us a smallish boat started moving backwards toward a boat to its rear and the owner was not onboard. The warning went out to the fleet, and, just as I was getting into my dinghy and dreading the soaking I would get to help out, a fleet of 6 dinghies with very powerful outboards descended on the boat and nudged it away from the other sailboat. Then a couple of the dinghy owners got up on the deck of the sailboat, started up the engine, pulled up the anchor, and re-anchored the boat just as the owner returned in his dinghy.

The owner was extremely happy that members of the fleet had saved his boat from running into another boat, which would have cost him for the damage to both boats, and I was happy to have avoided having to go out in the wet with my underpowered dinghy. As it was, I let out about another 30 feet of chain and sat on watch for the next 4 hours, making sure we weren’t being moved out of position by the wind and current. I did this by sighting a lower hill against a higher hill behind it to the side of my boat and making sure that one of the hills didn’t start moving against the other – indicating that I was moving.

We had another cruising couple coming over for dinner at 6PM that night, but they called on the radio to say that they weren’t comfortable with leaving their boat in the strong wind conditions that prevailed at that time. We agreed to wait until 7PM to see if the conditions changed, but eventually had to cancel the dinner. Then, of course, at 8PM the wind died as if it had been shut off. We plan to have the couple over this evening if the wind doesn’t repeat itself this afternoon. Just another “pleasant” day in paradise! Not!

Just to underline the fact that we do have work to do in paradise, this morning’s chores for me included finishing the polishing of the stainless steel on the boat and washing the glass in the portholes. Since it is easier to work in the cool of the morning, we usually work up until noon and then knock off for the day. Because of the amount of stainless steel on the boat this is at least a two-morning job. Sheilagh spent her morning doing some shopping in town, cleaning all the screens for the portholes (yes, we have insects here, too), cleaning up the toilet and the head in general, making home-made Kahlua (with coffee, vodka, and vanilla extract), and in her words “cleaning up after Jim” – I’m not sure what that means. Just because I leave things in places where I can get to them quickly is no reason to critique my emergency preparations. I can snatch up any of several shirts, swimming trunks, books, hats, and computer paraphernalia at a moment’s notice, unless Sheilagh has “cleaned up after me.” Would you call that a good use of her time? Not I!

More later . . .