We have been working away on Gypsy for quite awhile now with the idea of heading off to the wild blue yonder once we are done. Well, in the back of our minds the question has been forming, what if it’s too hot? The Pacific Northwest does not suffer from excesses unless we are talking about rain, so we don’t know what hot weather is like. The only solution was to take a trip to the tropics.
Puerto Vallarta came to mind. Our friends Randy and Ruth would be there on Velic doing final prep before they headed off to the Marquesas and it would be hot. We got tickets.
We did some sight seeing. Riding the bus into town is a great part of the adventure.
We also sailed on Velic from Puerto Vallarta to Yelapa. Yelapa is a small town on the southern side of Banderas Bay that is only accessible by boat.
As we approached Yelapa a panga, a small open fishing boat, came out to Velic and offered us a mooring and water taxi services. After we arrived and got moored the panga took us ashore. We were delivered to the associated restaurant. Once ashore we were shown to our table. The locals do not like to leave anything up to chance. Luckily the food was good.
Lunch was a study stream of vendors. We did get some souvenirs.
We had a great trip and we came back to rainy cool Portland to once again continue our quest to head off into the wild blue yonder, even if it is hot.
GypsyKramer 
I am glad that you all had a pleasant vacation. I expect you to moor at Orient beach St Martin in a few years for a visit! The breeze will keep you cool
Sarah
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It was a very good idea to take a break. The Caribbean is tempting and we will stop at St. maarten when we get there.
Nina was very happy to see frigate birds while we were in PV.
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Looks like you had a fun trip! Nothing wrong with sun, sand, and palm trees.
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We even got a bit of a tan. It is fading fast now.
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Fun post.
Great photos. What resolution do you use to upload into WordPress? I have been âdumbing downâ our photos for the blog. Maybe too much?
You might want to edit: Lunch was a study stream of vendors.
Or maybe: âLunch was a study in the continual stream of vendors.â Ha!
Rained hard last night. Tropical downpours as squalls blew through. Enough to fill tanks had we inverted the âumbrellaâ over the foredeck hatch. Our first rain since San Diego. Unfortunately, I left the ports open â it was warm when we went to bed. Fortunately, the cabin got wet with clean fresh rain water. The storm did cool down the temps to a chilly 72 F at night. It was downright cold at 68 F in the cabin this morning. We both put on fleece and had to laugh about that!
Learning to splice the 8-plait Yale Brait, which will be our new dock lines. Interesting process: Conceptually simple, physically difficult. I told Ruth itâs a lot like knitting. The Andy & Bax mesh âbow bagsâ (for rafting) are proving excellent for organizing all the various lines.
The coolest âbig boatâ was in the marina for a few days. SunDeer 60: A true open ocean passage maker. I think it beats the Amel Super Maramu 53â. When I grow up I want one of those. Ruth teases that I have boat envy.
The great characteristic it shares with a Cascade 36â is a long waterline to beam ratio. If I were to redesign the Jason 35â it would be a Jason 39â, maintaining the same 11â 2â beam.
Randy
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These are the settings I use in Lightroom when I size photos for the blog. File is jpeg , color space is sRGB, quality is 85%, I sharpen for screen standard setting. I size the files for 2400 pixels for the long side. This is overkill for the blog, 1000 pixels would still give a 10″ screen view, but I don’t have to worry about wifi speed at home.
Let me know what you learn splicing the 8 plait since that is what Maxwell specs for our windlass. The old anchor rode is going to become a lifetime supply of dock lines.
I wish I had seen the Sundeer 60. Oh well, but they don’t have a Tommy paint job.
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Great photos ! Thanks.
The colour of the water is amazing.
This will inspire you as you finish up your work.
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The colors and light were lush. We miss them now that we are back to mostly grey. Yes, every weekend gets us closer.
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Marvelous trip for you. Love the pictures!
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Thank, we are willing to share the sun and sights.
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Thanks for the tropical getaway….loved the beach, tiles, plants, even the tourists! Now i’m thirsty…………….
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You need a mojito. Tall glass, ice, lots of fresh mint and lime juice, water and your choice of spirits. Light rum is traditional, but the ones we had in Mexico were made with tequila. Just the thing on a hot afternoon.
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