Sharing the adventures and horizons of the good sloop Akimbo and her crew going sailing... You might want to start at the "beginning" (October 3, 2009)? Thank you for visiting. It means a lot to me, so please leave comments or e-mail me @ jonthowe@gmail.com, and encourage others to visit too. It's a way for me to feel your company even from afar. Good luck to us all. Love and hope, jon

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sweatin' it out in Ixtapa

The overnighter from Manzanillo to here was uneventful. I like that. Our companions were porpoise, sea turtles and flying fish. I motored a bit more than i wanted to because hurricane Darby is stalled off the coast and forecast to turn back east and come in. But we got some lovely afternoon sails in, under the drifter and with some swell. Really delightful. Capped off by surfing in thru the entrance to the harbor. Drawing over 6’ (that’s nautical talk for how deep into the water Akimbo’s keel sticks down), the marina advised me that they would have a skiff waiting to guide me in, but if i decided to enter i was doing so at my own risk. Akimbo draws 6.5’.

But what choice did i have? I was tired after sailing all night. I needed good rest. And this storm was forecast to come back to the coast near here. Anchoring out in Bahia Zihuatanejo didn’t feel like an option compared to riding the storm out secured to a sheltered dock. Taking how tired i was into account, i double checked my reasoning. No, i really did feel i needed to get into this harbor. Our timing turned out to be near a high tide. Sails were down, Stuff was secured pretty well. So i went for it.
I watched a powerboat pound his way out. A lot of vertical action. The marina skiff waited for us well inside the surf, which wasn’t quite breaking. We lined up from just outside the two entrance buoys and i gunned the engine higher than ever before. We built up momentum, a wave started to pick us up, and we went surfing in on water and adrenaline. I kept watching the sounder and seeing the bottom come up. If we hit the sand bottom Akimbo would stumble in the narrow entrance and likely broach to one side or the other. The trick would then be to throttle back before ramming into a breakwater, turn her back in line with the channel and power up for the next lift in. We were comin’ in fast it, it would hurt if we came to a stop, but the depth stopped shallowing at 7.5’. We had a foot to spare. Only a foot.

How much did that wave lift us? Goin’ out we’ll pound up and down more. We won’t be goin’ so fast, it won’t be so dangerous in that way. The timing of our exit will be determined strictly by the height of the tide.

Now that we’re here, i’ve caught up on sleep and chores. During the night’s sail the radar repeater at the helm wouldn’t power up. So to check the radar i had to come below to the nav station each time. Haven’t figured out how to fix it yet. And this morning when i pulled out my folding bike to go explore Ixtapa, and maybe peddle to Zihuatanejo, the canvas bag i keep it in had an oily stain on it. Looking closer, the shelf the fridge compressor sits on was covered in oil. The compressor is leaking. Damn. It comes with the territory tho: “cruising = working on your boat in exotic destinations.” It’s Sunday, so no one to call today, but tomorrow i hope to get a technician on board and get a lesson.

Jerry will get here tonight, and surveying Akimbo tomorrow too for a new insurance company. I’m afraid the heat will be a shock to him. Sweat goes with everything here iat the end of June. I stick to everything, which kind of discourages some things. Like playing the guitar. And now – i keep a napkin on the laptop where my wrists rest while i type.

After Jerry flies out…i will be in new territory: sailing with no rendezvous or other event on my calendar. What will that feel like? On the outside, it will be good from the standpoint that no schedule leaves me free to wait for a weather window to cross “hurricane alley.” On the inside, it seems to offer a new potential or perspective. Went ahead for a nice (and hot and sweaty) bike ride around town. This seems another nice place. In this heat, the bus fare to get to Zihuat seems the way to go. A deal at twice the price. Stopped by a bar and caught most of a world cup soccer game – go Argentina (since Arturo is a dear friend and from there)!

One sweet thing last night was dining in a restaurant where i could use their internet access and skype calling my family. Whatever we spoke about didn’t matter at all. I was amazed at the affect simply hearing each others’ voices had on me. I went from being kind of lonely and alone to feeling in good rich company regardless of the geographic distance between us. Wow. Thank you.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Back aboard Akimbo


After a long day and a half of no sleep and travel, i’m back. On the way from the airport, i had the cab stop at a grocery store so i could re-provision. Then spent quite some time unpacking. I have vowed to never pack so heavily again. Can’t believe all the books i brought back. Don’t know where i am going to put them. Have to get rid of some. Next time…i’m getting a Kimble.
By the way, while in Seattle i tried to find what to do with a play i’ve written. Yes, i’ve written a play. It’s about our battle with cancer. Something it seems i had to get out of me and onto the page before writing something else. It wasn’t so much writing as working from the Brainews e-mails i sent out at the time and quoting some of you. In most cases, i didn’t change peoples’ names – let me know if that’s not okay with you. Anyway, i sent it to Tom Brophy at Seattle Cold Readers (you can google them) and they are willing to give an excerpt a reading to a small audience. Probably the third Thursday of Sept. Of course i am thrilled that they think it’s worth a shot and their feedback. If any of you want to see it, assuming attendance is open, look them up.


Wow, it’s gotten hotter here. It was 90 inside the boat when i went to bed – no need for covers or clothes. And if i can believe Akimbo’s water thermometer, the water in the harbor here is 92. I’ll confirm that later when i try my new compressor dive system and clean the bottom of the boat. Last night a thunderstorm came thru at about 2 a.m. Beautiful. I watch the images on the hurricane site showing the convection activity, and it is much busier than it was a month ago. There’s a cyclone out there that should move off in the next few days. Hopefully that times out with my finishing my prep on Akimbo and shoving off.

Thank you all for such a wonderful visit in Seattle. I realize now that i was darn tired when i got there (someone suggested i take a break more often). And now i feel well rested and loved. It impresses me how important you are to me. Please stay in touch. I’ll always write back.

I’ve been wanting to share photos of this place with you, but had ruined the old camera. So here are some pics via the new camera. Okay, that’s all for now. Hasta luego.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Bearless in Alaska

I am drinking deeply a lot of love with my community in Seattle. As we visit i of course try to make coherent for them what it is i am doing “out there,” away from them. The answers i come up with boil down to, “i am doing something i CAN do.” As opposed to focusing on what i can’t do. Something instead of nothing. And i’m doing it while i physically and financially can. I don’t know where this leads me. Rather than the theory that “if you build it, they will come,” i seem to be working on the hope that “if i come, it will be built.” Whatever “it” is. Thank you dears for our sharing, for our open and inquiring dialogs, and for even our smallest familiarities. I need this heart nourishment. As we reach deeper into each others’ company, i anticipate that it will be hard for me to leave. It will have been worth it, tho. In fact, this visit feels like it may hold some key release for me, a confidence that i am not alone no matter where i am, a belonging that reaches well beyond my horizon...and maybe beyond life without Christine. It’s just an inkling at this point.

While i’ve been in Seattle i’ve been busy. Mostly socializing my ass off. And being god’s own consumer. Sheesh! Am sure i’ve gained weight. And i’ve beefed up safety gear for Akimbo. That this yacht delivery to Juneau comes after a few weeks of visiting seems wise. It takes me away from my community in steps rather than all at once.


And it gives me a memory to make with Tyler: We spent our first night at anchor 80 miles out, in Genoa Bay, Canada. As soon as we got there Tyler remarked on the taste and feel of the air. It was well worth remarking upon. This was quintessential Northwest surrounded-by-dense-evergreens air. It felt like pure oxygen that we could take more deeply into our lungs and absorb thru our skin. After all, here we were densely surrounded by oxygen making “beings.” The air left us feeling a little giddy and rather like a sponge for it. The next day we made 112 miles while watching snow fall on the mountains of Vancouver Island. As forecast, the wind and waves came up. They were big enuf to require steering by hand rather than leaving it all to the autopilot. We appreciated the shelter the Gulf Islands gave us from the Georgia Straits, squeezed thru Dodd Narrows while its currents were fairly calm, and lost half our speed over the last mile on the approach to an anchorage near infamous Seymour Narrows.

A dawn start the next day gave us the timing we needed against the current. As this trip goes on i can’t help wanting to come back to it someday, even if it IS cold here, and despite never having felt called here in the first place. We’ve seen whales, porpoise, seals, sea lions, otters and lots of eagles.

Glaciers and icebergs and…i’m not complaining but i’m not convinced there are any bears in Alaska. If there have been any aurora, it’s not their fault that i haven’t seen them – i go to bed late (11:00ish), but not late enuf that the sky hasn’t still got some light in it. This IS magnificent country! The channels and passages are labyrinthine. With so much shelter from the weather and the ocean swell, it would be great fun to get lost exploring this place in a small fast boat. Say, aluminum for beaching, and outboard motor for any shallows, with a small cuddy cabin.

“Come back to” places include Fancy Cove in Lama Passage, Clothes Bay in Tolmie Passage, Baker Inlet in Grenville Passage, and maybe circumnavigate Baranof Island…but there are too many to count. We have been graced with very good weather, so we may arrive in Juneau a few days ahead of schedule.

Jim has been a gracious boat owner. He makes appreciative sounds of the fare we serve. And he has accommodated our points of interest – Alert Bay, Meyers Chuck and Wrangell. Thank you Lindsay and Eric and Vince – friends who welcomed us along the way.

Sure ‘nuf, we are back in Seattle three days early. “Orbit” is the word i am finding in my heart. I am at the close end of an elipse now, about to travel back out to the far end of it. Regardless of where i am, this community is a point of belonging from and to which i orbit. From this there’s a new sense of security i am finding and am glad for. Thank you. (I am also finding my head turned by many pretty women here. Were there always so many in Seattle?)
I'll be back in Mexico in a few days? After a stop in Ixtapa, i'll be aiming for Costa Rica as soon as possible, weather permitting, to get south of hurricane season. It will be my longest leg alone so far. I'm glad my "gas tank" is full to draw from for it.