Tanner's visit.

Having family and friends come aboard to share is what it is all about.  For them to see what we see, do what we do and live what we live, even if for just a few days or so, is always awesome.  My oldest son Tanner has never been to the boat so when he finally made it down it was destined to be great.  Without going into a long dialog, here's the video that shows the highlights.  Enjoy.

Click the pic to see the video

Until next time,

Bret, Marne and Tanner
SV Liahona

Isla Isabel - The Galapagos of Mexico.

Isla Isabel lies off the coast of Mexico approximately 90 miles south of Mazatlan. It is one of our favorite anchorages in all of Mexico because of it's remoteness and also it's unexplainable beauty both of the island itself and also the animals that inhabit it.  They call it the Galapagos of Mexico.  There are literally thousands upon thousands of birds that nest here and the boobies, frigates and gulls are just a few of the species.  The island is also heavily inhabited by iguanas and other land creatures.  While life above the water is breathtaking there is also a plethora of life below the surface living in the ultra clear waters that surround Isla Isabel.  The pictures below only capture a small spackling of the wildlife but we hope you enjoy it.

Dolphins play in the bow wake of the Liahona in the crystal clear waters.

Gulls fly by closely, protecting their nests.

The famous Blue Footed Boobie.

 An adult with the white fluffy juvenile.

 The dance.

 A semi fluffy juvinile towering over the smaller female.

 The brown boobies.

 Fluffy juvenile.

 Protecting the egg.


Some underwater views...

 Spiny lobster.

Lone sea turtle.

The iguanas.

A male frigate calling out for interested females.

This is the inner or south anchorage.  We prefer the anchorage on the east side of the island.

Until next time,

SV Liahona

Bret and Marne

Collage of our time in Pacific Mexico.

As we fuel up and prepare to leave the Mexican Riviera and cross back over to the Baja side in the Sea of Cortez we have a lot of great memories.  Here is a spackling of pics in no particular order from our time here on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

 The captain with a coconut rodillo.

 Sierra for dinner.

 Other cruisers helping us try to unwind our chain that was tangled up on an old anchor at the bottom of Mazatlan harbor.

 Blue footed bubi at Isla Isabel

 ...and a yellow footed bubi that was happy to hang out with the old crazy guy.

 Watching the sun go down in Mazatlan

 Marne and her "experience" with the pilot whale

 The Broesder visit. Good times!

 The captain learning the churro trade in La Cruz

 Twin head sails on the way back from Isabel.

 Renna in the hammock at Chacala

 Isla Isabel, the Galapagos of Mexico

 Isla Isabel

 The Broesders coming aboard

 Kid boats.  We love 'em!  SV Agamere

 The Broesders on Isabel

 Chacala.  One of our favorites.

 Mexicans are colorful people.

This is a serious "boat bite".  Marne poor toe.

 the very typical but never taken for granted end of a day in Mexico.

See you on the other side.

SV Liahona

Bret and Marne

Swimming with Pilot whales.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better...it did. 

The morning started off the way it usually does with coffee and checking into the morning cruisers net. Isla Isabel is a beautiful island. It is referred to as the Galapagos of Mexico. We have been here before and always enjoy the blue footed boobies, frigates, iguanas, and the reef snorkeling in crystal clear blue waters. 

 After the net we threw on our gear and headed out toward the pinnacle rocks. We had heard there was a school of tuna around the north side of larger rock. Go-pro and spear gun in hand, Bret and I jumped in the water and started the swim around the rock. We were both running out of breath as we are away from the protection of the rock and the current was super strong. Just as we were about to give up and float back, we spotted them. Hundreds of tuna just hanging out waiting for Bret and his trusty Riffe spear gun. Bret went 0 for 2, but we loved watching the huge school of fish split in 2 and then come back together to evade the spear. We got some good GoPro footage then hopped back in the dinghy to head back to the boat.

 Dolphin are always fun to see, so when we saw fins we moved in for a closer look. We followed the fins about a mile off shore, and soon we realized we were not following dolphins, instead we were in a pod of Pilot whales. There were 6 to 8 in a tight group, then about 5 solo rangers. Dolphin like to hang out when the dingy is making waves, but the moment you get in the water they typically bolt. The pilot whales were on the move, but not leaving the area. Bret and I both wanted to bail in and get a look from beneath the waves. Bret went first and was able to get some video as they swam by. Having no expectation that they would stick around, I slid off the side of the dinghy and into the water. Once the bubbles cleared and I could see them clearly and I had the most amazing marine life experience to date! A Pilot whale about 8 feet away came toward me. He swam beneath me rolling belly up and it felt like we were making eye contact. Looking at the others I could see that one of them had a tuna in his mouth and I could hear them singing to each other as they moved along. I could sit here at the laptop for hours and not be able to come up with any combination of words to fully describe how amazing it was.

 Marne and her "experience"

 The captain dives in!

The official vid.

The sun is now setting and we are 6 hours into an overnight sail to Mazatlan. We will rotate watches every 3 hours. Time to get some sleep before my first watch. 

Until tomorrow,

SV Liahona

Marne and Bret