Category Archives: kid boats

ship shape # 7

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Hi all my ship shapers,
We’ve been keeping up with our ship shape but not with posting about it. Urg. We’ve been in the Sea Of Cortez enjoying lots of free diving, snorkeling, fishing, and hiking. We have also enjoyed the lack of Internet.

Here’s a few pictures from our satphone (low quality) with a few exercises to do on the boat underway.

Exercise #1 pull ups from the back stay. Not only does this strengthen arms and shoulders, but also gives your hands a good workout.

Exercise #2 chin ups from the Rat lines

Exercise #3 Toes-to-nose using whatever place (back stay for Christian, the dodger for Taj, I like to use the Companion way)

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Toes to nose and chin ups

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Backstay pull-ups

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Mazatlán for 8 days

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Our original plan was to have a quick 3 day visit to Mazatlán. We recently heard of friends getting stuff robbed off their boat in the middle of the night in the anchorage south of old town, so we anchored off of Isla Venados the first night. The next day we brought the boat to Marina Mazatlán. We heard the marina wasn’t too expensive and we rather pay a little money versus having items stolen off our boat. It also would allow us to make day field trips away from the boat without worrying about theft or dragging anchor.

Two days after our luxurious days in a marina, we noticed the leak in our boat was more serious than we expected. Everything was closed for boat repair/haul out, so we had to wait until Tuesday to do an emergency haulout to repair a broken thruhull for our engine intake. We managed to keep the boat floating through the weekend by using a plunger and bung. Yay! In the mean time we made the best of our forced extended stay in Mazatlán.

In hindsight, I’m grateful for the extended stay, even though our cruising kitty isn’t. Mazatlán is rich in history, full of beautiful people, good food, and has easy bus,taxi, and walks. The mall was in walking distance, which the girls loved. Walmart was also in walking distance, making provisioning easier.  The bus ride to historic Mazatlán only costs $1 round trip. The taxi cost anywhere between 70-100 pesos ($5-$6) from downtown to the Marina. We did a lot of walking as well, including the “self-guided walking tour” of the historic district.

We recommend stopping in Mazatlán to all boaters. And definitely eat at Dock7 restaurant at Marina Mazatlán. The seafood is so fresh and amazing and the guys running it are super cool. They also play surfs videos, for an added bonus. 🙂

walking tour map (above)

a cool street just south of the art museum (below)


The kids posing with Pedro the famous Actor and singer at the Pedro Infante Museum (above)

A little history at the Museo Arqueologico

A stroll through the Mercado



The Basilica, Cliff Divers, and public salt water pool.

Out door activities. Above: all three kids climbing ropes at the outdoor adult jungle gym. Below: Ellamae catching waves at Playa Bruja!

Above: Boatschool abroad at La Playa Bruja

Below: science experiment on the dock. Thanks Homeschool Ahoy


Below: Iguanas and kids at Marina El Cid

Our favorite restaurant in Mazatlan, Dock7

Above: Taj’s favorite spot, helping Mom cook in the galley.

Taj turned 3!

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Well, the little bugger turned 3 and is quickly filling his daddy’s shoes. From skateboarding, diving head first into pools and holding his breath for which feels like forever, climbing up to the second row of our rat lines, to a new fascination for matchbox cars. Taj is definitely Christian Lauducci’s son.

We had a great day yesterday celebrating with our cruising friends in La Cruz. Boat school as usual in the morning, which this time included math and reading in the form of making GF Brownies! Yet another boat, Cat2fold dragging down on us, was successful re-anchored with the help of fellow anchorage peeps. Taj, of course, was butt naked on the rat lines, watching the whole process. Another reminder of how good our Mantus anchor is. Apparently the area in which we are anchored in is know for lousy silty holding. We haven’t had any issues the whole three weeks that we’ve been in his spot for our own boat, but this is the second boat that has been rescued from dragging down on us in the last week!

After the excitement of boat dragging shenanigans, and a nice windy and wet dingy ride to shore, it was time to prepare for the party. La Cruz Marina is super family friendly. With a poolside deli and picnic area right in the Marina, it is a perfect kids birthday party location. 10 other kid boats attended and more non-kid boats as well! SV Alert, Cape D, Cielo Grande, Coastal Drifter, Kenta Anae, Nomi, Raireva, Riki Tiki Tavi, Terrapin, Valella Valella. Also present: Sea Fox, Wino Rhino, Landfall.

Four birthdays in the last 8 months and I’ll be the last to have a birthday since leaving on our adventure. All have been amazing thanks to the cruising community. Thanks for all the well wishes. Looking forward to many more sailor/cruising birthday celebrations in the years to come.

Josie
04/12/2016