We made it - We're in Mazatlan

Just a quick post to let you all know we made it to Mazatlan and are tucked away.  We had great conditions for the passage from La Paz here in and covered the approximate 250 nautical miles in around 32.5 hours.  It should have been a great trip. We had decent wind most of the way- and an uneventful trip other than the really big bummer of not having our autopilot work for us.

For those that dont know- the autopilot is a pretty crucial item as when it goes down, you have to take turns hand steering the entire trip, and you have limited chances to take breaks- or take care of the kids.  It seems to have a mind of its own right now- so we are giving it some space - we really need it to be part of the crew for this trip!  We know of folks who have lost their autopilot on 25 day passages, so we know we are lucky to muscle through this one.

I'd also like to nominate my wife as my personal hero for today for fighting through sea sickness, and just fatigue from the trip.  We're both pretty bushed right now, but will take it easy tonight, and will take a bus tomorrow to discover Old Mazatlan.  The kids have been great and manage quite well on these passages.  Lexi even joined me at 4am for a short part of the watch and we were treated to a great show from the Geminid meteor shower.  Heather said that before the moon came up it was spectacular.

The girls pose with the Flying Fish and Squid that Tristan discovered on deck this morning

On the good news front, we sailed in to a beautiful school of dolphins that we quite playful and were jumping in front of the boat as we were doing 8-9 knots.   We never get tired of that experience - I think I might like to be a dolphin in a future life.

Yeah, thats cool

On the other good news front we caught several fish, including a new fish type for us. We threw back a very big Skipjack, but kept a Southern Bluefin Tuna that Tristan properly identified.  We almost threw it back until he noticed the different markings.  Our fishing bible says GAME QUALITIES:   For its size, the Bluefin is one of the toughest of all fish, displaying strength, stamina and speed  FOOD VALUE:  Excellent.  Mykaela and I can vouch for the sashimi food value as we devoured some of it raw before dinner, and the rest of the family ate it cooked tonight.

We threw this chunky guy back- we think its a sign of more fish to come

We hope you are all staying dry and enjoying your adventures! More to come soon!  CHRIS