Barra de Navidad to Nuevo Vallarta

Somewhat reluctantly, I left Barra de Navidad this week and headed back up to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta. It was a bit easier to reverse an earlier path and revisit places I had already been. I timed my passages well and had an easy time of it: 12 miles to Tenacatita, 30 to Chamela, 50 to Ipala, 50 to Punta Mita, 12 to La Cruz and 6 to Paradise Village. As you will see in the photos, it got pretty windy in La Cruz anchorage, but there were no problems other than having to stay onboard to keep an eye on things. I'm happy with the slip they gave me in Paradise Village. It's well protected in a channel behind large buildings with mangroves across the channel. The docks have obviously just been refurbished, too. It's also convenient, directly behind the little mall.

The approach of hurricane season and the ending of the cruising season has brought about some real changes. People are leaving either to sit out the season in a safe hurricane hole, head further south out of the hurricane zone, head across the Pacific, haul out their boat and/or leave the boat in a safe harbor and fly back to their land homes. It's definitely going to be different with fewer cruisers here.

Thankfully there have been few new technical or maintenance issues. Some friends recently told me they weren't seeing my AIS signal, so I'll need to troubleshoot that one soon. The big breakthrough was I think I have solved a mystery that has been driving me nuts for a long time. Whenever the boat is heeling or rocking in the waves, there is a disconcerting groaning sound emanating from a place that seems impossible to localize. If I were in a lightweight fin-keeler, I would be worried about the keel working. I've checked Circadian's semi-full keel and it's fine. Finally traced the noise to what sounds like a baffle in the water tank moving around and rubbing. Haven't opened up the tank yet to confirm it, but I'm pretty sure that's it. The repair will be a good summer project.