Mascot~Motley Crew

                                                                                                
                   
                  Pura Vida

Welcome to the adventures of Pura Vida, our Catalina 400 sailboat  purchased in 2005 in San Diego, California. Join us as we sail the Sea of Cortez, and as we enjoy seeing our daughter and her family  living in San Carlos, Mexico.

After we both retired  it was time to get serious about sailing.  We previously had a Santana 20, but then got our Pura Vida and had a great time sailing the waters of Southern California until we sailed with the Baja Ha Ha group to Mexican waters in 2007. We will permanently keep the boat in the Sea of Cortez sailing out of our slip in the San Carlos Marina.

Enjoy our 2007 trip south with the Baja Ha Ha,  a 14 year tradition for those wanting to sail to warm waters.  To see the route and learn about this cruise, click on  Baja Ha Trip. The first 3 days were a non-stop sail to Turtle Bay, staying there for 2 days, then another 2 day sail to Santa Maria Bay for a stop of 2 days, and finally into Cabo San Lucas for the "we've cheated death again" celebration! What a blast! We met so many wonderful people and have new cruising friends in the Sea of Cortez for years to come.

Then take a look at our trip south to Puerto Vallarta in October 2008  and returning in March 2009. We spent all winter at Paradise Village Marina sailing Banderas Bay. The weather was perfect (80F daily) with afternoon winds perfect for being on the water. We visited many villages around the Bay and took a week-long trip to Guadalajara. The more we see of Mexico, the more we love the places and the people.
Again, the sailing community is so welcoming and helpful; we made lots of new friends that we hope to see again. We got back in March after a wonderful sail up the Baja coast with many peaceful anchorages and many sightings of dolphins and whales. See the pictures in our Photo Gallery.

2010 was a year of Transition! We didn't spend much time on the boat and didn't do any major sailing since we were busy sorting, packing,  selling, and generally getting  organized so we could make the big move to Eugene, Oregon. Poor Pura Vida  has been neglected and we were anxious to spend time cleaning and getting her out on  the water. Plus, Motley Crew, our mascot, is  sick and tired of the local pelicans giving him all kinds of @#&% for being able  to sing along with Jimmy Buffet, so he wants to get back  to being the rowdy pirate that he was meant to be!.

October 2011:  We arrived in San Carlos on Friday, Oct. 7th and it took us until  Nov. 1st to get Pura Vida ready to sail to Puerto Vallarta. After 15 days we arrived in Puerto Vallarta on Nov. 18th. The trip provided us many challenges and opportunities to experience Mother Nature in her glory and in her fury! Go to our Itinerary page to read about events and go to the Photo Gallery to see pictures along the way.