By Rob Piwowarczyk
At the end of the CUBAR (see related story CUBAR 2019) most of the boats went their own way. Some returned north to California while others, including my wife Deanna and I aboard our Selene 55, Bella Luna, remained in Mexico to savor the cruising.
The CUBAR experience, cruising in a group, allowed us to make many more friends and once we arrived and settled in Mexico, we were able to build on those relationships.
We are currently in Marina Puerto Escondido just outside of Loreto, Baja Mexico.
This is a special place. It is here that the majestic Sierra La Giganta mountains, meet the Sea of Cortez. A natural harbor surrounded by land on three sides and one of the best hurricane holes in all of Mexico. Although not many hurricanes make it this far north, it is good to know that we are in a safe place.
The last couple of weeks have been nerve wracking, hearing what is happening back home. We have been torn with making a decision on what to do. Do we go back home where everything is shut down or do we stay on our boat? We have decided to stay in Baja for the time being. One of the things trawler owners love about their boats is the independence and freedom that comes with owning one. We make our own electricity; we make our own water and we can travel to far corners of the world if we have to (or want to). We have topped off our fuel tanks and have stocked our commissary and freezer with provisions to last us a long time.
Although we have prepared for the worst, life in Baja goes on as normal, at least for now and we hope that it will continue. All stores are fully stocked with everything you need, and the locals are going on with their lives as usual.
We are fortunate that Deanna can continue to work remotely as long as we have internet and phone access, so daily routine at the dock in the marina is pretty much the same as back home with the exception that we get to go fishing at sunset every day!
We are taking precautions knowing well that most likely the virus will show its ugly head here, at some point in the near future.
Cruisers are by nature mostly social and we have met some great people out on the water. A few of our new best friends got to talking and despite being on different sized boats (all in the 50′ range) and two different trawler brands, Nordhavn and Selene, we are all enjoying the trawler lifestyle and we also realized that we all share one unique thing in common – Jeff Merrill from JMYS was the broker we each used to purchase our trawlers.
We are practicing “social distancing” and not going aboard any of the other boats in the marina.
Alison Jeffries on the Red Rover came up with the idea of having “Docktails” or cocktails on the dock! We setup lawn chairs at a “safe” distance on the dock, bring some refreshments and we can still enjoy each other’s company without exposing others to a possible infection. All of the photos of the boats and people were taken in Marina Puerto Escondido, the sunset photo was taken at Balandra Bay on Isla Carmen.
Here’s a group photo of the gang gathering for docktails.
Larry and Penny Talbot aboard the Nordhavn 50 Northern Ranger II.
Kevin and Alison Jeffries aboard the Nordhavn 55 Red Rover.
Deanna and Rob Piwowarczyk aboard the Selene 55 Bella Luna.
Keeping informed with world news has been very sobering, we are devasted by what we are hearing about. We are very aware that the virus is wreaking havoc across all borders and that others are not as fortunate as us. We are sensitive that this is a very serious crisis and we are not sure how long we will be “grounded” here. We’re washing our hands and being smart about our proximity with people in town (social distancing), trying to make the best of this situation.
In the meantime, we are counting our blessings that we have wound up in an isolated and relatively safe environment while we wait out the world crisis with our new friends, safe and secure with the knowledge that we all have trawlers to provide a magic-getaway when it is time to move on.
We hope and pray that our friends and families stay safe back home and this epidemic will be over soon.
Being optimistic we have purchased our return flights for end of April.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and stay safe!
Rob Piwowarczyk is a licensed California yacht salesperson with JMYS. Rob and Deanna purchased their Selene 55 through JMYS. Rob liked the experience so much and embraced the trawler lifestyle with such enthusiasm that he asked Jeff for a job and he’s now enjoying being a trawler owner and helping other clients sell and purchase trawlers. If you would like to get in touch with Rob please call or text his cell: +1 720.490.5662 or send an email to Rob@JMYS.com.
