Hola everyone,

OK we got back from the over-night "test the engine and sails" run with only one problem that was not even really a problem.As some may know we just had the riser on the engine re-made.Well, there was a part on the riser that had a plastic tube on it.So, as we were "testing the engine" it kinda started to boil and bubble.After turning around and tying on to the back of Ayeweld(a crew-members boat)The guy from Ayeweld,Dean, is a welder.He brought his things over and one hose-clampe and one half of a beer can later,It was welded!! other then that....we were on our way...again!!! that night was spent in Lobos were we were meeting the boats that had just completed the "rock to the dock race" We were the first to get to Lobos,other then the committee boat.So of course my mom had to get everyone to moon them.Me being the driver, I got within five feet from the stern of the boat,while they dropped AND wiggles ,my mom points out. As of the trip going to San Everisto: The other night my mom had a panic attack because we didn't enough money for fuel and food and the other neccesitties to get us up there.She talked to Maureen,Another crew member,And in two hours Maureen raised enough money for 105 gallons of fuel and most of the food money!! So mom went from excited to "we are NOT doing this" to even more excited.Yesterday Sam,nick and I got 160 gallons of water and dumped it in.Mom did laundry,We took showers...all the stuff that you need to do before a trip.We will have eight or maybe nine crew members: Sam,Matt,Me,Mom,Nick(from ayeweld) Sdyney(from ayeweld)Larry(or we like to call him Martha because he adds"just a touch of paprika" on devil eggs) Maureen, and perhaps Dean from Ayeweld. Our set time is 11:00 o'clock today...Thanks for reading!!! Isabelle

By the way, the bottom is clean and we had no problems with water coming in. I was relieved and Andre and Richard both said the bottom looked good! Chris, on BRIGHTSTAR, loaned us a pump, in case we ran into problems, but we didn't need it, Thank goodness! he then decided to give us the pump because he figured we would need it more that him. Now I feel like we are better prepared for any emergency. What a great guy!!!! Also, I forgot to bring up what happened with the riser. The welder brought it back and it looked good but was a little different in it's lay out. kevin consulted with Dean, on IWELD, and they decided the best thing to do was to cut the pipe and sleave it back the way it needed to be. They used exhaust hose for the sleeves and all looks good! allison

Dinghy was


Well, we have had and exciting and productive two weeks. we are in full swing getting our science project going which means getting Vltava going as well as getting together the list of supplies needed for the science experiments. The generosity of the cruiser community here keeps blowing my mind. Not only have I had a handful of guys helping with all the mechanical stuff that needs to happen to get Vltava moving but people have been coming up everyday with supplies for projects, offers of food and even diesel! Ida on Magic Dragon spent one weekend baking amazing treats and then got together with some other wonderful ladies of the fleet and had a bake sale for us. They made over 1000 pesos and coffee hour was packed with people eating all the treats! We also held a dinghy wash(kind of like a car wash for all you land-lubbers out there). The Marina de La Paz was great enough to let us totally take over the fresh water dock and Sam and Isabelle, their two friends off of IWELD, Nick and Sydney, and the two 7 year old twins from Imagine, Holly and Che, spent two hours in the sun scrubbing dinghys and making them shine! The did a great job and had fun also. The french fries and ice cream some of the cruisers bought them for a job well done sweetened the pot. While all this is going on Jack, on WATERDOG,our science teacher extrordinaire, has been help getting all the supplies together, writing up curriculum, meeting with the teacher and I going over details and just overall being available for questions and suggestions from interested people. He even managed to find time in his busy schedule to physically and single-handedly fill all the holes, on the port side, made when Ryan, a few months ago, cleaned and painted the hull. The guy has great energy and is the real reason this is all happening! Larry, on ROSALITA, filled all the holes on the starboard side so we are ready to primer the hull.(Hopefully before we leave). Larry is also going as crew on the school trip and has been a huge help in doing a lot of the little things we find ourselves doing to get ready to leave. He also has a great sense of humor so he is really good for morale! Mike,on TEHANI, helped do some of the nastiest jobs we have had to do. He and I spent one whole day cleaning(sort-of) the bilges, emptying them of water and scraping out all the junk that seems to accumulate there. We had to remove an old water heater and move some things around, which I was glad to have his muscle for. We cleaned and painted the new riser for the exhaust for the engine so it looks great and he strung up tell-tales so we can see the wind direction when we sail. Andre, on WINDROSE, and Richard,on SAIL LA VIE, spent about a week cleaning the bottom of the boat and it is cleaner than it's ever been. It will be interesting to see how much more movement we'll be able to have with a cleaner bottom. Kevin has been a lot of help and spent a few days going over the engine before we got it running. Dean,on IWELD, and Adam, on SMILES TO GO, spent a day helping work on the shifting cable so now all is running smoothly. The biggest help I've gotten has been from Matt. He returned, after an exciting delivery to San Diego and has been a part of every step of the way! His knowledge and easy going-ness is perfect and I feel like we could go any where!He is the captain this boat needs right now. We are planning on a "sea trial" on the 17th. We will motor out to the bay at Lobos and meet up with the Veleros de Baja sailboat race and sail back into the bay with them. We will be able to run all the systems and see if we need to work on anything before our big trip on the 24th. We are still trying to get donations and they keep coming in so we can stay on schedule. It really is amazing! I am going to put in a lot of pictures so you can see all the progress. Allison

Matt in the cockpit

Jeff sailing along


Well, I have had a lot of help this month and I really appreciate it!I was surprised about two months ago with the arrival of two old friends from San Diego, Matt and Jeff. They came down to sea trial Jeff's boat and to visit. They stepped on board and could tell immediately that i needed help and was over my head.(Who isn't who owns a big wooden boat?)I was telling them of my dreams to have Vltava ready to go to San Evaristo at the end of April for our science week with the kids there. They helped me to prioritize my list of things needed to be done before I could leave. We decided that the engine should be my first concern and they jumped right in to help me get her going. The first thing we needed was to get the exhaust riser for the engine repaired and functioning so I can run the engine. Matt took the exhaust riser off,no small feat as the bolts were rusted and frozen. After a short consult with Adam from Smiles to go, the riser came free and we were ready to go. Jeff donated the money for the metal tubing needed to recreate the riser and they both helped me get the 9 feet of tubing to the boat. Matt and I hunted down a welder and Bob and Joanne from Flying Fish donated the money for the welder. The riser is now with the welder and we are waiting for pick up! this is a huge thing as it means we can be mobile again AND charge our batteries once the alternator is hooked up. None of this could have happened without all these people and I am forever grateful. Matt spent the rest of the time helping me to clean up the battery connections, organize the boat and keep me focused on my goals. It made all the difference!!!! Our next big challenge is the bottom cleaning. It needs to be done before we leave but it makes me nervous to think of doing anything to the bottom. We really need a hualout and I don't want to create any problems by scrapping the hull that I won't be able to fix. I guess I just have to jump in and see what happens.
Jack and I met with the teacher from San Evaristo and went over the projects we are hoping to do and discuss timing and schedule for the three days. We all left feeeling very excited about the project and talked about the fact that this is the first project of it's kind that any of us knew about. very exciting to be a part of it all. Not much else for now. We are working hard to get this all done in time. cross your fingers for us! Allison

We are all getting very excited for our science week in San Evaristo. We have 14 hrs of really exciting curriculum that my good friend Jack, from Waterdog, is going to teacher when we are there. The cruisers here are so supportive it is amazing!We have almost gotten all the materials donated we need for the classes and friends are even coming over to help me work on the boat and get it ready for a trip. It just gives me goose bumps!!!!!!We have been spending everyday, trying to get the boat ready for this trip. It is happening in the end of April and there is a lot to do. Our biggest stumbling block, right now, is cash flow. I have all the workers and helpers I can use but not enough cash to buy the supplies needed to get the jobs done. I am not too proud to beg. We need help. If there is anyone out there who would like to be involved in anyway, or has some good ideas on how to raise some money, or would like to donate to our program, please let me know. My direct email is sunbreakeducation@yahoo.com. I would love any suggestions made!!!! anyway, just wanted to follow Isabelle's story and let you all know what is happening with us. keep posted as it is just going to get more and more exciting in the months to come. Thanks, Allison

Okay.Isabelle here.I am going to start "taking over" the blog as of tomorrow,so it will be up-dated much more.

Lately,we have been gathering school supplies for San Evaristo. My mom,brother,me and a friend of ours who is a Astronmy teacher are going to head to San Evaristo to teach a week long class.Our plan is head up there last week of April,and we are still collecting donations until then.I was up in San Evaristo just a week or two ago,there were about 13 kids from the ages of seven to twelve.The teacher travels the six hours to La Paz every weekend to see his family,he is normally back at San Evaristo on late Sunday.However,this time we did not see him until late Monday.I think he is debating on moving to Ia Paz to be with his wife and three children.He is doing a wonderful thing staying as long as he has.While we were there we bought some yellow tail tuna from the local fisherman and some handmade corn tortillas from his wife.It turns out that the Mexican goverment is founding the building of some cement buildings .Cement is a big step up from where they were.Normally your house is made from cardboard boxes you tore apart,held with bottle caps and a few nails.Every year they are washed away from hurricanes.When we ask the teacher and other locals what we can bring to help them,they almost always say food staples.Like flour and sugar.We have mostly been staying to school supplies,and every once in a while someone will give us clothes or food.Anything to help!

Vltava at sunset


The beach at San Fransisco Island


We have had a few exciting months here on Vltava and I need to talk about it. I have had to deal with a lot of mechanical errors on the boat and it has been great because I am learning new skills and gaining confidence whenever i come up against a new challenge. I can't say it enough about how nice it was to have Tim around when things went wrong. nothing was broken for long and I got spoiled. He is doing well in the states and is hoping to be home in a few months. maybe I can try to fix all the things that were working when he left???? I have had a lot of help from friends in the anchorage and always have a great group of people to get ideas and help from. I got a really good kick in the butt when my friend Ryan came down from Loreto to visit. Not only is he TOO much fun but he is a very hard worker who is ALWAYS in a good mood!!!!! He really helped me focus on things that needed to be done and helped to motivate me to actually do them. He and his sister have a kayak adventure business down here during the winter months. Check out bajakayakadventures.com to really see what they are all about. We have been talking about combining a kayak sailing trip sometime in the near future which is really getting me excited. While Ryan was here he cleaned up the hull by reefing out old bungs and seams that had rusty fasteners behind them. He then treated all the rusty spots and then sealed the areas he had worked on. I am finishing the job by filling the seams and holes and then will sand and paint. I am really looking forward to making her bright! The school program is getting exciting also. I have found a guy named Jack on the sailing vessel water dog who is helping me write up a science curriculum to take to the kids in San Evaristo.(Actually, truth be told, Jack is doing all the work and I am just jumping up and down in the side lines!) He has 14 hours of really cool science experiments having to do with everything from electricity to the constellations! i am calling it a week long science extravaganza!!! I am especially excited because I always get to see the kids when we drop off cool stuff for the school but I never really get to see the stuff being used. This time we will use all we bring and I can't wait to see all those kids get excited about science! Jack is a really exciting hands on kind of teacher and I am looking forward to seeing him in action! We are going to be doing this at the end of April, after the kids get back from spring break. We are hoping to get other boats to come with us so we can give all the kids a good sail while we are there. I am hoping Vltava will be ready to go but I need to do a lot of work before then. The biggest thing is to clean the bottom. I have some friends who are willing to work for food but may change their minds once they get out here. I am also worried that cleaning the bottom may create new problems that I need to be able to deal with. I am planning on putting in another manual pump just in case the cleaning opens something up. That is about all that is going on down here. We are very busy with school, projects and work but always seem to be able to work in some fun along the way. I will add photos of Ryan working his booty off in the next post. Bye, Allison