The Roving Sandals
17 January 2016
Annette
I'm sorry we haven't been describing wonderful tales, and posting breathtaking photo's of the Sea of Cortez, the reason being is we we're in Don Jose's boatyard and dis-masted for a couple of weeks. We actually hauled out within a few days of our arrival into La Paz. Had I time to blog, the tales would be nail biting and the photo's gruesome. It was a Murphy's law boatyard experience, if it could break, it broke, if it be the wrong size, it was, and if it had to be shipped over night the day before Christmas than so be it, that's how things flowed. Anyone who has lived on their boat in the boatyard or lived in their home under a major construction knows what I'm talking about. However, we had one memorable uplifting event.
It was the night of the "King Tide", two days before Christmas. While living on Rum Doxy, we rested solidly on the rails of the haul out ramp at a 5+ degree angle, on the fringe of the shoreline, with a 12' ladder to climb on and off the boat. We had gotten into the habit of leaving our shoes at the bottom of the ladder to help keep the greasy sand and mud off (which didn't really help much). That night as usual Mike left his fancy Sperry sandals, that he had customized with a band saw so that they fit perfectly, at the bottom of the ladder. The next morning when we woke, the tide had come up past the ladder and under the boat. Mike's flip-flops were gone. Out to sea. Lost forever. Bummer. The day progressed and we were busy with our projects, multitasking because of the tight time line we were under. At 5:00 o'clock that evening, near quitting time, as the sun was getting low. we looked out at the horizon and there, floating on the incoming tide, was something small and dark and shoe-like. Could it be?? Yes, it was Mike's left shoe returning home after gallivanting all day in the Bay of La Paz. But where was the right shoe? They're a pair, it must be some where close by. We got the binoculars and search the rock walls surrounding the boatyard estuary. Sure enough there it was, the 'sole mate' wedged in between some rocks ready to be liberated on the next high tide. We walked around to the far side of the boatyard, following our noses and rescued the lost sole. The flip-flops were happily reunited and both returned home safely.
In the end we achieved most of the jobs we needed to get done with success and we did it all in less than 2 weeks, our fastest time ever.
Be sure to check the photo gallery for recent photo's of our voyage from Oxnard to the Sea of Cortez.