One of the water tanks with the oily water coming out of the bilge!

It's been another month and yes Raven is still in the work yard totally ripped apart, well not totally, just feels like it sometimes. I clean up every once in a while and she looks better for a day or 2. No big surprise though, we are learning that boat work takes 4 times as long (&usually costs twice as much money), I am NOT making that up. I resigned myself to March being the 'splash date, Scott was saying my birthday (which is only 4 days before March on a non-leap year). Wish us luck. Actually, besides the ceiling being gone, foam & wires hanging down, dust and tools spewed about, we have made some huge improvements, i.e.: Scott Cetoled the toe rail and most of the other wood on deck - looks great!, the bilge is clean and painted, most of the lockers and cabinets are painted (I am waiting for more paint), the deck is ready to be sanded, the bottom is ready for epoxy and paint and I have started painting and repairing the entire cabin - looking great too (Scott is really happy to see some interior paint getting done without him doing it - it is a much larger project than I thought - but most of them turn out that way!). I even started figuring out what others meant by "yes it is a lot of work, but isn't it fun?!" Call me crazy but having to work with fiberglass particles flying around while scrapping 30 year old paint and varnish isn't really my idea of fun. I thought I was missing something or worse, not cut out for this. Then we had a fun evening at some fellow work yard friends 5th wheel and I thought 'That's what they must be talking about - the social life.' I get it now.

Our holidays were fun: Christmas Eve - Scott and I and 3 other boat yard friends (1 couple with 1 &1/2 year old twins) met at our hotel room for a beer then hiked up to the Sun Dial (an outcropping of rocks that goes into the bay) to watch the evening boat parade (boats all decked out in lights). We met 2 others on the way who are Scott & my age, no kids, no pension. After, we hiked back and 2 stayed to hang out with 2 hotel guests and us until the wee hours of the night. Christmas Day we were scheduled to be at the yacht club for a potluck dinner starting at noon. The same group from Christmas Eve planned to share a table. We got there early to get a good table out on the veranda in the sun and stayed until they kicked us out, around 5. We had a grand time with new and old friends - even got to take home some leftovers. New Years Eve most of us from Christmas and some others met at our favorite Mexican outside restaurant, which happened to be the last night they'd be in business. Then we all headed over to our new friends boat at a slip in the marina. Scott and I were the only others that made it to midnight. We had a grand time ringing in the New Year in the cockpit of a boat in the water watching fireworks and flares being shot off by other boaters.


Scott and I finally made our first trip into Guaymas to see what else the stores have there, since it is a larger town. We only made it as far as the Auto Zone and Leys. I thought Leys was just a larger food store but it turned out to be a less cleaner version of Super Walmart! Ah! We did fine some treats such as Balsamic Vinegar, large zip lock plastic bags, lettuce and decaf tea for me.

We also discovered/remembered that our hotel has laundry services so we decided to do our own there and save some money.

The weather is still pretty nice thought it got really windy yesterday. They say that is typical winter. It is still shorts and t-shirts during the day, long pants and jackets at night. In my worst 'working on the boat' moments I remind myself that I could not walk around in Colorado in shorts and a t-shirt at this time of the year. Yeah! for only having to wear ONE layer of clothes!