The days pass with odds and ends getting done. Things cleaned, washed and stowed as well as lubed if there are any moving parts. Salt can screw up a block fast down here. I'll be flushing the outboard motor once the water tanks are filled this morning.

I made my reservations for the flight back to Colorado for later this month. Once we looked at the calendar, we figured out that I need to leave here on the 28 on a bus to Tucson and then catch a flight back to Colorado so I can load up the car and be back here long before June 12th when we plan on being hauled out. There is a long list of things that have to be done before we haul out--take all the sails off, cover every block on deck with aluminum foil, cover the port lights with foil to keep the heat and Sun out. It's a long list but nothing very complicated. Probably the most time consuming is changing out all the oil so it will sit with fresh oil and not the dirty stuff.

We've made arrangements to rent a mooring buoy in San Carlos from May 10 through June 12 so we will have a base of operation to work out of. This way, we can come back here when ever the weather dictates and be guaranteed a place to keep Zephyr safe and sound till pull out day. Tracy plans on being hooked to the buoy while I'm gone. Less chance of the kids making an escape. She'll have Puff to get back and forth to shore and the marina if necessary. Being attached to a large block of concrete will make sure she never drifts if a stiff wind crops up unexpectedly.

Tracy is busy defrosting the freezer since another layer of ice has built up on like the freezers of 30 years ago. No such thing as "frost free"on a boat. We feel lucky that we have so much freezer space. Food(meats, etc) keep much longer at 15 degrees than at the 38 or so the frig stays at.

I walked over to the local bus station yesterday to buy my ticket to Tucson. At 460 pesos--about $40.00 US, it's not a bad deal for the seven hour drive. Plus, it comes with food along the way. I figured I travel at night so I'll be getting into Tucson early in the morning to give me plenty of time to get to the airport to make my flight. We even used some of our United Airline miles so the flight will only cost us a bit over $2.00.

I stopped at the local Soriana(like Safeway) on the way back and bought a few essentials that we will still need for the last 5 weeks of our stay here in Mexico. We still will need a few more items so I'll be stopping there again one last time today since we are leaving tomorrow on the high tide--about 1600--so we can get out of here.

A boat left late yesterday evening and ran aground on his way over to the yard where he is being hauled out. He draws just over 7 feet, so he's in bigger trouble getting around this harbor than we are since we only draw a bit over 6 feet and we came very close to running aground when we came in last week. The wind further complicated his trip last night as it started blowing out of the North as forecast by the Amigo Nets weatherman. It was a good bit later than forecast but still piped up into steady winds in the 25 knot range with gusts up into the high 30 knot range just for fun. He came back as the wind was really getting going. At about midnight, the boat just off our bows Genoa came unfurled and started flapping in the wind. The boats owner hadn't tied down the line to his furler and the wind got under the sail and out it came with a furry, flapping in the wind. People came running from their boats to see what was happening. Two of us grabbed the sheets that control the sail but that did no good. I ran for our electric drill we use to furl our sails and stuck it on one of his winches and reeled in the sail nice and tight. The lines all got tightened and the sail was now safe and secure. It was time for bed.

Our water tanks are now just about full so we will be fine for the next month while we are out. Always pays to fill the tanks when water is available.

Now that the freezer is defrosted, the compressor is having a problem starting up. I've put in a call to the Cool BLue folks that make it and they have given me a remedy. So far it hasn't worked so I'll be off to the computer room to use Skype again to call him back. He was at lunch when I last called. Hopefully, he can resolve the problem. Heck, the guy I'm talking to owns the company and builds just about all the units that he sells. I'll let you know how it turns out. This is the first problem we have had since we installed the unit early last year.

More to come as always.