Keel repairs are almost all finished. We'll have to bring some bottom paint next season and get it coated and it'll be better than before!
Hot here the last few days - high 80s and low 90s. Still taking apart the boat, booking rides, buses, planes, trains (everything except boat HA!) for all our travels for the next couple of weeks.
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Well Jim & I were just commenting on how well we did this year with fixing things and breakdowns (which didn't happen this year). Maybe we jinxed ourselves.
We grounded (in the middle of the supposed channel) trying to get in to the haulout dock a couple of hours before full tide and it took big RPMS and a lot of maneuvering by Jim to get us off and over by a few feet to get us in. Yeah Captain! Thanks to the good people from Wind of Change & Dream Maker for catching our lines.
This year's haul out is more of a learning experience than we really wished for. The travel lift strap hung up on our keel and it broke -- the keel not the strap and we fell back into the water. Jim & I were still aboard waiting to get off. Thank god it was only a couple of feet.
It took all day to get the boat over to our space and blocked. Now the fixing begins tomorrow as well as the put away we had already planned on.
The lesson here is:
1) have a picture of your boat to show the lift operators
2) having sling marks help but not really in our situation
3) fin keel boats should probably always go in backward so the strap hits the keel and can't be under it
4) you are always responsible for how you haul out because you tell them how to sling you
5) keep your fingers crossed !!!!!
On the up side of all of this is we now know what our keel looks like naked, which most people who have come over to comment is "who thought that was a good idea?" Yep what you are looking at (after the yard guy has ground out all the cracked areas on BOTH sides) is a lead keel that was extended and shaped by filler foam, faring material and barely any fiberglass. You see the white piece on the ground to the left of the keel? That's what broke off. So once this is fixed, it'll be better and stronger than it was. Yeah us (I'm not actually at my happy camper best yet but getting there).
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Big Hugs to you both!
We have had a good time in the Sea of Cortez this year (well 4+ months if you count dry time). We have a new respect for the people who stay in the Sea year after year, especially those who stay all year long. This is not a place for pansies! Our poor flag says it all. Our first year flag managed to look perfect after 2500 miles but just a few northerlies here in the Sea shredded our 2nd season flag.
Unbelievably, we've not caught one fish this year. Not even a nibble!
We've seen some good speed out of our boat this year, surfing waves at 9 knots! Got some good sailing in, bird watching, flower sniffing, decent looking biceps after a season of rowing ashore and the calves look good from all the walking. Not as many dolphins or whales as last year but still enjoyed some along the way. The food has been good, especially the home made enchiladas on Festima Lente and the veggie lasagna on Cast Away, plus all the goodies at the two potluck holiday parties we attended. Yum yum. The best fish tacos we had all season were in Loreto at El Rey del Taco. We could not get enough and just kept eating more than we really should have :)
We are hauling out tomorrow and hope to have the boat cleaned up and broken down by the weekend.
Thanks to everyone for making our 2nd season interesting and fun.
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Well, hello Guaymas! We've stayed anchored out instead of pulling into the marina this time and plan to work on packing up the boat out here. We went in one day to San Carlos and bought a new outboard from our former neighbors Mike & Elizabeth on Cambria. Jim is so hot to trot on this.....a 2 stroke 15 hp Enduro. Ok so it goes fast (faster than our dinghy can handle), spooky fast. But we'll have more fun exploring next season. He's having fun now going back and forth to Gabriel's yard.
We got a few more provisions and some things we want to take back to NY so we don't go into withdrawal.
Mike from Sunshine Lady is here. We've been visiting with him. He loves his windlass that he bought from us last year and is planning a 9000 mile trip this summer. He's going to Hawaii then Alaska and then down the coast and back here. Wow! I don't know how he (or anyone for the matter) does these long, no land trips!
Going to move over and anchor in front of Gabriel's yard for a day before we haul out.
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We had an awesome sail across the Sea! We left from San Juanico with the last of the southerly winds at 10:30 in the morning and, after a detour around long lines south of Isla San Ildefonso, we sailed until 10 at night! Lovin' it!
Until the full moon rose, the waves just glowed. Really cool! Jim got to see some dolphins on his watch. We motor sailed the rest of the way and were outside Guaymas with the early morning dawn.
We pulled into Bahia Catalina and caught up on some much needed sleep. We still have 3/4 full tank of diesel plus 2 5s on deck! Yihaaaaa! We'll pull into Guaymas proper tomorrow.
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We motored most of the way from Escondido to San Juanico. More boats and more campers here than last time. We got to see some whales (with binoculars) outside San Juanico. The full moon has been beautiful here and the water calm. Such a pretty picture, just needed a whale to surface in the moonlight to make it perfect!
We've been enjoying watching the ospreys on the pinnacles rock. What nest builders they are!
We did a little bit of kayaking around the rocks and were rewarded with sightings of seargent majors, angel & damsel fish, rainbow wrasses, sea urchins and star fish. We checked the cruiser shrine again. Our art is holding up (hope to see it next year). Sorry Heather, no sighting of Meerkat (and we looked high, low, and moved stuff around)!
There are reports of one day of southerlies before a week long of northerlies so we'll have to take advantage and move on, even though we'd really like to stay longer
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Sad my cat-amaran (a bone cat face on a bone catamaran) was not found...
