It's been a week of ups and downs; basically a typical week of returning to the boat and getting unpacked, systems running, and starting on the list of things to be done before this year's cruising season can commence.

Guatemala customs gave us a bit of trouble coming in, which is unusual. Our flight was the last one in for the evening and probably the agents needed something to justify their existences or keep from getting bored. Two of our checked bags were flagged for inspection. Jerry did his best to explain yacht-in-transit equipment but this agent wasn't budging. In the end, US $65 was the duty. On the balance, they didn't open the one carry-on bag with the expensive electronics.

Back at the marina the following afternoon, 3:30pm or so, it was great to reconnect with friends already here and to see longtime marina staff. Vida Dulce was clean & being aired-out as we arrived. It's good to be home.

Good even though we're greeted with our first priority project - an add to the already long long list - the master head spewing liquid at the base upon flushing. ;-( We're relatively close to the marina bathrooms and use them regularly so not a huge deal other than it all needs to be cleaned up before happy hour with friends can get underway.

Good even though the next day, after Jerry has rebuilt the master head, he discovers the sticky steering cable on the dinghy is now really stuck, making the dinghy unusable. Yep, second priority project not on the list. A steering cable is long and not coil-able; honestly too long to have brought it in even if we'd known in advance. Without a dingy, we're without a way to get to the bank to change money, get supplies, pick up the packages we had shipped in,... And oh another thing, the hot water heater tripped its breaker so no hot water; this is less of a priority given that we're taking showers at the marina facilities and laundry can wait. We take our minds off these latest challenges by watching the Seahawks game in the marina lounge (even found an English-speaking channel!) but that too ended in tears. Well, not literal tears; call it deep disappointment.

On Monday morning, our friends Mike & Kim, s/v Ka'imi, invite us to join them on a dinghy run to town. Plus they'll run us by the other shops where we may find the needed steering cable. There's lots of lanchas & power boats of all sizes here, and it's a common size for outboards; however experience tells us to not expect to locate one. First stop, nada. Second stop, nada. Mike suggests we stop by the Yamaha dealer / shop, a shop we didn't even know existed. We do... and they have it!! OMG We try not to get too excited until installation is complete, yet it's the first positive turn of events in a couple of days. Back on Vida Dulce after the other errands, Jerry gets to work. The part fits; it works! We now have a minimally functional dinghy. He still has the electrical panel replacement work to do however daytime use is now possible. With that, we pick up the packages we'd shipped in including one surprise - the giant, custom-cut sailbag zipper we'd flown here in November as to not delay progress on our replacement sailbag cover hadn't been picked up. Jerry calls Elmer and sure enough, his crew hasn't even started on it. All in, we call Monday a success: we have a working dinghy, we have food, we have beer, we have our shipped parts, tramps & fabric, and we have friends with which to enjoy happy hour.

The balance of the week is mostly forward progress.

Garmin VHF 200 radio: Installation goes without a hitch, slipping into the space the Raymarine VHF was previously. Lots of features, including integration with the Garmin chartplotters. For the remote, we have two charging stations, one at the helm and one in the master bedroom. I sure hope this Gamin remote works better than the Raymarine one did. Being on passage without a reliable radio at the helm is not optimal.

Trampolines
At first blush we're very happy with the new trampolines by Sunrise Yacht Products; the cadet gray is the color I expected, and they appear to be of sturdy construction.

In this picture, the port side is the original trampoline: white (yep, white at the beginning) poly net, 40% openness. Starboard side is the new Sunrise Yacht Product trampoline: vinyl coated 1" webbing, 1-1/2" ave hole size, 44% openness.


With both sides installed it's such a nice upgrade (safety & appearance); makes me smile every time I look at it. ;-)

Outdoor Cushions
Elmer & crew pick up the outdoor cushions (which were stored inside while we were away) after making sure they saw them in place and mark them for location & sequence. They also take the new cushion materials and sailbag zipper. Elmer said his crew is working on the mainsail repairs and sailbag cover now. ETA for completion of the cushions is 3 weeks, which works just fine for our schedule. It's nice to get them all off Vida Dulce, freeing up inside space for projects.

In a surprise visit, Elmer, his project manager and interpreter arrive Thursday morning with the first set of cushions; the forward cocktail-table ones. They look great, especially with the new trampoline. We expect the sail & sailbag early next week.

Hot Water Heater
Midweek Jerry turns on the breaker and after a bit hot water runs from the taps. Love a non-action fix!

Port Diesel Engine
We brought in a replacement water pump for the port diesel engine - one of the items we paid duty on - however when Jerry does more investigation it appears the issue is the alternator. Well.., it could be there are two issues. In any case it's clear that alternator is seized up. Luckily we receive a recommendation from Mike for another cruiser here, Roger, who rebuilds them. Jerry contacts him, and in our Thursday AM run-about we drop it off to him. A week or so is the estimate.

That's it for week one of our 2015-16 cruising season.