03/14/2009, Hualtuco Mexico
One thing about sailing, one must be flexible. Our schedule has taken a hit once again due to repairs.
When we loaded on the diesel before leaving for Oaxaca, Tom discovered a slow drip from the fuel tank. That fish viewing screen that we purchased from Cabella's with the 60' of cable finally came in handy. So, upon our return, he spent six hours defueling into large drums on the dock and began the process of pulling out the engine to get to the fuel tank. Being the "Pollyanna" that I am, I downloaded all the information I could gather from the Pearson website to make it easier. Ha! As we know, no two boats of any make are the same, and Ahwahnee decided to have her own quirks.
Tom spent a day and a half disassembling the engine so that we could pull it up and forward about 4 feet. We located some large pieces of lumber in a refuse pile that we were able to put over the companionway, and with a come-along there and the boomvang tied to the mast, the two of us were able to lift it onto a piece of plywood and it is now residing in our bedroom (we certainly aren't). It weighs approx. 750 pounds so we were moving it slow and low.
Next came the tank. The cradle was put together with screws that could not be accessed so out came the crowbar and the Navy words and Tom pried off the front, the wedges underneath and part of the front board holding it up. The tank dropped about four inches which was just enough for him to move it forward under the wiring. With the assistance of Rob on Joyeux, the three of us were able to pull, lift and push it out of the companionway. The good news was that like many 424's, we didn't have to take off the teak trim.
As luck would have it, the tank hadn't been on the dock 30 minutes when another sailor asked if we had someone in mind to fix it for us. He just happened to know an excellent welder and he would call him on his cell phone. Within two hours the welder was here, discussed the problem and his workers picked it up a couple of hours later. Wow! We were moving now. The tank was promised on Tuesday and early that morning it was back for about half what we had been told as the high number. BUT, the welder explained that although it was fixed and he pressure tested it, he could not guarantee we wouldn't have a future problem soon as the aluminum was very thin. Not wanting to ever have to pull the engine again, we opted for a new tank inside the original tank. So off it went again, the aluminum has been paid for and ordered from Mexico City and the tank should be back around the 20th.
Next Tom and Rob went to town to find lumber. We were told it is very expensive in Mexico so be prepared. Tom purchased two 1 x 6's, had one of them ripped into three 1 x 2's, the wood does not have a single knot and it was delivered for less than $8. The guys were amazed. They then went to another ferreteria to purchase stainless steel.
Today finds Tom on his knees cleaning out the space where the tank has lived and dripped. It is now evident that we have had the problem for quite a while and several pieces of the cradle were saturated with diesel. The good news is that "yes" there was a problem and we are able to address it at a dock in a beautiful marina.
Keep you fingers crossed for us for the next part. I think Tom is already beginning to worry about getting the engine all put back together and started. He took many pictures, notes and marked wires as he disassembled. It will be a happy day when she is up and purring again.
On another note. We will have a fishfinder to use as our depth sounder within the week. Wayne and Trish in Mazatlan jumped in and found one for us. So, it's coming together.
Stay tuned to see when we really head out. As our season grows shorter, we have two options: leave the boat here or move on to Barillas in El Salvador. We are still planning on the latter.
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Comments [2]
03/03/2009
We, Rob and Sue on Joyeux and Tom and I, caught a late night bus for the trip to Oaxaca and left Hualtuco at 11:30 pm. Within the first five minutes I looked at Tom and the curvy road signs and thought maybe we'd made a big mistake going at night. The shades on the bus were all pulled and I felt like I was on a roller coaster in the dark longing for seasick pills. After about 20 minutes the ride got better or maybe I fell asleep. The 7 ½ trip ended up going quickly. Upon arrival we took a taxi to a hotel not far from the Zocalo. It had 8 rooms, a little courtyard and a continental breakfast for $34 US. We checked in at 8:00 a.m. and were off for our first day's adventure.
After breakfast at a nearby restaurant we headed to the Zocalo (main plaza) and a celebration for Flag Day was about to take place. The army marched down the street with a huge Mexican flag and two different military bands played. Numerous school children were in attendance for the speeches and festivity. Our adventure was off to a great start.
Oaxaca has numerous churches and one we definitely wanted to see was Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman built in 1529. It is stunning! While there we sat in a pew and watched the gold leaf being applied to one alcove. You could have dropped a pin it was so quiet yet it was filled with many tourists. It was the most ornate church we've yet to see.
Next to the church is an archeology museum which is housed in part of the old convent. It was interesting not only to see the exhibit but also the architecture and gardens. It gave us a good history of the region before we went up to see the ruins at Monte Alban. Oaxaca is known for its textiles and Sue and I found ourselves in numerous stores looking at the clothing. Women were weaving while sitting at their stalls on the street selling blouses and we found one store where men were weaving rugs. Tom purchased a Oaxacan rug for me last year in Guadalajara so I wasn't tempted this year. Oaxaca is also known for chocolate. We went into a chocolate shop where they were grinding the beans and adding cinnamon, sugar and almonds. Yum. We had samples and had to make purchases.
The highlight of our second day was the tour to Monte Alban. Like most religious temples, it sits on top a hill overlooking the valleys of Oaxaca. We toured the museum and acquired a guidebook so we would not miss anything. Then off we went to climb the many stairs to get the best views. It was an amazing experience. Hope you'll check out some of our pictures under "picture gallery."
On the way back from the tour bus, we walked through the Mercado (market) and then went into a bar that had a sign outside advertising 2 for 25 pesos. It was the Casa de Mezcal which was ornate and until recently had a section just for men. We women still didn't go into that section but stayed closer to the front door. Rob, who has a great handle on Spanish, struck up a conversation with a local (big guy). Before long we were seeing pictures of his daughter on his cell phone and we were all laughing and arm waving. The guy next to him was a gringo from Michigan. He is an importer and has a shop in Michigan and winters in New Mexico. He was on a shopping trip with his wife. I mentioned I'd met an importer in Tonala two years ago from Annapolis and he said" oh, yes that is Steve, I know him well." Small world. By the time we left, Sue and I got kisses on our cheeks from Paco and we knew we'd experienced an incredible hour. Then it was off to the Zocalo for a free concert.
Our third day found us exploring shops, churches and peaking in museums we missed. Rob and Tom sampled Mezcal while Sue and I shopped and we also tasted our first grasshoppers. That evening we met our friend, Faith, that resides year-round in a colonial nearby. She took us to a Italian restaurant and we poked our heads into a few of her favorite stores.
Too quickly we were back on the bus heading back to Hualtuco. Rob and Sue stayed an extra day, but our engine was calling and we left at 9:30 a.m. on Friday arriving in Hualtuco at 6:30 p.m.
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02/23/2009, Hualtuco
We arrived in Marina Chahue (Cha-way) at 9:30 am, Monday, February 16. We left Acapulco (Bahia de Marques) at 2:30 pm the previous Saturday and had a quick trip of 43 hours. We were able to sail a good portion of the trip and were making such good time that we could see we would have to motor very slowly once the wind stopped in order to enter the marina in daylight. While sailing we went through a large group of dolphins, not hundreds, but thousands. They jumped, spun and had a wonderful time. We had five of them jump in unison right next to the boat. Again, we saw several turtles with many of them having their own bird perched on their back. For some reason they submerge their heads and ignore us when we approach, but do not swim away. The unusual wildlife were the two sea snakes that glided by the boat. Yuk!
Hualtuco is a new town having been built in the 1980's. We understand the plan was to have a Pacific "Cancun." The town has beautiful park boulevards, reverse osmosis water and is extremely clean. The marina is small and, surprisingly, quite full for being so far from the Gold Coast. It is not completely done and there are the normal issues of the shower doors are like western bar doors so best to wear a swim suit when showering, the electrical boxes don't work at all slips so power cords are strewn every where and no fuel dock. Tom went yesterday with three other skippers in the back of a pickup with all the jerry cans.
Most of the boats that come this far have either come from Central America or on their way there. Few come this far for the "fun" of it as we are close to the Gulf of the Tehauntepec. We met with Enrique, the Harbor Master, and he will assemble all of the Central America bound cruisers when he sees a safe crossing. Then he and all of the skippers will take their ship's papers and go over to the Port Captain to sign for their Zarpe. He said our Zarpe is like an award certificate proving that we sailed the entire coast of Mexico and we should keep it and be very proud. There is excitement in the air with each new arriving vessel as we are now getting to know new crews and sharing plans, e-mail info and gearing up to buddy boat.
One never knows when a miracle is going to happen and we had one this week. We've been fighting refrigeration issues for years. Just before we left Mazatlan we had both units working. Within 24 hours vibration through the floor boards cut us down to one and by the time we arrived in Hualtuco we didn't have anything. Tom quickly was able to replace a belt and get the 110 up and running, but that wasn't going to do it for being out cruising. We decided to explore and see what we could find in town. We'd been told we would have to replace our evaporator box with a part from the U.S. But, off we went in a taxi ($2) and after several stops - no luck. The next day one of our friends said he was sure he had seen one sitting on a shelf somewhere. So off to town again and after going up and down several streets, we found it. Not only did they have it for a third of the cost in the U.S, but he called a technician and he showed up on his motorcycle and followed us via cab back to the marina. Next thing we know he is crawling under the floor assessing and testing the situation. After much Spanish/English and arm waving, we decided to replace the unit and not take a chance on a fix. This all began at 11:00 a.m. and by 4:00 p.m. we sent our technician home with the cash to pay for his labor and all the parts (his friend delivered them) and a six-pack. We are up and running better than ever and the total cost was equivalent to $115 in the U.S. WOW! You should see the grin on the Captain's face.
Next adventure is by land and we will be leaving Monday at 11:00 pm on a bus to Oaxaca. Have mixed feelings about the night trip. The road is so full of curves that supposedly it is best not to see, but then maybe we'd feel better being able to see? We will spend 3-4 days exploring the city and going out to the ruins. We will be packing jackets, jeans and shoes as it is at a high elevation. Brrrr.
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