Countdown
28 March 2013 | En Route to Cabo
Bill, Ready
We're motoring through a fleet of marlin fishers, all of whom seem to be hooking these lovely, huge fish. Chip can hardly stand not to have a line in the water.
We will be in the Cabo San Lucas marina tonight. We have plans for dinner at a restaurant, breakfast at a restaurant, and then out by noon or so tomorrow. I can hardly believe it.
Things have been going OK, but we've discovered that we have a slow leak in the starboard water tank, the tank into which our water maker product water goes. Sigh. It's not bad and it's no cause to cancel, but we'll probably buy, fill, and carry another five gallons of gasoline for the generator.
And speaking of that, we tried running the water maker with the generator last night and it work perfectly, but we were disappointed that we couldn't also run the AC battery charger. The combination drew too much current and the generator balked. Nevertheless, we made water last night via generator, so the entire system works as advertised.
We enjoyed a cigar and rum last night as we bobbed in Los Frailes, celebrating our last night in the Sea of Cortez. Tomorrow night will be the last in the Western Hemisphere for a LONG time. We've been in the Sea since 2011, it's been a while. When we head out tomorrow, we won't bring the boat back for a few years, perhaps. Exciting and daunting at the same time.
On board systems have run well so far. We've been able to join the Pacific Puddle Jump net each evening. Hearing the reports from boats a few hundred miles from the Marquesas is exciting, to say the least. We're happy for them and excited for ourselves.
For you sailors, we just put in our reef lines in the main. The jib is working well and we sail when we can. We'll refill all of the fuel tanks in Cabo. We're also contemplating another gasoline tank for the crossing since we might need more gas than we originally thought to help charge batteries. We've got ten gallons, but fifteen might be better.
I put on the Hydrovane (self-steering system) rudder last night and did so from the water. It was COLD! I took my first solar shower after climbing back on deck. I'd better get used to that!
Our self-steerer is a Hydrovane and the young second-in-command for the Vancouver company is aboard his new boat with his new wife and brother. The vessel is "Hydroquest", a good name. We heard them for the first time last night. Many boats are in the midst of leaving, although several are weeks further along.
Chip is becoming more an more useful to us. He always volunteers for dish duty but he's very comfortable with running the boat as a power boat, something for which he has years of experience. He's an expert fisher so we're hoping that he can help keep the menu variety strong.
Conni just zoomed over to the Marquesas on our chart plotter and was excited that it shows such detail. 2600 nm from us. Friends, that's a long way.
I have had some difficulty connecting to distant email stations on the modem/SSB. I don't know if this is expected or not, but I need to warn everyone that it might not be as easy to communicate as we had thought. My point is that not reading a blog entry each three days does NOT mean that we're in trouble, but that we're having difficulty connecting to a land station.
I'll try to get some photos posted in Cabo, but I may not have the time. I'll try. Until then, keep sending good wishes.