The Beginning 2015-2016 Season
01 November 2015 | Guaymas/Fonatur Marina
Gabriellas G-pa
I don't know where to begin...this post will be about the logistics of taking boat stuff to the boat from the states and the preparations of the boat for a successful splash and cruising season. My car got smaller (95 Ford Escort vs. full size Dodge van) and so I had to try and get the same amount of stuff in a smaller car. I thought I would bottom out on all the speed bumps (topos) in Mexico. The only speed bumps I bottomed out on were in a mall in Tucson. I got a green light at the border and was very relieved after a couple of sleepless nights prior to crossing the border. I was bringing stuff for my friends new to him cataraman....4 golf cart batteries, 3 solar panels, and lexan for making new windows. After dumping my friend Joes stuff off in San Carlos I proceeded to get most of my stuff onto my boat. Oh. let me backtrack for a moment. As I was driving south Guaymas and entering Hermosillo I was flagged by a cop standing on the highway. He had a radar gun in his hand and walked up to me to show me that I was driving 87 kmh in a 60 kmh zone. He told me if I went to the police station to pay it would be $800 pesos, but if I wanted to pay him (without a receipt) it would be $400 pesos. In my 8 years of cruising Mexico, this is the first time I have paid 'mordida'. Back to the nautical stuff. Joe and myself flew from Guaymas International Aeropuerto to Loreto International Aeropuerto then caught a taxi to go into town and buy groceries then down to Puerto Escondido to pick up the boat. After fueling and figuring out how to operate all systems on the boat, we took off for Guaymas. The engine heated up and stalled a little past Isla Coronado. After letting it coll dow for about an hour we got it started and left the hatch off for better cooling. All night and into the late afternoon found us a couple miles from the entrance to Guaymas bay and the engine quit again. There was no getting it started. We called Noe at the marina and he found a cruiser willing to come out with extra gas. Gary, the cruiser who helped us began using his little dinghy and 8 horsepower outboard to tow us in. It was going real slow and we came across a panga to tow us the rest of the way. Then at 10 pm that night I had to drive Joe back to his RV in San Carlos. That was a grueling day and night. I should be splashing this Friday and hope there will be NO leaks. I will try to post a few related pics in the gallery.