A few days ago I went to the masthead and replaced our VHF antenna. We had been suffering from poor reception since San Blas. We had a tough time hearing our friends the Borens who were anchored in the estuary while we were in Mantanchen Bay. Ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away failed to prove itself as a viable strategy. By sheer good fortune our friends Tom and Mary Ellen were in California when we did some troubleshooting and isolated our radio problem to the antenna. Tom agreed to visit West Marine in Santa Cruz where I had a replacement antenna waiting at will-call.

One of the biggest challenges while cruising is getting spare parts. Some countries are tougher than others. Since our vessel has a TIP (temporary import permit) we are theoretically allowed to have parts and equipment "necessary for navigation" imported without being charged any duty. Unfortunately not all customs officials are aware of the rules and you hear people relate tales of being charged exorbitant fees to import parts. In spite of what some of the cruising guides say Puerto Vallarta is not the greatest place to have work done or buy gear for the boat. The only major chandlery in town is Zaragoza and David Zaragoza picked up where the pirates of yore left off by charging extremely high prices and failing to stock a lot of things that should be on the shelf. A newer chandlery, Vallarta Chandlery, recently opened and we have high hopes that this store will prove a worthy competitor for Zaragoza. The owner, Jorge, spent many years in the US working on boats and has a great feel for the market. The physical location is somewhat small but it appears there may be some room for expansion. Any readers in Banderas Bay will find the store across from the Vallarta YC in Paradise Village. The chandlery frequently monitors VHF 22. With our new antenna we can even hear him!

Coming next is a series of blog posts sharing what we see going wrong with our boat and other vessels. We have been quite fortunate since we left Marina Village in Alameda. The only expenditures for repairs in Mexico have been re-welding our gooseneck in La Paz ($60) and the new VHF antenna ($40). $100 is not bad considering the amount of sailing we have done since 10/19/08.