Mainland Bound

We dropped down to La Paz for a few days to provision and get a little more organized. We had a couple of boisterous windy days running down wind, recording a max of 17.6 knots on one leg. We made it to La Paz in pretty much record time.
We lost a couple of batteries to old age or abuse while in Puerto Escondido, and La Paz is definitely the place to get new ones. I just removed the batteries which came with the boat, as they were not holding a charge and were dragging the new batteries we installed in CA. down the tubes. The dedicated starting battery was not starting the engine consistently, so I bought a new high end Optima battery to replace that one and removed the other two house batteries that came with the boat. Net result was about 120 Lbs. of lead out of the bilge with no loss of capacity.   We headed out of La Paz on December 22 to go anchor on Esperito Santu island for a night and then down to Ensenada de los Muertos for the launch off to the mainland. It was pretty windy going down to Muertos and we waited 2 nights there for the norther to run its course. We got a weather  grib file over the ham radio and it looked like Christmas day would be perfect with winds easing slightly over the next day. We set out in about 20 knots ripping along at about 10-12. As is usually the way this works, the winds built slightly all day and we had a rough night with 25+ knot winds all night. We had to reduce sail and slow the boat so that off watch could get some sleep. The area we were crossing is the convergence of the Gulf of California with the Pacific Ocean, complicated by the tides from the gulf interacting with the Ocean, along with three days worth of windblown seas. All in all a pretty rough nightr, but we were anchored at Mazatlan by mid day.
We anchored outside the harbor by isla de los chivos(goat island) and went ashore to Benjis Pizzeria for a garlic shrimp pizza and sonme beers. Yummy. Next day we went into Mazatlan to explore and to have a shower at the Club Nautico. For a small fee, you can dock your dinghy securely, take a shower, dump your trash and get a bus into town. The place had definitely seen better days, but we were in need and they were available. We found the main market and historic district, and came back to the boat and the pizza place for dinner. Next day we went into town to provision for a bit more roaming. The central market is a typical mexican market with everything from socks to fresh tripe. All the fresh produce, groceries, meat and fish and everything else in one location with 50 vendors set up in one place. Got loaded up and set out mid day for Isla Isabel. A famous bird santuary in a somewhat remote area off the coast.

Got some really good looks at some whales toward evening, but the always seem to be underwater when the shutter clicks.
We pulled into the anchorage early morning and dropped anchor next to a couple of boats we had been next to in La Paz  a week earlier.Lots of whales near the island in the morning. We identified Blue, Humpbacked and Pilot whales from the anchorage.We snorkeled some, but not too impressive as the water was kind of cloudy from the windy day.Next day we snorkeled the other side of the island and I scribbed the scum off the bottom of the boat. A rather amazing amount of slime builds up in couple of months. Winds pick up from a more notherly direction, giving us a rolly lumpy night close to a rocky shore. We would have left in the night, but a couple of other boats had come in and anchore rather close to us and we didn't want to have to worry about hitting them in the dark. First thing in the morning we hoist anchor and head for San Blas for a night in a little more sheltered spot. We had a great sail, mostly running before the wind at aobut 9-10 knots and as the wind slowed and shifted, we had fast reaching at about the same speed but with nearly no rough seas. The boat next to us hoisted sail right after we did, but they vnaished in the distance pretty quickly. We went ashore to a beach side restaurant and had garlic shrimps for dinner. The bay is very shallow and gradual sloped, so that if you were to leave your dinghy, the tide could leave it a few hundred feet from the water. Not much fun to drag it back to the water, so we kept a close eye on it. It started to rain when we went back to the boat and as we got on board and out the dinghy up, the other boat from isla isabel showed up and anchored right next to us. This in a by which is 3 miles wide with only us and one other boat in it.
Next morning it is still raining and the wind has shifted to the south, so we decided to just head south, make some wather and try to find a nice place to hang out. We were going to Chacaly, but with the southerly winds, we were concerned about another rough night. We continued on to Rincon de Guayabitos to take advantage of the southerly wind keeping the sell down in this otherwise bit surf spot. We went ashore in the dighy to find a pretty busy mexican tourist resort with few Americans. It was pleasant and we decicded to stay as long as the weather would allow us smooth anchorage.
As usual that lasted till about 2 in the morning, when a 3 foot swell started to bounce us thoroughly.
Off to next shelter from the northwest swells of the pacific. We caught a nice tuna and some cero(spanish mackerel), but just kept the tuna. Punta de Mita appeared in the distance and we anchored off the town front. Pretty busy holiday activity, lots of tourists, many north Americasn. Lots of people surfing or paddle boarding. The swell which rolls around the point providing surf, also gives us a rocking motion on the boat. Not so bad sitting or sleeping, but hard to cook or make coffee.

 The second day here, I rented a paddle board and playhed in the surf. The board was a bit small for me,and I couldn't get much of the stand up thing going, but I go several good rides in a kneeling. position. Witn a larger board and a little practice, this could be fun. I never could see why people wanted to just paddel around on one, but the surf changes everything. I am not nimnble enough to start on my belly on a surfboard and hot up with a wave, but if you are already up, its pretty sweet.
Next morning I was too sore to think about a repeat performance, so we moved on to La Cruz del la Huantaxcle. We anchored out in front of the marina, but had another kind of bouncy night. We decided it was time to go into someplace quiet and get some rest and a hot shower.

The marina had a slip available to fit Hot Sauce, so that was  a treat, they usually charge about 50% premium, for us taking up too much space. We looked at the marina plan and it state that the slips were 10m wide or 33 feet, so 28 wide Hot Sauce would be a breeze. We tooled in to the marina, and as I neared the slip, I could see the attendant looking kind of apprehensive. As we got closer, it became obvious that the 10m was center to center not one side to the other. meaning that thbe slip is about 30 feet wide. I slipped right in and he shouted 'Perfecto". What fun, the slip is about 90 feet long and could hold anther Hot Sauce easily behind us. We talked to other people in he marina and they seemed amazed that we made it to Mazatlan in 30 hours, most of them spent 2 or 3 nights out, proof positive that fast is fun.

Some cat tried to come on the boat in the wee hours of the morning, and Bob had a hissy fit. Pretty funny except for being awakened at 4 am.

Checking out the Baja

Headed out of La Paz for a bit of sight seeing. Had a nice sail from La Paz to Bahia Glorieta, where we spent the night. 14 boats in anchorage, but it is large and un crowded. A south wind came up late and bounced us soundly for most of the night.
Up early and off to Bahia Grande for a little shelter from the south winds.5 boats in anchorage.  Did some snorkeling, not very clear, but some fish to look at. Good to get off the boat and get a bit of exercise, along with a bath. We fill the sun shower and when we get done with the snork, we wash off and rinse with hot fresh water. Gotta love that  watermaker. Wind came up from the west in the night, so another bouncy night.
Up early for Puerto Evaristo. Sailed most of the way in southerly winds. Wind died about an hour out, so we threw out a line and hooked a nice dorado.

 What a treat to catch and a better treat to eat. They always jump and this one did it a dozen times or so. Got to Evaristo early, but too cloudy to snorkel.6 boats in achorage.  Nice ilttle place with a restaurant on the beach and a peaceful anchorage for a good nights sleep. We inquired about a local store, but the road was washed out in a storm last summer and the vegetable truck hasn't been by in the last week, so no produce. Cloudy in the morning so off we go to Puerto Los Gatos. Get there early, snorkel for a bit, and a quiet evening by ourselves for the first time on the trip. One more beautiful spot, with stunning desert scenery all about.
Next morning we headed up toBahia Agua Verde for the best snorkeling yet, even if it did cloud up early. We explored the town, but being sunday evening, all was closed but the churches. Little to be had if it was open, as there was no electricity in evidence, so probably no refrigeration.. We still had yummy dorado made in a rice stew, so no hardship.
Off to Puerto Escondido in the morning to get situated before the forecast Norther came along. No luck there, windy in our face from the start building through the day. Got in about 3 pm after a long day pounding into the wind at about 4 knots. The 2 day blow ran out in the middle of the night, Weather forecasting must be harder than it looks. We wanted to investigate leaving the boat in Puerto Escondido and flying back to Tampa for a week be Xmas, but it is nearly impossible from here without hiring a plane or some such. Caught a ride up to Loreto, did a little sight seeing and shopping. The most expensive store we have been to with lots of american products, must be living off the tourists. Taxi wanted $35 to drive us the 14 miles back to Puerto Escondido, so we hitchiked. After hitching for about an hour with no luck( a couple of offers to take us out in the wasteland and leave us stranded), a bus came by and brought us down for aoabut $8.
Have been here for a couple of days, and will head out to the islands for a couple of days tomorrow.
We  have decided to head over to the mainland from here, but will probably go down to La Paz to provision for the crossing.The stores are much better there than here. We also want to add a bit more shade to the back of the boat before we take off, so La Paz is the place to get that handled. The crossing is a big deal to the local cruisers, but only about 180 miles from the jumping point west of La Paz. It's pretty much impossible for us to plan an arrival because sometimes we go 12 knots and sometimes 5 depending on the wind and seas. Makes it hard to know what time to leave, as you want to arrive with good light from behind when going into somewhere new. We are jsut blowing in the wind, but it's all good.

Boppin Down the Baja

It has been nearly impossible to get online lately.  That and other appropriate excuses to be invented later will explain our lack of updates.
We left San Diego mid day to go to the Coronado Islands in  Mexico for the night. Had good winds broad reaching at about 9 knots with following seas. Got to the islands at about 4, but the wind was more notherly than normal and the anchorage was rolly. We loolked about for a better spot and found none. The islands are surrounded with big metal pens which are used to fatten up the yellowfin tuna that will be shipped to Japan when ripe enough. We didn't feel adventurous enouhg to anchor near them and the attendant boats, so we headed on down to Ensenada. Had good winds and could have gotten there at about midnight or so, but didn't want to go into an unfamiliar port at night. Spent the night with just a tiny bit of sail up trying to keep the boat speed down to about 4 knots and arrive at dawn. What an irony, first day of sailing and we have to try to go slow all night.
\Go to Ensenada early morning to find that they do not allow anchoring in the harbor any more. The cruising guides age quickly around here. .We went into the first marina and got ready to check in to Mexico. The marina made copies of all the relevant documents and made me go to buy Mexican Liability insurance. Required if you want to import your boat. Messed around and got to the official office building around 1. The process was a little tedious, but really just stand in this line, go pay the fee in that line, come back to this line, take this paper to that line, get a new paper, go pay over there, come back and so forth for about an hour or so. Did it all with only the help of the marina to give us the right number of copies to satisfy the beaurocrats. We had been told that to import the boat, would be an onerous task and would require an agent, but it just happened in the shuffle, with no special effort on our part. If you do not import the boat, you dannot leave it unattended in Mexico, so we can now keep it here for 10 years and come and go as we like.
Because of the width of Hot Sauce, we got charged for two slips, with a typical "'Lo siento senor", but for you a $10 discount, so $50 for the night.
Joan went to Walmart to provision, and we left mid day for the Islas De Todo Santos, where we tied up to a floating barrel instead of anchoring by the fish pens. A couple of guys came out in a work boat and told us that the one we had chosen was not safe, so they guided us to one that was well anchored and out in the ocean swell. The swell was to become our friend after all the time since Washington, but not really, it was just a PITA. Kind of like an endless series of large boat wakes bashing you 24/7.
Headed down the coast to Bahia Colnett next day in cloudy, slightly rainy weather. Motored all day with light following winds. Got there about 21:30, used the radar and gps to get to the right spot.
Up early motoring to Isla San Martin.  Wind was still too notherly to make the anchorage on the west side comfortable, and the south side was pretty socked in with kelp so we continued to Bahia San Quintin. Had to make a few minor repairs, as a couple of bolts holding the main sheet traveller track had sheared off while flying the spinaker. Joan successfully checked into a ham net in the morning. Some of the equipment on the boat generates considerable interference. Turning off the inverter and the refridgerator seemed to fix the problem. When she transmits on the radio, the knot meter loses its mind and records speeds of as much as 46 knots. Zoom (virtually), but makes it harder to record average speeds at the end of the day. Most of the passages so far have winds at about 10 knots directly astern, which allows us to go about 5 knots, but at that speed the wind over the decks is about 5 knots and it does not fill the sails well enough to stabilize the boat. The swell leave us popping and jerking the sails with the main trying to jibe every few minutes. We tie it off to the side, but it is just much more compfortalbe to motor, with the exception of smelling the exhaust wafting over the boat the whole time. It's easier to fish when motoring, on the bright side.

Motored down to Punta Baja. We were able to sail smartly a couple of times, but only an hour or two before the wind went back to 8-9 knots. Very rolly anchorage as the swells roll around the point and break on the beach beside us. Up early and on the way to do an overnighter to a quieter anchorage.
Head out for Isla Cedros with good wind 15-20, running before the wind with just the genoa up at 10-12 knots, surfed at 17 once or twice. As evening came up we were seeing 25-30 knots, so rolled most of the genny in to slow the boat enough to allow off watch to sleep. At higher speeds, you tend to dive off the top of some of the waves, which gives a sense of weightlessness or falling to the off watch. Arrived at Cedros at dawn with wind about gone. Tried to start the engine but got only click click click. decided to try the outboard for a bit, but the swells lifted the prop out of the water every few minutes and it was a poor substitute for an inboard diesel.Had a look and found that there was a layer of nice fluffy white salt on the starter from an exhaust cooling water leak. The leak turned out to be just a loose clamp. Engine oil was low and some spilled about the bilge, but I added oil and all looked ok. Washing all the salt off fixed the electrical issue and the engine started. Motored down to Bahia Tortuga (Turtle Bay) and anchored. Before I could get the anchor off the boat, a panga approaced to see if we needed fuel or other services. After I got the anchor set, I arranged for him to bring me some fuel. We went into town, kind of a funky place where the fellow with the panga services runs the dock and has someone excort us to a wonderful(his term) store, and points out the best restaurant. Surprise, Enrique's family owns all these businesses.  There is a little more town further up, but it takes an effort to shake the guide and just wander around. Kind of a grubby town, fallen on hard times after the cannery shut down on the waterfront. Outboard won't start, probably bad gas, got new gas, but still no start. Will wait to get somehere more permanent to mess with it. Rowing ashore or paying  a buck a head each way to Enrique is a deterent to getting to town, so it is about time to wander on.

After a couple of nights rest, we continue down the coast, leaving at mid day when the wind picks up on the day before Turkey day. Nice wind lets us sail at 10 or so for 4 or 5 hours, thinking we'll be at Mag bay at dawn. Of course when the wind dies down, we are motoring at 5 or so all night and only get half as far as we hoped by dawn. wind comes up for a few hours of sailing, then back to motoring at about noon. Caught a nice yellow fin tuna  about 6#, yummy. would have kept more of it if we had known it would be the only one. Saw a bunch of whales, dolphins and assorted wildlife on the way, catching little tuny by the score, finally give up on the fishing as we have more of them than we care to eat. Mostly they are a treat for Bob.
Go into Bahia Santa Maria, just above Bahia Magdalena to anchor and catch up on sleep. Quiet night at anchor, pretty spot, not much else happening.
Head out for one last overnighter to Cabo early in the morning. Fogged in, so we wait for clearing to get past the lobster floats at the entrance. Uneventful long motoring day and night and day again. Hooked a nice dorado in the evening, but after Joan and I both fought with it till our arms cramped, it managed to break the line on the rudder when i tried to gaff it. Looked to be 4 feet long and about 30+ lbs.  Lots of unrealised yummy there.
Cruise into Cabo San Lucas just after sunset to a flurry of booze cruisers with DJs and karaoke machines going strong in the harbor. We get anchored by the beach to the tune of a couple of live bands and some team building rah rah on the shore. Loud, but we were sleepy.

 

Bob tries to catch a bug off the light.
Up and out early as slips are expensive and the mood here is mostly "Step right this way, have I got a deal for joo". We motor to San Jose del Cabos, a new resort marina and stop for fuel and a night at the dock. Well, we thought that was what we would do, but after finding out they wanted 112$us for a slip with no electricity, Internet or shower access, we decided to head on down the road. Wind was up, so we sailed at 10-12 knots into the wind for a few hours. Trouble with sailing into the wind is that you may go fast across the wind but you never make much time into the wind. We were making about 3 knots to windward, so back to the iron genny(motoring). Got into Bahia Los Frailes at about 8:30 at night and used the full moon and radar to position ourselves for a comfortable night.
Up and off for Ensenada de Los Muertes in the morning, more sailing, to the same effect, I get 15 miles out to sea and the wind shifts to the West by about 25 degrees making it impossible to get to windward in a timely fashion. Arrive at about 21:30 with 9 boats in the anchorage(popular spot). Nice enough place scenic, but with a tent city of fishermen and campers on the shore. Must have been 200 people camped out and 50 trailers at the boat ramp next door.

Bob dukes it out with a biscuit.
We motor up to Caleta Lobos next day arriving around 3:30 for some swimming and lounging about.
Swells come in all night through a gap between the island and the land, so a bumpy night.
Down to La Paz in the morning, anchoring out in front of Hotel de los Arcos(vacant but a good landmark). We dinghy into the dock in front of the hotel and walk about some, finding a good seafood restaurant and a grocery store. We were out of milk, eggs, and most perishables, so it was time to shop. Next morning, we tuned into the cruisers net on VHF and hooked up with the local outboard guru. He kept the motor overnight did a carb overhaul, complete service, with new grease on all fittings, and changed the lower oil for $100.
The anchorage we are in is swept by strong tides and cross winds, so all the boats are in motion. We get pretty close to another boat in the morning and decide to move a little ways, but to the same results next morning. everyone has what they deem to be the right amount of anchor line or chain out and swings as far as that allows with the wind and tides. We are unaccustomed to this close space and may not ever like it. When we go into the dock today,
We head into the Marina de la Paz for a couple of nights to do laundry, have real showers, wash the salt off the boat, clean the water tanks, and provision. I misjudged the cross current and got sucked onto a dock coming in, knocked some paint and filler off the port ama. Within an hour of getting tied up, a local entrepreneur is trolling the dock for work. We agree on a price and he is sanding and repairing the bobo within the hour. Seems to know his stuff pretty well, hope it comes out well. The construction of this boat is cosmetically fragile, but easily repaired. Glad to have someone take a task off the list instead of adding to it.

Down the Road,,uhh, Coast We Go

Got started bright and early on Friday, Oct. 26, for a run down the coast, final destination San Diego for this leg.

Made it to Pillar Point harbor at Half Moon Bay on the first day. some decent sailing, after very light winds out the Golden Gate. Motored most of the way past San Francisco before we could sail. Auto pilot not working correctly, compass goes crazy when we try to go any where but southerly direction.
Decided to move the compass to a location further from the new water maker pump to try to eliminate interference. We Got lucky this time and it cleared up the issues, but in the analysis of this, we discovered that most of our "stainless" cutlery is magnetic and influences the flux of the flux gate compass. You can put a knife next to the compass and it throws the reading off by 30 degrees.
Had a very quiet night anchored inside the breakwaters of this secure harbor.
Sailed down the coast in good winds making about 10 knots most of the day, but had a new issue with the autopilot. The Drive arm connecting the ram to the tiller comes unscrewed and stops being connected every couple of hours. We headed into Santa Cruz to anchor for the night. Surf coming around the point makes for a bit of a rolly anchorage.
Sailed down the coast to Pebble Beach next to Carmel, and anchored in a small kelp filled cove off the golf course. Lots of birds and otters here. Heavy fog showed up mid afternoon. Rolly anchorage as the surf rolled around the point and bounced us about.
Fogged in early, but as the morning wore on, it started to break up. We headed out early for a long sail to anchor in San Simeon on the other end of Big Sur. Got back into fairly heavy fog after a few hours and the radar began to earn its keep. Got to sail some, but wind shifted to directly behind us and dropped to below 10 knots. not enough to steady the boat in some pretty lumpy seas. We motored with sail up for the next 12 hours or so, and reached San Simeon too early to enter, so we continued to San Luis Obispo. As we entered the harbor, we decided that we could just go the rest of the day and we could round Point Conception before dark.

We also got a look at the secret rocket launch site above the point. No mention on the charts, but there it is.

Since this point marks the end of northern California and the entry to warm, southern waters, we rounded the point an hour before sunset and anchored at Cojo anchorage just to the east of this major milestone. Pretty nice night, windy and cold, but not too bouncy.
Got up early next day and motored to Santa Barbara for a quiet night tied to a dock in a marina. Hot showers, a nice restaurant meal and all is well.
Decided to go out to the anchorage outside ht harbor for the next night as most of our land side duties were complete by mid day and we wanted an early start for warmer climates the next day. Lots of boat out there but not many were occupied. We discovered why later at night when the swells bounced us all night long.
Headed out for Channel Island Harbor the next morning early. Uneventful trip, motoring all the way. Boats were coming out and putting up sail as we entered the harbor, but wind was only about 10 knots. This was the pattern for the rest of the trip, whenever we got near the destination, an evening breeze came up that we could have sailed in for a couple of hours.
Next morning we headed out for Santa Barbara Island just west of Catalina Island. It was a full days motoring and motor sailing till we anchored just before sunset. It was pretty windy, but quiet enough to get to sleep easily. Several times in the night big waves just about bounced us out of bed. I think it was ships passing in the Santa Barbara ship channel, but who knows. We were eager to leave in the morning, so we headed out for San Diego.
Arrived at the entry to San Diego bay at about 4 am on Monday. Got to the area of the marina, found a vacant end tie and moored for a nap till business hours. Found out we were at the wrong marina, and got re-directed to the correct dock. We go stuffed in front of a derelict catamaran with a great garden of sea life rotting at its water line. It reeked, and we were at the corner by the entry to a huge harbor and lots of boats bounced us about all day long. San Diego is the noisiest place er have ever seen. Between the airport next door and the Navy helicopters and fighter jet s flying all around it is quite disturbing. We decided to move to another marina billing itself as the newest in San Diego. It was so new that they hadn't built the dockside facilities. So no bathrooms or showers or parking or any of the normal amenities existed. It was much closer to all the businesses we would need to interact with.
Tomorrow we will be moving to the harbor police dock, which has the same rate, but also has showers, and other human necessities. We are waiting to see how an Alaskan cold front will play out before we move on to Mexico. We will probably leave on Sunday or Monday after the weather settles down.

Time for a Change of Scenery

Too long in the city, time to head on out. We have spent lots of time putting in and testing new systems and getting all the details ironed out. Lately, we have been waiting for a likely window of good weather, so as to not repeat the thrashing we got off the Oregon coast.

It looks like the perfect time to head out was today at midday, but as usual, we had a few more little details to finsh up. Tomorrow for sure, we will be heading out the gate and making a left for warmer climes.  There are quite a few harbors to hide in if it is not to our liking, and there are no forseen weather warnings for the next week, so wish us luck.

Got a new sail cover with lazy jacks to help handle the main sail. the lines from the sail cover to the mast keep the sail above the boom, and  the sail cover zips open down the top edge so the sail goes into the cover when released, better than sliced bread, imo.

The old tiller and extension(steering stick). pretty industrial and not so easy to use.

New tiller, fancy adjustable extension, yer to be photographed. The old one was twist lock like a shower curtain rod, and tended to self adjust at inappropriate times. The new one locks in place with a button, and is much more ergonomic to the touch.

A little air time installing radar. Spent aobut 3 hours up the mast drilling, fitting and wiring. Should make the trip down the coast fog free.

Also procured and installed a water maker. They were on sale and we had personal obligations in the bay area. Quite a project finding litlle niches for all the components and getting it all connected. We will probably try it out tomorrow on the way down the coast. It is important to only run a watermaker in clean seawater, so we don't want to risk it in the bay.

Living on a Boat

With a not so sad farewell, we bid adieu to the boatyard life. We decided to leave at dawn to catch a good tide for the run down the Napa river. We seemed to be the only ones planning on our early departure. The fuel dock was closed for the holiday weekend, so we had to wait at the dock for them to open around 8 or so. Got fueled up, and a pretty heavy fog had rolled in.

We went slowly down the river with about 100 meter visibility. Came to a railroad bridge about 10 minutes down the river which was closed. No mention in the marina directions of this bridge, no sign on it with contact instructions, just lots of fog and a current pulling us toward the bridge. Went to the standby of just honking the air horn and waiting for a response. A guy cam wandering out and opened the bridge for us. When we got close it looked too close( it usually does) so I told him we needed 66' of clearance.He raised it another 10-12 feet and waived us in again. I asked how high, and he said 70'. It would have been very sad if we had taken his advice and tried to pass the lower height.
We meandered down the river without much else going on until we reached Carquinez Straight,
where the river meets San Pablo Bay. There was a nasty chop and about 25 knots of wind. Around an -hour or so later the tide changed to flood and the wind eased as we left the straight into the bay.

Put up the sails and sailed for the next 5 hours against the flooding tide and wind, but very smooth and easy to make 8-10 knots. With a 3 knot current setting us back, it took all afternoon to get to Richmond.

Had a hard time getting the main sail neatly folded on the mast as you need someone on the fore and aft end of the boom to flake the sail neatly on top of the boom, while the helmsman keeps the boat headed into the wind and releases the halyard at an appropriate rate. Instead it was Joan at the mast me trying to steer with my feet, releasing the halyard with one hand and trying to flake the sail with the other. The  auto pilot was missing a piece and not available for duty. It took 3 tries to get it under control. Sure glad to have an electric winch to haul it back up each failed try. We are anxiously awaiting our stacking mainsail cover which has lazy jacks to keep the sail atop the boom, and just a zipper down the top to cover or uncover  the sail. We arrived just in time to catch the harbor master and get a slip. We got an end tie which allows us to dock the boat facing into the wind, making entry and exit very easy.

We spent the rest of the week putting the rest of the boat back together and obtaining bits and pieces required to make sailing less of a trial. It is really nice to be on the boat in a convenient location without the boatyard mess or any of the other trying circumstances we have been enduring.

 

 

Locals checking us out.

 

 

Full main

 

 

Single reef in main

Got the autopilot piece and will be finishing the main sail reefing system and then sailing trials to sort it all out. We feel very positive at this point.

Splash Day

Well we finally got to that line in the sand and stepped boldly over it. The events leading up to the launch were about typical. We wanted to coordinate finishing the spots on the hull we couldn't paint while still  on the stands, the application of new graphics to the amas, the launch of the boat, and the sail maker coming up to install the sails.

 

Sent the graphics for the ama out for estimates, and amazingly enough the cost for a vinyl banner is about 1/5 the cost of a vinyl sign, probably because t shirt shops aren't as snotty as sign shops. Wednesday evening, we went to pick up the graphics, oops we ran out of ink, can you come back tomorrow?
Got back to find the boat up on the trailer, maybe they didn't need nervous mother hens supervising the loading.
We were still painting the sail drive and the bottom the next morning. Went to get the graphics, the guys hadn't put transfer paper on it yet. Forty minutes of fidgeting and toe tapping and we were out the door, except the part which the printer messed up at the end of the flames on one side. They cheerfully offered me half off and promised the last piece would be ready the next day. Back to the boat to try and get the graphics on before the launch at noon.

 

 

Leonard arrives to view the launch and help supervise the graphics work, and we get it done by noon.

The boat launchers are off having lunch and other stuff, so we wait a couple of hours.

Hope we get it launched and in the water before the sail maker arrives at 4 o'clock

 

 

.

The time comes and off we go.

 

The hole where the boat used to live.

 

 

 

Through the gate with inches to spare.

 

 

 

Down the ramp.

 

 

At the dock ready to move to the visitors dock. Hope the engine feels like running after almost a year.

No worries, but there is not enough room to turn around  in here so we get to back out with a cross wind. A good initiation to big boat in tight spaces boat handling.

 

 

Made it to the other dock with no surprises, now we just need to wait an hour till the sail maker gets here.  As though in chorus with the rest of the day, he shows up almost two hours late. He left a little later than planned, and the rush hour traffic took care of the rest.

 

 

 

The jib goes on with some effort, we are badly organized, the boat is a junk pile, and we have trouble finding the parts to hook it up. We worked out the details and when we furled it, it didn't want to cooperate. A years worth of dirt and bug nests in the furler make it very difficult to roll the sail up, but we get it on. The main didn't go quite as well, the batten car sliders on the ends of the battens were about 1 mm. wider than the groove in the track. By this time we have been messing with the sails for an hour and a half and the sun is going down. The sail maker has missed his dinner reservation, and everyone is ready for a break.

 

 

 

Still need to glue down the chain guard on the deck, install the forward vent, caulk the hatch, maybe get the paper peeled off the top of the hatch, put the dagger board back in the case, and a few more little goodies. I need to change the oil in the engine and sail drive, top off the fuel, wire up the new instruments, and put the mainsail on. I took a file to the sliders for the mast track and trimmed just enough off to allow them to fit. It would be nice to have the bow rail installed, the forward tramps in place and the dodger canvas back on the frame. Should be a busy couple of days of leisure, must be why its the labor day week end, as we will toil through the holiday. Trouble with not having jobs is that you never get days off.

 

It is wonderful to be back on the boat in the water. Just the peaceful motion and quiet foggy nights are a world away from the spot in the yard, even it is only 100 m. geographically. We have a couple of days courtesy at the dock, so we will get enough done to move down to the bay, and continue at our leisure. The next little challenge will be getting dock space there. The end ties are generally used as guest docks and we have to find one that is unoccupied at the time of our arrival so that we can tie up there.