Passage Preparations (Continued) and life in Mexico (Also Continued ...)

The intention is to weigh anchor today from Punta de Mita and head to the Marquesas.  The next series of blog updates will be done over our high frequency radio so no photos for awhile (The HF/Pactor combo gives us at best about 2 kbaud - for those that remember dialup that was at 56 kbaud).

We had intended to leave weeks ago but there just has not been a good weather window until now to get off the Mexican coast and get out to the trade winds.  It does look today so we will leave once the sea breeze picks up and sail on looks like it will be a close reach in 9 to 12 kts of wind to just north of the Socorro Islands (about 325 nm) and then head towards what is our best guess of an entry point for the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) at 5N 130W.

Provisioning is done and then redone as the delays mounted.  Diesel and gasoline topped up. We now sit a few inches deeper in the water.

Predeparture picture

Family Photo

We took the time to sort out some plumbing issues, get Tony at Morelli sails to modify our mainsail and we put in a new starter battery.  Also, we had a chance to be tourists for a change and went to the zoo, did some surfing and such.

Sailing with my Dad just before we had a humpback whale surfaces less than a boat length away.

Baby in a bucket

Johnathan and I heading out to do some surfing

Jump, jump, jump !

The continued adventures in Mexican bureaucracy  

Benjamin and I studying an old Heavy Weather book we found in the Cruisers Lounge.

Oh my says Benjamin, where are we going to put all this food

Immunization time with the nice ladies in Bucerias

Victoria helping us organise the ditch bags

Some snoozing and reading time too.

Back from the Mar y Sol market

Monkey Business 1

Monkey Business 2

More jumping around

Potatoes and Carrots will advance in review order, by the center, quick march !

Debugging our GFCI plug - turns out this is where our new bug friends had been living.

Apples, form up !

Packaged up and ready to stow.

Lunch

Kids sleep over at Punta de Mita

Galley Duty

One of new shiny solar panels with La Cruz in the background.

Merle on the foredeck at sunrise in Punta de Mita

Surf Training for Benjamin

Life in La Cruz and Visitors

We have been fortunate this season to have had many visitors.  My parents visited in February, Liz's parents came in January and then her dad, Wendall, came back again a few weeks ago to help me with completing a bunch of the boat projects.  My sister and her family came down in March and then they came back without the kids but with a collection of their friends for a Mexican holiday.  Liz's sister and brother came with their children at the some time for a mini family reunion.   Busy times but lots of fun.

They love fireworks in Mexico.  My sister's son spouting fire outside one of our favourite restaurants in town.

My sister and her husband Chris after a daysail.

Surfing at Punta de Mita with Sarah and Chris

While my parents were here we had a renaming ceremony for "Trickle" the sailing dingy.  Here the kids (Fluenta and Kenta Anae) are on the first row on the recently renamed vessel.

Granny and Grandpa Shaw visiting.

Can't have a sailing blog without a sunset picture (although it is actually a sunrise picture ...)

Johnathan successfully completing his yellow belt test in Karate (in Spanish of course)

A few extra crew:  A day sail with an extra 11 people - thanks to Shindig and all the others who lent us enough PFD's.

Fluenta at Paradise Village Marina where family was staying at the resort.

Cousins

And more mandatory family photos

Captain Ron (aka Brother-in-law Ron) helping me set up the beautiful sextant my father-in-law has loaned us.

A daysail with two babies and lots of children.

Aerial Silks

Baby Benjamin was not lacking in attention.  Here Nancy from Shindig was holding him for us.

However, Benjamin has seemed reluctant to take on his fair share of the maintenance duties.

And more wonderful meals on Kenta Anae.  Thanks Merle and Allison.

Grammy with Benjamin

And meanwhile, I worked on the boat.  Note the big hammer !

Benjamin needed a bit of surgery so we drove up to Guadalajara.  A picture of our hotel.

The pyramids outside Guadalajara.

Lots of babies on boats ...Rebel Heart, Sea Raven, Adamaster, Betti and Fluenta mums.

Benjamin's amazing doctors.

Taking my little sister sailing.

Cousins !

Maintenance List - The Continuing Adventure

Since Johnathan and I moved Fluenta from Mazaltan to La Cruz we have been busy …  A data dump from my maintenance spreadsheet below.  I deleted most of the reoccurring items like battery water, zinc replacement, cleaning etc.

Some of these I did myself, some were contracted and my father-in-law helped me with a whole lot of this.  Funny to see the list now as some of the items are a few hours work and some like the solar panel array and the new autopilot took several days each.

A few photos at the end of the list

Wendall and Benjamin showing off the cargo net Wendall designed and made for "Trickle" the Fatty Knees sailing dingy

Aft head leak

12V plugs in cockpit

Autopilot Remote

Adjust furlboom mandrel

Adjust top of furler - chafing on genoa halyard

Aft Cabin Hatch

Aft head leak

Aft head vented loops

AIS antenna

AIS Splitter power from AIS cct breaker

AIS to chartplotter

autopilot autotune

Autopilot crossbar - new

Autopilot R3000X

Backstay – service hydraulics (Contract)

Battery water - vent caps

Better bilge pump system. With panel switch and alarm, y-valve

Better grey water system

Bilge clean - flush bilge and clean bilge compartments

Bow running light fixture replacement

Bulbs for engine panel

Calibrate BTW

Chain replacement

change water filter - pressure water

clean manual bilge pump strum box

Clean reefer condenser

Cockpit mike

cover for anchor windlass (Contract)

Dripping foot pump taps

Dripping tap in aft head

Engine zincs x 2

Enlarge rudder stop

Fabric cover for mast boot (Contract)

Fix bookcase hinge

Fix reefer pressure switch

Fix stbd cubby door

Flush water tanks

Fresh water fwd tank valve leak

Fwd head and reinstall shelves for fwd head

Fwd Head Hatch repair

Galley fan

Genoa refurb - loose threads, repair PV sailing repair (Contract)

Grease rudder reference bearing

hdg input to ais

Hyd panel - service (Contract)

Impellor leak and replacement

Install Chartplotter

Jacklines –new

Jib halyard pennant - amsteel lashing

Kayak repair

Knife in anchor locker

Lazerette Access - wood screws

Leaking water manifold

longer mainsheet

main - batten pockets, clew and tack rings (Contract)

Main - re-tie tack and clew line - with tubular webbing for tack/clew ring and ferule eye strap and back up clew line to back of mandrel

main furler/main halyard  block - rebuild

mainfurl - Grease the grease nipple on the aft end of the spar.

mainsail - telltales

Mark halyard with whipping

Mastboot - install

mastboot - hose clamps

modify lazerette floor board - more space for rudder shaft

move GPS antenna

Move pinstop staysail car in front of genoa lead car

new autopilot

new reefer cooling water filter

non return valve - bilge pump

Oil (100 hrs) - done at 4276.5

Overhaul winch – Anderson

Overhaul winch - port 23

Overhaul winch - port 27 Halyard

Overhaul winch - port 28

Overhaul winch - port 36

Overhaul winch - stbd 27 main sheet

Overhaul winch - stbd 27 outboard

Overhaul winch - stbd 28

Overhaul winch - stbd 36

Paint touch up – hull (Contract)

PFD CO2/bobbins replace

pin shackle for boom lift

pin shackle for staysail

plug gap aft of mast – silicone

portable watermaker – annual maintenance

preventer setup - 2x amsteel with eyes/thimbles, existing preventer double braid with soft shackle, 4x snatch blocks

Prop/shaft zincs

PVC tube on fwd lower shrouds

Rebed pad eye in aft cabin stbd cupboard

rebed slider for cockpit hatch

Red LED in aft cabin

redo network power connection

Reefer - adjust high pressure switch - 170 psi

repair dodger frame

replace bilge pump hose - remove kink

replace CO sensor

Replace dingy davit line

replace mainsail tack and clew lines

replacement autopilot drive

Reseize and seize shackles throughout

rig tuning

rope clutch clean

salt water tap leak

service bilge manual pump - sand, paint interior, new valves

Setscrew in forestay

sextant alignment

sheave replacement for spin pole topping lift

Sheet bags (genoa x2 plus mast) with mesh (Contract)

Smoke alarm batteries

soft shackle for spin tack

Solar panel - rail mount install

Solar panel install - Dodger

solas tape for reef marks and tape around head ring

solas tape on rail mount solar panels

Spartite

Spectra loops for running backstays

spin halyards, sheets - doughnut and tape

Spinnaker Halyard replacement

SSB GTO15 wire

SSB KISS Counterpoise

Stanchion rebed - saloon fwd stbd side

Stanchion repair (Contract)

start battery replacement

Staysail - pennant, hanks, bag

Stbd aft cabin fan

Steaming light bulb

sun cover for front of main sail (Contract)

Tach bulb

TDS - around deck flange and heater exhaust

telltale on spin pole

Test manual bilge pump

Touch up engine paint

traveller - shackle replacement

Trickle cover (Contract)

Trickle mast cover

Trickle rudder repair

Trickle/RHIB Storage

vang line - double block

Vang repair - gas cylinder

Vang repair - new line

Vented loops - engine

Vents for battery box

water tank flush

watermaker - 12v fan

Watermaker - carbon filter

Watermaker - elbow

Watermaker – membrane

Watermaker - new feed pump

Watermaker - pleated filter

watermaker leak

white fiberglass paint touch up (stbd side near drain, port side of cockpit)

Wifi GoFree -

Windlass - bimonthly

Windlass Service - preseason service

Window leak - fwd stbd

Yellow tape on hawespipe hole

Johnathan helping me raise the genoa after we added a pendant

My Father-in-Law, Wendall, showing off our new solar panels.  Note oil and distilled water  (for the batteries) on deck getting ready to be stowed for the passage.

My dad helping me attach the clew to the furler

Yet more work on the refrigeration

Tenacatita and Careyes

In February we took a break from boat maintenance to head down to Tenacatita and Careyes for some relaxation and to test all the systems we have installed, upgraded or just plain fixed.

We had planned to spend a bit longer in Tenacatita but there was a narrow weather window to get back around Capo Corrientes so we left a bit early and then hung out in Yelapa until we needed to be back in La Cruz.  The passage back was a bit bouncy but no problem.

We spent much of our time buddy boating with our friends on Exodus, catching up on home schooling and generally relaxing.  Max also managed to do some spearfishing while listening to the constant whale song in the area.  At one point, you could even hear the whales from inside the boat.

Careyes with Exodus in the Foreground

Victoria preparing orders for breakfast onboard

Our friend Brian on Cat 2 Fold.  Note he is serenading us as we sailed past.  I also had a chance to sail with Brian

Fish !  We caught a fair amount of fish on the way there and back plus I managed to spear one fish while listening to the whale song.

Johnathan's geography report on the Tumotuas

Yet more diaper laundry

Ready to ride

I even relaxed for a few minutes.  Carayes in the background.

Yelapa

A map the we found in Yelapa.  Kids showing the route to French Polynesia.