Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Back in Sinaloa

Green Angels ready to help us with our fuel needs.
With a sigh of relief we pulled into the Marina Mazatlan parking lot last Saturday night.  We decided to make a long day of it and drove from San Carlos straight through to the boat.  As we passed through Culiacan, Sinaloa we neglected to fill up with gasoline so as we approached Mazatlan, 200 Km later, our fuel gauge was pegged on empty.  At the toll booth 30 KM north of the city we found a member of the "Angeles Verdes" or "Green Angels", who was able to sell us four liters of gasoline.  I held the funnel, Connie held the flashlight and Carlos poured the fuel.  100 pesos.  The Mexican government funds the Angeles Verdes to help out highway travelers such as us.  Thanks, Enrique Peña Nieto, the 57th president of Mexico!  Did I tell you? I love Mexico.

Sinaloa is the tomato state of Mexico
When we arrived in Mazatlan it was 83 degrees with a humidity of 88%.  The boat had been closed up for almost four months so there was no way we'd sleep in THAT oven so we spent the night in La Dofina as we had been doing most of the summer.  The next day we began the massive clean up effort.  All the surfaces inside and outside of the boat were coated with dust, the inside covered with the glitter of fiberglass from all the hull grinding we had done in the yard.  First we cleaned the master cabin so we could sleep, rigging fans to bring in fresh air, and putting down new bedding.  Then we cleaned the galley, every nook and cranny and washed every dish, every pot and pan.  The refrigerator fired right up, as it should, and soon we had cold beer and could transfer our food from the refrigerator in the RV to the boat.  When we shut down the RV fridge I saw thousands of ants inside the coach.  They had climbed up the wheels from the pavement and made a new home in the cool, damp interior of La Dolfina.  Ant Attack!  So glad we were living in the boat now.

I tried starting our brand new (rebuilt) Perkins 4-108 diesel engine and it would turn over fine but not fire so I called Bob at Total Yacht Works and he came over to check it out.  The next day he brought in an expert who adjusted the timing on the fuel pump and she fired right up.   Now we have to run her for about 50 hours to break in the engine before we head south.  The problem is that when we run the engine it heats up the cabin and that's where we live.  With it already being 85 degrees the additional heat of the engine brings the cabin temperature up over 90 degrees which makes it impossible to sleep.  Connie rigged a bed on top of the boat and I made do with fans.  We have not been able to put very many hours on the engine this first week as the heat and noise is a negative factor.  Plainly said, it sucks.

Meanwhile, Connie tackled the master cabin, then the galley, then the quarter berth, then we cleaned out the head and finally the v berth.  Now we are working our way through the main cabin and in a day or two will be absolutely finished cleaning the inside of the boat, floors, walls, ceiling, cabinets, drawers, cubbies, and every dog damn crevice in the whole stinking boat!  The good thing is that we got to know what's in every dog damn crevice and we were able to toss out a lot of junk.  If we have not used it last year then, hell, we probably don't need it this next year.  Next Saturday there is a "Treasures of the Bilge" sale for the cruisers here at the marina.  I've got a butt load of stuff I'll try to sell.  Then if it does not gain me a peso or two I'll just leave it at the gate and it will disappear overnight.   That's the good thing about cruising in Mexico. If you have something that you think has some value and don't want to just chuck it into the trash, just set it by the gate or the recycle bin and someone will take it away and hopefully make some use of it or maybe even make a little money off of it.  I love Mexico.
It is starting to cool down at night.

The Tohatsu outboard started.  The Honda generator didn't.  We took the old gasoline to the recycle barrel but the guy helping us took it instead to burn it in his car.  Now I have to clean the carburetor in the Honda generator.  The main jet is probably all lacquered up from the old gas sitting there all summer.  I found a YouTube video on the process so now I'm an expert on servicing a Honda 2000 generator.  Don't let that little spring pop out and get lost!  I'll let you know if I screw it up.


I've got the new solar panels mounted but am looking for some connectors to make it all nice and neat.  We are making progress on our task list, getting little things fixed that we know are broken.  Just today I found a break in the little hose that goes from the water meter gizmo to the water tank that tells me how much water is in there.  I could see where a previous owner patched the sensor hose with duct tape and it pulled loose.  It is kinda cool to see evidence of where Dennis, the previous owner, fixed something and it re-broke years later in the same spot.  I hope my fixes are more long term but you'll see, in the future some young guy new owner of Traveler will be ferreting around in the bilge and find my half-ass fix on some hose or wire.  I hope he has a grin on his face like it do when I find one of Dennis' "creative solutions".

Once we have the boat all clean and everything stowed as it should, then we want to take her out into the blue sea and get this 50 hour engine break in finished.  We are thinking we'd just head west from here into the Sea of Cortez and motor for 15 hours. We'll put the pedal to the metal and get on the headphones and I'll have 15 hours of Pink Floyd to keep me occupied.  Connie will probably be listening to Cuban music.  Once we reach 27 degrees north, 107 degrees west we will turn off the engine, take a nap, then power back to Mazatlan for another 15 hours. Once we finish the break in, Bob will check for oil leaks, change the oil and filters, and maybe readjust the valves and retorque the cylinder heads and manifolds.  Then we are good to head south!

In the meantime, we run the engine for an hour or two each day, clean things, spray silicone spray on things that are stuck, fix things that we find broken, and exercise every system we can think of, like run out all the anchor chain and use the windless to crank it all back in, hank on sails and check the running rigging, try the radar, SSB, VHF.  Also we're lubricating the tools, hinges, mounts, turning on lights, opening things, closing things, and drinking lots of cold beer in the process.

We also lubricate ourselves, having a nice cold cerveza in the afternoon and in the evening Connie makes herself a Mojito and I have a glass or two of red wine. Tonight we sat in the cockpit having dinner and listening to the local musician playing at Gus Gus restaurant.  We had fresh shrimp fried in coconut oil and breaded with our favorite Bimbo bread crumbs.






Wednesday, November 6, 2013

2013 Cruising Season plans

Speaking of plans...

We are almost finished here in Phoenix, provisioning and getting a new propane tank in the Dolphin.  Heading south through Tucson and Nogales, crossing the border and stopping at KM 21 on MEX-15 to get the temporary import permit and risk the red light / green light stop at customs. Then on to San Carlos and the Totonaka RV park.  South to Los Mochis then on to Mazatlan and our dear Traveler.  Once aboard what shall we do? Where shall we go?  Here's what were thinking now.....

We have decided that we will not be doing the puddle jump (across the Ocean to the South Pacific islands) this coming April. We've got things to do and lots to learn before we feel comfortable beginning a journey that could take years.  Next summer we have to deal with Connie's rental house in Tumwater and we want to spend another October bringing in the California crop on the farm.  Since we are too young to start receiving social security we think it best to take lucrative employment when it is offered and the work in CA is not only profitable but it's fun!  Another cruising year will surely make us one with the boat and Traveler should be as ready as she can be for an extended cruise in 2015.

As for this cruising season, we are putting together our cruising plans right now.  Mid November we'll leave Mazatlan and sail south.  We'll have room to carry a couple of passengers so if you want to join us for a week in Mid November then fly on down to Mazatlan and we'll make some scenic stops in Isla Isabella, San Blas, Matanchen, Chacala, Punta Mita, La Cruz and Puerto Vallarta (PV); get on the boat in Mazatlan, fly home from PV.   

Then the next cruising opportunity will be there in Banderas Bay where we'll be for a few weeks to a month in December and/or  January. There are numerous cruising opportunities in and around that big bay.  Fly into PV then out of PV.  

Next, In January and/or February we'll round Cabo Corrientes and head south to Chamela, Tenacatita, Barra de Navidad, and Manzanillo.  This is one of our favorite areas.  Fly into PV and out from Manzanillo if you join us for the trip down the coast.  Or fly in and out of Manzanillo to enjoy Tenacatita and Barra where we'll be taking our sweet time enjoying the warm water, sandy beaches, and easy living. 

In February or March we head further south to Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo and maybe on to Acapulco from there.

In the spring we start north again to the Sea of Cortez (La Paz, Loreto, all those beautiful islands and beyond) before taking the boat over to San Carlos in June for summer storage.  

So seriously, I know some of our friends have been mulling over the idea of joining us for a week or so on the Mexico coast this winter so if this is you, drop us an email and we can talk about timing and location.  You'll have to arrange a flight.  Other than that all you need is a passport, swim suit, shorts, sandals, Hawaiian shirt, and some pesos.   I've got a list here of some of the airlines that fly in and out of the area.  We like to use Alaska Air but the others will do nicely.

Mazatlan: MZT

Alaska
US Air
AA
United
Aeromexico

Puerto Vallarta:  PVR
Alaska
US Air
Delta
Frontier
United
AA
Virgin
Aeromexico
Volaris              
WestJet

Manzanillo:       ZLO
Alaska
United
US Air
Aeromexico
Delta       

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo   ZIH  
Alaska
US Air
United
Aeromexico
Delta
Interjet

Acapulco ACA
United

Puerto Escondido      PXM    
United

Loreto:  LTO
Alaska
Delta

La Paz:   LAP
Alaska
Aeromexico
Delta
Volaris




Sunday, November 3, 2013

Down from the mountain - Heading south for the winter

Chill at the Grand Canyon
Connie and Scott had a grand time working on the farm up there in Mendocino county.  We were there about five weeks and came away healthy and happy with the cruising kitty refreshed and our minds at ease.  Our little Dolphin RV made it back down the rough road into the valley and across Jerry Brown's state of California to Reno Nevada where we picked up three new solar panels at The Inverter Store.  There is snowed and we knew it was high time to high tail it south to lower elevations and higher temperatures.  We traveled south through Bishop CA then turned east into Death Valley National Park where, sure enough, it warmed up more and more so as we approached then went below sea level.  Down in Furnace Creek (elevation minus 190 feet) the air was so thick and heavy that we didn't need to breath. Oxygen entered through our pores and the Dolphin seemed to swim through the viscus atmosphere.
Borax 20 Mule Team in Death Valley

We got caught in traffic in Las Vegas and found a chilly campsite in Zion National Park.  From the north rim we drove out to Page Arizona and on to the the Grand Canyon where we stayed at the Mather campground.  The Grand Canyon is most impressive but seeing it from the top, from many similar viewpoints it soon started to look the same.  And so we drove south, loosing altitude and gaining temperature until we arrived here in Phoenix.


Back to the solar panels we bought in Reno......  Feel free to skip this little tech talk piece and scroll down a page.

The specs?  AIMS model PV120poly, 120 Watt, 6.86 amps, 17.49 volts Pmax, measuring 48.5" x 26.3".  These should just fit on top of Traveler's dodger where the five old panels used to live.

Altogether that gives me 360 watts.  Amps =  Watts / Voltage right? so 360 / 12 equals 30 amps.  That means that if they are in full sun and producing full power then we've got 30 amps per hour coming into the battery bank.  How many darn amps does a simple sailor need, fer dog's sake?  Let's add it up!



Amps    hours    amp/hours        
4              12           48           Reefer
0.84        10           8.4          Anchor light  (though we often don't use it)
3              4             12           laptop
0.5          24           12           VHF
2              4              8            Stereo
2             0             0              auto pilot ( if the mechanical autopilot is on, the engine is probably on also)
1.25        0              0             5 watt Interior lights ( we've replaced most with LED)
0.68        4              10.88     Four LED interior lights
0.1          8              0.8          Fan
83           0.1          8.3          Windlass
30           0.2          6              ICOM M802 SSB  (transmit power)
           2              6             ICOM M802 SSB (listening ~lurking)
                                120.38   amp/hrs per day
                                5.8          Hours of solar charging needed to support our needs

Now these are just rough figures and don't account for the charging that will happen when we run the diesel engine.  If the three solar panels leave us energy short then we have room on the stern of the boat to hang another panel.  I've got two Blue Sky 2512iX regulators that can handle 25 amps each so another panel will be no problem.  But we will wait and see if these three do the job before I go constructing another platform on the taffrail.

Given the space restrictions on top of the dodger I needed to find smaller panels than the norm of 60 inches long and I wanted something a little more heavy duty to take the stress of a marine environment.  These panels are a little bit more costly per watt than some but they should serve our needs nicely.

Enough tech talk for now.  

We are currently in sunny Phoenix, in possession of a long list of provisioning items.   In Fort Bragg we traded for some scuba equipment and now lack only two tanks, some weights, and a wet suit to complete our two outfits.  We'll find gear here in town.  Once in Mexico we'll try to find a way to get our dive certifications so we can practice diving this winter.  We'll definitely want to be comfortable below sea level when we go to the South Pacific in a year or so.  And we'll be practicing on the SSB radio now that we have a radio license.  Knowing how to download weather forecasts and keeping in touch via email is a learning priority this year.  

We'll be buying lots of packaged food items here in Phoenix.  Most bulk food items are not legal to bring into Mexico so we'll wait on those.  Of course we'll bring in the maximum amount of tinto vino.  We'll be visiting the West Marine store for a couple of handheld VHF radios and some other nautical gear and there is some hardware we want to find there.  Then in a few days we'll be driving across the border at Nogales, stopping in San Carlos overnight then continuing on to Marina Mazatlan to rediscover our dear Traveler.

Speaking of plans...  see our next post for details on where we are headed and when and how you might come visit.

We saw the Pacific Mambo Orchestra last night at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Nice!