Okay - I have to back up a little bit. I posted the Blog for Acapulco last night making the assumption that all would be good to go in the morning. Well it did not quite end up that way. Yeh! Another gremlin!
We had started the motor up last night to recharge the batteries. Everything sounded good for a while and then we heard this loud screeching noise. We turned off the motor and lifted off the cover to the motor (again) and checked things out. The fan belt was torn. So why did this happen? Was the belt worn? Or was the alternator seized which caused a strain on the belt and it tore? Had the motor seized? Too many questions and too frustrated to even find out the answers - and of course it is dark and we could not see very well anyway and we were hungry. So we had something to eat and went to bed and decided to deal with it in the morning. Sleep did not come easy for either of us - another moment in a cruiser's life when the accumulation of things going wrong begins to wear on you. We were starting to question our goals and whether the boat was up to the task or would we have to put a lot of money into it and how much money would that be.
In the morning David replaced the fan belt (25-9385 new and 25-09533 for the torn one) and notices that one of the wires to the alternator had broken off. He repaired that and crossed our fingers hoping that we had shut down the motor fast enough to prevent any further damage. We started it up and I noticed sparks coming from the wires. Wires were retightened, started her up again and all looked and sounded good. Phew! We really could do without these little hiccups but at least it was only a hiccup. Looking back it seems like a lot of hiccups seem to be around loose or broken electrical connections. So heads up to you cruisers - I assume this is just one of the consequences of being in a humid marine environment with lots of vibration. So part of the daily checklist now includes checking this connection to the alternator.
Back to preparing to leave.
1030: we cast off with the help of Alejandro and Juan and our two neighbour's.
1055: phoned into the Port Captain's office to clear. David explained that his Spanish was not very good but with some perseverance he was able to communicate the required information. When he was all done the Port Captain said "Well done! Have a good voyage" So was that all the English that he knew or was he just making David speak in Spanish and getting a good laugh out of it? One will never know.
11:17 motor off abeam of Punta Brujas. Slight cloud cover. Winds SW on the beam.
3.5 knots with the main and Genoa up which increased and averaged out to 6.3 knots for the next 10 hours. Boy - did we need this!
1300: lunch consisted of all beef hotdogs (hard to find) and Pepsi. All meals cannot be gourmet! But my question for you: why do hot dogs come in packages of 5 or 10. And hotdog buns come in packages of 6 or 12? Can someone please explain that to me?
1400: I saw a large sea turtle that was at least 2 feet long. He raised his flipper ( is that what they are called?) and waved at me and then spat and dove under. I was quite excited but then as the afternoon and evening progressed we counted more than 50 of them over a 30 mile stretch. And our path is about half a mile wide so just how many turtles are out here? This part of the coast is known for the turtle migration and a place where they lay their eggs which they would have just done. Turtles are now protected so it is nice to see that they are making a comeback. We were talking to a local and the fine is instant jail time. You can kill someone and bribe officials and get off but if you kill a turtle there is no trial and no getting out of it - you go to jail for many many years!
18:03 sunset and I laid down to rest up for my watch. We would be traveling 212 nm and covering two nights so it was important to catch naps when one could.
2055: passed by a SE bound container ship
2220: wind was dying so David furled in the Genoa and started the motor. Course 120 magnetic
22:43 Moonrise at 66%
2400: David needed to sleep. I am not sure if I slept or not which brought back thoughts of Dad. For those who did not know - our Dad lost his hearing in his left ear ( I think that's right) during WWII. I remember him coming home for lunch, having something to eat, reading a couple of articles from the McLean's magazine and then immediately going to sleep, on his good ear for 20 minutes. Then he would get up, totally refreshed and go back to work. I never acquired that ability to power nap. What am I going to do when we are out there for 21+ days. Hopefully I will learn by then.
Dave, on the other hand, has no problem power napping. Maybe it is a male thing!
Now what I do not seem to have any trouble doing is filling up pages of this Blog with endless babble! Think I will give myself a rest and put on some tunes!
0125: abeam Whitecliff light. Lightening flashes up ahead and a squall line off the starboard side of the boat. Which way is it going? It eventually passed over the boat but it was very weak. The rain was almost non- existent and the only real effect was a change in wind direction which ended up on our nose. But it did bring up the discussion as to what ones course of action should be, especially at night. David says I can suspect that one is coming when the stars disappear along with the horizon. Then I am supposed to wake him up, which I did not do this time. We can roll in the Genoa which I had done and get ready to put a reef in the main or tack. Which we did when he woke up. And I must not feel bad about waking him up. And I know I shouldn't as he can go back to sleep quite quickly.
0400: David did get up and we tried to sail but eventually gave up. I went to bed and he motored until 0900.
10:00 winds have picked up again and the weather is keeping with historical patterns. During this time of year, the prevailing direction of the trade winds is NW, tending to parallel the coast. Land and sea breezes are characteristic. The sea breeze during the day is from the SW quarter. At night the land breezes blow with less regularity in direction and force. This is exactly what went on for the leg of the adventure.
1330: winds started to ease off and it was time to roll in the Genoa and start of the motor.
1344: abeam Punta Golera. Seems like a good time to have a shower.
So some of guys must be thinking: I thought they had a shower on their boat? And you are absolutely correct. There is a really nice shower, separate from the head, with a nice teak seat, hot and cold running water and a funky curtain with surf boards all over it. So why do we continue to have solar showers on deck?
First and foremost is just the sheer freedom of showering outside. Second is the fact that the relative humidity is > 80% and we do not want to steam up the boat as increased moisture makes for a haven for mould and mildew. Third is the reduced wear and tear on the water pumps and sub pumps. And finally, which is the case with most cruising boats around 40 feet, the shower stall has become an alternative storage area. This is where we keep our water filtration system, waterproof back packs, sail covers, instrument covers and dirty laundry. So if we decided to use the shower, we would have to remove all of these things, shower, wipe down and clean the entire head and shower and put all this stuff back In its place. And we do not shower at the same time of day so that would mean doing it twice! So by showering on deck, the deck also gets a cleaning satisfying David's rule that all things on a boat must have a dual purpose' thus helping to save energy and water!
1730: Tacking along the coast which involves a little bit more work but at least allows us to sail. Our timing is off and it would be dark when we reached Puerto Escondido and a little too early getting into Puerto Angel so we were not in a hurry. We are only averaging 3.5 knots today but we are just happy to be sailing.
Puerto Escondido is known for its surfing beach and is the site for the annual summer surf competitions. Under certain conditions you can anchor there but the surf makes it rolly. Remember that a good surfing beach does not make for a good anchorage. So I am not really disappointed that we are not stopping.
0124: a pod of dolphins came by to play and keep me company. This is another one of those very special nights. The stars are out and the moon shimmers on the water. Everything is in sync and the Captain is sleeping soundly.
One thing that you really notice out here is the smell. I remember when we first crossed over from the Baja to the mainland and the smell went from one of desert to tropical jungle. Tonight there is a strong smell due to the land breeze. It is largely due to burning of the sugar cane fields and coconut palms. The smell is somewhere between the incense they burn in church and "pot".
0230: Lost my wind or what little there was of it is on my nose. I was getting ready to roll in the Genoa but I could not find the smaller winch handle. I looked everywhere in the cockpit but to no avail. So I started using the larger one and proceeded to crank it in. It takes a bit longer this way and results in the sail flapping a bit more and causing a lot of noise. This, in turn, woke up the captain. So he poked his head up and asked if I needed any help. He had to apologize as he had left the winch handle on deck. Serves him right that He got woken up! This is a standard bone of contention with me - which I try and bite my tongue about - but David is always going on about putting things away in a certain spot so you can always find them. The only problem is he is the one that doesn't do this. Most times I can make a joke about it - where's the flashlight? Where's the multi head screwdriver? Where's the winch handle? Where's the tank openers? A little harder to make a joke about it at 0200 in the dark! So it is a good thing he got woken up. Vengeance is sweet!
0335: Fisherman coming up on my port side but a little too close for my comfort so I altered to starboard 20 degrees until he passed me.
0430: a cruise ship coming up on my starboard side. A little rude if you ask me. We have an entire ocean and he came up less than 3/4 of a mile beside me. Was that really necessary?
0440: David is back up
0700: David snagged a fishing line just after dawn. He grabbed it with our boat hook and was just about to cut it when a panga approached with a fisherman on the bow waving a large knife. It made for a short moment of uncertainty. But the fisherman simply reached in the water and cut the line himself and then retreated so that him and the other two guys could repair it. They waived at David and he carried on. They did not seem upset, just part of fishing.
0925: Gourmet crunchy peanut butter and banana on toast. Chores are done. Two Dolphins in sync off our starboard side to guide us into the anchorage.
1030: We approached the entrance and took down the main. We did not have a detailed chart and the GPS had us on land. The cruising guide had a chartlet which indicated a 600 foot entrance with Rocky bluffs on each side and 40-50 feet of water in the middle. The cruising guide described it as an " enchanting little cove" and they are correct.
It took 4 attempts to set the anchor to avoid the panga's that were on permanent mooring buoys. Finally we dug in, turned off the motor and immediately decided to stay for a couple of days.
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