Life on a sailboat..not all about drinking margaritas.

This morning I wrote a blog and thanks to our terrible wifi in the marina, my blog was lost even though I saw it 'being saved'.  Who knows?
I hate doing a rehash  ...so here goes.
Work continues...me below and Bob outside with the occasional need for me to be outside helping with such things as attaching the sails.  Sails are taken down when one is not sailing...stored in the boat and then of course they have to be attached again.
Sailing is a labour intensive activity for all those who believe the ads which show couples nicely dressed having  drinks in the cockpit or on deck.  That scenario is true if you have a large yacht with staff....but for the plebs that is not the case.
This morning I was able to tidy the V-berth ...it is still a storage locker but now we can see what is stored there, rather than ferreting through all kinds of gear.  Along with more tidying, I made potato salad and ribs for our big meal of the day.
Last night our Grindstone friends had us over for a BBQ.  It is great being with these former neighbours...last night was a bit different as Cal had us 'singing' carols ..of course he was on guitar.
For the moment the boats looks pretty good inside and out. According to the Captain, he has little left to do which means we can be out and about.  How nice!

On the boat again....December 18, 2014

Yesterday we arrived in Mazatlan.  This is my first time on the boat since March.  Bob usually comes to Mazatlan about every 6 weeks, but because he was doing some work on the house, he has not been here for over 2 months....and the boat shows it.  The birds have had a field day doing their best to start a guano operation on the deck.  For the past 3 hr Bob has been cleaning the exterior.
The interior needed a lot of work too.  Last night we kicked a path to the sofas and that was about as much as we could move around below deck.  After spending  2 hr cleaning, I have done as much as I can.  When Bob finishes cleaning the decks etc, sails can be moved out which will give us some badly needed space.  But, I can say that the interior is clean!!  Smells good, too!!  Another hour organizing, and it will be ship shape.
After carrying stuff to the boat yesterday, we spent the  evening with 2 couples from our former neighbourhood...Grindstone Park in Manitoba.  Good food, lots of wine, etc and many laughs.....as we caught up on each others news.
 This past month has been a month of time with friends from Manitoba as another couple spent about 2 weeks with us.  That was a fun time for us taking them around our town and its environs.  It is refreshing to see our home turf through a new set of eyes.
Our itinerary for the next few months is:  here in Mazatlan until early January, and then we go back to Patzcuaro.  Bob will return by bus and head south, stopping in all his favourite places...Chacala, La Cruz, Tenacatita, Barra de Navidad and finally will anchor in Zihuatenejo Bay.  When he arrived in Zihua, Patches and I will drive to Zihua and join Bob on the boat for 6 weeks or so.  We will spend the time there getting to know the Zihua area (in terms of sailing).
Sometime in March I will be going to Nicaragua. As I am going with a native Nicaraguan, I will have my own tour guide.  Yipee!  Bob and Patches will be spending that time on the boat.  After my return from Nicaragua, I will return to Zihua, pick up Patches and head back to Patzcuaro while Bob heads back to Mazatlan.

Safe in the marina

I just spoke with Bob and he is tied up in Marina Mazatlan.  At least he will be able to celebrate his birthday and a safe return with friends.
This will be my last post for awhile ....

30 miles to go

Where is the wind when you need it?
Bob is now about 30 nm from Mazatlan,  At his present speed of 5, he should arrive about 2 pm my time!  He says that he is tired and dirty.  Last night, because of lack of wind, he was steering manually, so that means no sleep.  He is motoring again, with seas a bit lighter , he can keep a steady pace.  The forecasts do not include much wind for him, so it will be of the same for the rest of the trip
It is Bob's birthday today...I think his best gift will be to sleep today.

140 miles from Mazatlan!!

Other than being tired Bob is doing well.  But, the winds have almost gone to nothing so his wind vane steering doesn't work!!  When he just called, he was tiller steering.  According to the weather forecast the winds should come up in a few hours so he will be able to get off the tiller.  So the disadvantage of wind vane steering is you need a certain amount of wind.  Bob is motoring at this time to keep his speed up.  He has used so little fuel that he can motor the entire way to Mazatlan without running out, but that means he has to steer by hand.  Can you say "Rock and hard place".
If everything stays constant he should be in Mazatlan tomorrow. 

More trouble

All the SPOT messages arrived today.  I think  server issues prevented their arrival.
Bob just called and he has had more trouble.  He was 'flying' along making great time and then the wind vane steering fell apart.  Bob had never checked the apparatus as it looked new and unused.  As far as Bob can deduce, Alex (former owner) tried to make it work and bent different parts in his attempt to make compatible with the hydraulic system.  It took him 4 hr t fix it..in the dark.  He has had no sleep because he is more or less in the shipping lane so had many ships to dodge (I think he said 53 were on his screen.)
Even with that problem he has covered 100 miles....which is excellent for 18 hours (he was hove to for 4 hr).
He is still hoping to be in Mazatlan on Wednesday.   Needless to say I am hoping for the same thing.

Wind vane steering working

Bob just called and all is well.  He had no trouble getting the anchor up and the wind vane steering is working.   The silver lining with the other system breaking down is now he can have the fridge on which means 'cold beer'!!
As for the SPOT messages, the one he sent yesterday afternoon arrived this afternoon??  What is that all about?  Perhaps it is server issues ....
The wind is with him and he is averaging over 5 knots...he has gone 50 miles in 9 hr which is really good going....of course the seas are rough and will be until he gets to Mazatlan as the winds are blowing from the north - northwest.

Underway again

Bob normally sends me a SPOT message twice a day.  Last evening I did not receive a message and freaked for awhile.  But I thought he perhaps did not send one because he was anchored.  This morning he called (bad connection) and said that he had sent a message last night and this morning.  Neither have shown up.  Bob says that the SPOT appears to be working normally so who knows.
He called just before 9 am and was ready to set sail.  He says that he has the wind vane steering set up ...let us hope that it works.  Otherwise he will tiller steering through big seas.  I try not to even think about that.
He will call again tonight just in case no messages are coming through.

Best Video on San Benedicto Island Revillagigedos

Hydraulic Steering gone again

Saturday morning

Bob just called and the bad news is that the hydraulic steering gave up the ghost ...cylinder is leaking so it cannot be fixed easily.  Personally I think it is time for a new one.  Now Bob will find out if his wind vane steering works...no he has never tested it which annoys me to no end.  And when a hose went on the steering on his trip south from Mazatlan, I worried that it would die again on this trip.  Bob, on the other hand, didn't seem concerned.  
But he is anchored in a bay on San Benedicto..says it's rocky so he hopes that his anchor doesn't cause a problem when he is taking it  up...another thing for me to obsess about!!
If the wind vane doesn't work, he will tiller steer (he says for about 18 hr a day) and hove to and sleep for 6 hr or whatever.
On the other hand he sounds in good spirits.  When he called he was having coffee and enjoying the scenery.  This is the first time since he left Tenacatita that he has had coffee....the seas were rough.  Weather forecast say more of the same for the next week!
Bob has company in the bay.  There is a boat from Switzerland that came through the northwest passage and is on its way 'somewhere'!!  Apparently they are diving.
So far Bob has not been boarded by the military.  That is good as at least he had 1 day to rest already.
His plan is to leave tomorrow morning.

5 Hours to San Benidicto Island

March 21, 2014

Once more thanks to the SAT phone, Bob called this morning.  He is sounding tired, but says he is getting some sleep.  When I spoke to him, he said that he should arrive at San Benedicto, in 5 hours going at his present rate of 5 knots.   The winds were good and the swell was down. 

One would think that I would know where Bob was going.. I do but as Socorro Island is the big one and most well known in this archipelago,  I kept referring to Socorro whereas he is going to Isla San Benedicto.  Here is some information about this island

San Benedicto, formerly Santo Tomás, is an uninhabited island, and third largest island of the Revillagigedo Islands, located in the Pacific ocean.
It is 4.8 km by 2.4 km in size, with an area 10 km². It is of volcanic origin. It has two prominent peaks. The tallest peak, Bárcena, rises to a height of 332 metres (1,089 feet)^[2] near the southern part of the island. It forms a typical volcanic crater. It is located between the remains of two older craters, Herrera in the middle of the island and the Montículo Cinerítico^[2] ("Ash Heap") in the southwest. There is no permanent source of freshwater.^[3]

 (Information from Wiki)

And now for a photo ...perhaps this is what Bob will see in about 5 hours.

Boat near San Benedicto

 

Last night I went to the monthly Cocktail Party.   It is always such a pleasant evening, but I left early as I am still feeling tired....some of it due to change in elevation, and some because I don't sleep well.    Most nights I wake up every hour and I wonder if I am waking up when Bob does.

Bob's plan is to stay at Benedicto for 2 nights...we hope that he is not asked to move on because he doesn't have a permit.