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| On the way to the water |
We found our heater at the bottom of one of the stern
lockers and used it in the mornings and evenings. Jeremy worked on SD’s hull,
preparing her for antifouling. We used the Subaru to drive to various tiendas
and compare prices. We chose Comex at San Carlos.
We were disappointed that Kyotil, the restaurant that we
used last year was only open in the late afternoon and evenings. Fortunately,
after asking around, I found another local restaurant/take away nearby and used
it most lunchtimes. We liked tacos carne asada and quesadillas cameron.
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| Yes! She's afloat |
Other jobs on SD included putting on the mainsail, lazy
jacks and reefing lines plus all the running rigging followed by the solar
panels and the dodgers. A bolt had broken in one of the wooden grab rails on
the roof. Jeremy spent hours and many broken drill bits trying to remove it.
Eventually, serious hammer blows did the trick.
This task prepared him for the banging, bashing and
straining required to remove the seized Blakes seacock from the heads
compartment. SD’s lockers were searched for a second hand seacock given to us
several years ago by the owner of a Westerly yacht called Badgers Sett. After a
full day of tremendous physical effort the seized seacock was removed and
replaced.
Our daughter-in-law, Erin, reached her due date but the baby
was not ready for the outside world yet. Meanwhile, a nail was found in one of
the Subaru’s tyres. We took the car to a tyre place, where the nail was removed
and a patch was put inside the tyre in bicycle repair fashion. The cost was 70
pesos (just under £3).
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| The best view of the Carnival Queen |
Although there was still more to be done, the underwater
jobs were finished and we launched on a hot day. We motored two miles to Marina
Fonatur, tied up and went to meet the capitan, Eduardo. We stayed four nights
just as the Carnival in Guaymas started. Unbelievable decibels blasted across
the marina from 7.00pm until 3.00am.
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| The Subaru Forester |
The Subaru was great for provisioning and we made several
trips to Wal-Mart and Leys. We were sad to return it to San Carlos. Thank you
so much for the loan of it, Ann and Barry.
We paid our bill and cast off on Monday 4th
March. There was a brisk wind blowing, which continued to rise so we put a reef
in the mainsail. The sea was quite rough with water coming into the cockpit
from time to time. As predicted the conditions eased overnight until we were
sailing gently. I had to call a ship on the VHF as it was on the same course
and would be too close for comfort. The ship altered course and passed us one
mile away.
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| First sail this trip |
Just as Jeremy was making a hot drink at midnight, the
cooking gas ran out and he had to change the
bottle on the stern in the dark.
By morning we were motoring and continued all the way to
Isla Partida. As it was so calm, we decided to motor the last 25 miles to La
Paz. However, a 15 knot headwind sprang up and the sea became choppy. We
changed our minds at 2.30am and turned into the bay at Isla Partida, entering
under GPS and radar. We had been there last year, but it was still quite
challenging to find a spot far enough away from the other yachts and catamarans
anchored there.
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| Marina Cortez, La Paz |
Around mid-day the next day we were motoring away when a
call came over the VHF. It was our Canadian friends of five continents, Ann and
Barry, on Cat’s Paw IV. They were anchored across the bay. It was great to see
them again. Both yachts motored and sailed down to La Paz. Once anchored, we
were reunited properly over beers and snacks on SD.
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| The Cathedral at San Jose del Cabo |
Over the next few days, we went out for dinner at Bandidos,
lunch at Claros and played Bridge on Cat’s Paw IV, where the girls won once
again!
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| Isn't she gorgeous? |
Our third granddaughter was born early in March , weighing
in at 8lbs 13oz. She’s called Nina Lorna. Both mother, Erin, and baby were
doing well as was Simon. We were delighted.
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| Proud Granddad |
The next day, our granddaughter, Sophie, in England
celebrated her 3rd birthday. Happy birthday, Sophie.
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| Proud Granny |
I am writing this in our Airbnb in Sunnyvale, California,
just 5 minutes up the road from Simon and Erin’s apartment. We have held Nina
and given her lots of cuddles and we have hugged Simon and Erin. We are so glad
to have made the journey from La Paz, which started with a two and a half hour
bus journey to San Jose del Cabo. We stayed one night in Hotel Posada Senor
Manana and took a taxi to the international airport the next day. We had not
been given tourist visas when we crossed the US/Mexico border on the bus from
Phoenix to Guaymas and learned later that we would not be able to leave the
country without one. Fortunately, the Immigration Officer at the airport was
very pleasant to us and we were able to buy visas for 560 pesos each (£22).
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| Simon, Erin, Baby Nina and Kathy |
We flew to San Jose, California and Simon picked us up at
the airport. Tomorrow, we have one more full day with our USA family; then we
return to La Paz to prepare for our crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
