Ensenada April 6 - 16 2012

Duck Breath, firmly bolted to the hill overlooking Ensenada, gives his morning weather report and unique slant on world news most mornings on VHF 69. Our standard morning routine has one of us jumping out from under the warm covers (brrrrr) to dash into the galley to put on the tea pot to boil. Then back in bed where it is warm, then back out to add the tea once the whistle starts. Back in bed while the tea steeps. Then dash out again to grab fruit and tea and the handheld VHF. We sit upright in the master berth and switch on the radio for Duck Breath's morning soliloquy. Soon, the air outside is warmer than the air inside so we open up the the gangway and portlights and start our day on Traveler. It's such a nice way to wake up and it's how we want to wake up every day.

Traveler has moved from rocking and rolling around Baja Naval to the calm waters of Cruiseport Marina. The constant lunging of the boat was taking a huge toll on our dock lines and fenders so we had to make the move. We do miss being right there on the Ensenada Malecon, so close to the fish market and all the sounds and smells of a busy waterfront. While at Baja Naval we had dinner with Marco and Naida on their sweet Passport 40 and the next day had an exciting sail and anchor practice out in the bay as a big storm was approaching from the north. We only broke the main halyard turning block and the chain stripper on the anchor windlass on this outing.  Not too shabby.

We got turned on to a little family run restaurant/food stand called Carnitas Hnos Ramirez on Riveroll and Segunda. Each day they bring a roasted pig to their small restaurant.  Mamma makes fresh corn tortillas on a griddle while Papa chops up the pork for a delicious pork taco for 14 pesos.  Every day, only one menu item, except on Friday when they fry up all the pork fat and load a table up with fried pork rind, free for the taking. If you don't tell them otherwise they will see you are a gringo and pull out very lean cuts for your taco. But I'm sure it's more flavorful to have the standard mix that has a higher fat content. It's right next to the SuperAqua water store where we fill our 5 gallon "garrafon" for 7 pesos (about 50 cents).

At Cruiseport we met many of the live-aboard gringos at a Sunday potluck. Quite a few old salts living single and fixing their boats up (forever), and some couples getting ready to head south in November. Not exactly an exciting bunch but I'm sure we'll find some adventurous types or at least musicians as time goes by. The to-do list gets longer and shorter, longer and shorter, and Connie and Scott are trying our best to be patient as it all starts to come together. Like making a roux, huh? It takes time to do it right.  In the meantime, give me one of those pork tacos and let's go find a cerveza to go with it.

Draining the Rudder

As I mentioned last May, we found water in the rudder and had it repaired. Since then I've been reading up on rudders and water in the rudder. It seems like it is very common for rudders and skegs to get water in them. Some folks will say water in the rudder is a sure sign of upcoming disaster, others say it's par for the course.

Rudders usually have a part foam core and part solid glass layup. This combination results in a more lightweight rudder then you'd have if it was solid glass. Near neutral buoyancy helps the performance of the boat and makes it possible (not easy, but possible) to  remove the rudder without hauling out.
 
Over time, water gets into the foam, steel, and glass core through small cracks in the glass. As the boat bumps along the gulf stream the rudder goes up and down in the water and the pressure on the surface of the rudder changes. This creates a vacuum inside that will pull water in through the smallest crack.

Inside the rudder you'll find two to four steel web tangs welded to the rudder shaft (or stock) running aft. These help transfer the turning effort to the rest of the rudder. The interface (weld) between the rudder stock and these tangs can rust over time if water is present there without oxygen. Hence this connection area should be properly glassed when the rudder is assembled.

When we hauled Traveler I knew we had some delamination in the top part of the rudder because the surveyor had tapped around and found a hollow sounding area. Ovidio cut out a square in the fiberglass skin so we could inspect the area. He also drilled a couple of holes in the bottom of the rudder and that's when the water started coming out. I tried not to freak out when I saw this.

Ovidio also drilled a hole in the bottom of the skeg and water drained out there also.

 Double freak.

I've heard, and it makes sense, that if the water is rusty colored then duh, you've got rusting steel and the connection of the tangs to the stock might be compromised. The water draining out of Traveler's rudder was not brown but light amber. And there was not more than a cup coming out anyway, which is common for many rudders.

People up north have a problem with water in the rudder because when they haul out for the winter the water in the rudder can freeze and cause delamination. Go look in a boatyard in upper Michigan in the winter and you'll see rudders puffing up left and right. Another reason why it is crazy to live up north.

After draining the water out of the rudder and skeg and letting it dry for a few days, Ovidio patched up the side of the rudder where he cut out the inspection area, then he re-glassed the rudder and skep, stopping up the drain holes of course.

Do I have water in my rudder now? You betcha. Am I worried about it? Just a little. But the consensus on water in the rudder is that it's like lecherous thoughts. Most every sailor has some.

And this is yet another reason why we should have a Hydrovane self-steering system mounted on the stern. It can be used as an emergency rudder for when my waterlogged rusty rudder drops off the boat and down into the murky deep.

The Sea Gypsy

Rowena

I am fevered with the sunset,

I am fretful with the bay,

For the wander-thirst is on me

And my soul is in Cathay.

There's a schooner in the offing,

With her topsails shot with fire,

And my heart has gone aboard her

For the Islands of Desire.

I must forth again to-morrow!

With the sunset I must be

Hull down on the trail of rapture

In the wonder of the sea.

Richard Hovey

Note: Rowena is a Formosa 41 topsail ketch formerly skippered by my friend Rebecca and now being sailed by Live Ocean, a marine conservation group in Kirkland Washington. 

Full speed ahead

Here it is March and we've gotten over a major hurdle.  I've not only sold the house but sold some land I owned in Sequim WA.  Now we have cruising kitty! This is not a good time to sell real estate, but when is a good time? We all thought we had a gold mine in our properties till the housing bubble burst.  I was able to get out of all my properties with enough to buy the boat and have a little cash to cruise on so I consider myself fortunate. Fortunate indeed! 

Today I sent out an email to a bunch of my sailing friends here in Seattle, telling them of our plans, and seeing if any are interested in meeting up with us later to help out with long crossings or just to hang out near a warm Mexican port. Since we are cruising on a shoestring, we thought we'd offer a weeks worth of sailing in exchange for some supplies.  Crew can fly down to meet us, donate a week's worth of groceries (think wine), top off the diesel tank, and have a leisurely relaxing week on the clear blue warm waters off the coast of Mexico.  You will have your own private quarters and opportunity to sail, snorkel, cook, tan, eat, drink, and play music.

Connie and I are very excited about this next phase in our lives and are keen to share our adventures with our friends.   The clock's a-tickin.

Commodore's Ball

Scott & Connie at the Commodore's Ball

Eagle and Silhouette are in La Paz

Here is a picture of a caleta on Isla Espirtu Santos that I lifted from Tom Brown and Jeanne Walker's blog, "Eagle's Big Left Turn." 

I want to be there!

We met Tom and Jeanne on the dock in Ensenada in January.  I believe they are in La Paz now as are Patrick Dayshaw and Kirsten Rohrbach on Silhouette who I'm following as an armchair sailor as well.  Living vicariously, you do what you got to do.

We were there two years ago on SeaScrape.  A very happy time it was.

Live in the present

I received this morsel of wisdom last night from T. Bartone.

When you live in the past you live in regret.  When you live for the future you court anxiety.  The present moment is where we live.  And you can make of it whatever you want.

Inch by Inch, Step by Step

Inch by Inch, Step by Step, we're getting closer to the cruising life.  Last week we had an offer and acceptance on the property in Sequim WA.  Closing date in about a month. That should help the cruising kitty.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we visited the Seattle Boat show.  Four times for me, two for Connie. The first Saturday I had my list of freebies to go after. Various drawings and what not.  The Mustang booth had a promotion where you trade your drivers license in for the privilege of wearing an auto-inflatable PFD as you cruise the show. They have spotters roaming and if you get spotted and selected then you win the PFD.  As luck would have it, Connie was spotted and within on hour of arriving at the boat show had won a new personal flotation device, at $240 value!


The next weekend we attended again and while Connie was buying some new fenders at West Marine, I proudly displayed my bright red Mustang PFD by standing at the intersection of various walkways.  Sure enough, they called my name and I won one for myself.  Now we have two new PFDs, one with a spare arming cylinder.

The last time we took PFDs to San Diego we had to remove the CO2 cartridges for the flight.  Then we had to visit Downwind Marine on Canon St and buy new cartridges .   This time we've figured it out how to avoid wasting the cartridges.  The plan is to take the PFDs with cartridges installed to the local Fed Ex World Service Center.  There I can ship the hazardous material via ground labeled as ORM-D_AIR.  Other Regulated Materials for Domestic transport.  We will ship by ground to Downwind Marine in San Diego and just let the good folks there know to expect the package. They will hold it for us.

 The next time we travel to Ensenada we'll stop off at Downwind, grab the PFDs and buy some assorted line and supplies. Then we'll swing by West Marine to pick up the four fenders that Connie bought at the boat show.  You can buy things at a boat show and pick them up at the dealer almost anywhere in the US where they have an office. We'll be totally loaded down on that Trolley!  Might have to use the services of one of those two-wheeled cart guys at the border.

Also at the boat show I got a good deal on a discontinued Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx handheld GPS and a GPSMAP 421 chart plotter with Mexico maps on a chip.   The 421 will interface with a new Standard Horizon Matrix GX2000 VHF Radio & AIS Display.  The radio will use the GPS function from the chart plotter and the chart plotter will receive and display the AIS information from the VHF.  That's IF I can figure out how to wire all this stuff up.  The handheld GPS is the backup and for taking along in the dinghy.

The Boats Afloat show at South Lake Union wasn't too bad.  Overwhelmed by power boats as usual.  However there were a couple of sailboats we enjoyed seeing.  The 1995 Valiant 42 cutter was my favorite.  We liked the Island Packet Estero and the Hallberg-Rassy 40 also. Big dollars. Looking at the workmanship and seamanship qualities of these boats and comparing that to what we saw on the Jeanneau and Beneteau models was a stark comparison. The woodwork detail differences, the use of available storage space, hand holds down below, overall craftsmanship. If you've seen these boats, you know what I'm saying.

I learned a lot at the boat show, through seminars and conversations: 
What to keep in the sewing kit for sail repairs
How Radar works and does not work
How to inspect the rigging
How to get the watermaker back on line and how to maintain it once underway.
What sail inventory to use for long distance cruising
How to dock the boat
How to order a new Hydrovane and install it on the stern of Traveler
How, as a couple, to get along and share the load
How to win free PFDs.
How to spend $9.00 on one beer.

Lindor headed south

Sister ship

Our friend Lindor has headed south from Ensenada bound for LaPaz.  She picked up a crew position on Stargazer, a Rawson 30, a very sturdy William Garden design sloop. 

We wish her a safe and fun trip down the coast.

Sailing out to Isla Todo Santos

We made another trip to Ensenada for boat chores and some sailing. January 7, 2012.  It takes a day to get to the boat and another day to clean the boat and stock provisions.  Sandy grit covered the topsides.  A few mooring lines had parted and the good people at Baja Naval had re-tied the boat for us, knotting together the shredded pieces.  Of five fenders, two were completely destroyed, shards of plastic hanging useless from the stanchion bases.  The next day we went to Agencia Arjona on Blvd. Teniente Azueta and got a very good price on a hundred feet of 3/4 inch three strand mooring line and two 15 inch round fenders.

Master of Electronics

Our stereo had its CD changer had gone on the fritz so we had brought a new one from Seattle and brought it across the boarder.  Connie proceeded to rip out the old stereo and install the new one.  Lots of little wires and lots of little connections. Doesn't she look like a little elf with her glasses and pointy chin?

Isla Todo Santos on the horizon

We next went to the Senora Leather shop on the corner of  Macheros and Adolfo Lopez Mateos and bought some leather scrap and a metal leather punch from the very nice proprietor there.  He helped us later with his good english/spanish translation skills to find other merchants in the area.

My brother Bernie arrived along with our friend Lindor and Bernie set about splicing loops in the new mooring lines while I whipped the ends and Connie created chafe gear out of the leather.  After a couple of days work we had new or repaired mooring lines, all with chafing gear.

We set out for  Isla Todos Santos wanting to anchor for the night. On the way out of the marina we had some circus moments as I managed to swing a couple of 360s inside the fairway and scare the hell out of other boat owners clustered on their stern decks ready to fend off the 34K monster. That boat will not ever back straight.. never.  So I really do need to plan on backing to starboard in every docking situation.

Catching some wind about a mile out, we kept the full genoa and main.  Eventually she heeled over, got in the groove and made an astonishing 6.9 knots in about 10 knots of wind. 


Napping on the port side settee, I awoke to a commotion as we neared Isla Todo Santos.  Up on deck I saw we were about to sail into a field of fishing floats just off the shoreside of the island.  We tacked about and cruised around the fish farm pens and floats looking for depths of less than 80 feet.  Nothing to be found.

Isla Todo Santos Fish Farms

The sun was about two hours off the horizon so with no place better to go we turned tail and headed back the ten nautical miles back to the harbor.  The wind died and with Bernie at the helm we ran the diesel back across the bay.  I went below to start charting just in case the darkness caught us before we gained the harbor entrance.

Dolphins played on our bow wave as Lindor washed clothes and hung them on the lifelines for drying.  Down below I found that not only one but two GPS units had failed.  Both Garmin handhelds would boot, look for satellites, then lock up.  I charted our location on the paper chart in case we needed to dead reckon back but we arrived in the harbor just as darkness fell and I was able to dock the boat without incident.

All in all, a good day's outing on the boat.  Now where's that bottle of 7 year old Havana Club?