Two weeks of hard labour getting the boat ready for yet another season in Pacific Mexico - the 14th...who would have thought. Plans to sail around the Pacific in PARAMTA never became reality as the vagaries of life chose a different journey for her, and us.
Well, we are happy to have done that in our old boat, EXIT ONE back in the eighties and nineties - when cruising was still unencumbered by the masses, and navigation and piloting was something one had to take a course for....Plotting on a chart was done by using a sextant and tables, triangulating for current and drift was not done by software and the push of a button. One had to learn seamanship and the rules of the road as well - something that seems to be alarmingly lacking these days.
To be sure, technology on boats has brought us huge benefits, and made life on the water immeasurably safer. But I do sometimes wonder what would happen to the many of what we old hands are calling The YouTube Sailors, when power is lost, or - heaven forbid- a war destroys GPS signals.
Anyway, we are back in the water, currently on the dock at Marina Turistica Guaymas, formerly Marina Fonatur. I am re-rigging the boat, as we strip everything including the sails, of course, when we lay-up for hurricane season in April. Today the mainsail will be bent on and then all the many small jobs that seem to pop up after every summer hiatus will be worked on. The sun is shining, though, and it is pleasantly warm, making work on the boat pleasure. Most of the time...
The new four bladed MaxProp which I installed surprised with amazing performance, backing the boat in a straight line out that long, narrow channel into the bay was child'splay -far exceeding even my wildest expectations. Prop walk was negligible, offset by much more thrust. Performance at various rpm in forward will be tested whence we are taking the boat cruising - in a week or so.
We intend to be sailing to LaPaz, which we haven't visited for a few years. It is relatively easy to fly to from the US and Canada - so we will have a few visitors coming to see us.
We may be listing the boat with a broker there.
Until next time...
Comentários