This morning the goal was to get the boat back in the water, and we did! However it wasn't a simple process. We were scheduled to go in at 11:30 AM, which we thought would be plenty of time to finish things up, get some coffee, and be ready to go. When we got to the boat there were a few things still left undone (this was about 8am). They had not put on the zincs yet (they prevent electrolysis of other metal parts of the boat that are under water) and I thought it would be a simple process. Well 2 out of the 3 zincs were the right size for the fittings they are mounted upon. One zinc goes on the prop (propeller) shaft, and the other two are fastened to bolts. As luck would have it, the two bolts are of different sizes. Did we know this when shopping for zincs? No. So the prop one fit and one of the bolt on ones fit (there are pictures showing all of this, since I am sure it is difficult to picture otherwise), but the other bolt one did not fit (bolt larger than the hole). I got a machine guy to drill it out, but he didn't understand that it had to screw on to the bolt and not just fit over it. Anyway, the guy in charge of our painting (Juan Gonzales, aka Joe Smith) tore him a new one and the guy ended up fixing it. So that was finally complete.
So the lift is getting ready to haul us up and put us back into the water when I realize that they painted over our depth transducer (basically the device that tells us how deep the water around us is - quite important when trying to stay afloat!). I talked to Juan, and he said it would be cleaned in time. Well they did clean it, about five minutes before going back in the water, but at least it was done (and our depth sounder seems to work fine - phew!).
Then we went into the water (close to 1pm) and our next challenge was getting off that dock and to the fuel dock (just 50 meters away). After a few attempts (and near misses with some concrete docks) we made it and filled up. Nice to be topped off and not have to go through that ordeal again!
We then had a nice ride back to the marina, got in near the slack tide, and made a beautiful entrance to our slip (only took two tries, and no one to see us in our glory). We saw several people here and enjoyed telling our stories of Opequimar and the haul out and painting. We have some new neighbors that just came in from the south. They're pretty interesting because everyone else I have talked to is heading south, not coming from there. Anyway, their reports of the weather confirm our predilection to go south, as they had to motor sail pretty much against the wind to come north. Sounds like South is the easiest (and safest) way to head from here these days.
Friends of ours, Robyn's Nest and Aphrodite and I think some of their friends, are heading south starting tomorrow and we hope to meet up with them whenever we get out of this bay. We have not figured out our plans yet, but I imagine we will be staying here in the marina the rest of the week and then hope to get out of here and anchor somewhere nearby (either La Cruz or at the south end of the bay in Yalapa). Then when we are comfortable with that, we plan to head south like everyone else. It's a tough decision to make, as there is always more work to be done on the boat. However, we feel that after Ben's visit the list is manageable (and quite a bit shorter!) Since there is always something to do, it seems that the earlier we head out the better our chances of actually seeing more of Mexico than Banderas Bay!!
I should also mention that we got our cushions for the bed the other day (before hauling out) and we are super excited to try them out! I have to say that Camelia at Full Sail Canvas did a fantastic job and I would recommend her to anyone!! That makes me remember something - out of all the people we have had to deal with, the Mexicans are by far the best. All of the contract work we have had done has been wonderful, on time, and without any increases in price. Maybe we are not bargaining hard enough in the beginning, but no matter what problems arise, the initial quoted price has never changed. It is a good feeling that when things go wrong in a contract job, they fix it, work harder (or on Sundays) and never increase their initial price. I wish I could say the same about the expats here (not that we have necessarily run into any problems, maybe we have, maybe we haven't, but we HAVE heard stories!). . .
Before signing off here, I should mention that we called my parents today. When Ben was here, he installed Skype (google it) and it allows us to use an internet connection and a headset (plugged in to the microphone and speaker jacks on the laptop) to make phone calls. I was shocked at how clear the sound was (and how easy to use) with such a bad internet connection!! Anyways, it was great to talk to the folks and they said they love reading this blog and that they have heard good things from others about it - I guess my Aunt Shirley is even printing out these entries so my grandfather can read them!! If you ever meet my grandpa, be sure to ask him who liberated Paris - you are sure to get a good story! He says that he has done a lot of things that no one else he knows has done, and well all I have to say that his saying is inspirational for our trip/adventure on our sailboat. . .
Hasta la bye-bye,
love, Janet and Eric