Hurricane Hole

Is a Storm on the Way?

Once we decided to leave Norwegian Steam in Mexico for the summer, we had to find a hurricane hole. This was a complex decision. Our insurance says NS must spend the summer north of 24 degrees latitude, which means La Paz or some place farther north. Since we really like La Paz, the choice of port was easy, but then we needed to choose a marina or a dry storage yard. Many people opt for dry storage, but we decided to avoid that because the extreme heat inside of a boat out of the water in the tropics can actually do a lot of damage.  In the end, we decide to keep NS in the water at Marina Costa Baja, which appeared to us to be the very best hurricane hole in western Mexico. It is also more expensive than any other marina in La Paz, but we decided that peace of mind was worth the higher price. In any case, paying a 30% premium for four months still comes to just a fraction of what we pay for insurance.

Strolling in Marina Costa Baja

The docks at Marina Costa Baja are very new and in excellent condition. They were built by Bellingham Marine of Bellingham, Washington, and are similar to those at Squalicum Harbor in that fair city as well as those at Shilshole Bay Marina, in Seattle, so they are what we are used to. Very reassuring.

Costa Baja has an outer harbor and an inner harbor. The small boats go into the inner harbor and that's where NS is. The inner harbor affords the greatest protection from hurricanes.

Great Landscaping at Marina Costa Baja

NS is moored at 24 12.940 N, 110 17.940 W. Check this out with Google Earth or some similar tool and you will see that she is more than a half a nautical mile from open water. The inner harbor is protected by high hills to the North and the East, and the height of the land to the west and south is at least a dozen feet.

NS arrived at Costa Baja on 6/30/2011. We had intended to get her settled a month earlier, but while moored in Marina de la Paz in preparation for the move to Costa Baja, we came across an opportunity we could not ignore. Two local craftsmen, Geovane and Alberto, worked six days a week for a month to completely redo all of the exterior teak and repaint the deck and the exterior of the cabin. This is something that would have taken me a whole summer. I know. That's how I spent a summer a few years ago. NS looks great. In fact, she has never looked better. And the deck is safer because it has a new application of non-skid granules.

Some Neighbors of Marina de la Paz

The painting and refinishing work was done while NS was in the water at Marina de la Paz rather than Costa Baja because the latter does not allow maintenance to be performed on the exterior of boats at their docks, except for cleaning. Sally went home to Seattle in early June, leaving Alan to oversee the work and prepare NS for the hurricane season. Having to stay longer at Marina de la Paz turned out to be a good thing, because that marina is really a lot more fun than Costa Baja. Marina de la Paz is within walking distance of central La Paz, with its many restaurants and stores. Costa Baja is very isolated. There are several good restaurants and a mini-market, but that's all. The mini-market offers junk food, drinks, ice, and a few pricey luxury items. No fruit. No vegetables. You can't even buy limes for your margaritas!

Hurricane preparation includes removing from the deck anything that could blow away or crash around. That includes all sails, although I have left the main sail furled on its boom because removal and subsequent reinstallation would have required a lot of effort. Instead, I bound it up very tightly, using 150 feet of line and a lashing technique known as Swedish Furling. I think it should be safe enough. I also made all new dock lines from a coil of 5/8" nylon 3-strand that NS had been carrying around but never used.

It is getting very hot here. The temperature exceeds 100 degrees Farenheit almost every day, cools down a bit at night, but is still above 80 in the morning. The humidity is starting to edge up and there are now more flies and mosquitos. It is finally unbearable even for a boy who grew up in the midwest and spent two years in West Africa. Time to leave! Alan will be home in Seattle Monday night, July 18. 

The current position of Norwegian Steam, in Google Earth format, is  24 12.940 N, 110 17.940 W.