Fouled Anchor

Robert Discovers that the Chain Disappears Under a Large Flat Rock

7:30 on Sunday morning in Bahia de los Muertos and we were about to depart for a breezy run to Los Frailes when the anchor would not come up. It took another seven hours to retrieve it. There were three heroes in this saga. The first was Robert Rackl, who donned a facemask and jumped into the chilly water. The depth was about 20 feet and without weight Robert could only get down about 8, but was able to see the chain disappear under a large flat rock. The second hero was Paul Edler, the skipper of the motor vessel Viva. Paul volunteered the services of his panga, himself and his crewman. With a piece of chain and several shackles, Paul hitched the panga to our anchor chain so that the combined force of the two vessels could be applied to breaking the anchor loose. Unfortunately, that failed.

Paul then ferried Sally and Robert ashore so that they could find a diver and negotiate for him to free the anchor. They found the third hero, Jorge, a brawny fellow who teaches diving. Using only mask and flippers he was able to swim to the bottom several times and with the help of the panga of his friend Horatio, was  finally able to clear the anchor. This all took place while the wind was blowing 20 knots, so there was some difficult coordination between Norwegian Steam, Horatio's panga and Jorge. When the anchor finally broke loose, what a sense of relief!

I have always been afraid that this sort of thing would happen. If it had occurred with Norwegian Steam anchored on a lee shore or, even worse, last year with a sunami wave approaching from Japan, there would not have been enough time to get the anchor free and I would have had to resort to cutting the chain with a hack saw.
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En Route to Mazatlan

Norwegian Steam departed La Paz at 10 AM on Thursday, January 26, en route to Mazatlan. On this voyage are Sally, Alan and Robert Rackl, an old friend from the Seattle. Robert flew down on Monday with some parts -- a warranty replacement for one of the digital thermostats in our new refrigeration system and a replacement for the Balmar alternator regulator that died over the summer.

Alan and Robert at the 1535 Restaurant, Bahia de los Muertos

The first night we anchored in Bahia Bonanza on the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo. We anchored last night in Bahia de los Muertos, and we will spend another night here, before sailing to Bahia de los Frailes, a traditional jumping off point for the "southern crossing" of the Sea of Cortez.

Last night we dined at the 1535 Restaurant of the Beach Club at the Bay of Dreams. If anything, the restaurant has improved since we gave it rave reviews in this blog last year. On the other hand, the prices have doubled.

Sally and Robert Explore the Nearly Deserted Resort

At the present time, there is no Mexican pueblo (village) close to Los Muertos. There is Gran Sueños, however, a beautiful resort, completely deserted except for a maintenance staff who preserve the property in pristine condition. Robert was dying of thirst when we visited the premises and a workman kindly offered some water. He said that there will be some clients as soon as March. Only the golf course is not kept in perfect condition, but that can be excused by the high price of water here. The resort appears not to be a going concern at the present time, but the ownership is working valiantly to conserve its investment. Beautiful property for sure.

Robert Swims Back to NS

Robert swam back to the boat from the beach. Must have been kind of chilly, since I measured the water temperature to be 72 degrees F. While swimming, Robert protects himself from the damaging rays of the sun (get this) by wearing a hat and sunglasses. He swims a backstroke/breaststroke that appears to be very efficient but has yet to be introduced into the Olympic Games.

Tonight we dined on board on fusilli with garlic and broccoli. Very tasty.

The weather forecast says 20 knot northerly winds tomorrow. That will get us to Frailes quickly, but if it looks like the waves are nasty, we will stay another day. On Monday, the winds are forecast to be significantly weaker.

Our current location at Bahia de los Muertos, in GoogleEarth format, is N 23 59.379, W 109 49.736.
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A New Season Begins

The Haul-Out Rig at Marina Atalanta

While Sally stayed a bit longer in Seattle, I returned to La Paz and Marina Costa Baja on November 14. Norwegian Steam was waiting, looking better than ever, due to the excellent deck and teak refinishing performed by Geovane and Alberto before we left and the monthly cleaning they did while we were gone. All my hurricane preparation turned out to have been for naught since no tropical storm came anywhere near La Paz in 2011. There was also no hint of moisture damage, mildew, pest infestation or any of the other problems that I had worried about. Very nice welcome.

Easy Does It!

Our refrigeration gave out in April. In Seattle, I purchased a replacement system from the very helpful folks at Boat Electric. Then I traveled to Mexico ahead of Sally to begin the complicated bureaucratic dance necessary for foreign cruisers to bring in repair parts for their boats duty free. I flew in with all the invoices, went to an office in the nearby port of Pichilingue and had the items added to the Temporary Import Permit that we had received when the boat entered Mexico, then emailed copies of this paper work to Sally. She then flew to La Paz with the parts, on November 26, and presented the papers as she went through airport customs. It still took her over an hour to get through as the customs officials checked every item and every serial number on the list, but it was worth all the trouble because import duties would have been quite substantial.

NS Gets a Lot of Support

Marina Costa Baja is an excellent facility. Its main drawback is that it is a long way from town. Fortunately, there are several excellent restaurants there. La Barcaccia, where I ate quite frequently in the summer, is Italian-Mexican. I got to know the waiters, especially Benjamin, Israel and Sam. At first, they attempted to practice their English on me, but when they learned that I was working hard to learn Spanish, they were willing to switch to their native language to help me learn it. All great guys. The other Costa Baja restaurant that we frequent is Marino Azul, with a very sophisticated Mexican menu. Very good, and a bit less expensive than Barcaccia. No help with Spanish, however.

Dogs Provide Security

On December 1, NS was hauled out at the Atalanta boat yard. It is the only yard in La Paz, and one of the few in Mexico, that allows owners to work on their own boats or to bring in outside workers. To get the boat out of the water and into the yard, they used an aging trailer pulled by a large tractor. Six men were involved in the operation. They put on quite a show. In order to make sure that the lifting pads were positioned perfectly, Alberto, the foreman, donned a face-mask and dove under NS a half a dozen times. This is Mexico, where it is often more economical to use more labor and less capital, but they get the job done just the same.

After a Hard Night on the Security Detail

In Atalanta, I installed a new "keel cooler" through-hull for the new refrigeration, cleaned up my exposed bronze fittings, installed zincs and greased the Max-Prop. Independent contractors associated with the yard cleaned and painted the hull, using paint I had placed on NS before she left Seattle. At the same time that all this was being done, Geovane and Alberto applied another coat of Cetol to the teak brightwork.

I had hoped all along for NS to go to Marina de la Paz after leaving the yard, because that marina is very well placed for getting boat parts or professional help. I needed to complete the installation of the replacement refrigeration and also to do several other projects. When we inquired about a slip, however, we learned that Marina de la Paz was full and that no vacancies were anticipated. Sally checked for openings with the Marina de la Paz office nearly every day that NS was out of the water and her persistence finally paid off. We left Atalanta on December 12 and came straight to Marina de la Paz.

With the newly painted deck and refinished teak, NS looks great. In Marina de la Paz, she is moored in front of the Dock Cafe and the dinghy dock. Every day we meet new people who drop by to say how good the boat looks and ask questions about her. 

I am now half way through replacing the refrigeration. I have also rebedded the boom gallows and added a brace to make it stronger. In addition to holding up the boom, the gallows also serves as an anchor for a safety line (jack line) which runs from the cockpit to the bow. Crew can snap their harnesses onto this line and go all the way forward, clipped in all the way. A great safety feature, but the tension in the line was pulling the top of the gallows forward. The brace should correct this and keep it from happening in the future.

Our current location, in Google Earth format, is 24 09.292N, 110 19.557W.

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.

San Francisco is Not Just a City by the Bay

On leaving Aqua Verde on May 13, we again saw hundreds and hundreds of dolphins. This time there were two groups. The largest was traveling north, and kept leaping out of the water over and over again for miles. Those traveling south got closer to the boat and some swam with us for a couple of minutes, but this time they stayed mostly just under the surface of the water without much leaping. Still incredible, though.

We anchored at Timbabiche (25 16.221'N, 110 56.383'W). We rowed to shore and set out in quest of ice and an up-close view of the "Casa Grande," an impressive ruin noted in our Sea of Cortez cruisers' guidebook. The Casa Grande (large house) was built early in the last century by a pearl fisherman who struck it rich upon harvesting a large, rare, green pearl. The place may have been a marvel for its day and location, but all that remains is a shell which stands out against the surrounding landscape as you cruise into the bay. The pearl industry died sixty years ago and now Timbabiche subsists by fishing and raising cattle.

Timbabiche sits on a wide sand beach, nearly two miles long. Unfortunately the beach is a mess, with flotsom and trash everywhere and deep ruts from truck tires as the locals drive the beach to get to and from the fish camp. We walked what seemed like miles down the beach and then down a sand and dirt "road," through roaming cows (and even a bull) on our way to the village, which turned out to be a scattering of shacks and fences constructed of tree limbs strung together with barbed-wire, and a few small geodesic-type buildings. The latter, one of which appeared to be a school, probably were built from kits and were the most interesting things in the town. We saw virtually no people, except the toothless man we hailed from his "porch" fifty feet from Casa Grande to ask if there was a tienda. We could barely understand his inarticulate reply, but we did find the "store," which made those with the bare essentials in San Evaristo and Agua Verde look like supermarkets by comparison. We got a few bananas and an orange soft drink. No diet coke though and, unfortunately, no ice.

Leaving Timbabiche at First Light

The next day we went to San Evaristo, under sail most of the way, which was a real treat. We anchored at (24 54.596'N, 110 42.372'W), more or less the same place we anchored for three days in April, when we were there with Julian and Janet Galpin. We were only a few hundred yards from the small reverse-osmosis (RO) plant on the beach. In April we did not notice any activity there, but this time the machinery was making a loud racket. As soon as we dropped the hook, we took the dinghy ashore in quest of ice and groceries. A fisherman Sally queried said the place to get ice was at the RO plant. This sounded promising, because in April we had obtained some ice of doubtful cleanliness at the tienda across the dirt road from the RO plant.

The plant operator turned out to be very friendly and helpful and when we asked about purchasing ice, he led us into a small room, new and clean, in the center of which was a pile of randomly shaped pieces of ice. He proceeded to scoop 10 kilograms of ice into our proffered plastic bag, using a new and immaculate shovel. Cost for 10 kilos? Ten pesos. We were elated and clearly had become beneficiaries of the RO plant and the presumably Mexican government program that had placed it in this fishing village. On the other hand, when we got back to the boat, it appeared that the racket from the plant as it produced water would go on all night. It was Saturday night in San Evaristo and a party with live music was taking place on the front porch of a house on the beach. With binoculars we could see the musicians, but the sound was spoiled by the noise from the RO plant. Luckily the plant finally shut down at 10 PM.

Norwegian Steam, Anchored in the Hook, Isla San Francisco

On Sunday, May 15, we came to Isla San Francisco and are currently anchored in the bay known as the "hook", at (24 49.232'N, 110 34.082'W), close to the spot where we spent a single night sheltering from a Norther in January, when Jennifer, Andrew, Amy, and Jon were with us. (Too bad we were not able to experience the beauty of this island with them at the time.) Soon after arriving, Sally swam to shore and Alan rowed the dinghy. We walked the beach and crossed a dry salt pond to reach the other side of the island, where Sally swam some more. Sally swam back to the boat with Alan rowing right beside her, keeping very close, because there was a big power boat, possibly Mexican, with three personal watercraft, which were buzzing around between NS and the shore and the other anchored boats. We believe that personal watercraft are not allowed in the park, but perhaps rich Mexicans can ignore such restrictions.

Sally Surveys the World from the Hook

On our second day at Isla San Francisco we hiked the ridge trail at the south end of the island. From the ridge, you get a fabulous view, both of the hook and of the other side. We got some great photos as well, some of which will eventually be added to this blog. We also walked to the light tower at the south end of the beach. We've seen some great blue herons, a number of frigate birds, a lot of geckos (or possibly small lizards, hard to tell), and a sea turtle swimming along very close to shore. We're anchored close enough to row the dinghy in and there's no surf to speak of so we can land without even getting wet feet.
Today we had intended to leave SF, but the water looked so inviting that we decided to stay another day to go swimming. We jumped off the NS deck hand in hand and Alan swam for about fifteen minutes. Sally stayed in the water for almost two hours, and also swam to shore so that she could walk the rest of the beach.

Tomorrow we leave for an anchorage on Isla Partida, possibly our last stop before heading back to La Paz. Not only are we nearly out of diet coke and beer, we also are very low on other provisions, so we are of necessity becoming creative with meals.

Taking Flight

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No Place too Small for a Speed Bump

A P.S. to the post of just 24 hours ago. Still in the green waters of Aqua Verde and in need of more ice, we rowed the dinghy to the nearest shore and trekked up the hot dusty road that runs through the cactus-spotted hills above town. The village is located barely a half mile or so across the water from the anchorage, but we could see there was too much surf there to land the dinghy. The road through the hills turned out to be about two miles, winding back above a valley and a view of the ocean and mountains to the north. Just as we were getting a bit discouraged by the heat, the town came into view, sparser and less populous from above than we had realized when we had come by way of the beach. The only occupants we noticed this time were the goats and their kids. As we approached, I noticed a rag-rug type object snaking across the only dirt-packed, sand-covered road. A speed bump! In this fishing town, someone had taken a hawser (a boat's large mooring line) and fashioned it into a speed bump. If we thought the same objects in La Cruz were a bit ludicrous because the town only had about a thousand inhabitants, at least there was traffic there. In this pueblo of no more than a dozen or so buildings and fewer vehicles, they must just figure you can never be too careful!

We weren't looking forward to the long hot trek back through the hills, picturing ice melting all the way on Alan's back. We were thrilled to learn from the mini market proprietor that we could walk all the way along the beach, if we were willing to climb over rocks and through tide pools in a few places. The walk turned out to be just the ticket -- shorter, shadier, with a sea breeze and an entirely different perspective.
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From Loreto Fest to Aqua Verde

As we had hoped, the bees that were pestering us at our the anchorage at Puerto Ballandra (26 01.112'N, 111 09.880'w) on Isla Carmen did indeed return to their hive at sunset. However, they were back bright and early the next morning, Sunday, April 24, so we retreated to Honeymoon Cove (25 48.380'N, 111 15.390'W) on Isla Danzante. There was another boat anchored in the next cove to the south, about a mile away, so we paddled the kayak over to check it out. The boat, Moshulu, turned out to be from Gig Harbor, Washington. Jerry, a retired Tacoma fire fighter is the owner, and Gail is his crew. They had just completed a circumnavigation of Isla Carmen, so we asked if they too had been plagued by bees. Jerry said at some anchorages they had seen a few but not enough to be a problem. Then he mentioned that he had been a bee-keeper for 20 years and that his tolerance for bees might be greater than ours. He explained that the bees here are after fresh water. If a scout finds salt-free water on your boat, it returns to the hive and signals to others the location of this treasure. That is what had happened to us. A bee found fresh water around our sink, and soon there was a swarm of them lapping it up. He suggested that one way to get rid of them might be to take a cup of fresh water to shore and leave it for them to drink, and maybe they would leave the boat alone. In any case, that would be the humane thing to do, because these bees are really suffering now, at the end of the dry season in Baja.

Although we felt the absence of Jules and Janet this time at Honeymoon Cove, we enjoyed swimming in the warm aquarium-like waters. We were glad to have the respite of the peaceful anchorage before heading back to Puerto Escondido in anticipation of the Loreto Fest. We returned to the port on Monday, April 25, knowing there would be lots of boats coming in for the festival at the end of the week. We had decided we wanted to anchor close to the port offices where the dinghy dock, showers, the Hidden Port Yacht Club, small grocery store and restaurant were located, rather than avail ourselves of the mooring ball which had been assigned to us, at the other of the bay, almost a mile from these facilities.

Some of our Neighbors in Puerto Escondido

We dropped our anchor in a prime spot none too soon. Shortly after we arrived, boats began streaming into the harbor and continued nonstop for the next few days. At the dinghy dock, there was much contention for space, with moored dinghies jostling and bobbing three and four deep. Twice when we were ready to return to NS, we discovered our painter completely untied. Luckily the sheer number of boats and a wind blowing into the dock had kept our dinghy from escaping.

Loreto Fest was held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 29 - May 1. Although there were many cruisers and boats there for just a few days, the stalwarts of the fest were the American and Canadian "locals" with homes or trailers in the nearby beach communities. They organized the money-making events, such as the food and drink concessions, the auction, and the raffle. Monies raised each year go to local charities and to scholarships for local youth. The evening of the spaghetti feed we spent quite a long time talking with Dick and Marcia, two "old-timers" from Santa Barbara who used to be cruisers and are now retired part of the year in Tripui, a small community a mile down the road from Puerto Escondido. Having been present every year since the inception of Loreto Fest 15 years ago, they were a font of information about everything from medical care, to places to cruise, where to shop, and what sights to see. Great people.
Cruisers seemed to be responsible for the music (two nights of good rock and and roll and blues -- we danced the night away) and the games, such as horseshoes and bocce ball. Even though our experience at the latter is practically non-existent, the Norwegian Steam team managed to make it to the semi-finals of the bocce ball tournament, mainly by virtue of showing up when other boats didn't, thus winning several games by default. We found we liked playing the game of bocce ball (petanque, boules, whatever you like to call it) and might continue in Seattle if we can find like-minded players.

Strong Winds in a Safe Harbor

The first day of the Fest turned out to be the hottest day they've ever had, and the last day turned into the windiest. In fact, on Sunday, May 1, the festivities and and awards ceremonies were cut short as the awnings started blowing down and people rushed to their boats, particularly when it was announced that several boats were dragging their anchors. Each trip of the water taxi was full, as many left their dinghies at the dock. Several who did use dinghies ended up flipping them in the strong winds and waves. With our Honda outboard detached and stored safely with the resident diver on shore, we joined the water taxi passenger contingent. We and many others spent the next two days boat-bound, keeping anchor watch as the winds gusted to 25 knots.

Short Lecture about a Fig Tree

Rock Paintings by an Extinct People on the Way to San Xavier

The San Xavier Mission

When the winds died on Wednesday, May 4, we went on a great tour to the San Javier Mission. Our conveyance was a military IMOG, one of the vehicles you normally see manned by soldiers in fatigues with machine guns strapped across their chests. The vehicle drove us right through a hot dusty bumpy arroyo (dry river bed) with no problem, and no seat belts. We bounced through quite a bit of this desert country, saw some indigenous rock paintings and a wild fig tree that grows right out of a sheer rock wall, with roots that extend thirty feet below it, burrowing through tiny crevices in the rock. In the past, the bark of these trees was used to make both paper and glue. We then went to a farm where we made our own flour tortillas and then on to the mission itself, located in an oasis created when the missionaries built a damn in the small river that flows seasonally down the arroyo. The mission is still a pilgrimage destination. Early in December of each year, thousands of the faithful who have prayed for and been granted favors in the preceding months arrive at the gates to the mission, fall to their knees, then crawl the last quarter mile up to the church doors.

Detailing

We left Puerto Escondido on Friday, May 6, and headed back to our favorite spot at Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante. Finding that anchorage already occupied, we settled for the small bay (25 47.693'N, 111 15.422'W) about a mile south where we had met Jerry and Gail on Moshulu. There the waters are equally azure and we could see the bottom even at depths of 20 feet. We kayaked around to the other boats in the area, and met some people from "outside Missoula." (Sally thinks all roads ultimately lead back to Montana.) Carol Evans and Bill Wall are biologists from Seeley Lake who chartered a 22-foot sailboat out of Puerto Escondido for a week to escape the Montana weather, which is apparently still winter-like. They said it had been snowing in western Montana as recently as last week.

Good Restaurant and Excellent WIFI at Candeleros

From Isla Danzante we went to Bahia Candeleros (25 43.390'N, 111 14.200W) and anchored in a bay in front of a big resort hotel, where we were able to pick up their excellent wifi signal. We ate in the hotel restaurant, and managed to procure some ice as well. Ice has become our most desired commodity, since our fridge quit working a few weeks ago.

Sally Visits Yellowstone

From Bahia Candeleros we tried some light-air sailing for the few miles to Yellowstone Beach (25 42.529'N, 111 03.117'W) on the Isla Montserrat. The yellow sandstone cliffs of the big open bay are different from anything we've yet encountered. Our mile-long beach walk at sunset took us through acres of shells and a dried seaweed that ultimately hardens to form a thick carpet on the yellow sandstone cliffs. We were the only boat anchored in the bay. No light except for a lighthouse in the distance.

Last night, Monday, May 9, we anchored once again in the beautiful green waters of Aqua Verde (25 31.330'N, 111 04.444'W). We will be here several days, as we continue our leisurely trip back to La Paz. Today it was warm and sunny again, so we jumped off the deck and snorkeled in the nearby rocks, and it truly was like swimming in an aquarium.
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