Unexpected Delay

We planned to depart Mazatlan for Chacala early Friday morning, but it is now Saturday afternoon and we are still here. We knew that Sally had a small infection on her leg but assumed that it was no big deal. A call to the consulting nurse service at Group Health changed our minds. They said that Sally should be on an antibiotic called clindamycin and that the infection should be treated with great respect because the bacteria might be MRSA.

Sally has been taking oral clindamycin for about 24 hours now. She also applies hot compresses frequently while keeping the infection site elevated. The infection, which is something like a boil, has "deflated" and diminished in size significantly since she began treating it.

We plan to leave about 6:30 tomorrow morning (Sunday).

Mazatlan

Robert, Sally and Alan at the Lighthouse (El Faro)

Feeding Pigeons in the Central Plaza

We've been in Mazatlan for a week now, and tomorrow we leave at first light, headed south to La Cruz, just north of Puerto Vallarta. On the way, we plan to stop at Chacala, a bay that we visited last year, while heading the other direction. The first leg, from Mazatlan to Chacala will be an overnighter. We plan to stay two nights anchored in Chacala in order to catch up on sleep, then head for La Cruz, which we should make in a single day.

The high points of our stay in Mazatlan were the walk on the malecon, a hike up to the lighthouse which sits on top of a little mountain and affords a great view of the entire area and the meal that Robert Rackl treated us to at Topolo, a simply wonderful restaurant.

Sally and Alan on the Mazatlan Malecon

A meal at Topolo starts with a salsa created at your table to the liking of everyone in your party. The waiter with his cart of a dozen ingredients asks about the likes and dislikes of each guest. Sally, for instance, cannot eat avocados, Robert cannot eat anything very spicy and Sally prefers her salsas very mild. The waiter built the salsa progressively. At the stage that there were still no avocados and nothing spicy, he served Sally's portion to her. After adding avocado, he served Robert. I, of course, wanted the works. We all agreed that the salsa was fabulous.

The meal finished with "bananas foster", again created at the table, with three liqueurs, lots of flame and even sparks from cinnamon thrown into the flame. What a show and what a delicious desert!

Alan and Robert in Plazuela Machado after a Great Meal

In the courtyard of Topopo is a sizable avocado tree that is over one hundred years old.  It produces avocados as big as cantaloupes. The waiter said they do not use these avocados for the guacamole served in the restaurant because guests are not prepared for the taste of the big avocados, but he personally loves them and makes them into guacamole for his own family.

The Crewman Departs

Robert Rackl flew back to Seattle on Monday, having been with us for two weeks. He told us that he had a fine time and that the voyage from La Paz to Mazatlan was especially memorable. We are grateful to him for all the help he gave us and for bringing some needed boat parts down with him from Seattle. Before he left, Robert produced seven hand-written pages for his memoirs.

Skipjack

Robert Rackl, Clipped In and Ready

Yesterday, February 1, at about 5:30 PM Robert Rackl caught a Mexican black skipjack, trolling a silver spoon from the deck of Norwegian Steam. This was a first for both Robert and for NS. While hove-to waiting for the opportunity to enter Mazatlan during daylight hours, we cleaned, cooked, and consumed the catch. Delicious. The flesh is dark and tastes a lot like tuna.

We were hove-to for eleven hours until it was light enough to see what we were doing. By the time we got under way again, the wind had almost died.  At daybreak we were moved smartly by a land breeze, two hours later were becalmed for a short time, then finally carried to our destination by a sea breeze. Classic!

Nice to take a shower and looking forward to a meal in one of several excellent restaurants at this marina.

Our current location in Marina Mazatlan (in GoogleEarth format) is  N 23 16.286, W 106 27.275.

Southern Crossing

The Beach at Bahia de los Failes

As I write this we are about two-thirds of the way from Bahia de los Frailes to Mazatlan, on the route known as the Southern Crossing of the Sea of Cortez. We left Frailes at 7:30 yesterday morning, in very light wind. During the day the wind built considerably, but not enough to provide a fast passage. Our ETA is 10 PM tonight and given that we do not want to enter the harbor in the dark, we plan to heave-to offshore for about eight hours. Bad timing, but that's the way it is with the wind.

Leaving Frailes at Dawn

This has been a pleasant crossing. For the first eight hours the wind direction was Northeast, which was fortunate, because NS could close-reach, her best point of sail in light air. After the wind strengthened, the direction shifted to the north and she has been on a beam reach ever since. The wind has never been strong enough to get us above 6 knots for any appreciable length of time, however.

We have fishing gear on board for the first time. In Mexico, if there is as much as a single fish-hook on a boat, everyone onboard must have a fishing license. Sally and I bought licenses about a month ago in anticipation of carrying fishing gear. We asked Robert to get a license as well, so that we would be "legal." Naturally, he wanted to do something with his license, so together he and I rigged my new offshore rod, reel, line and lures for the first time. Once everything was configured, Robert got the first "crack" at a fish and he is now trolling a lure behind the boat. He is hoping for a dorado (mahi-mahi).

Sunset at Sea

Our current position (in GoogleEarth format) is: N 23 30.307, W 107 17.720.
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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.