Wednesday 7 April 1999

Our package of engine parts arrived here last night via another boater returning from the States, and it appears that everything ordered arrived. Bill has not felt well the last few days but slowly we are getting things ready to cross the sea and spend a few weeks on the Baja before we have to return here to lay the boat up for the summer. We are now only waiting for a fax from the travel agent so that we can make our final payment for our trip to Europe this summer. Then Bill can check out with the port captain and I can gather some last minute groceries and fill the water tank and we can leave.

The NW storms have essentially closed the harbor entrance here last few days but hopefully by the time we are ready to leave the weather will be good for going, if not we will wait until it is.

Saturday 10 April

The harbor entrance is still rough but passable but the NW winds are howling and creating quite large steep waves for the crossing so we will stay put awhile longer. We did finally, after several phone calls, receive the needed information from the travel agent; and have sent off the last check for the ship voyage to Italy, our summer EuRail passes, and the return air flight.

Monday 12 April

What a difference a few days makes!  It looks like a good weather window is opening for the crossing to the Baja. Bill checked out with the port captain this morning and we have our zarpe to travel. The wind has cut back but still seems to be picking up in the afternoon with great force but that is supposed to lessen each day for awhile. Our plan is to get out of here in the morning and head north for awhile before heading across. There are a few more weather reports to check out before we go.

Friday April 16, 1999

We are back in Mazatlan and Bill is currently working on getting the engine back together. Tuesday we had a nice motor sail north along the coast for about 10 hours, then Bill shut the engine down and checked the oil. There was much more oil in the pan than should have been there (!!) so somewhere diesel is leaking into the oil. We dropped the main and mizzen sails which we were currently using and pulled up the small working jib, turned around and headed back to Mazatlan. Lanikai crossed into the harbor about 7:30 AM after a pleasant night sail at about 3.5kn average. We only had to stall around for an hour as we got close to Mazatlan to make the entrance in daylight.

After docking Bill removed the suspect fuel pump, replaced the diaphragm and then he encountered a snowball effect of problems with the reinstallation. Tonight, after a day spent in the engine room futzing with the pump and its attachments, it still will not pump fuel to the engine.

Monday April 19, 1999

We just got towed back to our slip right in front of the marina office. The engine is still not running but at least we have dock electricity now. It seems that Bill solves one problem just to be confronted by another in the next link of the engine fuel chain.   I don't think we'll make over to the Baja this season.

Bill spent the entire day yesterday helping a fellow boater with their mixed up computer. They had had it into a shop here in town and it was returned to them with, among other problems the keyboard and windows all in Spanish. The computer again speaks English, talks to AOL and runs their other essential programs.

Wednesday April 21, 1999

Bill got the engine running yesterday and ran it long enough to show that he had fixed the original problem. New problems still are cropping up. The current problem is stripped threads where the fuel lines attach to the final fuel filter. A new filter unit is needed to correctly solve the problem. It looks like we will be making a trip to the States to pick one up as well as to pick up other goodies that we want/need.

Russ and Jeanette from Shazam stopped by to visit. We had met them in Ensenada at the Baja Naval boatyard two years ago. They are now in Mazatlan after coming down the coast this winter. Currently anchored in the main harbor, they plan on moving to the marina in early May.

Monday April 26, 1999

Bill spent much of last week working up a list and ordering things to be delivered to his mother’s in Chula Vista for us to pick up eventually. Several evenings were spent at the Internet Café checking out small size computers and digital cameras. Bill ended up ordering a Toshiba Libretto 110CT laptop which is about the size of a video cassette and a mid-priced digital camera with a 6X zoom and small memory chips for storing the photos. We will go to San Diego next week and pick up all the goodies and bring them back south. The tiny laptop and digital camera will help us record our up-coming summer adventure in Europe.

Yesterday we removed the jibs from the bow and hauled them up to the spot of lawn here at the marina. We cleaned, dried, folded the two sails and stashed them in the vee-berth to store until next fall.

Today Bill removed the microwave oven, which has only been used three times since we left San Diego18 months ago. This freed up space for the storage of my large pots and bowls. Then, being still energetic, he wired up the charging circuit of the inverter to the shore power. This is to be ready for the 12V freezer compressor that we are picking up in San Diego to replace the 110V AC compressor that we now use at dock and with the inverter while at anchor.

Friday April 30, 1999

Yesterday we (the boaters at Marina Mazatlan) entertained the children from two Mazatlan orphanages for El Dia de los Ninos. We started off the day by loading them all into dinghies for rides around the estuary where the marina is. After an hours ride including a look at the harbor entrance, we all tied up at the island docks (docks unattached to land), where baby seahorses provided by the Mazatlan Aquarium were planted in the estuary by everyone. Everyone received a plastic bag containing 2 sea horses which we emptied into the bay after equalizing them to the water temperature and salinity.

Back to the dinghies and a short ride back to the land for a cool drink and more activities. There is a lady drag-race-car driver, Sherri Green, living here in the marina and she and her husband Joe had set her car up for viewing. Since she had just beaten out the Mexican champion last week she was a big hit. Sherri even signed balloons for all the kids. Later in the day she brought the car out and drove it around the entrance circle while the children sat on the lawn in its center.

Lunch was hot dogs and beans followed by ice cream and cupcakes. The hot dogs were a big hit!!

There were three pinatas full of candy and goodies that were to be broken and all the children got a turn at swinging the stick, plenty of candy for all. A few games and it was time for them to leave. We sent them off with a pile of goods that we had gathered for them over the last month, food, soap, clothing and toys (and a microwave oven).

After our guests had left we lit up the barbecue again, roasted up some hot dogs and uncovered the beer cooler and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours before we all were too tired for more.

Sunday, May 02, 1999

The last few days have been occupied with more projects. Bill has finished the new bowl and pan cupboard, except for the door, and I have painted the inside with white enamel. We pulled out from hiding some of the supplies that we may need for the "after San Diego" projects. Bill has spent much time at the computer organizing the files that he wants to take north so that the new "travel computer" can be activated. He even found time to go to the Internet café and update our web page.

Friday, when I talked to my dad on the ham radio, he informed us that Chico had finally passed on. Chico was our family dog for many years and had spent the last three with my parents in Montana as he did not like traveling on the boat and was getting quite old.

Tomorrow evening we travel on the ferry to La Paz on the beginning of our quick trip to San Diego.

Friday, May 8, 1999

We are in Chula Vista having arrived here Wednesday evening. We were on the Monday afternoon ferry to La Paz and had a wonderful crossing to La Paz in calm seas and a clear sky. The moon was almost full and the boat lights were too much for much star viewing but it was a nice night. From La Paz, on Tuesday, we traveled by bus to Santa Rosalia. There we spent the night in the old Hotel Frances. A wooden structure with wood floors that seems out of place in Baja but was constructed by a French mining company in the last century; they built the town mostly of wood imported from France, all brought around Cape Horn.

Yesterday we picked up all our goodies from Bill’s mother’s. Everything had arrived except the one engine repair part, so today we made a trip to Huntington Beach to pick it up. We then took the opportunity to do a little book and clothes shopping, and then spent the evening with PJ and Loretta. We went to the Dana Point Yacht Club with them for the Friday night dinner and got to see what a wonderful new clubhouse they have.

Wednesday May 12, 1999

We are back in Mazatlan. We arrived last night after a 25 hour bus trip from Tijuana. All of our goodies arrived with us but we had to pay the tax on the replacement freezer compressor to bring it across the border because we were lacking one piece of paperwork. This also caused about a 3 hour delay while all the new paperwork was handled.

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day so we had dinner with Betty in the dining hall at Fredericka Manor where she lives. It was a good meal and afterwards we returned with her to her home and watched the baseball game. Bill typed on his new computer while he watched. Rick stopped by after the game to say his hellos. Bill, Rick and I then went out to dinner before driving off to Rick’s for a second night of web surfing via Rick’s new cable modem, really fast.

Friday May 14, 1999

Yesterday after completing some of the smaller projects, Bill started on the compressor replacement. It is a good thing that he got the main engine running first as the replacement will take several days and we will need to cool down the freezer with the engine driven compressor during that time.

The weather has been just perfect since our return, warm to hot days and cooling off at night. We have also been getting a nice afternoon breeze from the south that makes the afternoon comfortable. The humidity is beginning to pick up but still is not unpleasant.

Saturday May 15, 1999

The new freezer compressor is running and cools the freeser box down nicely. Although it does take longer to cool it, it only uses 5 amps, so even though it takes 3+ hours it still is using much less power than the 110 volt AC compressor did in its 20 minute run (less than half the daily amp hours.).

Tuesday May 18, 1999

After spending the last week projecting we took last night off and went into town for dinner, drinks and relaxing at one of our favorite on-the-beach restaurants, Pancho’s. The freezer is keeping cold with the new compressor using about 60 amp-hours per day and the three solar panels are quietly keeping up with our electric use. The rest of the projects that we had planned to do are finished or almost finished.

The marina here is thinning out, both the number of boats and the people. Many boats have left to spend the summer in the Sea of Cortez or to other marinas to be left for the summer while their crews enjoy the cooler climate and families further north. There are also some boats hibernating here for the summer. But the vast majority of boats are left further north in San Carlos, Sonora. Thursday we move Lanikai to her summer home on dock 10 and it looks like we will have a week to play before we need to finish readying her for the summer. Our hope is to ride the bus to Tijuana on June 2 for the start of our summer travels to Europe.

Thursday May 27, 1999

Last Thursday we moved Lanikai to her summer home. There is no power or water on the dock but it is cheap. We spent the first three days here just relaxing and reading after our busy previous week. Yesterday Bill started to take apart the wires and cables in the steering pedestal, getting ready to remove the entire unit. I have been scratching off the loose paint on the aft cabin top and hope to get a few coats of paint on it before we leave next week. The old paint is wearing thin and cracking on the aft cabin top’s non-skid after 6 years (probably due mostly to having stored the deflated inflatable on it for our many years of travel in the Pacific Northwest).

Marsha and Steve with Cindy, their dog, from the SV Spirit are in Mazatlan in their RV. We have spent the last two evenings enjoying their company. We enjoyed take-out pizza Tuesday evening and last night went out to a taco stand that was highly recommended and turned out to be great.

Sunday May 30, 1999

Bill is still taking things apart, getting the boat ready for Bear of Oceanea to remove and rebuild the engine this summer, while we are off touring Europe. I have gotten three coats of paint on the aft deck and hope that one more today will be enough.

Since we have moved to this slip, we have had two little birds trying to make a nest on Lanikai. First they tried to get sticks to stay inside the sail cover, but since we have them tied tightly closed they could not find a good spot. They spent several days trying though!! They are currently trying to nest under the solar panels on top of the of the canvas cockpit cover. We have come to the conclusion that they do not really know what they are doing as the sticks are just spread all over with no resemblance of a nest, yet they continue to bring more twigs in.

Tuesday June 1, 1999

Yesterday being Memorial Day in the States we had a dock potluck on B dock at Marina El Cid. There was the usual effort put into creating interesting dishes so it was a great potluck and we all ate too much super food.

Today being our last day here, we got to work early with the final preparations for leaving the boat. The dinghy has been deflated to stow below and the outboard has been emptied of fuel and stowed in the dock box. We also removed the shade awnings, fixed hose piece chafing guard on all the lines, including the fenders, and tied on two more dock lines. As we have no neighboring boat the additional lines are run to the far finger to hold the boat away from the dock.

Bear came over and he and Bill spent much time going over what is needed for the engine rebuild. It turns out that the cockpit cover needs to come off to get the engine out. We needed to move the solar panels to another location and rewire them up, so that the fans that we are leaving running all summer will have power. We ended up moving the panels to the aft deck and with some effort got the wiring hooked up again. The birds’ pile of sticks, not really a nest yet, got dumped in the process. Bear also informed us that it rains buckets-full during the summer. Since we have a large hole in the cockpit floor, where we removed the steering pedestal, we will put up all the side curtains before we leave, to enclose the cockpit in hopes of keeping most of the rain out.

We went out to dinner tonight at Pancho’s and had a great dinner as well as too many Pinas Colada, but after all of our work today it was warranted. We picked up bus tickets to leave Mazatlan for Tijuana tomorrow mid-afternoon to give us time to tie up the loose ends on Lanikai in the morning.

Thursday June 4, 1999

We are at PJ and Lorettas place in Dana Point after a long bus ride north. The Mexicans are getting serious about their inspections for illegal drugs coming north. We were stopped at more than 5 checkpoints and thoroughly searched each time which on more than one occasion meant waiting in line behind other buses for our turn. Each inspection took about 15-20 minutes plus the wait time, in one case 1 ½ hours, resulting with us in arriving in Tijuana 3 hours late. We then rode the Greyhound into the San Diego bus station where we discovered that the last bus stopping in San Clemente was long gone. We bused to Oceanside instead, and PJ drove down and met us there. We noticed the drop in temperature as we passed Tecate on the bus and by the time we left Tijuana, Southern California was receiving lots of moisture in the form of rain.

Yesterday morning I rediscovered why I usually travel in denim as I slopped coffee down the front of the light colored dress that I was traveling in. When we pass through Mazatlan next week I will make some fast clothing switches. Today is an errand day as we run around trying to pick up more goodies that we want to take with us as well as a few items to be left in Mazatlan.

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