Fall 2000 & Winter 2001 in Mazatlán

Late October through January

Tuesday October 24, 2000

We have been back in Mazatlán for over a week now and the weather still tries to be summer, but we do cool down overnight.  We had great thunder-showers over the weekend with lots of rain and lightening.  The rain was so much (over three inches in two days) that the central city flooded with curb-to-curb water and deeper in some areas.   It did a great job of cleaning Lanikai’s rigging and washing the decks.  Bill and I had already spent a day washing anchor chain and changing it end-for-end. 

Yesterday I went to town with Christina to pick out fabric to make new boat cushions.  She will come by tomorrow and measure for the fabric so that I can go pick it up.  I picked out a multi-colored brown and tan that I hope will not show the dirt too much. 

Bill has spent the last few days trying to get the diesel battery charger running.  He cleaned a bit of rust and gunk from the exhaust valve and put it all back together but it still refuses to start.

Friday October 27, 2000

Christina came over Wednesday and measured our cushions, and then yesterday I went back to the store and purchased the fabric.  Christina says that next week she will pick up some of the cushions and get started on the new ones.

Bill in the meantime has gotten the little Kubota to run although it still needs an extra puff of WD40 to get started.  Neill from Novia, the engine wizard, came over and watched to make it finally start the first time.   This was after Bill had spent three days in the engine room dismantling, cleaning and trying everything that he could think of to get it to run.

Wednesday November 1, 2000

The marina has filled up in the last week, both with new boats arriving and with owners returning to re-claim their boats that were left vacant for the summer.  

Sunday Bill and I took a break from work and went to Playa Bruja and enjoyed the loud music while drinking several beers and eating some very garlicky shrimp, yummy.  Monday we got started on projects again with Bill removing the main traveler and replacing it with a large u-bolt, very un-sailor-like we are told, but practical for us.  Since we always use a preventer on the boom, the track was superfluous.  This will allow us to run the mainsheet in a more direct manner to it’s winch and free up the boom for a rigid support vang allowing us to do away with the topping lift that gives us problems by tangling with the ham radio antenna. 

Last night there was a potluck to say good-bye to Capitán Mario.  Mario has been the Harbor Master at the marina for the last three years and we will all miss him.  I was surprised at how many cruisers attended, not realizing how many cruisers had returned, but it was a real large crowd.  Earlier in the day Steven on Tawodi (our rigger friend from San Diego) sailed in, so Bill and I spent some time visiting with him and hearing about his adventures especially his single-handed racing to Hawaii and the after-race time he spent there. 

Sunday November 5, 2000

The last few days have been cloudy cool days.  Friday it even rained all day, with light showers starting in the night and continuing all day.  It will be another week or two before our power slip becomes available so we have been reading and relaxing, projects are on hold for a time.   Bill has been working on his computer program and thinking about the design of the cockpit cover that he wants to build. 

Today disaster struck my computer as the hard drive slowly died.  Bill ended up recovering all my important files, including all of our photos from the last two years; but it took him all day. 

Tuesday November 7, 2000

Yesterday Bill used the CD burner that he had picked up last May and stored all of our photos on two platters.  Today he went to town looking for a new hard drive for my computer.  The smallest findable down here is 12Gb and will cost about $350 US.  Since a new computer is less than four times that and my computer is three years old already, it looks like we may be picking up a new computer next trip stateside.

This morning we moved Lanikai into a slip with power.  It is a temporary one until our promised one becomes available, which now looks like it might happen tomorrow.  It was great to finally get to run my sewing machine.   I did a few stitches on the smaller repair jobs with it.

Sunday November 12, 2000

More projects and more projects.  It seems that we have many projects started but stopped at various stages waiting for parts or whatever.  Bill is trying to organize, via e-mail, to have many of the parts and stateside repairs ready to go.  The end of this month we will fly to San Diego and get it all done in one trip.  Do not hold your breath though!!!  Today we tried to remove a leaky window to re-bed it and ended up with a broken window.  With any luck the glass can be replaced tomorrow and the window reinstalled later in the day.

Friday night a group of us cruisers attacked a small restaurant at Plaza Machado for seafood crepes.  The crepes were delicious although the poor cook had to scurry to serve us all.  The tables were outside and we were in good hearing, although not good viewing, of a violin concert being performed in the plaza.  It proved to be a very enjoyable evening.  Drinks were served quickly and we got to listen to the music for the next three hours while we were being slowly served our crepes.  

Thursday November 16, 2000

The window is still not in, but the glass was easily replaced on Monday at a car glass repair shop.  The caulking took a day to set up and since then the window has been waiting for a trip to another shop so that it can be given a mirror-tint finish to cut down on the solar gain here in the tropics.  Bill has been stuck on the boat the last two days waiting for Jorge Rosete, the best stainless steel welder in town, to stop by the boat to give us estimates on the various projects that we hope he can do for us, including the repair of my large coffee pot that suffered a few offshore falls to the floor and now has some cracks in its mouth. 

Today Bill and Ron, Aegean Odyssey, drove into the stainless steel shop to find that Rosete is out of town until the weekend.  He will be by on Tuesday next to visit both boats.  Bill did leave off the coffee pot and drawings of various other parts that he wants constructed.  They should be ready for pick up next Friday a week from now.

Friday November 17, 2000

This evening we went for a sail on Pneuma with Guy and Melissa and with Steven from Tawodi.  It was close to 5 PM when we left the marina and we sailed in very light wind until dark.  Then the hook was dropped and a dinner of make-your-own burritos was set up.  After stuffing ourselves we returned to the marina in time to fall into bed.

The day had started with a gear exchange and during that time Christina appeared with our new boat cushions.  They are wonderful, no comparison to the 30 year old foam that they replaced.  The bed mattress is off to be replaced now too.  Hopefully the new one will be here next Tuesday.

Sunday November 19, 2000

Yesterday and today have been fun days with little done on projects.  Yesterday with a group of cruisers we went to Pepe’s ranch, just north of town.  Pepe is a local doctor here and has become a good friend of many cruisers.  There we enjoyed roast pig, yummy!, with potluck side dishes that we had all brought.  The party was at a small, unfinished hotel with a nice swimming pool in front, but since it was raining none of us went swimming.  The pool was full of children anyhow and it was much more fun watching them than getting any wetter ourselves.  A band played most of the time and when the rain cut back there was even dancing.  The children were a group from an orphanage near Guadalajara; Pepe had been asked to entertain them for their last afternoon in town.

Today, after my first contribution to the amateur radio community as a volunteer examiner, Steven (Tawodi) and Melissa (Pneuma) stopped by.  Guy (Pneuma) is away helping to deliver a boat from Costa Rica back to Mazatlán.  We all took off to town for ice cream and then spent the rest of the afternoon flying kites.  I even had a few swims in the surf chasing kites that had dove into the water.  After cleaning up we went to a teenage disco to watch a new friend, Hernan, dance. The disco was too crowded so the demo fell apart. With ringing ears we left and ate at La Mision before returning to the marina.

Sunday November 26, 2000

This has been the week that we finally made contact with Rosete to get the stainless steel rails made for Lanikai to replace the wire lifelines that surround the deck.  They are in the midst of the project right now and it will be real pretty and strong when finished.  Since Monday was a holiday we stayed in our nice power and water slip in Marina Mazatlán and moved over to the “work docks” on Tuesday morning.  Rosete has an area set up to work on boats there.  We waited all day and no one showed up.  Bill called to their shop several times and finally got the answer that Rosete would show up the following morning.  He was not very prompt but was here by 10 AM to check out what we wanted done and he gave us a good estimate.  A few finishing welds were completed on the boat ahead of us, we moved into the work dock, and work commenced.  Lots of measuring and the removal of the old lifelines was accomplished this day.  The next day, Thursday, they welded the existing stern pulpit together and cut off the tops of all the stanchions.  Friday they showed up with long tubes all bent in the proper shape for the top rails on both sides.  The port one got tacked on and they got started on the piecing-together of the lower rails on that side before dark fell.  Saturday they showed up with partly made parts for the new stanchions that we are having added to the stern.  They got the port side ones together with all the correct angles.  Bill helped install them and the top port-side rail welding was finished. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving and the marina had the usual big celebration.  The day started with a Thanksgiving Mass at 10 AM followed by the blessing of the fleet.  Then it was playtime until dinner, with many games and activities organized.  We did not participate in the games, as we were too busy on Lanikai helping solve the various problems that came up with the rail construction.  Dinner was again delicious and served by Panama’s Restaurant but not all the usual stuff that us Americans are used to on Thanksgiving.  Again there was a great band for dancing; they played for about 3 hours after the dinner.  A great time was had by all.

Friday evening a group of us went out to the pozole place for a dinner of yummy pozole; definitely not a tourist destination.  After returning to the marina, Melissa, Bill and I ended up on Tawodi visiting with Stephen until the wee hours of the morning. 

Saturday December 2, 2000

The stainless steel railings were finally finished on Thursday late afternoon.  We moved back to our home slip and spent the rest of the time until dark washing all the grit and polish off of Lanikai’s decks.  They were only sort-of clean when I finished.  Yesterday Bill reinstalled all the goodies that hang off our stern while I went to town with Sandy (Sirius) and Glo (Double Time) on a short shopping spree.  I returned to do more deck scrubbing before taking a much-needed shower and dressing for dinner.  Friday night was Thorny Burger’s grand opening with music.  Melissa, Bill and I caught a 5 PM bus into the city center and ate crêpes at a fun little restaurant off Plaza Machada.  We enjoyed piñas coladas and then coffee until after 8.  We then wandered down the block to Thorny’s to enjoy the music with a few beers.  The place was full of cruisers from the marina and we linked up with Richard and Karen, from Irie, who introduced us to Win and Sherri, Temptress.  After the music finished we moved on to El Cid Marina to see Temptress.  Visiting there did not end until after 1AM.  We walked the short distance to Marina Mazatlán falling into bed about 2 AM.

Friday December 15, 2000

We arrived back in Mazatlán yesterday after a long bus ride from San Diego.  We had taken a flight to Tijuana and then the bus to San Diego a week before to pick up some supplies, order a Fleming wind vane steering system, repair one computer (Bill’s) and purchase another (for Doreen).  In the busy week that we were in San Diego we accomplished almost all the items on our list and even found time to visit with Bill’s mother and brother and a few friends.  Several parts for the repair of the outboard and the Kubota diesel battery charger engine needed to be ordered and will not be available for pick up until late in the month.   Bill plans to make a quick trip to San Diego to recover them after we know that the parts are in San Diego.  Our return trip from San Diego was by bus as we were carrying a long package containing the tubes to our new rigid boom vang.  Bill spent much of this morning reassembling the vang parts as we had totally dismantled the unit for shipping.

Wednesday December 20, 2000

Bill got the vang install on Monday and yesterday the topping lift was pulled down, no more tangling in my ham antenna for it!!!   Sunday I spent the entire day with Sandy, Sirius, packing up bags of used clothing, toys, some food and candy to distribute in the poor areas on Dia de Tres Reyes.  I even found time to pull out the sewing machine and sew up some sunbrella cushion covers and a new shade cloth to shade the freezer side of the boat during the hot weather.

Tuesday December 26, 2000

Another Christmas has come and gone.  For Christmas Eve I cooked a small turkey and Bill and Sandy, Sirius, came over in the evening to enjoy it with us.  For the last month, they have been trying to get their act together to sail south for the winter.  They were real close to having the boat ready by Christmas Eve but finished up Christmas morning and left the harbor at about 11 AM. 

Christmas day, along with 5 other couples, we joined Mary and Bob on Capricorn IV for another turkey dinner and gift exchange.  The party lasted until almost midnight with many tales flying and much fun had by all. 

Today it was back to work again as I finished up the repainting of a hatch, complete with nonskid made of crushed walnut shell pieces.  Since I will be going to visit Emily and Gretchen early next month, I made two cute dresses for Emily who is purported to enjoy dressing up.  Bill did much thinking and pattern making for the beam that will support the aft end of the cockpit cover.

Sunday December 31, 2000

We are now anchored off of Isla Venados for the evening.  We came out here late this morning and are enjoying all the fun boat traffic around us.  We expect to have a great view of the fireworks tonight. 

In the last week I added more non-skid and fresh painting to the port cockpit coaming.  I also have made great progress on the dinghy cover and hope to finish it soon after we return to our slip.  Bill has spent much of his time trying to get my new computer to read the memory card for my digital camera as well as solving various other computer problems for us and others.  On the guy’s Friday shopping trip to town he purchased two sheets of plywood to get started on the cockpit cover.  The men also were gifted several kilos of sierra (fish!) at the hardware store.  Iretta and Steve (Rigo) and Bill cleaned the many small fish and we spent the evening converting the mass into ceviche.  One of the security guards kept stopping by to make sure we were correctly following his wife’s recipe.  Last night we had a party on the dock to eat up the large quantity of ceviche. 

Tuesday January 2, 2001

Another new year has started.  We celebrated it’s beginning by anchoring overnight at Isla Venados off of the Mazatlán tourist zone.  We had a great view of the fireworks that were shot up from the various resorts that line the beach.  We enjoyed a potluck type dinner on Rigo with Steve and Iretta who also chose to anchor at the island for the night.

Back at the marina late Monday afternoon we showered and fell into bed early as our boat bottom cleaning efforts earlier in the day had left us relaxed but tired.

Today I finished the dinghy cover while Bill vacated the cabin.  He spent his time helping other boaters with computer problems.  After I finished the sewing projects Bill got busy on his computer to work up some drawings for the cockpit cover so that he could get cut out the lumber with as few mistakes as possible.

Tuesday January 9, 2001

Yesterday I returned from a short trip to Oregon where I spent three days visiting with daughter Gretchen and grand daughter Emily.  My sister Susie drove in from Long Beach, WA to shop with us on Saturday afternoon but the rest of the time it was just Em and Gretch and I.  Sunday afternoon we drove to Cascade Locks to meet with Grandma Sandy and leave Emily with her for the first part of the week.  Gretchen’s first day of the term, Monday, was to be a long one and Emily was much better spending it with her grandma.  That also gave Gretchen and I a chance to go to a real restaurant and visit without interruptions from the three year old.  I had had my fill of the Burger King and big M sandwiches that we had eaten for almost all the lunches, being Emily’s favorite eateries. 

While I was gone Bill got started with the hard cockpit cover.  He got the aft support beam laminated together, removed the solar panels and the old cloth top and got started on the drawings for the new front window arrangement.

Last night after my return we went out to La Mision for dinner and were surprised by the crowd, having forgotten that Monday night was live entertainment.  The singer was a superb entertainer and sang mostly country western music.  It was great fun.

Tonight was a party on the end of dock six.  Don and Lena (Windward Luv) had received a gas-powered blender from their children and used it to make lots of yummy margaritas.  After an hour of drinks and nibblies the group ordered 5 large pizzas for dinner; Domino’s Pizza delivers right to the docks!

Wednesday January 10, 2001

Today was a busy day with several projects going on at the same time.  We found and sealed up the leaks in the hanging locker that had been plaguing us for a long time and sent out all the clothing to be washed.  We removed the rest of the stainless tubes from the old soft-top cockpit cover and the brackets that attached them to the deck.  Also removed were snaps screwed to the cabin top and other fasteners on an aluminum beam.  All the holes were filled and I got started sanding and painting the aluminum beam, as the new hard top will be fastened to it.

Thursday January 11, 2001

More sanding and filling today and the filled holes are ready to paint in the morning.  I also got the second coat of paint on the aluminum.  Bill cut out and started the lamination of the cockpit cover forward beam.  We even found time in our busy day to look at maps of Mexico and start planning our “inland by bus” trip that we plan to leave on next week.

Saturday January 13, 2001

Yesterday was a rainy day so projects were put on hold, but Bill did get some phoning done.  He called both to Kevin Fleming about the wind vane and to Admiralty Marine about the genset repair parts.  The repair parts have actually begun to arrive from Japan.  Bill sent off some new numbers for the wind vane steering to the Fleming factory, as the papers that we had left with them are lost in the pile of papers on Kevin’s desk.  Kevin will probably find them when he returns from vacation on Monday, but just in case we sent them again.  I spent much of the day looking at guidebooks along with a map of Mexico searching for interesting stops along our way to the Yucatan.  We still plan on leaving the middle of next week for about a 4-week trip.

Wednesday January 17, 2001

Our trip is on hold for a week as I had a growth removed from my face and we need to wait to leave until after next Monday’s visit to the doctor.  We took the opportunity to try out our Mexican health insurance so Bill had to do much running around to get all the paperwork in order.  The policy is in his name so here in Mexico it was his signature that was needed on everything.  They should cover all but the $500 Peso deductible (about $50 USD).

Sunday Bill made much more progress on the dodger front even getting the rough cut of the two side panels for the front.  Today the wind picked up, but in spite of the brisk breeze Bill worked on one of the side front panels.  After much effort it fits in its spot quite well now.  He also spent much time trying to reach stateside supply sources.  Seems that the head for our small Kubota engine is no longer in stock and the factory does not know when they will be casting them again.  All the rest of the repair parts have arrived to San Diego though.

Saturday January 20, 2001

I spite of having one “too windy and cold to work” day (last Thursday) much progress has been made on the front of the cockpit cover.  Bill got the plywood cut for all the side panels and now only has to cut the one for the front center.  He wants to do some sanding to give the roof support beam its curved shape before he cuts that last board. 

This morning the loose floorboards by the chart table have finally dried out enough so that I could remove them.  Bill cleaned all the sand from the floor and under the boards, returned them to their proper spots, drilling and screwing them down as he went.  They are now finally permanently attached and hopefully will squeak less when Lanikai moves in a seaway.  While Bill disappeared to help some other cruisers with their computer problems, I got started on the painting of the starboard side cockpit coaming where we want to add some more non-skid.

We enjoyed dinner on Irie and visited until late in the evening.  Karen is a wonderful cook and made a delicious bean soup.

Tuesday January 23, 2001

More painting, head repair, initial number gathering for taxes, installing snaps for window shades, more computer help for other cruisers and even some cleaning has kept us occupied for the last few days.  Yesterday the doctor’s visit went well and the mark left on my face is very faint.  We are ready to head out on a bus tomorrow to do some inland exploring of Mexico, away from the sea.