Underway again

Our patience in waiting for the weather has paid off.  When we left Mazatlan, we had a bit of west wind and were able to maintain 6 knots and had very minimal swell.  Early Saturday morning as were passing Altata, the engine alarm goes off.  I wake Don up, but he can’t find a problem.  Seems the alarm sensor must be faulty, so after listening to it buzz for an hour or more, he took the panel apart and disconnected it.  We had a little wind again this afternoon to help us out, and we arrived close to the entrance of Topolobampo around 10PM.  Although we have been in there before, don’t really want to tackle the channel in the dark, so since it was nice and calm, we dropped anchor a little south of the entrance in about a 35 feet of water. 


 The sea lions woke us up at about 5:30 in the morning and we should have pulled up anchor right away, but since we were in no hurry,  we made coffee and started breakfast.  But, as the sun came up, so did the north wind.  Glad we weren’t far from the entrance, because by the time we did the 4 mile stretch, we had 6ft seas and about 15 knots of wind on the nose.

Passing a tug as we are entering Topolobampo

and the load he is towing

  As soon as we started into the channel, the sand bank calmed the swells and we had no problem maneuvering the channel even as we past a tug and tow leaving  the harbour.

  When we arrived at Marina Palmira, Eduardo was on the dock to take our lines and within a few minutes Barbara from Pacific High came to say hello and welcome us back.  Washed the boat down, then went to the office to check in with Rafeal.

Following day was a holiday, so no sense going to town as everything would probably be closed.  Don did a little trouble shooting on the alarm and will have to leave it disconnected until he can get a new heat sensor.   He also discovered while he was down there that the air filter is plugged. 

Next day, we headed into Los Mochis to see if we could find a new one.  Stopped at a Bridgestone Tire store to ask if they knew where we could get an air filter.  The manager made a few phone calls for us, and gave us directions to the filter store…his directions were exactly right, and the filter store almost had the perfect filter, just a little too big to fit in the space we have.  We wandered about town a bit, past several of the many markets, one of which was selling every type of herb, leaves and tree bark you could imagine.  Seems herbal medicine is a very big thing here.  We stopped for lunch then headed back.

I had made some cookies, so took some over to Pacific High and had tea with them while Don borrowed Ralph’s vaccum to blow out the air filter. 

The pelicans have taken up residence on the end slip

When we cast off from Topolobampo, we  had some big  dolphins travelling with us for a bit, the water is so murky that we couldn’t see them until they surfaced, many times, right beside us in the cockpit, not just at the bow as usual. 

The seas were kind today, no swells and just enough wind in the right direction to get some help from the sails.  By sunset, the water was as smooth as glass, and to the east, the horizon turned a deep blue covered by a purple sky.  Even the water was blanketed in a purple glow.  There was a sliver of a moon for a little while, then the sky turned like black velvet covered with diamonds.  The only downfall came later in the night when the dew was so heavy it was raining in the cockpit.  Guess it’s time to replace the sunbrella on the bimini. 

I went off watch around 6AM, it was still cold and wet.  An hour later the sun was shining warm and the first thing a saw was a pod of dolphins playing in the distance.  It was warm enough and calm enough  today to work on my sun tan while lying out on the top of the dingy.  We arrived at our Secret Marina in Guaymas around 5PM…it seems our “secret” marina is not such a secret anymore.  There are already three boats here. 

Adios Mazatlan

Our plan is to cross over the Sea of Cortez to do a little diving and spend some time in LaPaz.  The weather however seems to have other ideas,  so while we wait for a weather window,  went to the International Craft Market and the ferreterias  with Marta from Reunion, walked the malecon with Scrimshaw & Oso Negro, and went to dinner at Christy’s with Willow.  We also had a few nice visits with Brian & Juliet s/v SeaWings, a young couple heading to Australia as soon as their boat repairs are completed.  And another return visit  with Vicki and Brad from JoJo who we had spent most of last season with in Guaymas.  

We visited with Steve & Sheila from s/v Guiding Light who  took their boat back home last year and have purchased a condo right on the beach…Wow, what a view!  They hosted a pot luck dinner complete with a live band. 

Went to Parque Bonafil one day with Willow to see about getting them some fabric tarps similar to what we have to cover the boat when we leave her on the hard in San Carlos.  We found a shop that will sell the fabric to custom sizes, finished with grommets.  BJ returned there with his measurements and got a nice shade cloth made. 

 We bought some of the fabric by the meter just to add to our existing tarps.  While we were down there, found the Accessorios Maritimos store who can import many boat parts into Mexico within a week or two.   In most places, imported products are more than double the American prices, however because they have their own international trucking company and custom broker,  their prices are not too outrageous.   They can bring in the paint we want, so we will have them order it for us when we return next season.

We spent an evening at the Angela Perraulta Theater with Stewart & Sallyanne of s/v Jekamanzi, s/v Mopion, and s/v Sonrisa. We watched a salsa dancing performance that was a cross between a spanish Salsa Dance and a Celtic River Dance.  Have a look !

 We also had an impromptu dock party the night before s/v Gallavanter left for a month or so.  They had to clean out their freezer,  so the snacks were with their compliments. 

Still waiting for the right weather, we spent a day or two sewing up the tarps and went over to SeaWings to see if Don could get their Winlink airmail working.  On the day we finally did check out, when we came out of the office…another surprise.  John & Elaine, Chinook Boatbuilder members,  formerly of Goolka were visiting in Mazatlan and had brought us a few pictures from 2007.  They took their boat home and have finally sold it. 

And that wraps up another visit to Mazatlan…next stop Topolobampo, then Guaymas and lastly San Carlos.