We left home on November 17th for San Carlos. We “splashed” Vagari on Monday the 21st and took her for a 1-½ hour motor around the point to the marina we use. We did a lot of work on Vagari while in the storage yard. A boat yard is a very dusty dirty place so we were relieved to be on the water again. We went on a test ride with our engine mechanic. It looks like the work he did on the prop shaft and the new prop are all working as intended.
One noticeable difference this year as opposed to last year is that Rhea is climbing around the boat and up and down ladders working on the boat. Last year with her bad knee she couldn’t do much. This year she polished the all topsides (water line to deck) and put new bottom paint on the rudder covering the fiberglass repairs we made to the rudder. The rudder was full of water after last years cruise so we drilled 20 holes in the rudder let it dry out during the hot dry summer. We had to fill the rudder with foam then patch the holes with three layers of fiberglass. This all had to covered with bottom paint before we “splashed”. Rhea finished painting almost five minutes before the crew arrived to launch Vagari. She is better than ever with her new knee.
Today is the Monday the 28th and we are still in San Carlos because we are still working on the boat starting up all the systems and repairing as required. The weather window is closed until Wednesday so we are also enjoying our time with other cruisers. A strong N W wind (up to 40 kts) started mid day Sunday and will last until late Tuesday. These winds are common this time of year. They are caused by a high-pressure system crossing from California across the southern US. The Sea of Cortez has high mountains on both sides so wind is funneled down the Sea to an almost permanent low in the tropics. This is similar to the notorious “Santa Anna” winds of southern California.
Every day we seem to find time to go someplace with other cruisers or have people over for a meal and/or board games.
The surprise problems this year is with the sails. The headsail has a fancy system to make it more aerodynamic. A part of this system, a zipper that runs from top to bottom has deteriorated and can no longer be used. The slides on the mainsail that connect the sail to the mast seem to have worn the track on the mast and themselves. We are still working on the solutions, both short and long term to these issues.
As of Tuesday PM the weather window is now Thursday morning. We plan to leave by 10 AM for a 140 kt mi crossing. It’s a little on the chilly side here so we want to get south quickly.
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