(posted 03/11/24)
We looked at the weather and the date. Weather said we wanted protection from westerlies. The date said we needed to hurry to Santispac to arrange a ride for the music festival on 3/9. We decided to go to Chivato then to Santispac but then spoke with Jim and Pat in MV Despedida and they were anchored at Bahía el Burro on the east side of Isla San Marcos. We decided to join them. They invited us for dinner. It took us a bit to get there because the plug was stuck in the dinghy. They served a wonderful baked pasta dinner.
This was an example of the best laid plans… the weather “prediction” had been for a calm night…. At 12:30 AM that changed and we had a very rolly night from then on. This was the first night that Jim and Pat had anchored out overnight. A “GREAT” introduction!
from left to right: Neil, Reneé, Pat, and JimThat is our Starlink antenna
(posted 03/11/24)
We left Santa Rosalia (1015 am) for Island San Marcos…~20 mi away. We parked in Sweet Pea Cove (1230 pm). This cove is on the NW side of the island. It looks like a fabulous place to snorkel but thinking the water is too cold, we didn’t go in. We relaxed and enjoyed a wonderful tamale dinner (tamales from the Con Juanito market, in Santa Rosalia). They are so good…explains why they sell out by 8:30 am each morning. After trying twice to get them in the afternoon, the shopkeeper said he’d hold some for me. I bought 4 early on Monday.
At dusk I went on deck to put out the Lucy lights and pick up my bait. There was a fish on my hook! It wasn’t more than 7-8” long and at dark I was in no mood to filet it. Neil helped me remove the hook and throw it back.
Reneé’s little fishWe have the screens up for bugs and it actually keeps the cockpit a little warmer.Just another sunriseAt the end of running the water maker or washing the boat putting the hose away.MV Despedida with Jim and Pat
(posted 03/11/24)
Filled water tank, and fuel tank.
Got WiFi calling turned on for my phone
Had Pat & Jim from MV Despedida over for beer after moving fuel
The day started off slow, and then about noon (maybe) Reneé said, well the dude who was going to help with the fuel did not show up yesterday and hasn’t shown up yet, and Jim on MV Despedida said he needs fuel as well, perhaps we could help each other out. So, the thing is we need about 40 gallons of diesel, the gas station is just across the street so relatively close, but it means dragging two (we only have two) 5 gallon jerry cans back and forth from the boat to the gas station 4 times for us and, as it turns out the same for Jim.
Out comes the cart, and back and forth we went, what was in the Jerry cans went into our tank, then the empty ones went to the gas station and when full we took them to the other boat, and then back to our boat etc.
About the second or third trip, the guy in charge of the marina came by to let us all know that the water problem was rectified, I asked if the water was on, he said no, tomorrow at 9 AM. He also wanted to know when we were leaving in the morning. We had said 9 am, so this was pretty disappointing. I asked if we get the water on now please, and he went and turned it on. So, on Jim’s turn for the fuel, I stayed behind and got our water maker running and had Reneé watching it while I helped Jim with fuel. Somewhere in here, I was up at the marina and playing with my phone settings and FINALLY figured out what I was doing wrong with getting my phone to work on WiFi calling!!!
As it was getting late, we called it a night for adding fuel after getting about 40 gallons each and had Pat & Jim from MV Despedida over for a beer (we took our growler up to the tap room in the marina and filled it). They are new to the cruising life, they have lived in Mexico for about 5 years in San. Carlos and just got their motor boat within the last year. Finally, we got showers and bed.
When running the water maker, the important things to remember, don’t exceed 33 gph or 800 psi. When using dock water the 33 gph is limiting, when using seawater the 800 psi becomes an issue. The little black box shows the water quality, when we are using dockwater typically we get to less than 10 ppm, seawater less than 200 ppm. The US says acceptable drinking water is less than 500 ppm. The handle on the valve on the left side is pointing down to the tank, when we start up we reject until the water quality is good. On the vertical gauge you can see that the float is at about 33 gph. Gallons Per Hour).The plastic box at the top is the breaker box, the upper breaker for the high pressure pump, the lower breaker for the feed pump.This gauge shows the water pressure on the suction side of the HP pump.Filters, not shown in this picture, I have a carbon block 5 micron filter that I use for dock water. This makes sure no Chlorine (a few marina’s here use it) gets to our membranes. This goes into the system between the through hull and the screen on the suction of the feed pump. There is a plankton screen filter, then a 25 micron filter (important for using sea water), then a 5 micron filter before the High pressure pump, then the first membrane and then the second (our pump is not big enough to handle the two membranes in parallel so we are limited ot 33 gph, instead of 40 gph. The blue filter on the right is for flushing the filter (it is a carbon block as well).
(posted 03/11/24)
Visited Mike & Mia on the big boat. He is/was a huge name in games etc. Steam, Valve and Half-life are a couple of the names he dropped. These are games and platforms he is one of the founders for.
Just usYes, we are still having issues with our refrigerator!
So, Brian Coleman of Coleman Marine (a Raymarine company) arrived at 9 am. We spent the day tearing the boat apart looking, poking, prodding and tugging on wires. Brian put a lot of effort into this puzzle, and finally he left a little after noon, he had unplugged one of the Seatalk Network cables, and told me to swap the autopilot back (it had been calibrated to the boat, whereas the one I installed had not). That took a couple of hours and at the end of the day, everything in the way of navigation and boat instruments is working!!!
We also discussed the upgrades, this will replace our current 12” chart plotters with new 12” chart plotters (that fit in the old holes) and the radar (from analog to digital) and the peripheral equipment to make it all work. It will also replace the three dedicated instruments above the gangway with a single 9” chart plotter. The dedicated instruments are boat speed, wind speed and direction, and depth. The Chart plotter will be able to do all of that and also show everything we get on the bigger display. This will allows us to sit under the dodger in foul weather as opposed to sitting at the helm. The wind and temperature difference is significant. Our current equipment is from 2005, so no updates to charts in almost 20 years. Etc.
After Brian left, the plan was to run the water maker and fill the tank, but… the marina turns off the water pressure most of the day. So, that did not work. I got everything put back together on the boat, and we got to the brewery for happy hour excellent beer, Banana and Hazelnut porter! Then back to the boat and I BBQ’d the sausage.
