RETURN TO THE CRUISING LIFE – GUAYMAS 2018

January 7 – 10, 2018

My New Kitchen

Having finished my TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate program and kitchen remodel just before Christmas, I was finally free to go sailing, once again.  My friends, JR and Sandra, moved into my house to take care of things there while I was away.  It had been a stressful semester filled with student teaching and building a new kitchen and I was ready for a break.

JR and I drove down to Los Angeles in my truck on Sunday.  She left me at my friend Tom’s house in Van Nuys and took the truck back to her place to help complete their move.  I had a nice lunch with Tom before My friend, Don, arrived in the late afternoon.  I would be sailing from Guaymas to La Cruz aboard Don’s boat, Comet, the adventures of which had been chronicled in this blog in previous years.  The three of us visited for a couple of hours and then Don drove us to Marina del Rey where we met the rest of our gang for a farewell happy hour.  We finished the day by spending the night with our friend, Andrea, in Topanga.  It started raining while we were in Topanga.  The storm barely troubled us, but it would later dump over 5 inches of rain on Montecito, resulting in devastating mudslides that destroyed a hundred homes and killed at least 17 people.

Andrea made us a hearty breakfast on Monday and we finally left Topanga by the early afternoon to drive as far as Indio, where we spent the night with our friend, Trish.  The traffic was heavy and we drove through some heavy rain, but it was only sprinkling by the time we got to Indio.  We took Trish out for Mongolian Barbeque and spent a pleasant evening catching up with her.

Despite our intention to hit the road early, it was 11:30 before we left Indio on Tuesday.  We shared a leisurely breakfast with Trish and then set off for Tucson, where we stopped to visit Don’s sister-in-law, Annie.  The rain followed us to Tucson and, though it was only a light rain, it remained chilly.  Having seen a weather forecast of temperatures in the 80s in Guaymas, I had not packed many warm clothes and was getting tired of the same wardrobe.  Annie made us an elaborate dinner and we visited with her for a few hours before making an early night of it.

Having retired early the night before, we actually got up early enough on Wednesday to have bacon and eggs with Annie and still hit the road by 9:30.  The rain had stopped, but there was still a chill in the air and I was still wearing my jeans and long-sleeved shirt.  Annie packed us ham and corn bread to go and we set off for the Mexican border.

Mexican Customs

We crossed at the commercial border crossing in Nogales.  American customs hardly gave us a look, but we had to stop at Mexican customs where the agent asked us a few questions and looked casually through the tangle of personal belongings in the back of Don’s SUV before sending us on our way.  After driving several miles through a no-man’s land where the highway was lined with tall fences, we arrived at the immigration office.

We filled out our visa forms and showed our passports and then were directed to go to the Banjercito office to pay our fees.  A tourist visa cost 533 pesos and they granted us 180 days.  We returned to the immigration office with our receipts, were given our tourist cards, and got back on the road.  The drive from the border to Guaymas passes through oak dotted grassland before becoming drier and more desert-like as we approached the coast.  Finally, we could see the rocky hills above San Carlos and pulled into the Guaymas Marina about 4:00 in the afternoon, just as it started to get cold again.

Comet in the Yard

Comet was in disarray after having all of her gear stowed below decks, so we spent the early evening putting things away and unloading all of gear from the car into the boat.  The boat was propped up on jack stands in the yard, so all our gear had to be hauled up onto the deck by attaching it to a halyard.  We got the majority of it stowed away a then enjoyed a dinner of Annie’s leftovers before having a couple of cocktails and hitting the sack.

January 11, 2018

While the rain didn’t follow us to Guaymas, the overcast had and it was cool overnight.  I had a fleece sleeping bag, but I was still cold at times and awoke early on Thursday.  It was nippy when I got up at 7:15 to use the restroom, but started to warm up as soon as the sun hit us about 9:00.  We made coffee and breakfast, took showers, and cleaned the interior of the boat.  Before noon, I was ready to switch from jeans to shorts.

Broken Dock at the Fonatur Marina in Guaymas

Our first order of business was to head over to the Fonatur marina to make a slip reservation so that we would have somewhere to go once we launched the boat.  Many slips had been damaged by a hurricane and we weren’t sure there would be one available.  Fortunately, we were able to get a slip.  That accomplished, we repaired to the Walmart to stock up on groceries to last us as far as La Paz.  By 3:00, we were back at the marina and made a date to launch the boat on Friday morning.  That arranged, we wandered over to the restaurant Koyotl, owned by the proprietor of the marina, and had a delicious late lunch while chatting with some other cruisers at the next table.

Don paid the marina bill on our way back to the boat and we bought Marina Guaymas long-sleeved T-shirts for just 50 pesos (<$3.)  I was glad to have another long-sleeved shirt, as the sun was starting to go down and it was getting chilly again. 

Municipal Dock Outside Guaymas

Don had heard that there was a free municipal dock in the next cove over where many cruisers went after putting their boats in the water.  He wanted to check it out, so we spent an hour exploring and finally found the spot.  The docks were very nice and mostly empty.  The parking lot was fenced and the gate guarded.  It looked like a great place to stay if you didn’t need water or electricity.  We got back to Comet just as the sun began to set.  We made a mental list of the few things we needed to do before the boat could be launched, made drinks, and settled down to relax and, in my case, write my blog.

January 12, 2018

Friday was a busy day.  Comet was scheduled to be launched at 10:00 AM, but we were directed to be ready by 8:00 in case the boat scheduled to be hauled out at that time did not appear.  We got up early and set about attaching fenders and dock lines and removing covers.  We didn’t see anyone from the yard at 8:00 and I had just decided I had time to hike over to the restroom when I met the travel lift inching its way toward us.  I reversed my course and ran back to the boat to warn Don.

Launching Comet

It is always alarming to watch a boat hang from slings while it proceeds to the ways.  I followed Comet and took pictures as they drove slowly through the yard and out onto the ways.  Once suspended over the water, the boat was slowly lowered until she was once again floating in her element.  We wasted no time in clearing the ways and made our way the few miles from Marina Guaymas to the Fonatur Marina.

The marina had been damaged by a hurricane and all the slips on one side had been destroyed.  Water and electricity had not been restored to all the slips on the other side.  We found working electricity, but had to share one water connection between three boats with a series of splitters and valves.

Our Water Connection

Comet was filthy from having spent the summer in a dirt yard and I spent the better part of the day hosing dust from the deck and anything else that had been exposed.  The deck was running with mud as I started hosing the topsides. We worked until 3:00 and then stopped for a beer.  After lounging for a spell, we decided it was too early to quit, so we hopped in the car and went in search of a new starting battery.  A neighbor from the yard had recommended MALPA Autovalu as a good place to get batteries and we drove around for a while trying to find it.  We had finally given up and decided to just go to the Autozone, when I realized we were on the street we had been seeking.  We turned around and eventually found MALPA, where Don purchased a starting battery to replace the one that was failing.

That mission accomplished, we stopped by Autozone for a gallon of oil and then ate dinner at a seafood restaurant in town.  My coconut shrimp were delicious, but Don’s fish was lukewarm.  We returned to the boat after dark, just as a loud band began playing on the malecon.  With horns, drums, and accordion echoing all over the waterfront, I managed to mostly stay awake until 11:30, when I finished writing and decided to call it a night.

January 13, 2018

We planned to leave on Saturday evening, so we got off to a good start in the morning.  Don reinstalled the jib while I made pancakes from scratch after the momentary panic when we realized we had no pancake mix.  After breakfast, I rinsed the boat again, washed the solar panels, and filled all the water containers.  We hit a snag when Don went to install the new battery, which required tearing apart half the galley storage to reach it, and realized that the battery he had purchased the day before had only automobile type terminals.  He searched through his collection of parts, but eventually came to the conclusion that his adaptors were in storage in Marina del Rey.

Fuel Dock at Guaymas Fonatur

It was 2:00 when we finally went out to the battery store to return the core and look for adaptors and the store where we bought the battery was closed for the day.  We went to Autozone and fortunately found adaptors.  We bought five gallons of purified water, dropped by the grocery store for a few last-minute items, and then returned to the boat.

It took longer than anticipated to reinstall the battery and reassemble the galley.  We abandoned the idea of leaving that night, but still managed to get to the fuel dock to buy diesel and gas for the dinghy before they closed at 6:00.  After returning to the slip, I made salad and hot wings (Why does nobody sell pre-marinated hot wings in the USA?) for dinner and we relaxed, knowing that we had few remaining chores to fill the next 24 hours.