I checked two other chandlers but for me Lopez marine was the most suitable: better equipped and set out more like a shop and less like a parts counter. My primary objective was to get a replacement for my damaged main halyard. I settled on 9/16" diameter 11,700 lb breaking strength. While I was there I also purchased a replacement sanitation outlet hose for the head (38 mm inside diameter, 2.1 meters long) and some electrical tape.
On the way back to the boat I dropped by a small canvas shop and asked if they could sew a loop in the new halyard to hold the shackle for the sail headboard. The fellow said that he could not do it because they use only sewing machines and a palm and needle would be required. However, he directed me to his uncle's shop at the other end of town. Two main halyards are a very heavy package to lug around town so I went back to the Marina where I met Arnold and he watched my backpack and halyards while I went to the boat to fetch the trolley. It was a long walk to the other side of town and on the way I saw a target of opportunity and purchased a set of earphones to jack into my HF radio so that I can listen to Radio Australia in the dead of night without disturbing Arnold. I found the uncle's place and through gestures and my pidgin Spanish the man understood what was required and asked me to return manana. On my return walk I began to wonder if I had given him an impossible task. The torn halyard had two internal strands of material and the sewing had been done between the two strands. The replacement halyard seemed to have one large core which might be difficult to pierce with a needle. We'll see how he does.
I returned to the marina and had lunch with Arnold then returned to the boat while Arnold was engaged in telephone conversations. The wind had was lighter than had been predicted and I wanted to take advantage of that to port water to the boat and fill up its tanks. The starboard water tank had run dry during our first day in La Paz. To that end I performed the task of extricating the three big six gallon (22 liter) emergency water containers in the starboard quarter berth and pouring entire lot of 66 liters of water into the starboard water tank. This meant that for the next few weeks we would be drinking good water from Tahiti. I emptied the two 10 liter containers into the sea (because they contained questionable well water) and proceeded to the dinghy dock with the 5 containers. I returned to the boat and had the starboard tank filled while pouring from the third large container. The 140 liter "empty" tank took 120 liters as expected, because we are not able to pump the tanks dry. I then emptied the 14 liters of that third container and the two 10 liter containers into the port tank. I then returned to the dinghy dock and filled the 5 containers again. After taking a beer break overlooking the marina with Arnold we returned to the boat where we stored the three large containers in the quarter berth for emergency use. I emptied the two 10 liter containers into the port tank which must have come close to filling it. From now on we'll keep the tanks topped up using the two 10 liter containers.
So it was a physically demanding day with hours of walking and lifting those 6 gallon containers on and off the boat and dinghy several times.
On the brighter side the weather was excellent and I got to see more of La Paz. In contrast to Tahiti the back blocks of La Paz might not be as neat and modern as the central tourist district but are still neat and clean. And I have found the prices of merchandise in Mexico to be pretty good. I purchased a set of ear phones for 350 pesos which equates to $28 USD which I found to be OK. The 106 ft of 9/16" halyard came out to $211 USD and I recall paying $320 for the new halyard in Port Townsend, though that probably included the superb headboard shackle that was sewn into it. The 2.1 meters of 38mm sanitation hose came out to $27.93 which I found to be OK.
There is still much work to be done, validating the observation that long distance cruising is about repairing your boat in exotic places.
Arnold's banking problems? Happily they have been resolved. He telephoned USAA and very soon he had his Master card set up for use in Mexico ATM's. (The problem had been that he had never used his Master card at an ATM and the first time is special regarding pin numbers.) The BoA was a bit more difficult but at the end that worked at the ATM too.
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1 comment:
Shopping isn't always easy. I went to town to get a new tile cutting blade. After in and out of up to ten shops and up and down many streets, the blade had to be ordered!!!!
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