Clearance from Mazatlan

I had a visit from Bob Carroll, a lone sailor on a nearby boat named Adios. Bob is the sort of sailor that I hoped and expected to meet on this trip: adventurous, self reliant, experienced, and down to earth.

Bob gave me some good tips and advice regarding Pachuca. He said that I'm the first sailor that has told him that he avoids using the staysail (i.e. small sail on the inner forestay) because most sailors love it. He has agreed to visit on a quiet day of no wind so that we can hoist up the staysail and talk about it. One reason why he relies on his staysail in heavy weather must be that to my surprise he cannot run his headsail partially rolled in because it gets baggy and loses its shape: it's either completely rolled out or completely rolled in.

He showed me how to use bulldog clamps to patch up a broken shroud. Shrouds invariably break near the deck at the swage so you must put a loop at that broken end using a bulldog clamp then tighten the shroud by passing a rope from that loop round a snatch block and back to a winch. It looked so obvious and sensible to me but nevertheless took someone to show me.

I told him how I had to drop my lazy jacks (vertical pieces of cord running down both sides of the boom to keep the sail over the boom and not spilling over the cabin when the sail is dropped) and get them out of the way before raising the mainsail (because the backs of the battens get caught on the cords). He got me to see things the other way around: instead of leaving the lazy jacks up all of the time except when I am raising the mainsail, leave them down all of the time and raise them only when dropping the sail and until it is zipped up in its cover.

He told me that he had done some checking and Costa Rica does require a Zarpe, meaning that I must get proper clearance before leaving Mexico. I fretted that I had heard on Pyewacket the day before that the clearance procedure from La Paz - and only La Paz - requires a "health inspection" which is really a visit to the boat to make sure that there are no rats, at a cost of $150 USD. Bob provided me with the solution: sail directly east across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan on the mainland. He says that it is an easy sail, an easy entry, and an easy anchor drop. And better yet, the Capitania is within easy walking distance from where I go ashore.

So at this point that is what I plan to do. I'll probably revisit Bahia Los Muertos and Bahia Los Frailes because Arnold and I enjoyed them so much, then sail across to Mazatlan and spend a couple of days there before clearing out. The sailing distance from the Baja Peninsula to Mazatlan will be about 200 miles, which will mean spending at least one night at sea. From Mazatlan it is a very clear run out to the open sea.

In the afternoon I went ashore and visited a shop new to me, "Arjona", and purchased four 3/8" bulldog clamps. Then I walked over to Lopez Marine and purchased two other items that Bob had recommended: a roll of wide sail repair tape and a can of spray on silicone which I did not know existed but which should be a good lubricant for my mast track to make hoisting the mainsail easier. The sail repair tape is interesting. He said that he once ripped his jib from luff to leach in rainy weather. He reckons he dropped the sail, laid it flat on the deck, and put the sail repair tape onto the wet sail on both sides, that it worked beautifully and got him to wherever he was going.

I then walked another mile to CCC and returned loaded like a pack mule with non perishable provisions for the boat. I also brought more immediate things like onions, bananas, oranges, and a cooked half chicken.

Back at the boat I had late afternoon dinner in the cockpit of rice with vegetable and warm chicken. It was a pretty good meal in a wonderful setting.

However, I received no email from Colin regarding the work being done on the engine head. While ashore I telephoned his number twice but got only his answering machine. The plan is for him to email me when the head is ready, so I must assume that he is still waiting.