Lone Sailor Again

Arnold flew out of La Paz for Seattle via LA on Alaska Airlines about 30 minutes ago. He is even more careful than me about his travel. We were up at 6.30 AM and got into the well-loaded dingy at just after 8 AM for a ride ashore against enough of a breeze to bring some water on board. Fortunately Arnold and I were wearing our wet weather suits and Arnold had protected his 4 bags with plastic. At 9 AM we got into the taxi that Arnold had booked for the 15 kilometer ride to the airport.

The only problem was that the plane was not due to depart until 4.15 PM.

We had coffee and a bite to eat then Arnold learned that AA would not accept his baggage until noon. No problem. It would give us a bit more time together. At noon Arnold checked in his luggage and got his boarding pass. He was charged only $41 for his duffel bag and box with spear guns which I considered a bargain. We then said our goodbyes and thanked each other for the 3 months of adventure and I took a cab back to the marina.

I returned to the boat, had lunch and a snooze, and was soon heading back to the dinghy dock to drop off garbage, fill the two 10-liter containers with water, and primarily to wash the two Musto wet weather bib & braces that have served us so well since Australia. I took a bucket, some washing liquid, and a soft brush and quietly washed them out of sight of the restaurant and marina office using that precious fresh water from the tap where everybody at anchor gets their drinking water.

Back on Pachuca I then put out the "link sheet" which zips onto the cloth cover over the cockpit and is clipped to the stainless steel grab rail of the companion way spray dodger. This will give me better sun protection in the cockpit and will help keep the boat cooler.

I then transferred my bunk from the starboard to the port side, which Arnold was using. This bunk has two advantages: (1) The electric fan on the bulkhead between the navigation table and the bunk can be turned to cool either side. A fan (which I have on now cooling me at the navigation table) is becoming more important every week. (2) The starboard bunk is the one that tends to get damp when I am beating to weather on a starboard tack. Thanks to Arnold's discovery of the location of the drip I will be able to control the damage in the future, but after days of pounding I know that I'll have to remove the cushions from that bunk to protect them from moisture.

While at the airport I borrowed Arnold's mobile telephone and called Colin the mechanic. He told me that he had handed the head in for - I am relying on memory here and could be wrong - cleaning with acid, grinding the valves, and doing something with the valve guides. Arnold told me to expect a head that looks brand new. Colin asked me to telephone him on Wednesday. So far Colin has not let me down on anything that he has promised.

This was my motivation to get cracking on washing the wet weather gear: I've got to get this boat ready and provisioned for a departure that could be as early as next week if all goes well. Tomorrow I will compose a "to do" list and take a bottom-up inventory of my supplies so that I can put together a shopping list.

Yesterday Arnold and I ran into Jacky of Pyewacket at the restaurant/bar near the marina. She and Noel had been to a talk on hurricanes in the Sea of Cortez and were so alarmed at what they heard that they decided to instead of going to the upper reaches of the Sea of Cortez until the end of the year, heading for Ecuador like next week!

They have a plan similar to mine: clear Mexico here in La Paz, then head for Ecuador in one big loop several hundred miles off the coast. We warned Jacky that according to what we have heard and read, La Paz requires a "health check" of departing boats costing $100 USD. This is not consistent since most clearing ports in Mexico do not require this, nor is it logical given that they are inspecting boats that are departing rather than arriving. But that's the way it is. I considered measures for avoiding the charge by clearing out of another port but the cost in time and hassle and possibly fuel of going to another port just isn't worth it.

Anyway, here I am rattling around inside Pachuca on my own. It is always sad when someone leaves your household (with the possible exception of mothers-in-law). But I know that Arnold will be happy go get back to his wife, dog, and hacienda after 3 months away. He makes no apologies for also looking forward to the creature comforts of modern living, e.g. cable TV, fast internet, toilets that actually flush at the push of a button, dishes washed by an electric dish washer with real fresh water. But I've had a boost too. In the last two days I've reestablished communication with Barry Crandall and Barry & Joyce, their marvelous neighbors on F jetty at the Marina Bay Marina in Richmond, Ca. There is no doubt about it: the quality of friendships that you make while cruising are far superior to those in ordinary city life where people are, well, a dime a dozen, so to speak.

Maybe with modern communication there is no such thing as a really lone sailor.