Pyewacket On The Way

Noel and Jacky on Pyewacket departed at 8 AM this morning as they had planned.

I went by their boat yesterday (Sunday) afternoon on the way to a shopping expedition at CCC and they told me that they would circle Pachuca at about 8 AM today to say goodbye. I told them that I would have my camera ready.

On their first pass Noel asked if they could leave some garbage with me and of course I replied OK because I know what a pain garbage can be on a boat. I waited amidships for the throw but Noel was not getting close enough. "Get closer. Take out my rail." I yelled, a reference when his anchor caught my rail at the San Francisco police dock. He replied something like 'That's why I don't want to get too close'. The boat passed about 5 meters off my gunwale and Jackie had the white garbage bag but was hesitating. "Throw the bag" I yelled. She was past me and I yelled "Throw it. Throw the bag."

Jacky let fly and holy smokes can that lady throw. The bag came flying through the air and I took it high in the chest and got thrown back a foot or two. If I had not caught it I think that it would have passed right over the deck to the water on the other side. She looked shocked at the ferocity of her throw and I yelled "That will be the last memory you'll have of me."

We exchanged our best wishes and off they went, motoring down the long La Paz channel bound for Acapulco.

The photos are of Pyewacket doing her circle of farewell, with Jacky hamming it up in the middle photo, and Noel at the helm. She is a big boat - around 53 ft from memory - and during my visit the other night I remember looking around the spacious interior and thinking "Shit, this isn't a boat, it's a place!"

I had told them yesterday that even though I expected to leave several days after them I might get to Acapulco before them. Although they will have the advantage of motoring when the seas are calm, they planned to coast hop their way to Acapulco whereas I plan to sail "directly" there in one long loop.

I'd better explain Acapulco. At this point I plan to forego Matlazan and head for Acapulco for my formal clearance from Mexico. I don't think that this will save me a lot of sea miles because what I gain from bypassing Matlazan I'll largely lose by making a big loop out of Acapulco to clear Tehuantepec by at least 200 miles. However, Acapulco has the advantage of breaking up my long passage to Costa Rica (about 1900 nm direct distance) into two almost equal legs. But what sealed it for me was my realization that I'll have to travel over 900 miles to clear the Mexican coast and it is better to make my formal exit as far down that coast as possible in case for some reason I am forced to make another landfall in Mexico, which would be easier done if I do not have to make another formal entry to the country.

Regarding my departure from La Paz, there will be at least one more day of delay. I telephoned Colin this morning as asked and apparently I had misunderstood him. Today (Monday) he is going to pick up the head, but he cannot install it until possibly tomorrow afternoon because he has to finish another job. Colin is a one man band with previous commitments and I have already documented the speed with which he has attended to my problem. I told him that I'm not trying to rush him and to do what he has to do. He asked me to telephone him tomorrow morning at 8 AM. I asked him to bring the old head when he visits the boat so that I can photograph the crack for the blog.

... Speaking of telephoning, my colleague from Murdoch University, Neil Huck, read my plight of not being able to telephone Colin's mobile telephone from Pachuca with Skype and did some research. The prefix that I must use is 52-1-.... Skype was putting in the Mexican country code of 52, but was not putting in the 1 which apparently is required to indicate that it is a foreign call. Anyway, thanks to that help from the other side of the world and years after my retirement the problem has been solved. (Thanks Neil!)

This isn't the first time that I have received good help and advice through my tell-all blog (which Brenda calls my "blabberblog".)