Spanish Lessons, FM3, and Other Things

I've finished the 25-day computer course on the Spanish language, and for me at this stage of my visit it was hugely beneficial.  After more than a year immersed in the Mexican culture I felt ripe for some structured learning.  The course involved written instruction followed by audio sessions where I would be asked to say things in Spanish then I would hear it spoken.  My alarm goes off at 5 AM and by 5.30 AM I would be going through the next lesson until 7 AM.  This forced me to work on the boat in the hotter part of the day, but I though it important to get the study out of the way first thing, while my mind was relatively fresh and clear.

I'm already reaping benefits in the real world.  This week the dentist discovered me in the reception area 25 minutes before my appointment.  "Soy temprano" ("I am early") rolled easily off my tongue, something I would not have been able to say a week earlier.  At the Immigration counter I had learned enough to say the polite "Me gustaria renovar mi visa FM3" ("I would like ...") instead of the harder "Quiero ..." ("I want ...").

I don't plan to let up with the effort. I am presently working through some supplementary exercises in the course, then will look at David's Spanish course which I can download from the Club Cruceros site.  I'll also troll through the internet for other material.  The idea is to have as much autonomous material on board for my long cruise back to Australia.

I spent an afternoon washing and drying all of the wet weather gear and PFD's, which are inflatable life jackets with built in harnesses. That was very satisfying: I'll setting off with clean, supple, salt free equipment.  There are three PFD's on board - for Brenda, Arnold, and myself.  In the vest of mine is a small Personal Locator Beacon EPIRB-type of device which I purchased in Hawaii.  I tested it and found it to be working OK.

Yesterday morning I visited the Immigration office and got the information and material that I needed in order to renew my FM3 resident visa, which expires on 27 July.  Fortunately Bob Carroll visited the boat later that morning and pointed me to a great description of the FM3 procedures on the Club Cruceros web site.  With that as a guide I was able to log into the Immigration web site and produce the required document in which I supplied all sorts of information.  I then filled in the "basic" paper form using an English version which I noticed had been produced by Al, as a guide.  After that I then went to the bank and paid my fee (1290 pesos), strolled over to the photographer for the required photos (120 pesos), but got back to the Immigration office after their 1 PM closing time.  This morning I was the second person in and was relieved to learn that all was in order.  I am to return in 10 days to pick up my new FM3 card - and my US passport!

Musto wet weather trousers clean, repaired, ready for duty

After 67 years on the planet I've done my first sewing job.  One of the wet weather trousers had a 10" tear in the inner lining, which appears to be nylon.  If it was not repaired it was likely that sooner or later I would put a foot into the tear and ruin the trousers.  Fortunately I had found Brenda's sewing kit in the bodega and after quick instructions from her on whether to butt join or overlap the fabric (ans: overlap) and how to start and finish the threading (ans: overtitch 3 times) I had a go at it this morning and was extremely pleased with the result. There are two independent threads, one spiraling up and the other down.  Every 2 inches I would put in a few back stitches in an attempt to make each section independent.  The result may not look pretty (though it doesn't look bad to me), but it certainly looks strong and should hold up until my return to Australia.  I think that Arnold would agree that those two sets of Musto wet weather trousers were some of the most effective items of equipment that we had on board.  They kept us dry during those long, cold, and very wet winter crossings of the Australian Bight, Bass Strait, and the Tasman Sea, with its well deserved infamy.  Had they not worked as advertised we would have been in very serious trouble.

Labels for the Sail Bags

I've always had a bit of a problem with durable labeling of the various sail bags.  I finally came up with the idea of using those plastic tags used for keys.  The actual cardboard labels are protected structurally and from moisture by the plastic cases, and they can be easily replaced if circumstances change.  The photo shows 8 labels, with a 9th label in the navigation table drawer awaiting the arrival of the storm jib which I will bring back from Kingston.  This morning I added a tenth, for the parachute sea anchor that currently resides in the port sail locker.

Today at 4 PM I visit the dentist to lose one real tooth and gain one false one.  I'm down to 23 real teeth, but it looks like this set of chompers will see me out.