Today we moved the boat into a slip. I saw "we" because I had a lot of cooperation and help. We had planned to move the boat into the slip to be vacated by Antonio but Antonio will be staying a few more days until the winds are favorable for heading south. But Martin and Antonio reckoned that there was enough room between their boats for Pachuca so after a short conference we agreed to make the move. I said that because I would no longer be at the end slip I would be able to go into the slip bow first now that I had enough room for the prop walk to push the boat to port as I backed out. I said that I'd be away for an hour doing some internet work while M&M used my Zodaiac to clean their hull, and when I returned I would recover the two ropes that I had set up on posts at the end slip and tie them to one of the outer mooring balls used to tether the boat. When I returned I saw that Alfredo had recovered the ropes and set them up on the mooring and ready for me to pick up as I moved into the slip.
Antonio and his crew were out and I was uneasy about moving my boat in without him being present to protect his boat but the others saw no problem. We released one of Antonio's mooring lines to allow passage into the slip then Martin and I took the Zodiac to Pachuca while Marianne waited on Pinta and Alberto waited on Antonio's "Wind Chime". On Pachuca I gave Martin a quick tour of the boat then he recovered the bow line from the mooring and we motored into the slip with no problem. Martin commented on how easily the engine started. Alberto was by then on the walkway with a friend ready to take our bow lines. Martin picked up the mooring line with the boat hook and passed it to me then went forward to throw the bow lines to Alberto. I threw a line to Marianne on the starboard side. Soon the boat was secured and I was left on my own to make the fine adjustments and get the bow close to the walkway for easy access to and from the boat. The entire operation was easy and flawless, thanks to the help of my friends.
After a nap I decided to try to get the marine head working. I figured that if I got into trouble I could get help from my friends to stanch the leaking until we could get it under control. I was forced to cut the end of the outlet hose in order to remove it from the thru hull fitting, but there was enough slack for me to re fit it. Now at last I could see what was going on with the ball cock. It turned out to be not a very dramatic problem. Over time we had been turning the handle to open the valve across a shorter and shorter arc until we had been using the toilet with the valve only half open. That was OK and we didn't notice a problem until I left La Paz. What happened then was that a lot of scale had come off the inside walls of the hose and collected in a heap at the ball valve. When the toilet quit working I saw right away that the valve could open only half way and I figured that something was keeping it from opening. The real problem was the heap of scale at the bottom of the hose. I removed the hose then started working with the valve, loosening the scale and opening the valve to let water in and flush the material out. By working the handle back and forth I got the valve to open more and more until it was almost completely open and the water was gushing in quite heavily. But then after beating out the scale from the hose I was unable to re fit it no matter how hard I tried. I think that over time they lose their flexibility and probably shrink a bit. I would have to get a new hose. I then spent the next hour thoroughly cleaning every part of the head, including bulkheads and cupboards. Nothing was very dirty because I had not been using the head and there was no visible mold, but it was a good place to begin the cleanup of the boat. I moved all of the bags that I had been storing in the head to the V berth area because it was nice to have access to the head again.
Antonio showed up soon after and spent about 4 hours on the boat discussing the sailing and facilities along the River Plate, and wow did I learn a lot. For one thing the Prefectura (Coast Guard) keeps a very tight vigil on the movement of all small boats. I'll have to notify them when I leave MdP then radio in 3 times per day giving my position, course, speed, destination, ETA, etc. I then must notify them by radio when I arrive and within 2 hours must visit their premises to do some paperwork. They take it pretty seriously and will launch a search if you are overdue.
Although San Isidro and San Fernando north of Buenos Aires are the place to go for the sort of work I need done on the boat, the waters are so shallow and treacherous that I won't consider going there. Even the locals run aground, and they frequently move around by having crew sit on the extended boom to tilt the boat and raise the keel. Antonio was told by the locals that it was safe to make a departure, and a few hundred meters from the marina he ran aground and broke his rudder. When he got hauled out he saw 4 other boats with broken rudders also from going aground. A channel cannot be cut because the mud continually shifts around. Small boats may not use the narrow shipping channel and in any case the spoils from dredging the channel are dumped along either side so that it is impossible to get out of the channel or cross it except between certain markers. It all looked to difficult and dangerous to a visiting solo sailor.
We agreed that the best plan would be to go to the Yacht Club Argentina in Buenos Aires, which is about a 30 minute drive from the San Isidro - San Fernando area. Antonio said that the various service people will visit YCA. But I was surprised to learn that there are no haulout facilities around YCA and I would have to go elsewhere for that.
Antonio also provided me with the names of various riggers and marine supply companies as well as various places worth visiting along the coast of Uruguay. Piriapolis, Uruguay is a place where I could get hauled out.
Riggers tend to use Chinese wire and I must order by brand, such as Sta-Loc. Import duties in Argentina are a whopping 50%. In Mexico for boating equipment it was 0.
There is one more day of Carnival left and then the businesses will open their doors again on Wednesday. I'll then visit the health office so that I can complete my entry into the country. After that I'll visit a computer store and then try to get the electrical cabling so that I can put the boat on shore power. If I have time I'll go to a laundromat too.
M&M will also complete their entry on Wednesday and will probably set off for the south at the same time as Antonio, when the winds are fair. I'll hate to see them go and it will seem a bit lonely here, but Alberto and Celia are still here and I'm sure that others will come.
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1 comment:
Great to get so much help. Pachuca will be happy too.
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