Electronic Repairs, City Tour, and Visitor

Sick Autopilot Black Box

Allegedly Vito Dumas's Boat

Beautiful little Boat, Doubts about its name

This morning Jorge arrived to take me to the radar repair facility.  I had the autopilot computer already in my backpack. 

We hopped on his Honda 125 motorcycle and found our way to Electronica Naval S.A. at 452 Acha Street.  It was the most professional looking operation that I had yet seen in Argentina: large and modern premises in a new building.  From the counter I could see through a door to a well equipped electronics repair shop.

We met Carlos Saumell, a vice president of the company, according to his card.  His first question was the brand of radar, and he was OK with Raymarine.  He asked me how long I would be at MdP and I told him as long as it takes, throwing out the suggestion of 2 or 3 weeks.  He told me that they were busy at the moment with the fishing fleet but would hope to fix the unit within a week.  That was fine by me.  They will be sending a man to the boat this week to remove the radar from the mast and take it to their shop.

We were then supposed to go somewhere else to see about the autopilot but I decided to try my luck and asked  if he could also repair my autopilot.  I got the same question regarding the brand and once again he was OK with Raymarine.  I put the autopilot black box on the  counter and he said that the problem could also be with the controller or the linear drive.  I told him that I was sure that it was the black box because I had heard a clicking sound coming from it before I shut it down and also the Seatalk network had started to work again when I took the unit off the network.  Besides, the control unit and linear drive were nearly new.  "That's what they all say" he replied.  But I told him that the components were only 3 years old while the computer on the counter was very old.  In any event he needed the controller in order to diagnose the black box.  He said that if I could get the controller to him quickly they would look at the radar and autopilot problems at the same time.     A couple of hours later I delivered the control unit and a spare Seatalk cable.  Carlos was out but the girl put the items on his desk. 

On the way back to the motorcycle Jorge asked if there was anything else on my mind.  I asked him if he knew a rigger who could oversee the re-rigging of my boat with the stainless steel stays sourced out of Buenos Aires.  He had a friend named Norman with a boat at Club Nautico who could point me in the right direction.

Then Jorge took me on a little tour of the town.  The first place he took me to was the market which turned out to be as good a fresh food (and many other things) market as I've seen anywhere.  So just like that my market problem was solved, and I had been passing within a block of it every time I walked the main drag of 12 de Octubre (That's when Columbus discovered America.) without knowing that it was there.

Jorge had already told me that Mar de Plata is after all an industrial fishing town and I should not venture into the streets alone at night.  Here at the market he pointed to one street not to walk in even during the day because there was a chance that a boy would snatch a bag and run.  This was very important information that could save me a lot of grief in the future.

We then drove to the part of the city that I had not seen before.  The naval base is adjacent to the small boat harbor.  I'm no naval expert but I saw what appeared to be 4 small destroyers.  We took a short walk and had a look at one of their better beaches.  Jorge told me about his 8 years living in Boston.  He is a psychologist specializing inter cultural issues and his wife is a physicist.  They were both at Boston College.  His wife was doing research on polymers for Exxon.  Then we drove along the ocean front road to the high bluffs where the hotels and condominiums are.  The area had that “tourist” feel about it and as proof I saw my first McDonald's complete with McCafe.  Jorge said that during the summer there are lots of foreign tourists around but once winter approaches they disappear.  I pointed out that there seemed to be uniformed gun-totting Prefectura everywhere and he said Yes, and that was good because it protects the tourists.  It was then that I realized that the Prefectura fulfills the function of a civil police force.  (Come to think of it, I've seen one directing traffic.)

We got back to Club Nautico and headed to Norman's boat.  Norman wasn't there but I knew that I had met him when Alfredo took me to see the galvanized rigging of a nearby boat.  He's the man who told me about the Aussie who came in with a broken mast and left Brazil with a wife and baby.  I pass near Norman's boat Mr. y Oso several times a day so I'll keep an eye out for him.  If my electronics and headsail are repaired and the boat can be re-rigged here in MdP then I won't see a need for moving on to BA.  (Raul says that I can get the spray dodger repaired here too.)

On the way to Norman's boat Jorge pointed out a pretty little double ender that I had been admiring since my arrival and told me that the legendary Argentinian Vito Dumas had sailed it around the world.  It looked like the planking had been sheathed in Dynel. 

We parted near the foot bridge and thanked Jorge once again for all of the help that he's given to me (in the less than one week that I've known him) then headed back to Pachuca.  Soon John visited and asked me if I could use a 15 liter water container, which I accepted.  He threw away some 1 liter containers mentioning that they had contained water from the Galapagos and he confirmed that they had visited the Galapagos.  I told him that I had looked into visiting but found the expenses much too high.  He told me that as luck would have it, they were able to enter a boat race to the Galapagos that happens only once every 3 years.  As participants in the race the entire crew got a permit to the Galapagos for an entire month.  The Argentinians may have given him the shaft but he sure lucked out in Ecuador.

After a quick lunch and a lie-down I removed the autopilot controller from the binnacle with little trouble then delivered it to the electronics firm.  I then headed for the market but it had closed, so I picked up some groceries at the little store in the main drag. 

Back at the Club Nautico the place very quiet.  From now on until summer, I suppose, the place will be totally shut down every Monday.    The foot bridge didn't swing for pedestrians until 10 AM so I had to walk around the boat harbor to get to the toilets which of course hadn't been cleaned.

Jorge made a very good suggestion to me.  He said that winter is approaching and in a few weeks the weather will start getting rougher.  This jetty is somewhat exposed to the SW winds and swells, there is a long walk to the club house which will not be pleasant during cold and blustery days, and there is always the problem of the footbridge, which is closed to pedestrians during the night.  Alfredo and the Frenchmen are leaving this week and that will leave me the only person living in his boat on  his jetty.  Further out along the jetty are two boats that are never visited, and on the other side is one boat that is visited about once a week.  He suggested that I see either Club Nautico or Club Argentino about moving the boat into the inner harbor, which would give the boat more protection and put me much closer to the club facilities.  Ordinarily I would stay put because once I'm established in a place I am reluctant to move, but the clincher is the visit from Brenda.

Brenda has booked a flight to Argentina and will arrive in Buenos Aires on 10  April for a visit until 30 May.  Until now I have expected to have the boat in a modern marina in BA when she arrived, but if I am going to spend the winter here there is a big problem with access to the boat from this jetty, which requires a long step up to the bow roller then a swing of each leg over the pulpit while clinging to the headsail.  This is difficult enough for me now, and will get more difficult (and dangerous!) in blustery weather with the boat jumping around.  For any ordinary person it's asking a bit much.  I'll see what the clubs can offer.

Post Script:  Just before posting this blog entry (which I had pre written on the boat) I sent an email to Carlos regarding the electronics work.  After uploading the photos and publishing the blog, which took about 10 minutes, I checked my email and Carlos had responded.  Someone will be at my boat on Wednesday morning.  That whiff of professionalism and efficiency has been very refreshing.