Fish Shop and Pato Has Sail

In the early afternoon I went for a walk to find the fish shops.  I followed Alfredo's instructions and was soon in a small commercial precinct with small tourist shops, a few boat ticketing booths, and three pescaderias, fish shops.   The large one was closed but the one I visited seemed to have everything that I could possibly want, from teeny weeny fish that wouldn't qualify for a sardine can to parts of things that I would not want to meet in a dark alley. 

The Mar De Plata Fishing Fleet

I selected fillets that turned out to be "Salmon Rodaya" at 38 pesos (about $8) a kilo.  I then saw a nice fillet of pink salmon ("Filet Salmon Rosaro") at 98 pesos (about $21) a kilo.  The .43 kg (about 1 lb) piece cost about $9.  That might seem like a high price for these parts but it is definitely top quality salmon.

So my refrigerator is now well stocked with fresh fish, chicken, vegetables and fruit and so I expect to do more of my own cooking because I'm finding the food here too oily.  Today I had broiled fish fillets with a large serving of a spinach-like vegetable.  The fish and vegetable were tasty but they had been laced with so much oil that I walked around feeling bloated and sluggish for the rest of the afternoon.

On the way back I ran into Jorge (George) by the footbridge and he introduced me to his friend Raul.  Raul has a "Victory 34" which he says is well known in Australia and New Zealand.  I invited them on board to look at the boat and soon we were discussing the repair issues.  I showed them the radar problem and Raul reckons that there is a glitch with either the motor that drives the scanner or with the track it turns on.  In any event, he is confident that the local man will solve the problem.  Jorge said that on Monday after seeing the radar man we will go to another place nearby regarding the autopilot, which I will take with me.

Raul says that the stainless steel rigging is no problem.  He reckons that if I can supply the measurements the rigging can be delivered in 2 days.  I replied that I wasn't prepared to climb the mast and take my own measurements, nor was I prepared to fit the new wires over the crosstrees and sew on new end covers.  The job is too important (and dangerous) for an amateur.  Both he and Jorge say that there is a local man who can do the measuring, ordering, and fitting.

While we were talking Pato Salas showed up in an inflatable as promised, with two children on board.  I handed over the sail and told him to do whatever was required to make the sail as strong as possible.  I told him that the cost wasn't important but the result was.  Yes, I know that I'm not supposed to talk like that but you've got to trust your contractor, and I wanted to let him know that he didn't need to feel like he had to cut corners to keep the cost down.  When I get the sail back I'll discuss with him the prospects of the it getting me back to Australia, and if there is any doubt I'll have another one made, probably by Hood Sails in BA.