Sunday Morning Side Show

Pachuca's anchor well has four drain holes: two at the base and not far above the waterline, and two at the upper level where my spare anchor is stored.  I had plugged up the two upper drains thinking that the water would simply fall though the upper level to the base and drain out.  But twice I saw the anchor well completely full of water because the drains could not keep up with the amount of water coming in from around the anchor well cover as the boat plowed through the seas in rough weather, so I wanted very much to free up the upper drains to help with the draining process.

The hardstanding of the boat presented the perfect opportunity to remedy the problem except for one problem: the boat yard prohibits owners from doing any work outside of their boats - they can do work only inside their boats.  Outside work must be done by boat yard or other local labor.  I didn't mind using local labor in principle but it was going to be too hard to explain exactly what I needed done.  The stainless steel plates had to be removed then a pilot hole had to be drilled from the outside at slightly up and forward angles.  Once the pilot hole verified the angles then larger bits would be used.

I remembered Bob Carroll's advice that it is better to just do something rather than ask because it is less likely for the authorities to say No than to say Yes.  So this Sunday morning was the perfect time in which to be naughty and break the rules.

I had a dream run with everything going well.  I bored the holes to 1/2" then used white 2-part marine paint to seal the holes and while I was at it seal a small chip on the bow caused by a loose anchor.  The guard didn't seem to care what I was doing and I was able to borrow other ladders and stands to make the job easier.

While I was working a man from one of the yachts berthed at the jetty passed by and asked if my ladder was properly tied on at the boat rail.  I showed him the ropes on each leg and he seemed pleased.  He told me that once he saw a man at the top of a ladder longer than mine and suggested that there should be somebody below steadying the ladder.  Ten minutes later the ladder went over and the fellow wound up with two broken arms with the fractured bone showing through the skin.

We had a short conversation and he told me that he first visited La Paz 15 years ago and had been here ever since.  He has friends who moved on from La Paz, sailed around the world, and returned to La Paz wondering why they had ever left what to them was the best place in the world.  This frightened me a bit.  I mean, will I be the next sailor caught up in the gravitational field of La Paz?

It gave me  the idea of a song that I could write which I would name "Hotel Baja California" with lyrics such as "You can check out any time you want but you will never leave."  (Apologies to The Eagles)

I was back at the hotel at noon for a shower, lunch with Brenda, followed by the World Cup final on TV.  Viva Espana!!!!

The photo shows one of the upper drains that has been bored out.  The blue tape is to capture any paint that drips from the opening.  (Dark spots are from using the older camera.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is the national bird of Mexico, the splendid Crested Caracara. I have seen only one of them. It was perched on a tall cactus and I saw it from the coach as we drove back to La Paz from Los Santos.

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