Day 13 - San Evaristo

Fishing Panga in the morning

San Evaristo at sunrise

As promised a panga with two fishermen on board visited Pachuca this morning at 8.15 and delivered a kilo of filleted fish. The cost was 100 pesos which we think is good value for home delivery.
Soon after that the large schooner "Seaward" weighed anchor and was soon beating its way north. Not long after that two boats arrived and it was Ed on his boat and Charlie, Robyn, and Tory aboard their Moorings charter boat. Charlie and family had left Isla San Francisco a couple of hours before we did but found the going too rough for sailing and had returned. The following day they had sailed to Isla San Jose in company with Ed. Today they made the short crossing to San Evaristo.
Brenda and I went ashore at about 10 AM and we got lucky because there were people at the water desalination plant. I had brought the two 10 liter containers and immediately got them filled for 10 pesos all up. I asked him if he'd wait 20 minutes so that I could get a refill and he agreed, so I made a fast trip to the boat, poured the 20 liters into the starboard (galley) tank, then returned for the other 20 liters to be used for bathing and clothes washing. We were very pleased to get this water. 20 liters added to the water tank may not sound like much, but for us it means probably 3 more days of water for the galley. The 20 liters for bathing will also be very useful.
Then we went to the tienda where we purchased more bananas, bread, oranges, a dozen eggs, and pineapple juice. I returned to the boat with the groceries and Brenda went on a bird watching walkabout. My task during Brenda's absence was to investigate the recent electrical fire.

Robert negotiating for disposal of garbage

The damage was much more extensive than I had imagined. The cable that overheated extended from the forecastle area under the V berths all of the way to the negative bus bar in the main electrical compartment. All along its length it damaged insulation and even plastic water hosing wherever it made contact. I had to pull annealed cabling apart and patch up with tape wherever there had been a breach of the insulation of "good" wiring. Even the large water hose that passes water from the deck filler to the port tank was deeply burned, to the point where I'm not sure if it is still watertight. I plumbed the tank and it is holding an amazing 130 liters of water, which shows how little water we have been using in the head. The frayed cable appeared to be multi strand ground only, and it was connected to the negative bus bar until I removed it. The cable had one of my labels that stated "windlass cable", so it must pass under the V berths to the windlass. This surprises me because the anchor windlass is supplied with power from a small battery under the V berth, and its foot switch is supplied power from the secondary panel at the forward cabin bulkhead. The only relationship between the main panel and the windlass that I can think of is the light wiring that would be required to trickle charge the windlass battery from the central power supply.
I mentioned yesterday that the BEP voltage sensitive relay module had failed, which I learned when I manually joined the house and starter banks. Today I learned why: one of the wires to the relay module had been burnt and parted. Whether the module was a cause or a victim is to be determined. I am not an electrician, so I didn't think that a heavy multi strand ground wire could burn up under load. I thought that the lighter positive side would be the one that failed. It shows what little I know. And by the way, I have yet to find a fuse or breaker in the path of the burnt wire.
At the end of the investigation I switched on the main power switches and was happy to see that all essential systems seem to be working.
And oh by the way, I discovered during this activity that the bilge was half full of water. It took about 3 buckets full of water during the passage from Isla San Francisco. This irritated and depressed me, though it should not have been a surprise. It was to lead to a good thing.

Cantina at left, palapa at rear is part restaurant being built

I met Brenda on the beach at 1 PM and we walked over to the makeshift cantina where we were entertained by their pet goat and black dog who used his licking tongue as an instrument of ingratiation. "Man up!" I told the dog. "You've got to quit groveling and show some pride." The talk did no good, particularly since I was scratching the length of his back while I gave my sermon. Unfortunately the cantina was not having one of its better days. They had no Pacifico beer, only Mondelo. Worse, they had no ice so we had to drink the beer cool. Nevertheless Brenda enjoyed our refreshment in the company of local Mexicans, the young boy, and the goat with the large bell butting the groveling black dog.

Fishermen at work

Beach front

While sipping our beers I dumped all of my electrical and water leak problems on Brenda and out of that came a new plan, which I think may withstand further scrutiny. During the coming La Paz summer I will rent not only an apartment but also a lockup storage. I'll do what I planned to do after my return to Fremantle: empty the boat of everything that is not essential for a short stay. This includes all spare sails, provisions, spares, the boat's cusions and even Pachuca's ceiling panels. Once the boat has been stripped bare I'll replace all damaged wiring, removed every vestige of redundant wiring, and call in a professional to reinstate the BEP voltage sensitive relay as well as the flux gate compass if I haven't been able to get it going by then. But wait, there's more! I'll try to enlist the help of a friend or two to take the boat out into a rough seaway so that while others are steering the boat into the oncoming waves, decks awash, I'll go around and note every place where water is entering the boat.
On the way back to the Zodiac we ran into Charlie, Robyn, and young Tory and had a good long chat. Soon after returning to Pachuca I noticed that both Ed and Charlie had moved their boats from the north cove to the southern end of the bay, no doubt in anticipation of the change to a southerly wind.
It is predicted that there will be a weak southerly wind tomorrow. We therefore plan to sail/motor to the next anchorage. We hope to make the 29 miles to Los Gatos, with its reasonable protection from both the north and south.
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