Penultimate Week

Last Wednesday evening I was honored by Sue Hoover with a "sailing dinner party" at her home in Port Townsend.  My patron saints of rigging, Dan and Lisa of Port Townsend Rigging were there, as were Nancy Erley and her partner Lynn.  Nancy is a  widely respected double circumnavigator who runs a sailing school and Lynn is an IT expert who could talk my language about IT security and Oracle database administration.  Unfortunately Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails and her partner Nicki were unable to come because they had just returned from a business trip to the East.

It was a fun evening of good conversation and good food, all well lubricated by 4 bottles of white wine. Sue had been unable to see my "Cape Horn" DVD on her computer, so after the rest of the guests left she, Jean, and I sat at the computer and had a look at most of the videos on the DVD.  Jean, who has had a lot of boating experiences of her own, seemed a bit daunted by the conditions on the way to the Horn.

On Sunday afternoon Arnold, Sandra and I drove to Jean's place at Kala Point.  Jean gave us a tour of her large storage shed full of all sorts of interesting things and then took us on a tour of the large gated community with its big variety of houses and condominiums

After a long chat at Jeans's house Arnold and Sandra returned to their home in Kingston, but not before meeting Judy, a neighbor of Jean's, who had arrived for Jean's dinner party.  Soon Judy's brother John arrived with his wife Leanne after driving from their home in Poulsbo.  When I was introduced to them at the door I said "Oh, you are the two who tried to kill Jean and Burl."  Fortunately they took that well and in fact we all got along like a house on fire, as they say.

My remark stemmed from one of Jean's great stories of how she and Burl flew down to the Caribbean in the 1970's at the invitation of John and Leanne to sail with them on their 30 ft boat.  The simpler technology and minimal safety standards of the times must have conspired with the casual attitudes of invincible youth to place 7 people in a boat that wasn't quite ready for sea.  In a 40 knot wind a cap shroud failed at the upper joint, the mast snapped at the cross tree, and they found themselves floundering in a boat that had no radio, not quite enough life jackets to go around, and of course no EPIRB or GPS capability.  They eventually startled people at a resort by sailing in with a piece of sun screen jury rigged as a square sail on the mast stump.  We all had a lot of laughs about that adventure.  John and Leanne went on to build what I was told is a beautiful 50-ft ferro cement boat which they keep in a marina in Poulsbo.

Judy went home to get an early night  and not long after that I pulled out a bottle of Drambuie that I had brought for the occasion.  John prudently refrained because he was the designated driver, and I poured drinks for Leanne, Jean, and myself ... then another ... and another ... and ....  When the bottle was half gone I advised the ladies that neat Drambuie can sneak up on you, and leave you legless.  To prove that she was OK Leanne stood up solid as a rock. which seemed to deflate my argument.  In my defense I  held back on pouring more drinks but before I knew it the women had control of the bottle and the three of us managed to empty it in no time.  Along the way Leanne had to be helped to the bathroom by Jean and afterwards she was helped to the car by John's steady hands.  I write this with a light heart because no harm was done and we had a wonderful time talking about all sorts of things.  In those few hours we established a firm friendship and I hope to see them again (and visit their boat!) on my next visit to the area.

I was a guest at Jean's home that night and in the morning she drove me to Lytle's Auto Detail in PT to pick up Arnold's RX7 which had been in Paul Lytle's hands for the last few days.  This was the culmination of a project that I had been working on for weeks.  The RX7 had been damaged by a gang of idiot teenagers who had stolen the car in California about 15 years earlier.  On the left side of the car were white scars where one of the morons had keyed the door and rear panel, which was a stupid thing to do given that they had stolen the car for their own use.  They had also cracked the plastic covers under the steering wheel in a ham handed effort to hot wire the car.  With Arnold's permission I had the car detailed inside and out as a birthday gift.  The enclosed photo of the left side of the car shows no evidence of the keying damage, but the repair wasn't quite good enough because of difficulties with the drying and curing of the paint; so Arnold is to drop by Lytle's in about a month for another round of touching up while he waits.  The paint matching for both the body work and new plastic covers of the car was perfect.  Paul had a lot of good things to say about the genuine 1984 RX7 with a rotary engine.  He said that the later models were made with thinner body metal and tended to rust out.  Arnold's RX7 does not have a speck of rust.

Arnold's Spruced Up RX7

While we were in PT I asked Jean if we could shop for a flexible measuring tape so that I could monitor my waistline after I begin my diet in Brazil.  She told me that there was no need and donated a spare one that she had at home.  I told her that I would not use it to check my waistline until I got to Brazil lest my screams of shock and horror frighten those around me.  It will be a very strict diet founded on total abstinence from alcohol (sob!)  At times what Brenda has labelled my tell-all "blabber blog" will be more appropriately called my "blubber blog."


I checked my email last night and found a message in Portuguese from the marina at Brachuy stating that I had paid up for my boat only until the end of October, and to please reply to them quickly.  I responded using the Google translator with a quote from my blog entry of 20 August in which I documented the details of my payment to the marina to extend my stay until 30 November.  After sending my message I was still annoyed so I logged into my banking system and extracted my Visa account for October.  I then cut 'n pasted the Visa report into a WORD 97 document, highlighted the payment to Brachuy in red, and sent it as an attachment in a second message in which I also told them to expect me at their office on 10 November with my receipt in hand.

This morning I received from Brachuy the message "Ok, confirmado o pagamento do mês de novembro/12." ("Ok, confirmed the payment for the month of novembro/12.")  I'm very touchy about my reputation and get extraordinarily irritated when accounting offices make these elementary mistakes.

Doings

During my visit to Vancouver Nigel and Patrick took me to a marine shop in their neighborhood so that I could purchase small scale paper charts (covering large areas) of the South Atlantic from South America to South Africa and the South Indian Ocean from South Africa to Western Australia.  The shop carried only only local charts which prompted me to scour the internet for the charts that I needed.  From nauticalchartsonline.com I ordered charts no. 22 and 70, which perfectly suit my requirements.  They are each priced at $27 plus $11 for 2-day delivery.  Wow, do I love the internet and the super efficient delivery systems in the USA!

Today I received a gracious message from Alaska Airlines apologizing for my difficulties on the trip to La Paz.  A refund check of $88 for my forced stay at the Los Arcos hotel in La Paz will arrive within 10 days. As a "gesture of our sincere apology for the inconvenience you were caused" the airline has sent a discount code worth $150 for the next year.  This did not surprise Arnold, who considers Alaska Airlines a class operation.

Just now I booked the nights of 7,8, and 9 November at the Hotel Mondo Novo hotel in Rio de Janeiro.  This is the hotel that I stayed in during my trip to the USA. It was a no frills hotel that delivered what it advertised, including good internet and reasonable breakfasts.  Better the Devil that You Know, as they say.  I'll land in Rio on the morning of the 7th and depart for Angra by bus on the morning of the 10th.  That will give me all of the 8th and 9th for touring the highlights of the city .

At Angra I'll probably splurge and take a cab for the 25 mile or so ride to Bracui.  I'd love to take a bus but there are three problems with that plan: (1) The buses are infrequent and I've been able to find no schedule. (2) The bus may well be full by the time it reaches the stop at the intercity bus station, (3) I want to spare myself the longish walk from the bus stop to the marina.

... Which has drawn my mind forward to Bracui.  The days of easy living in the warmth of family and friends, generous access to wonderful food and drink, and my flickering fame as a Cape Horner are drawing to a close; and I must steel myself to a period of obscurity with heavy dieting (I must lose at least 20 pounds!) and hard work getting myself and Pachuca ready for the next phase.  Such is Life.

Back from Vancouver

The weekend trip to Vancouver, Canada went very well and I had a great time.

Sandra dropped me off at the Kingston ferry terminal at about 7 AM on Friday and it was a very short walk from the Edmonds terminal to the train station, giving me plenty of time to catch Amtrak train 510 at 8.07 AM.

Train travel is so much different from economy class air travel.  The slow and easy pace of the passengers and crew, big windows, large comfortable seats, and ample leg room contrasted sharply with the cattle yard experience that I've become accustomed to in efficient, cheap, yet suffocating air travel.  The announcements to passengers is a good example of the difference.  On the train the conductor made his announcements slowly, calmly, and very clearly, whereas on an airplane the cabin staff speak so fast that most times I cannot understand what they are saying.

The man sitting next to me and I kept to ourselves for the first half an hour, but then necessary courtesies were followed by brief pleasantries, and soon we were in full conversation.  He spoke of working in Washington DC then showed me on his tablet the location of a rural property that he has on an island on Chesapeake Bay that is his weekend refuge.  I told him about my sailing adventures on Pachuca.  As we approached Vancouver I gave him my boat card he responded by giving me his card.  I noted that Anthony is president of an IT company and commented that I was in privileged company.

Nigel, Self, Patrick at the Beach

Enjoying the Fine Weather

Picking Pumpkins for Halloween

Feeding Ducks at Migratory Bird Sanctuary

I had been wondering how customs and immigration processing would be handled.  The train made several stops on the way to the Canadian border picking up passengers then rolled right through the border to Vancouver and it was at Vancouver that all of the passengers were processed.  The agent asked me the purpose of my visit and when I replied that it was to visit friends he asked me how I had met these friends.  I thought to myself  "Shit, mate, do you want my life story? Do you want a bedtime story?" I gave a brief outline of my friendship with Nigel and Patrick and if challenged further I was prepared to spend 30 minutes boring him with the entire story, which started in Australia over 20 years ago.  Mercifully for both of us, the agent let me through.

Outside of the train station Anthony and I hugged each other farewell and I knew that I was saying goodbye to a friend. He hopped into the cab to head for his conference and I set off on foot for the center of town where I was to meet Nigel and Patrick at 4 PM at Starbucks on the corner of Robson and Howe streets.  I had a map showing my destination but asked a man sitting on a park bench for the general direction.  "Five blocks that way then three blocks to the left, but it's a big rough."  "Why rough?"  "It's a drug haven."  "Will I be safe?"  "Yes, but don't stop.  Just keep walking."  Gulp!  Welcome to Vancouver, Robert.  I set off  with my back pack firmly strapped on and trying to give the appearance of a bored local who knew what he was doing.  Soon I was in Chinatown and felt safe.  I took a fortunate wrong turn which put me at an HSBC bank where I had no trouble in drawing out $100 in Canadian currency.  Another local pointed the way and soon I was in Starbucks drinking coffee and reading a copy of the NY Times that I had picked up on the train.

Plenty of Fresh Fish

Nigel and Patrick met me just before 4 PM and it was good to see them again. We visited one of the local beaches where we had a stroll then a drink at a local watering hole.  Then we headed to their home in the suburb of Ladner, south of the city.  They live very well, in a large modern duplex in a small private community within walking distance to a marina its restaurant.  The location suits them because it is very close to their respective places of work.  Their home is impeccably furnished with quality and taste and when I thought back to the spartan setting of my home back in Australia I felt somewhat like a backwoods hillbilly.  I commented that though I had the funds to refurbish my house after I returned to Australia I would not be able to match their taste and style.  (But that's OK: I'll get help on this.)

We then went out for a good meal at a Japanese restaurant and made a visit to the train club that Patrick belongs to.

On Saturday morning Nigel gave me a tour of the township of Ladner then we headed out through some pleasant countryside to a large sanctuary for migratory birds.  Unfortunately it was too late in the season for me to see the migratory birds but nevertheless I enjoyed walking through the reserve and watching the resident birds.  Afterwards we picked up Patrick and the three of us headed for the very colorful local Fisherman's Wharf. This was the real deal, with perhaps 30 boats backed up to the jetties and selling all sorts of fresh seafood, much of it still alive.  We then had a very good lunch at packed out restaurant overlooking the floating fish market.

The plan for the evening was to have a small dinner party where I would present some of the photographs and videos of my trip around the Horn.  Patrickl had introduced me to Windows Live Movie Maker, which comes with Windows 7, and had asked me to arrange my material in the order that I thought appropriate.  During the afternoon I watched as he whizzed through the software creating a movie complete with neat transitions, background music, title, and credits.  Then he pricessed the movie through more software so that we could run it through their wide HD TV screen under my control.

The guests were Gary and Raymond from the city and Richard and Mindy from next door. They completed the mix of sharp and experienced people and I certainly enjoyed their company.  After drinks and conversation we sat down for dinner where Patrick presented us with gigantic T-Bone steaks that he had grilled outside  (I could only eat half of mine.) then we moved to the den for the sailing movie.  That went quite well mainly because the videos spoke for themselves, although I hit the pause button several times to give some explanations.  Fortunately I had split the material into two The Horn and Argentina, and we found that the 35 minutes of the Horn movie was sufficient for the evening.

I found Gary a particularly interesting person.  He joined the Canadian navy at the age of 16 and rose to become the only officer who had served all three services.  He took a year off his military career to knock around the Caribbean in a 30 ft boat and eventually left the service as a master mariner with electronic skills.  There were several interesting stories, such as when he captained a broken down freighter through the Panama Canal to the military junta in Ecuador with a cargo of grenades and ammunition from Israel.  It was all quite legal but as he had expected he had to fend off two attacks from bad guys trying to board the ship to get their hands on the ordinance.  I enjoyed the company of this fascinating man and told him that I hoped to see him again on a future visit.

We had a quiet Sunday morning, starting with the three of us chatting over a full breakfast of bacon and eggs.  At mid afternoon we headed back to the city where we had a good light lunch which for me was accompanied by a tall cold lager beer.  We then set off for the train station, arriving at 5.10 PM for the 5.45 departure of Amtrak train 517. The US customs and immigration processing was done at the station before boarding.  We said our goodbyes and I thanked Nigel and Patrick for their wonderful hospitality.  The agent asked my the purpose of my visit to Vancouver and I turned and pointed to Nigel and Patrick and said "To visit those two great guys."  He saw us waving to each other and passed me through.

Living and Dining Rooms

My Guest Room

Watching TV in Comfort

Patrick the Breakfast Chef

The train ride back was uneventful.  We were on board a new train that had bigger windows, more personal space, and seats that could be reclined far back with leg supports that could be lifted up.  The lass next to me was focused on her magazine and didn't want to talk.  After passengers got off at Bellingham she moved across to a window seat across the aisle.  At the next stop the conductor seated a young man next to her and I noticed that they didn't say a word to each other.  She was engrossed in her magazine and he was engrossed in his Kindle.  Arnold told me later that this is the way young people are these days.

I  got off the train at Edmonds at 9.30 PM and at 10.15 PM I boarded the ferry for Kingston.  I was able to telephone Arnold from the terminal and when I arrived at 10.45 PM there he was walking down to meet me.  After two stiff bourbons and an hour of talking I hit the sack at about 1 AM.  It had been a great weekend. 

Back in the USA

I had fast and nearly flawless trip back to the U.S.A.

I got up early packed my bags, left 250 pesos on the kitchen sink with a "Thank You" note to Theresa, then walked to the new restaurant at the end of the block at 8.15 AM.  This put me 45 early for breakfast with my friends but when I travel I like to be early for everything.

Ken and Don spotted me at the table as they were returning to the apartment building to cool off after their morning walk and decided to cool off while they had coffee with me.  Soon Bob Carroll showed up and we all enjoyed a good breakfast breakfast. I had "juevos ranchero", fried eggs and ham on a large tortilla, smothered in sauce. Bob picked up the tab yet once again and it was just as well that I had visited for only 3 days.  Bob then helped me carry the bags to the bus station.  We were very early so spent 30 minutes talking and enjoying the scene at the malecon. Just before 11 AM we bade farewell to each other and I thanked Bob once again for the hard work that he had put in to make my arrival and stay in La Paz so easy and interesting.

Eco Baja Tours Airport Shuttle

It was a great ride from La Paz to San Jose del Cabo.  We travelled in a comfortable 7-passenger shuttle crossing the mountains along a winding section of highway that would be great on a motorcycle. Precisely at 2 PM I was dropped off in front of Terminal 2 of the airport.  The 3-hour ride had cost only 400 pesos, or about $33.  I had plenty of time because my flight was scheduled to depart at 4.45 PM.

The flight to Seattle was direct and took only 4 hours.  During the flight I placed my little Acer netbook on the tray, plugged in the 16 GB thumb drive, looked at my selection of 6 movies, and watched "Gran Torino" wearing headphones. 

At SeaTac airport I telephoned Arnold and 45 minutes later I was on the shuttle headed for Poulsbo.  The driver let me use his phone to call Arnold again while we were driving through Silverdale and soon after being dropped off at the Keyport "station" Arnold arrived in his Buick and off we went to Kingston.  The season had turned during my absence and the night sky was cloudy with occasional drizzle.

So ended my short but fantastically successful visit to La Paz.  It had all been as good as I had remembered it - the city, the marina, the climate, the food, and most of all the people.

Thursday in La Paz

Lunch at La Concha

Robert, Bob, David, Don, and Ken at Last Supper

This was my last full day in La Paz and I enjoyed it very much.

I had coffee with David at 8.30 AM.  It was just the two of us because Al was off to an early start on a short cruise with his wife Cathy, so we discussed various issues of the MarinePlotter software.  A man at the next table overheard us discussing AIS and wandered over to tell us about the latest Micom VHF radios that incorporate AIS.  This is a sensible because it obviates the need to purchase separate VHF and GPS antennas. 

Bob Carroll showed up at 9.30 AM for our “stroll” to have lunch.  At his suggestion I left the laptop in the office for safekeeping in order to save weight in my backpack. 

Along the way we stopped at the bus station where Bob's proficiency in Spanish would be of assistance in my purchasing a bus ticket for the airport at San Jose del Cabo the next day.  There was no need for an interpreter because the bright young girl gave herself away when she nodded in agreement with something I told Bob.  “You speak English” I said while I teasingly waved a finger at her.  Indeed she did, and very good English too, which she had studied at University.  I purchased a ticket on a bus departing at 11AM which will get me to San Jose at about 2 PM, in plenty of time for the 4.45 PM departure of the flight.

 My return to Seattle should be much easier than my trip to La Paz, given that the bus will drop me in front of Terminal 2, Alaska Airlines flights are back to normal, and the flight is direct to Seattle.

We then resumed our walk.  Past the end of the malecon, past the Marina Palmyra, and past the end of the side walk and on the edge of the narrow road to the “La Concha” restaurant.  This ex US Marine captain had led me on a fast walk that he estimated to be between 6 and 7 miles long, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I had come to see La Paz and we had walked the full length of the city's beautiful waterfront. 

As Bob had promised, the restaurant was elegant, quiet, and in a splendid setting.   We took a table  as close to the water as we could get and enjoyed a slow light lunch.  On the way back we learned that the last  hotel shuttle that we had planned to take back to La Paz had left at 11 AM so we walked all of the way back to the Marina de La Paz.  Bob then returned to boat which is moored at the Magote and I picked up my computer and proceeded to David's boat for more demonstration of the features of MarinePlotter.  On the way back to the apartment at 4 PM I dropped by The Docks restaurant at the marina and booked a table for 5.

At 7 PM we met at the restaurant and were soon seated at a table overlooking the marina.  When drinks were served there was a toast to my success in rounding the Horn which I appreciated very much and I will remember as one of the highlights of my experience.  That toast from these fine men represented closure to my Horn adventure. 

I then proposed a toast to Rick, that his operation on Monday goes well and he makes a fast recovery.

Bob then surprised me with a thoughtful and useful gift.  I must have described at some time my problem of not being able to mount a compass inside of  Pachuca's cabin.  The magnetic disturbance from the large speakers mounted on the forward bulkhead eliminates the only feasible location for a cabin compass – or so I thought.  Bob produced a compass designed to sit on a flat surface.  I'll be able to place it on the narrow section of the cabin table that does not fold which will present a view to the compass from anywhere in the cabin.  Very clever and very useful.

Then we had dinner, with plenty of conversation material about boating and life in La Paz.  I certainly enjoyed my food, which was fish Veracruz style accompanied by two margaritas. 

After dinner I said goodbye to David and told him how much I had enjoyed seeing him again and discussing the MP software with him.  I expected to see Bob and Don and perhaps Ken for breakfast in the morning at the nearby restaurant where Bob and I had breakfast on the first day of my visit.

Wednesday in La Paz

I had coffee at 8.30 AM with Davd and Al.  The “palapa” coffee group has shrunk because Ken and Don now do a daily morning walk along the malecon and Rick is in the USA.  At 9.30 AM we moved onto Club Cruceros for their  coffee session and after that I returned to the restaurant table for an internet session.  The wireless signal was good enough to enable me to have Skype conversations with Australia and the USA; so thanks to the generosity of  Neil and his marina, I will have good internet access during my brief stay in La Paz.

When I got back to the apartment building I settled with Theresa for the three day stay.

In the afternoon I visited David Miller aboard his Passport 43 “Questor” (a roomy and beautiful boat inside with fore and aft shrouds to both sets of spreaders on the outside that makes me envious) for a two-hour tutorial on his MarinePlotter software.  I realize how fortunate I am to have these one-on-one sessions with the creator of the software and will reciprocate by continuing to beta test the product.  I am hoping that those DB9-USB converters that I purchased in the USA will enable me to connect the AIS transponder to the laptop so that I can explore the new AIS facility of MP live instead of in simulation mode.

Before returning to the apartment I saw some more people.  I ran into Roger, who had installed my refrigerator and had given me advice via Sailmail when I had that fan-related problem in Argentina.  I walked over to Eco Naviara and said “hello” to Yolanda and thanked her for returning my FM3 residency card do the department of immigration.  Then I popped over to the chandlery across the street and said hello to Roberto.

At this point the only person I haven't seen is Reggie, the wizard  who replace all of Pachuca's teak.  I'll try to telephone him tomorrow.

I also invited the “palapa” coffee group to dinner on me tomorrow night at the marina restaurant.  There will be five of us: Bob, David, Ken, Don and myself.  Al can't make it because he and his wife are departing in the morning for one of their regular cruises.  At the dinner I will propose a toast to Rick, who will undergo major surgery on Monday.

In the evening I was on my own and strolled down to Rancho Viejo a block away for dinner.  I started off with a margarita, my favorite cocktail and my first since leaving La Paz last November.  I followed that with four tacos arrachera.  As always, I was presented with a large platter of all of the ingredients that I would need to put together my own tacos.  At the end I was rescued from my burning lips and tongue and watery eyes by the second margarita.  It was the meal that I wanted in the restaurant that I wanted and I was not disappointed.

Tuesday in La Paz

View from Perla Hotel

Book Selection at Club Cruceros

Rebuilt Club Cruceros

Malecon Looking Toward City Center

Panoramic of New Slips

I checked out of the hotel room at 12.30 PM and visited the nearby bank to draw out 2,000 pesos.  I then walked to the apartment hastily dumped my luggage then walked to Ken's apartment.  Ken has the end apartment on the top floor, the one that I occupied during my first summer in La Paz and which Brenda will remember well.  I am at the other end of the floor next to the stairs.  On the other side of the stairs is Don.  There is now another American on the floor, which means that if the fifth apartment is empty this is at the moment an all American floor - “piso Americano” Bob called it.

 Ken's door was open and we had a good chat.  He grumbled how the daily walks with Don are getting more difficult but I told him honestly that he is looking real good.  Yes, walking up the hill and up the stairs to the 3rd floor are difficult, but stressing the body to a reasonable degree is a requirement for good health.

Don was out so I then walked a half block to visit Doug at his Snug Harbor Sails loft.  Doug was in and I spent 30 minutes conversing with him and his new assistant Mary.  Doug is one of those people that I simply like being around and it was hard to get away.  Before I left I stated my case very clearly that he should avoid taking his boat around the Horn at all costs when he sails to his ancestral home in Norway.  His boat looks great and it has a wonderful set of sails that he made for it.  However, he confessed that he is not sure of the age of the rigging and I told him that the  passage around the Horn will stress his boat in ways that he cannot imagine.  If he gets into trouble using the Panama Canal route he will be reasonably close to assistance but 1500 miles off the coast of South America his only option may be rescue and abandonment of his boat.  Sure, I had my share of troubles during my passage, but at least Pachuca had been battle hardened by the winter storms of the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Seas, not to mention the horrible gales off the Oregon and California coasts.  Doug would be setting off without those advantages.

I then walked to the Marina de La Paz.  Along the way I had a good look at the new slips built at the “virtual marina” next to the wonderful pink condominium building.  I walked past the school for navy children remembering how cute they had looked in the little sailor's uniforms that they wear.  The first person I saw at the MLP was “Jose the Diver”.  Next to him was “Rafa” the cab driver, and we had a brief chat in which I outlined my adventures round the Horn and my stays in Argentina and Brazil.  Next I visited the marina office where Adriana was at her desk and I had a chat with her and the office manager.  Before I left I complimented Adriana on her “new look” hair, telling her that it was more exciting.

Adriana told me that Neil was in the next door office so  I knocked at the door and soon I was sitting down having a long conversation with him.  I talked about my experiences in Argentina and Brazil as a cruiser which he seemed to find interesting.  I told him that I was about to see the new Club Cruceros club house and I congratulated him on his support for  the project, telling him that I haven't seen any other marina that treats cruising and resident yachts so well.   I asked Neil about using the MLP wireless internet facilities and he printed out all of the information that I will need, then pointed out the locations of the various routers and the option to connect directly instead of by wireless.  I told him that the wireless service in the Bracui marina is so bad that the staff  have to very generously allow me to work in their office.  I then walked over to Club Cruceros and was stunned at the number of books and videos on offer.  The videos must be returned but the books are free for the taking.  The new building is spacious, solidly constructed, and should provide a home for Club Cruceros for many years.

I then walked over to David Miller's boat Questor and found David at home but not presentable since he was stark naked in the heat of his boat.  Mercifully, by the time I entered the cabin he was somewhat clothed and we had a splendid conversation about the wonderful charting, AIS, and weather fax software that he is producing.  I billed it as the beta tester meeting the software creator.  The discussion got a bit technical and he described some of his problems and gave some demonstrations that gave me more insight into his MarinPlotter package. 

On the way out I had a look along to bike rack to see if the folding bicycle that I had sold to Robert was still there.  When I turned away after not finding it I ran into Robert himself and Bruce.  The bicycle was probably in New Zealand by now.  A visiting Kiwi has asked Robert for a loan of the bicycle.  Robert had ridden the bike only a couple of times and offered to sell it to him for the same price that he had paid for it, $50.  The sale was made and who knows, maybe I'll be able to buy it back if I ever visit New Zealand again.  (Just kidding.)

Then Joel the mechanic who had installed my Volvo engine passed by.  I gave an outline of my travels, told him that Pachuca was in Argentina, then assured him that the “volvo motor perfecto”.

I then returned to the apartment and had the first cold shower since, well, since leaving La Paz in November 2011.  I came out of the shower, flipped on the air conditioner, then settled down for a rest.  Just like old times.  It was great to be back.

I met bob at the malecon at 6.30 PM and we walked to the center of town to have dinner at a very elegant and interesting restaurant that he knew about.  Dinner was on him but the next one will definitely be on me.

Difficult Journey to La Paz.

The trip to La Paz was difficult.

The problems began after the boarding had started for the flight from Seattle to San Diego.  Processing stopped abruptly after a few of the economy class passengers had boarded, and after about 15 minutes we were told that the computers were down and they would be back up in a few minutes.  Thirty minutes later we were told to sit down.  Forty five minutes after that the boarding resumed without the computer system.  The manual processing was slow and the flight departed 2.5 hours behind schedule.

A little time was gained during the brief stopover in San Diego but we were still well over 2 hours late in reaching San Jose (which has the airport servicing Cabo San Lucas.)  By the time I made it to the Eco Baja Tours office for the shuttle to La Paz it was closed for the day, and there went my plan for getting to La Paz. With the help from locals I found my way to a local bus stop where I caught a bus to nearby Santa Anita where I managed to get what I think was the last bus of the day for La Paz.  We arrived in La Paz at 10 PM and soon I took a cab to the apartment building at the corner of Juarez and Madero.

Unfortunately I could not find the night watchman who had been expecting me at 8 AM to hand over the keys and he did not seem to be at home because the lights were out in his ground floor apartment and there was no response when I banged on the door.  I could see Ken´s light on in his third floor apartment but there was no way to contact him.  I had his telephone number but the public telephone on the street took only cards.  After 30 minutes of effort it was past 11 PM and I decided to walk along the malecon back into town to get a hotel room because I deemed it too dangerous to be out in the streets alone with all of my baggage at that time of the night.  Soon I was at the Perla hotel and got a room for $88 USD.  I was very tired.  I had been up since 2 AM and after the stress of the flight with its delay I had been forced to walk close to a mile in the heat wearing Seattle clothing to reach Terminal 1 for the shuttle to La Paz.  (No conveyor walkways, trains, or even hand carts at this airport.)  That had been followed by another half mile walk to the local bus station and after that the lugging of my baggage (3 bags but mercifully light) through the streets of La Paz.

The Perla was probably a 5 star hotel in its time but is showing its age.  Nevertheless it is still a pretty nice hotel overlooking the malecon and La Paz bay, is well set out with a swimming spool and spas which were still in use well into the night, and offers large rooms.  The wireless internet service in the room is useless and the plumbing has problems, but I am accustomed  to that by now.  As soon as I was settled in the room I headed back out into the street with only my room key and a bit of cash and had a meal accompanied by two cans of cold Modelo beer.  I was hungry.  All I had eaten all day was two cups of coffee in Seattle, three glasses of orange juice and one tiny bag of pretzles on the airplane, and three tiny sickly sweet empenadas that I bought on the way to La Paz.

This morning there as an email waiting for me from Alaska Airlines apologizing for the flight delay with the explanation that a fiber optic cable had been cut, which would have stopped the Sprint service in its tracks.  AA made an offer to help out with travel consequences of the delay and I might put in a claim for the hotel room.  In any event, I accept the that the problem was beyond AA´s control but I can fault them for taking 90 minutes to make the decision to resume boarding manually.  I was in the IT business in a previous life and figure that AA and Sprint should have identified the problem within 30 minutes.

At 9 AM I met Bob Carroll for breakfast, though I had only coffee because I wasn´t hungry after the late dinner.  It was great to see Bob again and I appreciated the High Five he gave me for rounding the Horn.  We have much more to say and we will meet tonight for dinner.

After breakfast we visited the apartment building and found Theresa.  It was great to see her again and I gave her a warm hug.  She led us to my apartment on the top floor and sure enough there were 6 cold cans of Pacifico Clara beer in the refrigerator.

I am hastily writing this blog using the computer in the lobby which is set to Spanish which flags every other word as misspelled.  The keyboard is so warn that a third of the keys do not show what letter they represent, so it is just as well that I am a touch typist.  So please view any spelling and grammatical errors with understanding.

Once I check out of the hotel my access to the internet for blogging and dealing with my email will be uncertain.

Kinetic Sculpture Race and SCAMP Burgee

Yesterday Jean took me to the first day of 2012 Kinetic Sculpture Race.  The philosophy of the event is described at http://www.ptkineticrace.org/   From what I can make out the requirements of the craft entered in this ferocious competition are that they be safe, will float, are human powered, and as ridiculous as possible.

Yesterday were the sea trials and there was surprise that none of the contraptions sank as they have in previous years.  Today will be the races, first at sea, then over sand and mud.  

Here are some videos that I took, and photos and videos of last year's event can be found at http://www.ptkineticrace.org/id15.html.  Viewing this material will guarantee insight into the essence of Port Townsend.

town

After the event I walked into the Maritime Center work shop and found Simeon working on his SCAMP.  He was as patient and informative as ever, explaining what he was doing and describing some minor modifications that had been approved by John Welsford, the designer.  Jean then joined us and I handed to Simeon the autographed (by J.W.) SCAMP burgee that had been around the Horn.  Simeon outlined his plans to include it in a permanent and living exhibition of SCAMP history.  I also passed to him a copy of my "Cape Horn" DVD.

Sail on Orisha, Lunch with Jak, Autopilot Head

Arnold and I sailed with Chris Boscole aboard his McGregor 65 "Orisha" on Saturday afternoon.  We arrived at the Utsalady boat ramp on Camano Island at 1 PM and soon we saw Chris paddling to shore from his boat which is on a mooring.  He was in a small inflatable towing a larger inflatable and he explained that his outboard motor had failed and this was the best way to get the three of us on board in one trip.  As we approached Orisha I commented that the furled headsails appeared to be new and so they were.  The headsail was brand new and the staysail was about a year old.  The mainsail was also near new, giving him a very good wardrobe of sails.

Chris playing Tugboat, Orisha in Background

It was generally sunny day with a cool and gentle wind.  We spent a pleasant three hours sailing gently and chatting in the cockpit catching up on things while having a good lunch accompanied by cold beers.  At 4 PM we headed back to shore and said our goodbyes and expressed the hope that we would do it again next year.

On Monday morning I was back in Port Townsend and Jean and I drove to Point Hudson to meet Jak for lunch.  I had carelessly invited Jak and Corine to the "Point Hudson Cafe" not realizing that there are two eating establishments at Point Hudson, the other one being the actual cafe.  Fortunately Jak caught sight of Jean and myself at the restaurant and all was well, though unfortunately Corine was not able to come.  The three of us had a great chat, talking about our boats and sailing with, thanks to the presence of Jean, a good balance of local topics. 

After lunch Jean and I drove to West Marine near the PT Boat Haven so that I could pick up the Raymarine surface mounted ST6002 Plus autopilot control head (E12098-P) that had arrived during the previous week.  I went into the store expecting to do battle over the price.  When I had placed the order I had been told that WM would match any price on the internet.  I decided to balk at any price over $500 and was was prepared to show internet prices of $474 (though the prices for the unit ranged up to $688).

West Marine charged me $299 for the unit.

Autopilot Control Head

I gulped and managed to keep my cool, resisting the urge to jump over the counter yelling "I'll take it I'll take it!"  The woman I was dealing with then suggested that I consider purchasing the WM "Plus Plan" extended warranty.  I was very sceptical but politely listened.  Raymarine gives a 3-year warranty on the unit, with all shipment costs borne by the customer.  The WM "Plus Plan" extends the warranty by 2 years and includes free shipment to any part of the world.  She assured me that the warranty would cover salt water damage.  I asked "How much?"  She said that it would cost $45 and was a very good deal.  I told her that she was a very good salesperson and she replied that she really, really believes in the product.

Given that the unit will have a hard life exposed to the elements on the binnacle and the unexpectedly low base price I accepted the offer.  The final cost including the extended warranty and my contribution to the State of Washington was $373.24.

I then popped by Mark's office and dropped off an issue of National Geographic from Brazil that he might find of interest then visited Port Townsend Rigging looking for Dan.  I saw Lisa and Shannon but unfortunately Dan was out working on a boat. 

 I arrived back at the house in Kingston just before dark happy that I had seen Jak and also had the number one USA purchase item in my hands.