22.9N 109.9W. Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico.
Well here I sit, rocking around on the boat at yet another surf spot. We are at Monuments. While there are hordes of surfers in the area that are riding north swell waves elsewhere, three locals…most likely on a break from work…along with Steve are here. It has been almost twenty years since Steve last rode Monuments. It is a little but substantial left that breaks with a westerly swell.
After consulting with Alpha Marine Systems, we spend several days researching how best to ship the autopilot out and back again for repairs. On the shipping matter, out is no problem….but actually receiving the item back, requiring a pass through Customs is the big challenge here in Mexico with odds being that you may never see the item ever again. We removed the autopilot from its mount and retested the ram to make certain that we had the details down for the diagnostics. With the retest, the autopilot starts to work again…unbelievable. While we don’t trust that it is “really” working again, we definitely can’t ship it in for repair. So we end up remounting the autopilot and retesting it…to witness a repeat … it does not work at first but then starts working again. The worst thing in the world is for a problem to “magically” fix itself as you never know what the real problem was and have no idea what may cause it to recur … very "iffy."
At the marina office, we picked up the November issue of our favourite sailing magazine, Latitude 38 and found that Steve has been published. He submitted an article on our experiences in El Salvador and about some of the changes being implemented at one of the remote but oft-used anchorages there. Pretty cool.
December is settling in and we are still here in Cabo San Lucas. We are surprised that we are enjoying our stay here so much. The marina is well set up and it will be easy to get fuel and water (a chore that is amazingly difficult in Mexico with the exception of La Paz). There is surf. The water is clear and warm. It is easy to get around town on foot or via a collectivo. We have found a few very good taco stands and a nice sports bar for football games. The anchorage is a zoo during the day with every water toy in abundance buzzing about as tourists pour from land and cruise ship…but it all goes totally quiet before sunset as the crowds turn to land for the restaurants and bars…or leave altogether on the cruise ships.
So we are back to reviewing our cruising plans and waiting for the best weather window to setting sail once again..."and so it goes."
After consulting with Alpha Marine Systems, we spend several days researching how best to ship the autopilot out and back again for repairs. On the shipping matter, out is no problem….but actually receiving the item back, requiring a pass through Customs is the big challenge here in Mexico with odds being that you may never see the item ever again. We removed the autopilot from its mount and retested the ram to make certain that we had the details down for the diagnostics. With the retest, the autopilot starts to work again…unbelievable. While we don’t trust that it is “really” working again, we definitely can’t ship it in for repair. So we end up remounting the autopilot and retesting it…to witness a repeat … it does not work at first but then starts working again. The worst thing in the world is for a problem to “magically” fix itself as you never know what the real problem was and have no idea what may cause it to recur … very "iffy."
At the marina office, we picked up the November issue of our favourite sailing magazine, Latitude 38 and found that Steve has been published. He submitted an article on our experiences in El Salvador and about some of the changes being implemented at one of the remote but oft-used anchorages there. Pretty cool.
December is settling in and we are still here in Cabo San Lucas. We are surprised that we are enjoying our stay here so much. The marina is well set up and it will be easy to get fuel and water (a chore that is amazingly difficult in Mexico with the exception of La Paz). There is surf. The water is clear and warm. It is easy to get around town on foot or via a collectivo. We have found a few very good taco stands and a nice sports bar for football games. The anchorage is a zoo during the day with every water toy in abundance buzzing about as tourists pour from land and cruise ship…but it all goes totally quiet before sunset as the crowds turn to land for the restaurants and bars…or leave altogether on the cruise ships.
So we are back to reviewing our cruising plans and waiting for the best weather window to setting sail once again..."and so it goes."
1 comment:
sweeeeet.
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