Pierless Adventures - April 1 - Rockin' out in Mazatlan...

Today was launch day.  We spent the morning preparing for the "big event".  We cleaned the deck.  Moved things out of the way so we could place fenders and work the dock lines.  There was a little too much wind to put the sails on, so that will be a Saturday task.

Our launch time was 1:30.  The Fonatur marina was not able to free up a space for us, so we registered for a slip at the neighboring Marina Mazatlan.  On the way back around  noon, they were already lifting the boat off the stands.  Naturally, we had not finished getting everything ready for the launch.  Not a big deal - we have learned to be flexible here.  We will be in the Mazatlan Marina for two weeks.  The downside is it is more expensive.  The upside is the nice location, better restrooms, hot showers and wifi. 

After they lifted the boat off the stands, the yard workers finished painting the parts of the hull they could not reach, then the boat sat in the slings for another hour or two.  They put us in the water around 3:00 p.m.  It all went well.  The engine ran perfectly.  Nothing leaked, so we headed out to putter around the marina checking on engine temp and setting up the fenders.  The three-blade prop did not seem to make much difference in drive power, so that was a bit of a bummer, but it ran smoothly.  There is a shaft seal where the drive shaft goes through the hull.  It should drip a little water as this is how it is lubricated and stays cool.  In our case, it was dribbling pretty good, so I adjusted it and will check it again next time we go out.

We made a pass at the fuel dock and I was a foot or two too far away, so we moved off to loop back and have another go.  We were about in the middle of the channel when we struck a rock!  We weren't going but 2 or 3 knots, but it was a hard stop.  Not a good moment...  It did not occur to me there would be any obstructions in the marina right next to the fuel dock.  Checking the chart after, it did show a shoal area about where we hit.  It was also low tide.  Lesson learned!  We will time our excursion so we won't be going in or out at low tide and we will always check the chart, regardless of where we are!

As we were cruising around, we spotted a number of Pacific White-Spotted Eagle Rays.  The water was a little murky, so could not see them too well when they dove down, but it was a nice sighting.

Docking at our new slip went smoothly.  We need to work on line handling and coordination, but no real issues there.  After tying up, we fired up the fridge.  The fridge can only run when the boat is in the water because it uses a plate on the hull for cooling.  It fired right up and we were able to see the temp drop at a steady rate.  No more ice hauling!  Not sure how we will keep track of time though.  We have been here six bags now...

With the deck clear and the tarp off, we noticed a good bump in the cabin temperature.  Once we get the sails on, we can put the tarp back up for some shade.  It is nice having a fan onboard.

One milestone closer to heading home...

From Scott:

The sea was angry that day, my friend.

Aside from the rocky start we got to the new marina and slipped right into our berth.  One of the first things we did was turn on the refrigerator which meant we could save the ice inside for the aches and pains we have collected while here.  We both have bruises on our right biceps where we levered our arms against the cabinet in the head to force nearly inflexible hose through restricted and inaccessible spaces.  Our shins have taken some abuse by the ladder and I have muscle spasms in my back from cranking His Nibs up to the masthead three times, so the ice was very welcome.

We can hear a constant low crackle through the hull.  At times it sounds like frying bacon or raindrops on a window and it is caused by shrimp.  We suspect Pistol Shrimp to be the culprits, but not being a Shrimpologist (not officially anyway), it could be a different species.  I guess they snap their tiny wee claws so fast that it can stupefy its prey.  At 9:00 pm Brian returned to the boat and announced that he had just had a hot shower.  Hot water.  At night.  This I had to see so I walked the 14 deciquarts, or whatever the metric equivalent is, and found it to be true.

Hot water and ice. Color me stupefied.  Well done, shrimp.  Well done.