May 23-25, 2023

Tuesday was a busy day.  I prepped the boat for sailing, then Peter and I went out for another practice sail.  It went very well.  Peter is there in case I need any help, but things were smooth.  I am pleased that sailing Pierless alone has been very manageable.  I have to slow down and do things in a more deliberate sequence, but it works.

My repaired genoa sail was returned today.  It looks fine.  I'll have to make a run to the cash machine to pay Ruben.

One of the cruising couples here is from England.  They are leaving their boat and flying home for the summer.  This is pretty common for Mexico cruisers.  It gets very hot and muggy here in the summer.  Several of us joined them for dinner at a local restaurant.  The food was very good and they made fresh salsa right at the table.  Everyone had a nice evening.

Dinner out

Wednesday I picked up a spare oil filter and bought some sun protection tarp.  It is a woven product that lets wind through, but blocks most of the sunlight.  I plan to use it around the cockpit to keep out of the sun while I am in the tropics.

One of my neighbors who is leaving for part of the summer wanted to get rid of the diesel in one of their jerry cans, so he brought it by and I transferred it to one of my cans.  They had a rather eventful trip coming down from California.  Their alternator on the engine broke off.  The mounting failed and they couldn't use the engine.  They finally rigged up a rope on the boom and used it to keep the alternator in place while they ran the engine.  I guess it worked!  Would have been interesting to see what that looked like!

Thursday I worked on my provisioning list.  I have been keeping track of how much I am eating here and projected that out for 9 weeks, including some extra.  The list is split between foods that keep and perishables.  I'll start buying the foods that won't spoil now and perishables just before I leave.  Non-perishable foods in Mexico are more varied.  Many people don't have refrigeration, so lots of foods that won't keep are sterilized so they have good shelf life until opened.  This gives me more options for the trip.

I took a run to the cash machine to get money for Ruben's sail repair.  While in the area I checked out a new grocery store I had seen the other day.  It is called the "Fresh Market".  It was pretty amazing.  I would say it was a cross between Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  Very nice produce.

It was another hot day, so I spent about 3 hours in the marina lounge working on my list of places where I can clear into the US.  Washington was pretty easy and I decided I would head for Port Angeles.  I spoke with the port captain and the immigration office, so I know where to go.  Most ports in the US have a specific pier you go to for customs and immigration clearance.  You have to fly your quarantine flag and in most places you are supposed to stay on your boat and wait for officials to come to you.  In some places, the ship captain can go directly to the offices to do the check-in.

Hawaii is a different story...  When you go online to research how to check in at Hawaii, the Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) directs you to their San Francisco office since they administer ports in Hawaii.  Well, it seems CBP did not tell this to anyone in San Francisco.  I must have made 8 calls to different offices in SF before I finally got a number for an office in HI.  It didn't get any better after that!

I got passed around from port offices, to immigration, to the department of land and natural resources, etc.  I learned that in most places the port captain does not deal with how or where boats moor!  I had to call the department of natural resources for that information.  In addition, the facilities are few and not very large, so available spaces is very limited.  I have decided to skip HI if everything goes well.  I'll just turn north and get home sooner.  If I have to go to Hawaii, it looks like clearing customs in Hilo is the best and preferred option.  We will see...