Fast passage

Marina Chahua, Huatulco, Qaxaca, Mexico

An blissful, uneventful passage.

We left La Marina Acapulco at 9AM, motoring out into the open Pacific once again.  Again, as we started our journey we were greeted by smooth seas and almost no wind.  This trip however, unlike the last one, the winds never really did appear and the ocean lived up to its name - very light swell for most of the time.

We managed to sail on two occasions, for a total of 12.8 hours and 48 miles, out of a total for the trip of 48.7 hours and 244 miles travelled.  We put another 35.5 hours on the engine.  If fact, I thought we did pretty good considering the lack of wind - we probably would not have even done that much sailing if not for a very favorable current.  As we approached within 60 miles of our destination, and some 12 miles offshore, we encountered such a lot of current that I was concerned we may not be able to slow down enough to avoid arriving in the dark.  At one point, I had the engine at an idle, just enough to keep some steerage and we were still making a steady 7.5 knots, sometimes as high as 8 knots.  Fortunately, as I steered closer to the shore, after a couple of hours the current subsided and I was able coast along at not much more than 5 knots for the last stretch, timing our arrival for around 9:30AM this morning.

The conditions were generally good, the boat just rocking gently up and down and back and forth.   Susanne was a little queasy on the first night but was able to do her watches, and she was perfectly OK by the 2nd night, when in fact the conditions were a bit more boisterous.  As a result, we both arrived much better rested than after the last passage.

That's about all you see of a turtle passing by

Along the way, we were also treated to some excellent wildlife.  Several turtles drifting by just outside of Acapulco, lots of birds, and several encounters with dolphins.  On the 2nd night, before the moon came up, we entered an area of phosphorescent seas and had a small pod of dolphins streaking about the boat leaving glowing trails in their wake.

As we were approaching Bahia Chahue, where the marina is located, we passed through a couple of large pods of dolphins (hundreds of them).  Some of them stayed to play in our bow wave for a while, and a few were putting on some pretty impressive aerial demonstrations.  We have never seen them do the twisting jumps that these guys seemed to love.  All in all, a great welcome to Huatulco.

We have paid for only 2 nights here in the marina, because there is an unusually long weather window for the Gulf of Tehuantepec for the next few days, and we need to cross this body of water to get to our final destination in Mexico, at Puerto Chiapas.  If we don't take advantage of this opportunity, we may have to wait for days or weeks for another.

Some nice people just came by offering to do our laundry.  Since we haven't had any done for almost a month, we just bundled up pretty much all of the clothing we own and gave it to them.  They say they will have it back to us tomorrow morning, although we don't really know who they are or where their business is, or how much this is going to cost.  Sometimes you just have to love Mexico.

{GMST}15|45.854|N|96|07.321|W|Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico|Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico{GEND}

Diving right in

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

We have had a couple of very full days, just being your basic tourists.

At the center of things, in the heart of Acapulco life and culture, is the old town zocalo, or plaza.  This is where we go to have breakfast or lunch and enjoy the tranquil setting.  Surrounding the plaza is the bustling downtown area, where traffic is a nightmare.  Sue says she often cannot tell the streets from the parking lots - it is very congested.  The incredible amount of construction that is going on does not help.

Not far from the zocalo is the Fuerte de San Diego, a beautifully restored pentagonal fort, built in 1616 atop a hill.  Therein is a very interesting museum and some great views of Acapulco Bay. One odd site for us were rows of what look like brand new Volkswagens lined up ready for shipment to somewhere, along the cruise ship dock.

Of course, no trip to Acapulco is complete without watching the cliff divers of La Quebrada.  We walked (uphill) to the top of the cliffs and paid to sit in the Restaurant La Perla, where we got a magnificent view of the matinee performance.  We both remember hearing about these cliff divers, and watching documentaries about them on TV, many years ago.  We had no idea that they still carried on their death defying feats these days, although I cannot imagine why they would not - it is really Acapulco's main tourist attraction.

Would you believe only15 feet of water down there?

Walking around the city, it is easy to imagine what it must have been like in its heyday, in the 50s and 60s, when it was the playground for the rich and famous, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, etc.  John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline honeymooned here.  That era was pretty much over by the 70s but was apparently making somewhat of a comeback with the American college students again around the year 2002, attracted by cheap rooms and wild nightlife.  Unfortunately the last few years have seen some serious crime problems in the area, and the resulting publicity is keeping most foreign tourists away.  Some places that used to be full of shops and bars and such (like around the cliff diving site) are pretty vacant now - kind of sad!  As far as we can tell, we are the only visiting yacht in either marina - certainly the only visiting sailboat.

All in all, we are certainly glad we stopped here, but two days is really enough to see everything that is of interest to us.  Tomorrow morning we will again be on our way southeast.  On our last passage, from Zihuatanejo to Acapulco, we travelled a total of 126 miles.  The route to Huatulco, as I have plotted it, is about 245 miles.  Again, the forecast winds and seas are supposed to be very light, but we saw how accurate that was on the way here, so we will just have to be ready to take whatever comes.  We have also been advised that we will pick up a very helpful current that should give us a boost of between 1/2 and 1-1/2 knots on this stretch.  If that is the case, we will again be struggling to go slow enough to avoid coming into Huatulco at night.  We do have the option to just leave here later in the day, but I hate to do that in case all of the predicted conditions prove to be incorrect.  It is much easier for us to slow down than it is to speed up.

Early this morning, we were entertained by a couple of rays trying to imitate birds.
It is difficult to get a picture of them as you never know where they will pop up and they spend very little time airborne.

On the mechanical front, I have taken a look at the watermaker.  It is entirely possible that this one may be beyond of my abilities.  Since we are over 3/4 full on our water capacity at the moment, it is not an immediate concern - it is more of a convenience issue than a matter of survival.  I will take another look at it when we are settled somewhere for a bit longer.  If this thing has to go back to the factory for service, I will not be a happy camper.

Downwind ride

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

An unexpected roller-coaster ride.

I checked the weather forecasts with the usual Internet sites before we made our 2nd attempt at leaving Zihuatanejo.  Tuesday, the day of departure, was to have the strongest winds, from 10 to 13 knots, diminishing to less than 7 knots overnight.  As we pulled up the anchor at 8:30AM, we were prepared for a long day of listening to the engine drone.

As expected, the wind was dead calm and the seas were flat - we motored for the first 5 hours.  Around mid-day, the winds piped up a bit and by 1:30PM there was enough to allow us to launch the Genoa and kill the engine.  For the next few hours we had a lovely beam reach (almost directly downwind).  At first we were making about 4 knots, then as the wind freshened to the predicted 10 to 13 knots, we were making closer to 5 knots - pretty much ideal.  We saw a little wildlife, a couple of turtles and a few dolphins.

But the winds didn't stop there. By late afternoon, the winds had increased to a steady 20 to 25 knots from the NW.  The combination of the NW wind-driven waves and the SW swell combined to give us some very lumpy seas, at times with some truly impressive waves (probably in the 10 to 12 foot range) hitting us on our starboard quarter and giving us a lot of corkscrewing action.  Susanne was not impressed however and by 6PM she was down for the count - she went below and did not emerge until sunrise.

Meanwhile I had an exhilarating sail.  With only the Genoa, we were making a good 6 to 6-1/2 knots, occasionally topping out at over 7 knots.  The ride was not comfortable but at least we were dry (no water over the bow or sides of the boat).  This wind persisted through most of the night (with an almost full moon and clear sky, the visibility was good) - more moderate after midnight, closer to 15 knots, which still gave us a boat speed of between 5 and 6 knots.  The only problem with this speed was that we were going to arrive much too early at our planned destination at Acapulco.  At around 3AM, I reefed in about 1/2 of the Genoa to slow us down.  Then promptly at 4AM, the wind shifted to come from the NE and almost died.  I just let us slowly drift at under 2 knots for the last few hours so we would not be coming into Acapulco in the dark.

The boat report card for the passage:  Overall a good performance.  The alternator worked as promised - not as much power as the one it replaced, but adequate.  The autopilot got a real good workout, constantly tweaking the wheel as we plunged through the waves - no issues there.  Of course, everything can't be working OK at the same time - after the first few gallons, the watermaker just stopped making water - I have no idea what the deal is with that!

Originally we were not going to stop in Acapulco at all, a big city (over 1 million people) with reportedly not much in the way of amenities for visiting boats.  However, it is really the only stop you can make between Zihuatanejo and Huatulco, which would be a 3 night passage otherwise.  At first, we were going to just anchor overnight in a nearby bay at Bahia de Puerto Marques, but talking to another cruiser we met in Z-town, they told us that La Marina Acapulco, which had a reputation for docks that were in various stages of disrepair, had just installed some new docks last year.  I was able to get a reservation via the Internet for our boat without any problem and it was not even all that expensive (about $56 a night).  It looks real nice, and is almost filled with big power yachts, but it still does not have any working showers (very disappointing) and the water is not drinkable.  The up side is that it is located within walking distance of downtown, where all the action is - if you know us, you know how we love to dance the night away at swinging discos.

Do we look a bit outclassed here?

Today, after we checked in at around 10AM, we had to make the long trek to the Port Captain's office.  It is over by the cruise ship dock, which is almost right next door.  However, the road, a major traffic artery, takes a long winding route around the bay, and it is almost completely impassible for pedestrians due to the ongoing construction.  Acapulco will be real nice if they ever get it finished!  Instead of taking a taxi, we did walk and eventually found the office, stopping for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in a busy square along the way.  We elected to take a taxi back the marina when we were all checked in, as we were both wiped out.  Note that most of the taxis here are VW beetles - brings back a lot of memories for me.



Someday, I hope to have my own cruise ship too.

Our initial impression of Acapulco?   It is a big, hot, humid city, teeming with life. I think it would be a real pity to have missed out on seeing it when we were going to be so close.  We plan to stay for 3 nights, then make the 2-night passage to Huatulco, where we will await our weather window to tackle the biggest challenge on this coast, the dreaded Tehuantepec (more about that later).  For now, I just want to get some sleep!

{GMST}16|50.47|N|99|54.44|W|Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico|Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico{GEND}

Leaving Z-town - Attempt Number 1

Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico

The downside of boating...

We were both feeling a lot better after a relaxing weekend of rest and recuperation, and decided we would make our break for points further south (or east as the case may be) today.

Yesterday we got everything stowed away in hopes that it would stay put for an overnight passage, then we went into town for a last supper in Zihuatanejo - settled for some so-so enchiladas.  We watched a movie and got to bed early so we would be well rested this morning.

We could not leave too early because I had to check out with the port captain, who does not open until 9AM, and then we had to get the motor off the dinghy and get the dinghy on deck, operations that took us an extraordinary amount of time for some reason today.  Nonetheless, by 10:30 we were on our way.

After motoring for a little over a mile, just leaving the bay, we could both smell something funny.  After searching the boat, I opened the engine compartment and was greeted with billowing smoke pouring out.  I quickly brought the engine down to an idle and took it out of gear, and tried to see where the problem was.  Overheating transmission?  Head gasket failure?  Wiring all burning up?  Lots of possibilities came to my mind but as I watched the engine, the smoke cleared away and everything appeared to be OK.  Engine was running fine, not hot, good oil pressure, transmission was not even warm, etc.  In order to find the problem, I cranked up the RPM again, put it in gear, and kept a watch on everything.  Sure enough, it started smoking again.  This time I was able to pin it down to the alternator - it had fooled me the first time because we were still charging due to the solar panels.  When I shut the solar controller off, it confirmed that we were getting nothing from the alternator.  In fact, the alternator was totally seized and the smoke was from the slipping belts.

We motored, at low RPM, back to our spot in the anchorage and dropped the hook.  To say we were not impressed would be an understatement.

After the engine (and especially the alternator) had cooled off a bit, I started the extraction process.  No easy task as this is one item on this engine that is very hard to reach at the best of times.  In the attached picture, you can just see it (the white object just peeking through from down below).  Getting access to the mounting bolts with both hands is an exercise in futility.  Fortunately, I am the one who put this alternator in so I knew it could come out - thank goodness I have long arms!  Eventually, I got it out and swapped in our spare.  Of course, the spare is not the same fancy Balmar make, just a Leese Neville automotive alternator, and the wiring is somewhat different (uses a built-in regulator).  Using a system of educated guesses, I had it hooked up, got the external Balmar regulator disabled, put on some new belts, and had the whole thing reassembled by 3PM.

Currently I am running the engine to test the installation - so far so good.

One has to wonder.  If I had not done the installation of this alternator myself in the first place, would it have failed?  On the other had, if I had not done the installation, would I have known how to go about fixing it?

As for leaving Zihautanejo, tomorrow we will make attempt number 2.

Boat maintenace in exotic places

Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico

In one of our favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, Andy and Red go off at the end to live a simple life in Zihuatanejo.  This would have been sometime in the 1960's and it appears that things have changes a bit since then.

Up until the 1970's, Zihuatanejo remained a fairly quiet fishing village, but then the federal government agency, FONATUR, developed the resort town of Ixtapa, right next door.  While Ixtapa is now an upscale kind of place, with a modern marina and all-inclusive resorts and time-shares, Zihuatanejo has also grown into a vibrant tourist town, catering to Mexican as well as international travellers.  It's current population is over 70,000 but it still retains some small town charm.  The bay here is the furthest point south that most cruising boats that ply the Pacific coast of Mexico would usually go.  Many cruisers spend a large part of their summer cruising season right here.

There are two main anchoring choices.  Where we are, in the north end of the bay, there is easy access to the town but the water is somewhat polluted.  The other anchorage, along the long beach at Playa la Ropa, there is much cleaner water but it is further from town and reportedly has more swell - most boats use an additional stern anchor to keep them facing into the surf.  We like the convenience of where we are.  One of the best features of the town access here is a bit of beach that has been reserved for dinghy landings.  There is very little surf so landing the dinghy is not difficult, but there is also a team of young men who meet you as you come in and haul our boat up the beach, help you launch it again when you return, and look after it when you are away, all for only 10 pesos.  It is great to be able to just go into town any time and not have to worry about leaving your dinghy unattended.

We have gone into town every day, usually for breakfast and later for supper at one of the numerous restaurants.  One day we took a local bus over to Ixtapa to check out how the other half lives.  The marina looks nice and I understand the prices are not as bad as we had been led to believe, but there is little of interest in Ixtapa other than the very nice beach.  There was hardly anyone out and about at the marina or elsewhere when we were there.  We had a couple of lemonades at one of the restaurants at the marina at noon, and we were the only customers in the entire place.  In fact, as you can see from the attached picture, the marina itself is not all that busy either.

Awaiting breakfast at the Zihue Pancake House

Pozole, a regional dish and
traditional to the state of
Guerrero

The weather here has been very predictable.  Every day the high is around 30C.  At night it drops to about 25.  There is little or no wind to speak of.  The first few days it was overcast, which was actually more comfortable without the sun beating down on us.  However, our solar panels were just not getting the job done keeping our batteries up and I was forced to use our new Honda generator for a few hours to top them up (actually I have been eager for an excuse to try it out).  For the last couple of days, it has cleared off and we are generating quiet power again.

I have been using some of our idle time here to get in some boat maintenance.  One of the most annoying issues was with our "wash-down" system.  This is a clever system I installed back in Nanaimo shortly before we left to cruise south.  It is a simple system - just a tee off of a raw-water intake (shares the one used for the water-maker), a wash-down pump mounted in a back compartment, and a standard garden hose fitting on the exterior of the boat (I used an existing, never-used, fitting that was previously designed for hooking the boat up to a fresh-water supply in a marina).  It's primary purpose is to allow us to wash off the anchor chain as we are bringing it on board, to try and keep the mud and such out of our anchor locker.  We used it once since we left Nanaimo, in Montague Harbour on the 2nd day of our journey - it worked fine then (2 years ago).

Since we left Canada, we have either stayed in marinas or have been anchored in nice, clean sand, so we have not needed it.  But when we were anchored in the lagoon at Barra de Navidad, the bottom was a nasty, smelly muck, and we had to re-anchor when we arrived, bringing a large quantity of that unseemly filth onto the boat.  Before we had to take that anchor up again, I suddenly remembered our wash-down system.  I found the hose and nozzle, buried at the bottom of the cockpit locker, and got it all connected up. I turned on the little used circuit breaker and eagerly awaited the rush of high-pressure water at the nozzle.  I could hear it, but nothing was coming out.  Then I heard the screams from down below as Susanne was yelling "We're taking on water!".  I quickly leaped down the companionway and turned off the switch.  A minor flood was evident in the back cabin.

The problem was a simple hose-barb connection inside an awkward little compartment in the back cabin.  The hose-clamp had broken and the hose had just popped off and started spraying salt water into the little compartment, which in turn leaked down the walls and onto the floor in the back cabin.  The excess just kept right on flowing down through the floor-boards and into the bilge where the bilge pump did its job.  However, it left a bit of a mess in its wake, especially since the water in the lagoon was pretty vile stuff too.

Looking at the tight space that I had to work in, I left the job until we were at anchor in Manzanillo - of course now there was even more crap on the deck from bringing up the anchor in Barra again.  At that time, I could not see any easy way to get another hose clamp onto the hose and decided to just glue it on permanently.  I mixed up some two-part epoxy and thoroughly coated the inside of the hose and outside of the hose-barb.  I stuck it on an let it set for 2 full days before trying it again.  This time it held for almost 15 seconds before the hose shot off and water started spraying everywhere again - this time Susanne was ready at the switch to kill it before it caused too much damage.

Now, with lots of time on my hands here in Z-town, I found a way to get a new, beefier hose clamp onto the hose and used some 3M 5200 marine adhesive that I managed to find at the small chandler in Manzanillo.  This combination finally did the trick and I was able to give the boat a good salt-water wash down.  Next, we hired a couple of young men who were able to scrub the boat from end to end with a couple of buckets of our precious fresh water, then they did a wax job on all the gel-coat and stainless steel - the boat looks much better now.  We also had them clean the bottom of the boat and the prop - the barnacles were just getting out of hand.

Today, we took delivery of 80 liters of diesel fuel, brought to the boat in jerry cans  We probably have lots to see us through to the end of Mexico now, even if we have to motor the entire way.  A couple of boats that came into the anchorage in the last couple of days from the south, reported that they had little or no wind, all the way from Panama.

As for our plans, as usual we are making much less progress than we had thought.  Right now, both Sue and I have caught some kind of cold.  Sue has it worse than I do.  Originally I though we would be out of here this weekend, but after the last overnight passage we made when I had a bit of a cold, I am in no hurry to repeat that experience.  Since it is Friday now, and since we didn't check out with the Port Captain today, we cannot check out until Monday, I guess we will be hanging out till then and see how we feel on Monday.  It the great scheme of things, there are a lot worse places to be.

This is what happens if you leave your boat unattended for any length of time.