Busy getting ready to leave Zihuatanejo for the Marquesas - Pt 1 - Navy came to visit!!
Originally uploaded by svNereida.
Well - I'm beginning to get really excited at the thought of starting out on the 'big adventure'!! I'm definitely starting on Sunday - early - the forecast is for reasonable wind once I get a day or so offshore. Will check out tomorrow (Friday) to be ready - winds could well be good Saturday onward (nothing near offshore just now!) At the moment, if I were to leave, I'd probably have to motor for two or more days.... good reason to relax and prepare for the next few months. I'm provisioning for three and a half months (to Australia in July) so I don't have to worry about French Polynesia - anything fresh there will be a bonus!
I'm in Zihuatanejo where I caught the last two nights of the Guitar Festival I came here for - some fabulous classical, blues, 'slide' and 'jazzy' playing.
The local 'Armada' came by on Monday to fill in a long questionnaire on the boat and my travels - very friendly and an excellent test of my Spanish!!
Wheels on the dinghy have already proved their worth several times, especially yesterday when I had several full fuel cans in it to bring back out from beach to the boat. Fuel is fully loaded now, so just food to finish getting, last phonecalls & emailing/Skype & then I'm off!
I 'mended' the outboard starter - it got really bad Wednesday afternoon, although luckily it just about managed to start when I left the beach in biggish surf loaded with fuel!
Went to go over to La Ropa beach to pick up a couple of Tuamotu & 'Puddlejump' CDs from another boater who'd NOT missed the 'Latitude 38' "Puddlejump Party". Outboard wouldn't start without me opening cover & holding cord wheel in place while I pulled - cogwheel kept coming away (i.e. disengaging) from other cog. Got it going for there & return but then had a good look at it back at 'Nereida' - was really loose - all it needed was a good tightening of the bolt holding it all in place - now starting beautifully again!! (NO squealing & rattling!)
About to leave for Marquesas (Part 2) - & on 'around'!! Jose Luis & family were guests aboard...
Originally uploaded by svNereida.
I was lucky in that cruisers who invited me over for dinner on Tuesday night (partly to introduce me to a Japanese singlehander also headed to French Polynesia on a 10-yr circumnavigation) offered to help with my re-fuelling on Wednesday. We went later to 'El Casa de Las Sirenas' to hear Jose Luis Cobo (whose CD I've been playing on 'Nereida' for the last 2 years since the Guitar Fest of '05), and others, playing. As a result, I took Jose Luis with his daughter and grandson for a 'sail' around the bay here today (Thursday) & had a very pleasant afternoon, as a short rest from preparing the boat for my forthcoming passages.
It's also been very time-consuming catching up with missing parcels and items sent out from England which missed me in San Diego - I still don't have the Musto outer gear nor the Navtex unit/antenna - both sent as I was leaving the States for Mexico. Neither got to Vancouver in time for a friend to bring down to me on a visit here recently ... Australia, maybe??
I'm hoping the 'Migracion' lady is helpful here tomorrow when I go to check out personally from Mexico before heading to the 'Capitania' to clear 'Nereida' out - I've been hearing that she can make things difficult....