Shortly after I took the picture of the full moon in the last posting, dolphins joined us to guide us the last mile into port. It was too dark to get a picture but we knew they were there as they frequently jumped clear of the water and made their presence felt.
We found an empty spot on the quay to tie up and everyone crashed until daybreak.
The day was filled with boat maintenance and doing laundry. There were three washing machines and one dryer in the marina so very quickly our boat looked like a tornado hit a pile of laundry. Every lifeline and flat surface around the boat was filled with drying laundry. Fortunately it was a very dry and sunny day in Santa Cruz so things dried quickly.
I managed to get a few more trips up the mast to resolve the twisted gennaker halyard and replace the frayed spinnaker halyard that I used (but in retrospect shouldn't have) when we couldn't use the gennaker halyard.
After some confusing efforts to find the fuel dock (there is not one here) we eventually found out that fuel delivery is arranged through marina staff (but not those in the office) for a truck to deliver it quay-side. The marina dock personnel could only be reached via VHF channel 9, and only in Spanish. I never could figure out where they had an office. Once again, Carlos "QSTOM" to the rescue with his Spanish skills.
I discussed with Antoine about making the big trip across and he is seriously considering it. He's a gem: very quiet, fantastic cook, the right amount of assertiveness to help make decisions, an absolutely amazing artist, and a real talent for blues guitar.
I had a flight to catch so I made a dash to the aeropuerto leaving the final details of boat cleanup to the very capable crew. Fortunately I was one of the winners at Texas Hold'em the prior night where we played for bathroom cleanup duties so I only feel a little guilty that I bailed early.
Carlos is a certified "neat-nik" so I have zero worries that the boat will be much cleaner than if the task were left to me.
I hope (and truly suspect I will) run across all their paths again. It's been a great start to this adventure and has generated quite a few lasting memories.
The next leg begins January 10; I'll be in SantaCruz on the 6th to begin preparations and provisioning.
Is this the same group of men doing the next big trip?
ReplyDeleteNo, this will be a different group next time with the exception of Antoine & myself. It actually turns out that there will be five aboard. Ben (UK), Anthony (UK) and Paddy (Ireland) are the "new recruits". Most of them arrive on the night of Jan 7th to prepare for the departure on the 10th.
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