Life at the Dock; Life on the Hook

I’ve noticed some marked differences in living on a boat. The most notable is where the boat is tied up. One type of living is when the boat is at a dock or marina, while the other type is when the boat is at anchor or ‘on the hook’. Each has its distinct flavor and in reality, seems like a totally different life. Here is a typical day of each.

Life at the Dock

8am Get up to listen to the net if you’re not already up. Channel 22A on the VHF radio is a neighborhood chat of cruisers. We learn about today’s weather, which boats are coming and going, who has something to trade for ‘coconuts’ (talking of money would be business and is not allowed in a foreign country), where the music is for the evening, how to get anything done by local suppliers, and anything else that you would like to ask ‘the fleet’.
9:30 Coffee social at the club house, talking to other cruisers, buy tamales, rent DVD’s
10:30 E-mail, Work on the boat.
1:30 Walk or bicycle to a small restaurant for ‘plata corrida’ or special of the day which includes an entre, salad, rice and maybe desert for $4.50.
2:30 Work on the boat.
5:00 Kayak ride for Jill.
7:00 E-mail. Go for a walk on the malecón which is a wide sidewalk along the beach, or get a bite to eat, or listen to music.
10:00 Bed time or watch a movie.
　
Life on the Hook (Anchor)
Note: Times not listed because there aren’t any specific times for anything

Wake up with the first sign of light and make a cup of herbal tea. Take this to the cockpit and watch the sun rise appreciating the lack of sound and being in the center of the natural world.
Go for a meander in the kayak.
Make lunch.
Go diving, canyon walking, beach walking, shallow water walking.
Read or work on the computer or cook a meal, or organize an area of the boat, read a book. Maybe talk with the folks of another boat.
Eat a snack. Clean up the boat.
Watch the sun set.
Watch a movie.
Watch the stars.
Go to bed.

Living on the same boat with totally different life styles. To me it’s amazing.

Carnival LaPaz 2009

Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida

Late February 2009


Since the outside cushions are in the process of being made, the dinghy is back with its new shiny ‘chaps’ to protect it from the sun, and the water pump is making its way from the border customs office, we will finally be able to get away form the dock. Even if it’s only for one week. Besides, we want to make it back for carnival which is the following week.

Once we left LaPaz, it was about 4 ½ hrs. of motoring, about 24 miles going north to get to Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. The interesting thing about these two islands is that it was once one island of about 19 miles. A volcano erupted on the northern portion of the one island separating it from the southern section. This created a large hole which filled with water ultimately making a great anchoring place. We shared the anchorage with only a handful of boats during our 6-day stay. We managed to dive (our first) on a very tired reef near our anchorage. Tired, I believe, because as we learned at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz, 1/3 of the world’s reefs have been destroyed in the last 20 years as a result of the La Ninas and El Ninos. The reefs haven’t been able to adapt to these brief warmer water temperatures fast enough. Here is a photographic taste of what it is like to anchor in these islands.

LaPaz, Baja Mexico

One of the many sculptures on the board walk (‘malecón’ in Spanish) in LaPaz.

This is one by creator Guillermo Gómez Macías . At the base of the sculpture there is a poem.

I have a paper boat

It’s made from a page

On which I have written my dreams
It has neither anchors, nor mooring ropes
I want to sail in it
On the seven seas; in the eighth

I know I will run aground in the port of my desires.

Has someone ever seen the light shining from their lighthouse?










Photos: Downtown LaPaz from one point: Up the coast, toward town, and down the coast.

Fixing Things in Exotic Ports

Also February 2009

I don’t have to tell all you sailors. You already know. For all you non-sailor readers that think this is an exotic life, I want you to see a glimpse of real life.

All the way down the coast, we added needed items to the boat. Biagio calls some of these things ‘real things’ i.e. engine parts, etc. and the other things are stuff’. That would be the things a female would like on a boat such as Tupperware, shoe holders and laundry separators. You get the gist. For my part, I call it all ‘stuff’. Now there was a big rush on the boat of ‘stuff’ in San Francisco where we stayed for a month. Then there was the final ‘stuff’ loaded onto the boat in San Diego. Mosquito nets, sun screen mesh, bicycle baskets, extra parts, etc. With such preparation you would think that all the ‘stuff’ got on the boat and that would be the end of it. You would think.

Photos: The repairs in a 24 hr. period: Left - Major bicycle repair requiring several trips to the bicycle store after we were able to find one; Center - A bird broke off the radio antenna which required a trip to the store for a new one and several more trips to find the right coupling, Lower right - A stanchion was bent when single handing onto the windy LaPaz dock. Lower - Trouble shooting the battery charger before resting it in peace and finding a replacement.

In reality, the water maker didn’t work all the way down the coast. We should have started it in San Diego. But we didn’t. Hey, it always works. Until now. We’re still waiting for the rebuilt pump to come from San Diego as noted in an earlier vignette. And then the battery charger went out. One night after shutting down a computer, there was a soft 'boom' sound. "Hey Biag, I heard something." "What did you hear,” he said? "Something," I said. "I didn’t hear anything", he said. "No it was something", I insisted. Well, we later found that ‘something’ was a battery charger which had come to a dead stop. The battery charger charges our batteries which gives us the power to operate our fans, computers, tv, boy are we spoiled! Well now we have to run the generator to charge it all. Until the new battery charger is installed. Biagio had to scour the car engine stores to get one strong enough to replace the one we had. So now what’s next? Well that is after we get the pump back for the water maker. Maybe then it will be the motor for the water maker. Now remember we still don’t have fresh water. It’s always something. That’s boat life. So all of you who think this is the ideal life, just remember, all that fixing you’re missing out on. Well that and the dolphins and whales, and the exotic tacos and 'platos corridos', and the walks along the shore, and the diving. Well, I guess it’s worth it. Just don’t tell Biagio. He’s got his head under the navigation table trying to fix the latest malfunction.

The Vortex of LaPaz, Mexico

February 2009
(To orient you, LaPaz is the first stop into the Sea of Cortez after Cabo San Lucas. It's on the west side of of the Sea. From here we'll go north into the islands for some diving and fishing.)

Like quick sand, did you ever get stuck into something you couldn't get out of? LaPaz is a lot like that. With 80 degree temperatures during the day in February, and 55 degrees at night for cool evening walks, it's very easy to hang out here. One person said, "I've been here for a couple o f years and I'm leaving any day now." I heard another say, "We just came down for a sail and wound up buying a house. We've been here for 3 years now."

It starts out by listening to the 'net' in the morning. It's like an active newspaper of the morning. Someone gives a weather report, someone else tells what's going on in town, another about what meetings might be of interest, who has something to trade, what get togethers you can get together at, etc.












Photos: Left-Marina de LaPaz, Right-Super Bowl Sunday al frescoe at Bandito's Restaurant. (note the very large screen)

Our stay started out like this:
Waiting for the pump from Seattle via DHL
Decided to have cover made to protect the dinghy. This will take one week.
Go to the blues bar to hear music. Meet 3 new couples.
Go to the 'how to organize your food' meeting. Meet 20 new women.
Go to the club house to rent a video and have a coffee. Meet 10 of the women you already know.
Walk down the malecon. Meet 2 couples you previously met.
Invitation to someone's house. They arrived 10 years ago.
And so it goes.

Any day now, just as soon as the dinghy cover is ready, we're going to leave. Honest.