On the “road” again (Barra to Punta Ipala)
Like the
last post, we’ll stick to the “stories à daily route à pictures” format here. Thanks for
reading!
Stories
**Update on “Stuck in Barra” : It takes a
while to find internet for posting, so I write you a few days later now. We’ve
left Barra now (wahooo!) but not without some stories to share. By the last
couple days at the marina, we were beginning to think the Arctic Loon didn’t
want us to cross the ocean. The was constantly something new to deal with. One
night, while waiting to hear from our mechanic about the alternator, an alarm
started going off near the helm. We all groaned, and investigated to discover
that it was the water witch, a sensor to tell us if there’s water in the bilge.
We opened the bilge, investigated thoroughly, and determined that it was
completely fine. No water at all. So that’s good news right? Not so much. After
pushing the mute button a million times, and reading the manual over and over
again, we determined that absolutely the only way to turn off this alarm was to
solve the bilge problem…. Which we didn’t have. With all of the other boat
problems we’d been having, we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This alarm
was high pitched and loud – impossible to sleep with, so we ended up calling
over some guys on another boat to see if they could help. One was an electrical
engineer, and the solution we all came up with? Tape a heavy water bottle to
lean on the mute button. If held down consistently, the alarm was silenced. We
slept, but had to deal with the issue the next morning. We ended up having to
call the manufacturer – who told us we should try not only wiping the sensors
(like we had) but also cleaning them…. Which bizarrely worked…. Thank goodness.
Oh but our woes were not over.
Our mechanic came and installed our alternator, which happily, made us good to
go. We turned the engine on, planning to go further south, but found the engine
coolant was leaking (likely due to our mechanic’s mistake)…. So we reluctantly
stayed another day, did some yoga, had our mechanic fix it…. And the next day
found it was doing the same thing! At this point, we didn’t trust our mechanic,
and didn’t know what to do. It was leaking a little less, and we knew we could
get to Puerto Vallarta (where better mechanics are) with the problem, so we
took off, heading north. Buuuuut…. Good old Arctic Loon gave us another alarm about
20 minutes into our journey. This time our REGULATOR wasn’t working. Oh how we
laughed and cried. After a lot of brain work and analysis, we’ve come up with a
mechanical trick (involving shutting down our alternator and only using solar
power) to make it to PV without too much of a straing , but Captain Diana has
started (jokingly) referring to our adventure as Apollo 13....will they make
it??? We shall see….
(Well if
you’re reading this, we have, since our next internet spot will be there. Give
us a call, we’ve probably got good service!)
Oh please, let us just make it Puerto Vallarta
(PV): The funny
thing about this blog is that it’s written slowly… so I write this several days
after the last story. And forgive us for not having the energy to make these
posts seem like they were actually written on the day they are posted. Well in
the last story, we wrote that we had a plan to get to PV, but unfortunately that
plan was shot down at our next stop when we encountered further problems with
our regulator. We decided to skip out on several of our planned stops in favor
of just getting to a mechanic asap. So that meant a looooong journey one day to
an anchorage called “Punta Ipala” right before the big cape crossing. The plan
was to motor for 10 hours straight in
light wave and wind conditions. Ohhh but has the weather report ever actually
been correct? The waves and wind were anything but light. Hitting us straight
on, we bounced up and down, fighting hard to ride the waves while salt water
sprayed continuously over the dodger and into our faces. We think winds were at
about 32 knots, and the waves 6-7 feet. It was hard to make our way around the
boat in those conditions. And to make matters worse, the force against us was
so strong, that we were barely making any headway. Inching along at 1 – 2 knots,
we arrived at Punta Ipala 17 hours later at 10 pm, absolutely exhausted. Diana
and Anne being the experts they are, they avoided the ominous fish traps and
rocks flawlessly while anchoring, and we had a good night’s sleep.
Arriving in PV: After another long journey from Punta Ipala, we
finally arrived in Puerto Vallarta, dearly excited to see big buildings are
resorts ahead. Somebody was looking after us, because we managed to get a spot
at a marina/resort called “Paradise” where we’d previously had trouble getting
in. And it is paradise. We bought ourselves a chocolate cake and champagne to
celebrate Arctic Loon’s arrival at what Anne calls “the beauty spa.” She’ll get
all fixed up and ready to cross the ocean here. We’re only about a month out
from our journey across the Pacific!
Daily
route:
Feb 7: Departed Barra marina (finally!) in the
morning. Found engine coolant was still dripping a little but left anyway. 15
minutes in, voltage alarm went off. Regulator wasn’t working. Anchored in close
by Melaque.
Feb 8:
Shopped in Melaque in the morning- bought lots of new bathing suits. Departed
Melaque in the afternoon and went to Cuastamate (otherwise known as “Secret
Anchorage”) only a few miles away.
Feb 9:
Departed Cuastemate at 11 am, planning on a short journey, but discovered
further engine issues (regulator was completely broken – could no longer trip
it). Decided to get to PV as quickly as possible, so took 35 mile journey to
Chamela.
Feb 10:
Full day in Chamela. Had an adventure trying to get the Dingy to shore.
Successfully parked down the river and had dinner on the beach.
Feb
11: Departed Chamela at first light for
a planned 10 hour trip to Punta Ipala. Huge winds and waves turned the trip
into a 17 hour trip. Anchored at 10pm, absolutely exhausted.
Feb 12:
Full day resting at Punta Ipala, getting ready for crossing Cape Corrientes.
Feb 13:
Woke up at 4am not wanting a repeat of our last day of wave riding. Took 10
hours to motor to Paradise Marina in PV.
Pictures:
Playing Settlers of Catan in PV to celebrate |
Sending Positive Vibes for an uneventful Puddle Jump!!
ReplyDelete...Waiting patiently for updates...
Much Love & Hugs
Cynthia