Now, it has been a full four weeks since we arrived. Our original plan was to limit our time in dry dock to a maximum of three weeks. We aimed to be back in the water a week ago. Did it happen? Of course not. As the saying goes, everything takes twice as long when you’re on a boat. We’re still actively engaged in preparing for the upcoming season. It’s the familiar dance of two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back.

We’re lacking motiviation

Upon our arrival, we took a week to unwind. We soaked up the sun, which was over 30°C warm, worked on our computers, and tidied up the boat. Our enthusiasm to return to Milagros was not at its peak. It’s not so much about Milagros herself – she’s now a radiant and beautiful sailboat with her brand new deck paintjob – but more about us. The last season was a mixed experience, and we simply cherish being at home everytime we’re there. We could have easily prolonged our stay in Switzerland by another three months. However, the flights were booked, and it was time to head back to Mexico.

Holà Mexico! We’re back!

Thus, we commenced our return at a leisurely pace. Initially, our task was to clear Milagros of all the dust and dirt that had accumulated on the deck. For the remaining time, we embraced relaxation and settled into our second home in Mexico. We fully immersed ourselves in vacation mode, enjoying social gatherings with friends such as Rob and Sarah on SV Mapache 2.0, savoring evening beers in the enchanting light of dusk.

A very special invite

As if we weren’t already in vacation mode, David the painter graciously invited us for an afternoon boat trip around Guaymas and San Carlos. Our good friend Pete, whom we had also hosted in Switzerland, joined the crew. Meeting up with the other David and his family outside the Oxxo next to the boatyard, armed with snacks and beer, we set off. Along the way, we came across a group of dolphins, and both Davids wasted no time in taking a refreshing dip in their jeans. The enjoyable moments continued to unfold!

Out with the old, in with the new

However, lazing around was not an option for us. We had a substantial to-do list, including two major projects, alongside the usual 8,000 smaller tasks that needed completion.

• Our first major undertaking was to replace our old battery bank with a state-of-the-art lithium battery bank. The significant advantage of lithium batteries lies in their ability to discharge more, providing us with significantly more power at once.
  
• The attempt to install a new propeller shaft had encountered setbacks during the summer, and now we had to persevere with this project.

Our focus shifted to the removal of the old batteries. Extracting three massive AGM batteries, each weighing approximately 60kg, from the engine room was no small feat. With this accomplished, we suddenly had half of the engine room available for innovative ideas. As depicted in the photos, I even contemplated transforming that space into my new cabin.

Everything takes longer as usual

Meanwhile, we were also dedicated to the shaft project. Our initial plan was to install the new propeller shaft in July. However, due to various setbacks and delays, the project had to be temporarily shelved. Fortunately, our dependable mechanic, Salomon, already had the new version in his workshop. Thus, it was just a matter of time until our new shaft could be installed. Or so we thought. Unfortunately, the new propeller shaft had to make three return trips to the workshop for additional adjustments, causing further delays. Finally, after these setbacks, we could direct our focus to the installation. Yet, even four weeks later, the installation remains incomplete.

The bent shaft is mind-bending

It’s another Sisyphean endeavor. We aim for perfection to avoid any future issues, and achieving this demands considerable mental effort and, inevitably, more time. Precise alignment of all bearings, seals, couplings, and the installation of our new shaft brake are essential tasks. As you might anticipate, progress seems to follow the pattern of two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back.

The snowball effect

The classic snowball effect reared its head once again in this scenario. Initially, our plan was to install a new self-aligning ball bearing. However, the onset of rust on the bearing after just three months of sitting around in the ship prompted a change of plans. We opted to go with the old plain bearing. That decision led us to an unwelcome revelation: the bearing was worn out and required recasting, with play measuring 0.2mm instead of the expected 0.04mm (!!).

Upon the installation of the newly cast bearing, another unpleasant discovery surfaced: we needed to replace and elevate the supports on our engine. This is the consequence of a more thorough examination necessitated by the shaft. The duration of this undertaking remains uncertain…

Partying the Mexican way

In addition to our work on computers and Milagros, we’re indulging in our usual enjoyment. For instance, we received an invitation to a typical Mexican house party. Painter David welcomed family and friends to unwind at his place. And unwind we did. The entire neighborhood resonated with the lively beats of “Tecnobanda” – two young women passionately drumming to pulsating Mexican music from colossal speakers. I was truly impressed by their skills and even had the opportunity to try it out, much to the amusement of the party. While my performance was decent, I couldn’t quite match the proficiency of the two girls, no matter how hard I tried. Respect!

Nico the little pirate

On a different evening, we took care of Nico, the son of Rendt and Marea on SV New Life. They were celebrating their anniversary and wanted a pleasant evening, so the not-so-little Nico stayed with us. We did our best to keep him entertained with our limited children’s gear. The highlight of the evening was the assortment of plush mascots that accompany us, most of which are gifts from our friends in Switzerland. We think we did a commendable job. The evening included pizza, drawing, playing with the stuffed animals, and writing cute letters to his parents.

We’re back in Mexico

And thus, the days swiftly passed, and we gradually reacclimated ourselves with Milagros in Mexico. We’re finding immense joy in working on and upgrading her. Virtually every nook has been fine-tuned, every space upgraded. Yet, new ideas for enhancements continue to emerge. Many of our friends suspect that we derive more enjoyment from tinkering than actual sailing. While that might hold some truth, we are still eagerly anticipating the moment when Milagros can finally embrace the water. She longs for a wet belly, and we’re determined to make it happen as soon as possible.

Yes, we’re well aware – once again, we find ourselves working instead of sailing. It’s just the way things are. If you’d like to add a touch of sweetness to our life on this dusty boatyard, you can buy us a beer with a simple click of the button! You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon. Thanks a lot!

Der Beitrag The Snowball Effect erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

It was slowly getting hot in Guaymas. And not just a little hot. We were sitting in a sweltering heat like we’ve probably never experienced before. The thermometer reached 40 degrees Celsius practically every day. And then there was the intensity of the sun, too. During the day we mostly hid in the coolness of the air conditioning in a small apartment we had rented for a couple of weeks. We didn’t want to stand on the feet of the painters working on our deck all the time and wanted to let them do their jobs.

Working in the Guaymas heat

The two painters David and Raul suffered from the heat, we could tell. When it got really hot, the pace of her work slowed noticeably. We can’t blame them. The work in the Guaymas oven is brutal. Drinking regularly, taking a break in the shade and not overdoing it was the way to go for them. Sometimes we almost had a guilty conscience towards the two.

Things are going well

But we could see: Something really impressive was on the way! The deck was the final piece in the puzzle for Milagros to become a little masterpiece. Our boat will appear completely transformed. Days and days of fairing and sanding work resulted in perfect surfaces. It’s laborious work but pays off in the end when painting. We ourselves would not have faired and sanded as much as the painting crew. But we didn’t do the work ourselves in the end so all we could do is shut up and watch.

Small projects

Apart from sitting around comfortably in the air conditioning, we also took care of smaller boat projects. For example, our new propeller shaft brake had arrived. The little piece of equipment should prevent us from bending our shaft again in the future. A shaft brake prevents the propeller from spinning freely while sailing. This results in much less stress on the material and less noise.

We also gave our teak a little love. We carefully washed it, lightened it and then oiled it. All with a practical 3-piece teak care set. Worked out great, and the result is really pretty.

Bigger projects

And at some point, the time had come: the first layer of paint was put on the deck! This in the form of a two-component epoxy resin primer, sealing and strengthening the surface. Because it consists of two components, the paint and a hardener, the paint layer is extremely strong. It will protect the old fiberglass of Milagros. After the job was done, we got a first impression of what Milagros would look like with the new paintjob. The white surface literally blinded our eyes. A great moment.

Hot, hot, hot, hot

And what came after the primer? Well, guess. The whole boat was again coated with putty and sanded. For days on end. At up to 47 degrees Celsius (116 °F) air temperature. We were getting tired of the heat. We can only imagine how the painting crew must have felt. Our foster cat Sailor was suffering too, panting when he met us for his food in the evenings. The heat in Guaymas is crazy. Time that we could finally go home. But we couldn’t. Not until our deck was finished. And what’s better than a cold beer to cool down?

Tasty craft beer just around the corner

As always in our blog posts and sailing career, beer is involved. The owner of the boatyard in Guaymas opened a Cervezeria right next to the boatyard with his brother (or so, I don’t remember exactly). Craft beer from Cervezeria Fauna is served there. Of course, we couldn’t miss the opening night. We sat there for hours with Tom and Keith (we met them back in the kingdom of El Mero) and tasted our way through the range of different cervezas. The Boatyard employees were there too, it was a cozy get-together.

Color layers and window delights

The days that followed passed as the ones before did. We passed the mornings working on our computers in the cool apartment we had rented for two weeks. In the evening we headed out into the heat to pay Milagros her daily visit. More layers of paint had been added onto Milagros in the meantime. The cabin was already done! So finally, we could devote ourselves to another monster project. In a moment of weakness, we decided to unmount, completely dismantle, rebedd and reinstall all the windows on Milagros again. Sounds good, but omfg. What a huge freaking job.

A monster of a project

Many a boat owner shies away from this very project. Rightly so. The window project really called for every skill we had learned since purchasing Milagros. I could write an entire blog post about the work on our windows alone. Here is a small excerpt of the work steps:

– Remove the windows

– Take a close look at everything

– Assess what needs to be done

– Find much more work than originally planned

– Seal and smear everything with fiberglass and epoxy

– Clean, drill, Dremel, sand the fiberglass and epoxy

– Clean the frames from a collection of old filler, putty and grout from over 40 years of Milagros

– Have new windows made

– Have everything made and corrected three times until it fits, because Mexico

– Ask yourself «why?»

– Glue the panes into the window frames in a huge mess

– Glue the fitted panes in the window frame, add those to another window frame

– Screw the frames in the frames tight together, add more sealant for yet another mess

– Before reinstalling the windows in the cabin walls, test EVERY ONE of the 100 screws and mark which one their screw hole is, because nothing fits like it did before

– Scream out loud

– Tear your hair (if you still have some)

– In an intermediate step, adapt window frames that do not fit to the windows with some more fairing

– Fit the window frames into the cabin wall with some more sealant in another monstrous mess

– Notice that it is too hot and the sealant dries too quickly

– Come back later

– Keep on sealing like crazy

– Be disturbed by the cat at the dumbest moment

– Just keep going because Sailor is a sweetheart

– Keep messing around all over the place until the job is done

Just like that

That’s pretty much how we remember the procedure. We don’t want to go into any further details here. We’re just glad it’s done. Woe betides a drop of water straying through the windows into our cabin in the future. At some point we were done and we couldn’t have done better. Not because we’re convinced that our job is perfect, but because we simply don’t know if we could have done it any better. Should you be reading this, own a boat and you are considering whether you want to tackle your windows: Think twice. Or maybe even thrice.

Milagros looks like new

And once our windows were in, the painters were soon done too: The deck paintjob was done. And what can we say? Our dear boat looks like new. The new deck paint makes a huuuuuuuge difference. David and Paul really did a great job. Unfortunately, bad news were just around the corner. Problems with our new prop shaft!

Oh crap!

When Salomon from the metal workshop arrived at the boatyard with the object of desire, it quickly became clear: There was a problem. The shaft bearing and the new shaft brake did not fit over the shaft. There was only one thing that could help: the prop shaft had to be taken back to the workshop and made to fit. Shortly afterwards the message came that a whole piece of stainless steel had to be ordered. A worker had simply removed too much material from the shaft in the workshop (2/1000 in instead of 1/1000 in!!!). After we had waited and waited and waited for weeks. Oh dear Mexico, sometimes you’re just a little too much for us. Now we can only take care of the shaft again when we return in winter.

We need to get outta here

Slowly the loooong season began to gnaw at our morale again. Too much heat, too much waiting, too much boatyard, too much boat work. Normally, early in the season, sailors spend a couple of weeks preparing their boats so they can head out as soon as possible when they return. We have spent too much time working on the boat this season. Yes, Milagros is in better shape than ever – but we’ve heard a few times that our working/sailing time ratio is completely out of control. Yes, this season was not easy. But our Swiss perfectionism simply doesn’t allow it any other way sometimes. Next season we will be sailing an absolute gem of a boat. Slowly but surely it was time to stow away Milagros and take a break again.

Mexican party

But before we flew home, there was another celebration in order. And this time, things got really Mexican. We were invited to the birthday party of boatyard employee and crane operator Mario. The event took place shortly before we left in an event hall he had rented for the evening. The two of us, our Australian friends Jen and Cam and about 50 Mexicans joined the party, which started cautiously. Everyone sat at their tables and listened to the warm-up band, a rock cover band made up of Mario’s friends. Armed with freezers and beer supplies, of course. The foreigners were eyed curiously from all sides.

Baila, Baila, Baila

It only really got going when cumbia, classical Mexican music, was put on. Everyone jumped out of their chairs and danced and danced and danced. To everyone’s surprise, the «Gringos» were also taking part in the dancing. The “DJ crew” was made by two dudes on drum sets with all kinds of kettledrums and other drumming equipment, who played along with the music from the speakers. With increasing beer consumption, the fear of contact disappeared and so we took all kinds of funny photos with the guests present. The evening was once again a reminder of what a great people the Mexicans are. Muchas Gracias!

A travel lift ride with consequences

Then it was soon time to move Milagros to their summer location. However, the changeover of locations did not go without damage to Milagros. I’ll spare you the details for now – we already reported on how we were treated by the yard in the last blog post. It shouldn’t get any better. And it won’t get any better in the future either. I can only say this much: We have definitely been to this boatyard for the first and last time. Despite advance warnings from various quarters, we decided to visit – and skilfully stepped in a pile of c***. We only have ourselves to blame. More on that another time.

The end is near

Because the work on our deck (did I notice that it turned out freaking AWESOME?) took a few weeks longer than expected, we had to cut all the preparatory work for the departure, which lasted about two weeks last time, into a few days. It turned out quite stressful. The day before we left, we worked our asses off from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. just to get it done, after more prep work in the days before. The almost 30-hour return journey back home to Switzerland went smoothly. Time to clear your heads and gather anticipation for your return.

Bad news upon arrival

But as soon as we got home, we had to start worrying again. Facebook and WhatsApp are our main sources for all sailing related news from Mexico. And what did we see? As soon as we left, an impressive and violent storm swept over Guaymas and San Carlos in Mexico. The area is known for raging summer thunderstorms called Chubascos. But this time, things were different. In videos and photos, we saw a wall of wind and dust battering the region. Absurd wind speeds were measured everywhere, power went out, entire brick walls collapsed in the boatyard and more of the aging boatyard electric posts bit the dust and fell over.

And what about Milagros?

Fortunately, Milagros escaped unscathed, she weathered the storm well. But unfortunately bad news also reached us from other sailor friends. The kingdom of El Mero, for example, is no more. It was completely destroyed in the storm. Unfortunately, some friends’ boats were also affected when their dock lines failed and they were washed ashore. Elsewhere, some boats in dry dock have tipped off their stands. We hope for their owners that the damage is manageable.

What’s next?

Well, apparently we’re not spared any frightening moments at the other end of the planet either. That’s the way it is when you embark on an adventure like ours. Why we were more concerned in this case than the last times, we will tell in the next blog post. But for now, it’s time to recharge the sailboat batteries in Switzerland so that we can start another attempt towards the south with fresh motivation. Only the gods of the sea know how far we will come. Things happen all the time.

We really enjoy creating content for you – if you want you can also say thank you by contributing to our beer kitty by clicking the button below. You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon. Thanks a lot!

Add to our beer kitty by clicking here!

Der Beitrag Lessons Learned and Memories Made erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

It’s quiet here in the boatyard – except for the sanding machines that smooth out our deck a bit more every day. There are hardly any other sailors around, and our projects are moving forward step by step. But being anything but calm is currently not possible. The thermometer has climbed to 45°C (113 °F) for the first time, and in temperatures we cannot really get anything done except from sweating profusely. One of the reasons is that our underwater hull is black, so in the morning, one side is exposed to the sun, and in the afternoon, the other side is. It’s like having nice floor heating that we could very well live without at the moment.

A spot for the doggies

Before it got so hot, luckily we managed to find a spot for the dog mom and her 5 puppies. Sailing friends from Peñasco – Sarah from SV Mapache 2.0 and Marla from SV Cavu – pulled out all the stops and convinced Barb’s Dog Rescue in Peñasco to take in the little dog family. Rob and Sarah took SV Mapache out of the water in neighboring San Carlos to embark on a small USA tour with their minivan during the summer. It worked out wonderfully that Peñasco was on their way, so they could take the dogs with them.

A fateful decision

But before that happened, we celebrated our reunion with beer and rock music at Hair of the Dog. David even put on a small drumming show with the band. The night watchman was kind enough to let Rob and Sarah park their van next to our boat, which unfortunately turned out to be a pretty bad decision in hindsight. When we brought them coffee the next morning shortly after sunrise, we noticed that one of the power poles was lying on the ground. However, we didn’t pay much attention to it, loaded the dogs into the car, and waved goodbye to the little travel group.

No Joyride?

A short while later, there was a loud knock on our hull, and the agitated manager of the boatyard stood below. Our friends had apparently knocked over the power pole with their van and now had to take responsibility for the damage. We scratched our heads and couldn’t remember any of the accusations happening. When we went to sleep the night before, the pole was still standing, and when we woke up, it was on the ground. Rob and Sarah swore that they hadn’t taken a joyride around the boatyard that night. But despite the protests, it didn’t matter. They were deemed responsible, despite various witnesses, and the poor guard was immediately fired.

An unfortunate coincidence

Upon closer inspection, everything turned out to be a very unfortunate coincidence. The bottom end of the pole was simply rotten, and something had caused it to give way that night. The fact that the workers then examined other crooked poles, cut them down, and re-embedded them (which, in my opinion, amounted to an admission of guilt) didn’t change the boss’s conviction. Fortunately, no one and nothing were harmed, but the uneasy feeling remained. What could have been a minor issue unnecessarily turned into a big fuss thanks to the reaction of the manager.

All’s well that ends well

Nevertheless, we were overjoyed that dog mom “Milly” – as Rob and Sarah named her in reference to Milagros – and her 1-week-old pups found a better home than under a boat on the boatyard. Of course, we were also saddened that we wouldn’t witness the puppies opening their eyes and beginning to explore the world, developing their own personalities. But it was for the best for everyone involved. We now support Barb’s Dog Rescue with a monthly contribution. If you’d like to contribute as well, you can do so here.

Milagros Animal Shelter

On the same day, we took over the care of “Sailor,” a cat belonging to other sailors at the boatyard. We’ll look after him for the coming weeks while they visited their family in the USA. The funny little male cat is quite low-maintenance as he spends most of his time exploring the boatyard and reappears at meal times.

Window work

While we spend every morning on our laptops, we take care of other projects in the afternoons. We’ve already mentioned that we removed and sealed all the window frames and took out the window panes since most of them were leaking. Now it was time to install the new glass. After finally deciding on a sealant (I won’t go into detail here, but I can say it was quite a hassle, especially communicating with customer service from American suppliers), we could proceed with the sealing.

A disaster?

As we set up and spread the first bead of black sealant on the bronze frames, David predicted it would be a disaster. Well, we can’t exactly call it a disaster, buuut we did make quite a mess. Sealant oozed out everywhere – as it’s supposed to – when we placed the pane into the outer frame and screwed on the inner frame. However, cleaning up proved to be challenging. If the joint on one side was good, something would get smudged on the other side. And when we flipped it around, something happened on the former side.

Learning curve

We learned from it and decided to divide the whole process into two steps. With each frame, we become faster, and the joints become neater. Thank God, we only have 10 windows, and hopefully, we’ll never have to do this work again. But we understand why it costs $300 to send the windows to the USA and have it done there.

An important project

Another item that had given up the ghost was our kitchen faucet. The base had rusted through and now stood more or less upright in the kitchen landscape only because of the connected hoses. The new faucet was quickly chosen and purchased. But who could have known that its fittings were different from the previous one? Even after more than 2 years on the boat, we still haven’t learned. But it’s still quite astonishing. How many different fittings can there be for American faucets? The new ones were not the same as the old ones, and they were also different from the bathroom faucet. We knew from the beginning that we wouldn’t find a suitable, single-piece connector here in Mexico. However, after visiting various stores, David found an acceptable combination. We have running water in the kitchen again, and that’s what counts.

I finished sewing!

I also had to finish my sewing projects because Tom, the owner of the sewing machine, wanted to return to the USA. With the help of a wheelbarrow and Mario, a boatyard employee, and with payment in the form of beer, we transported the sewing machine to San Carlos. Tom lives there with his pickup camper on the beach. After a few beers with a beautiful view, it was time to eat. Mario drove with us to his neighborhood, Guaymas Norte, and after a sightseeing tour, he took us to one of his favorite taco stands. Mmmmh, tacos are always a good choice!

Soup time

We also got to know another Mexican specialty. Hortencia, a cashier at the Oxxo just around the corner and the new partner of a sailor here at the boatyard, invited us to her home for Pozole. Pozole is a typical Mexican stew. According to Wikipedia, “The main ingredient in Pozole is special thick, nixtamalized corn kernels. The kernels are precooked in a water-calcium oxide solution for several hours. This process causes the corn kernels to lose their fibrous husk. After that, the corn is removed from the solution and washed. Before it is ready to eat, it is boiled a second time for several hours, and then usually pork or chicken is added.” It is said that Pozole originated among the Aztecs and other indigenous tribes in Mesoamerica. Historical texts state that the Pozole of the indigenous people was made from sacrificed human flesh and eaten on special occasions. We had one with pork, or so we were told.

Spanish lessons with dessert

We enjoyed the evening away from the boatyard, with music and a cooling fan. Although Hortencia and her son Saul don’t speak English or only a little, both of them are excellent at speaking simple Spanish. This allows us to have normal conversations with them and understand what they say. And when we don’t understand something, they can describe the words in a fitting way. This way, we learn a lot and improve our Spanish more and more. And it’s also more fun when you can have conversations. For dessert, we had not only pineapple tamales but also homemade mango tart with mangoes from their garden. She even gave us a whole bag of those mangoes. Thanks to our ice maker, we quickly turned them into mango slushies, a much-needed refreshment.

A Reunion

Out of nowhere, David received a WhatsApp message from Alex of SV Blue Wind in May: “Where the hell are you?” We had met Alex (a compatriot from the French-speaking region) and her partner Christina at the very beginning of our sailing journey in Puerto Peñasco and hadn’t seen them since. Now, almost 2.5 years later, they were taking their boat out of the water in San Carlos. So we headed to Hair of the Dog for another reunion celebration.

An Interesting Encounter

While catching up with each other, a guy around our age appeared next to us at the bar. He spoke a few words of Spanish with the bartender, but you could tell he was from the USA. He struck up a conversation with us, and it turned into a funny exchange. He spoke to us in Spanish, and we responded in English. He immediately offered us a shot of tequila, which we politely declined, but then he insisted, and we ended up having one. Okaaaaay. He introduced himself as Jacobo, or Jake, and he was quite a character. He was lively throughout the entire bar, joking around with everyone and everything, and he was simply an eccentric – perhaps a bit crazy – guy. It turned out that he was also a sailor, and his boat was docked at the same marina as Blue Wind. David and Jake even spontaneously came up with an idea for a sailboat with a giant fan that could sail without wind. We never get bored, that’s for sure.

In three weeks, we will already be flying back home. Judging by the temperatures there, we might have to start wearing our wool sweaters .

Instead of offering us a beer (which you can still do of course), head over to Barb’s Dog Rescue and make a donation. Any amount helps them to keep the rescue going. Thank you so much!

Donate for Barb’s Dog Rescue

Der Beitrag Boatyard Chronicles: Heat, Dogs, and a Toppled Power Pole erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

Lucky with the temperatures

I’m writing this 100th blog post here in Guaymas aboard Milagros, while outside sandpaper is being scraped across the deck. It’s 8:30 in the morning and it’s already 31 °C (88 °F) outside. Guaymas is notorious for its brutal summer temperatures, but so far, we have been spared. During the day the thermometer climbs to about 35 °C (95 °F), while at night it cools down a bit, which is really nice. Locals say it’s unusually cool for the time of year! Lucky us!

Outsourcing in Mexico

We decided to outsource the work on the deck. This costs us quite some money, but in the meantime, we can take care of all the smaller projects on the list. The work has to be done by July so we can go home for a few months. We have many, many small jobs to do. The goal is to get Milagros in the water as soon as possible when we return to Mexico in the winter. So, in the mornings we work on our computers, and at noon we get to work on the boat.

An Upgrade for our anchor

Another upgrade that has been ready to go since Puerto Peñasco (and thus over a year) but we never got done is our new anchor swivel. An anchor swivel sits between the anchor and the anchor chain and ensures that the chain doesn’t get twisted as the boat spins all over the place at anchor. So we got out heavy equipment, cut the ancient swivel off the anchor, and installed the new, modern Mantus swivel.

New UV-Cover for a sail

Pati is mainly busy with sewing. For example, our huge headsail needs new UV protection. For this, 65 meters (200 ft) of seams had to be opened, and 160 square feet of old, brittle fabric had to be removed and the same amount of new fabric had to be sewn back on. She set to work in her little sewing room, with the kind help of the mosquitoes that are unfortunately also at home here at the boatyard. It was her first time working on a sail, but she quickly got the hang of it and after about three full days of work, the new cover done. The cover is fancy charcoal gray, of course. Our goal is to replace as much of the blue fabric on the boat with charcoal gray as possible.

Tom rushes to the rescue

The hard sewing work takes its toll. The old lady (not Patricia, although they are actually about the same age) needs a little maintenance and repair here and there. So all of a sudden the trusty old Sailrite would only go from zero to full speed – of course you can’t sew like that. But Tom, the owner of the sewing machine, was immediately on the spot. Together with a friend, he took the pedal apart and found the problem: a contact spring had broken off. On this occasion, he also collected a deposit for the sewing machine rental – a 6-pack of beer per day – which he kindly shared with us right away.

Work on the windows

When returning to the boat last winter in San Carlos we noticed that our windows are slowly but surely starting to leak in various spots. In Pati’s last post you could already witness their removal. Better now than never, because with the painters on board we can make sure that the windows are tight once and for all. We took a close look at the disassembled windows and discovered that, as expected, the sealant had reached the end of its life. Said sealant was no longer fit for sealing purposes, but it was still holding the individual parts together nicely at least.

Mexican boat job experience

What followed was a classic Mexican boat job experience. We decided to take all of our windows to a shop that specialized in making custom windows. First, we did a test run with just one window, because you never know. We instructed the gentlemen to remove the panes for us. Should a pane break during the process, they should make a new one right away. No sooner said than done. The problem, however, only became apparent after we picked up the new glass. The new pane fit into one half of the frame, but not the other. The workers had probably taken the dimensions for only one side and then didn’t even try to see if the new pane would actually fit in the second half of the window. We decided to bring them the rest of our windows anyway, because overall, they did a good job.

A back and forth

When we went to pick them up a few days later, we were astonished. Again, various window panes did not fit. In addition, one of them was scratched, and one had a watermark from the manufacturer. I guess no one had noticed? We’re getting good at guesswork in these kinds of situations. We were assured that the problem would be solved immediately, should only take a few minutes. When we were still waiting after almost 45 minutes, with no end in sight, we said our friendly goodbyes. “Muchas gracias, regresamos mañana” (Thank you very much, but we’ll be back tomorrow).

The curiousities of Mexico

We always experience curious things during while here in Mexico, for example, when we brought the borrowed propeller remover back to the workshop. Patricia entered the deserted workshop ahead of me and walked to the office. As she peered around the corner into the office, she took a few steps backwards. Because a sheep (yes, you read that correctly) walked up to her. Laughing, two gentlemen followed it, one of them the senior boss. Then a second sheep came running from the backyard, followed by three puppies and two dogs. We had entered a zoo, not a workshop! Back at the boatyard, it was back to work.

Scratching and cleaning

The cleaning work on the old, heavy bronze frames began. The old glue and filler had to be removed. Over the years, various attempts at sealing had apparently already taken place, so now it was our turn. Equipped with various scraping tools, we set to work. What remained were beautifully clean window frames, ready for installation. We’ll see how smoothly that would go. Windows (or “portholes”, if you fancy boat terms) on boats are notorious time eaters and major pains in the ass, if a boat owner can ever bring him- or herself to tackle them.

Progress on the deck

Meanwhile, the painters worked their way forward step by step on our deck. Their opinion was the same as ours – it was time for a fresh coat of paint! As always with painting, preparation is 90% of the work. They have been busy sanding and filling the deck for four weeks now. The goal is a perfect surface, nothing more, nothing less. That takes time. The poor guys have to toil outside in the heat, the sun beating down from the sky. Since Pati had already started the sewing machine anyway, she sewed them a sunshade for the whole deck. Those will remain mounted while we’re gone, so that the brutal Mexican UV radiation can do no damage Milagros and her new deck while we are away.

Fun is not neglected either

All this sounds as if we were just slaving away. But that could not be further from the truth. As always, when we are at the boatyard, we only do as much as we feel like. Sometimes 8 hours a day, sometimes two, sometimes none at all. This is how we prevent ourselves from burning out and losing the spirit. Yes, we know that sounds like “complaining on a high comfort level” again, but working on a boat is hard, sometimes complicated and the potential for frustration is immense. Therefore, we try to find a good balance.

Excursions, Party, BBQ

The boatyard is quite empty at this time of the year, but there are still a few cool people here working on their boats. There’s always time for a chat, a BBQ, night outs playing pool with a couple of beers too much (guess on which pictures too much beer was involved) or parties at Hair of the Dog in San Carlos, where I always get to play a song or two on drums with the band. We also made new Mexican acquaintances and are invited for example to great afternoons with lots of Carne Asada. So, time flies and we have lots and lots of fun in addition to all the work.

A cute gift

Under our boat, some very, very cute new friends have moved in. We have become the proud owners of a small dog family. The very pregnant mother showed up at one of our barbecues and decided to give birth to her babies right next to Milagros and in our presence. So so so so so cute. The only problem with this is that the Boatyard does not accept street dogs. They are usually caught directly and “taken away”. Understandable, because in Guaymas the situation with street dogs is out of control to say the least. The government of the city does pretty much nothing and so new dogs are born in every corner of the city.

We build the family a house

In our case and thanks to a little negotiating skill, an exception was made. The dogs are allowed to stay, but they have to be gone when we fly home to Switzerland. Who knows, maybe there will be a happy end for a Mexican street dog family? Of course, we have set all levers and contacts in motion, so that the little family finds a nice home. Without further ado, we set up a camp for them under Milagros, cozy and protected from the Mexican sun. Have we already said how cute the babies are? THEY ARE SO CUTE!!! Mama is also a really great dog; we really need to find a solution!

Step by step

While mom is taking care of her little ones under the boat, boatyard life continues. Step by step we move towards the end of our season. Item after item is checked off our list. Milagros is enjoying her spa treatment and sooner or later she’ll have a brand-new shine. When the deck is done, she will be our masterpiece. We have then literally beautified and improved her from top to bottom. As the German saying goes – constant drips wear away any stone. Life means well with us.

Last but not least we also wanted to say thank you. Thanks for following us on our adventures, for the many, many beer contributions, for the feedback, for the comments. We really enjoy creating content for you – if you want you can also say thank you by contributing to our beer kitty by clicking the button below. You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon. Thanks a lot!

100 Blog Posts! Let the beers flow!

Der Beitrag ONE! HUNDRED! BLOG POSTS! erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

With mixed feelings, we were back in the kingdom of El Mero. We were excited to be back in Guaymas – it felt a bit like coming home. But the fact that we were there reminded us once again that we had actually set sail from there ‘forever’ in February but now we were back. There was still a lingering feeling of somehow having failed, even though we had consciously decided to turn back and were okay with it. What do success and failure even mean – especially in the sailing world – and who defines them?

Isn’t success about reaching somewhere safe and having a good time, no matter where you are? Or are we just trying to make ourselves feel better about the fact that we’re now in Mexico and not in Costa Rica or Panama? However you may look at it: we were back, and we were getting Milagros ready for haul-out, knowing that we would be missing out on the best time to be in the Sea of Cortez. But we had plans, and our motto was: No better time than the present.

Picking up an order

One of the first things we did in Guaymas was to pick up an order we had placed with the universe some time ago: a new dinghy. More specifically, a lightweight Walker Bay plastic rowing boat that could also be sailed or powered by an outboard motor. Two sailors in nearby San Carlos wanted to get rid of this sought-after model at an attractive price, and fortunately, we were the first interested buyers. Our huge, heavy inflatable dinghy had been getting on our nerves for quite some time. We were even considering buying boat building plans online and building our own fiberglass dinghy at the boatyard. But that was no longer necessary.

First sailing steps

Dan helped with the transport our new 8-foot-long acquisition to El Mero with his truck. We immediately assembled the dinghy, and I had the honor of going on yet another maiden voyage and sailing it back to Milagros. I had never sailed such a small sailboat before, but the physics of sailing are always the same, and we had learned docking maneuvers under sail on Lake Thun. So, I was able to dock at Milagros and handed over the tiller to David. He also took a few rounds in the anchorage. That was even more fun than expected!

Some sailing fun

Anja and Thomas, two Swiss sailors currently renovating their boat at Marina Guaymas, also stopped by to sail the little boat. Alternating, we zipped around in El Mero with winds reaching up to 4-5 Beauforts. Unfortunately, a previously patched weak spot on the rudder broke again. But then, we rolled up our sleeves and fixed the issue on the spot. In the process, we learned something new: when mixed together, super glue and baking soda create a super-strong adhesive that can even stick to plastic.

It gets complicated

While we anchored in El Mero, we had another mission. The biggest project we wanted to tackle was renewing Milagros’ deck. We had already received a quote from a local painter, but a few days before hauling out at Marina Guaymas, we found out that we had been missing some crucial information. It turned out that this painter was considered an external worker by Marina Guaymas, which would have resulted in a daily fee of between 35 and 50 USD. Since the sanding and painting work would take up to 6 weeks, this would have meant an additional 1,500 USD in unnecessary costs. So, we had to find another man for the job. Luckily, we found one quickly: David (yes, he has the same name), the house painter of Marina Guaymas, had availability and could start immediately. The best part was: his reputation is excellent. Gentlemen, start your sanding machines!

Not doing it ourselves?

If you’re wondering why we are not doing do this work ourselves, it’s not that we couldn’t—we’ve been through the whole process before with the hull. But because of that, we knew exactly what to expect. That’s why we’re willing to spend the money and focus on other projects in the meantime.

One last adventure

The last trip of the season with Milagros turned out to be quite adventurous. It took about 45 minutes from El Mero to reach the haul-out area. Tim from SV Coconut accompanied us to help with the lines. In the Marina Guaymas office, we had to provide our draft of 6’6”, and based on that, they had given us our haul-out appointment. So, we assumed that the entire route would be navigable for us at that time. We knew that the water wouldn’t be very deep in the last third of the route, so we followed a safe passage marked in the navigation software, which other sailors we know had already followed. Our depth sounder is set to water depth, so when we see 15 ft, we still have 8 ft under the keel.

Enough water?

As we followed this safe route, we watched the depth sounder very closely. When it showed 10 ft, we started to get quite nervous. Then the reading kept dropping: 9 ft, 8 ft, 7.5 ft. Mentally, we were already preparing to get stuck. Luckily, the tide was rising, so in the worst case, we would have had to wait. But we believed that the water was deep enough. Why else would they give us this haul-out appointment?

Milagros takes flight again

As we entered the narrow haul-out slip, the depth sounder showed 6’6” (2 meters) – so there was no “hand’s width of water left under the keel” (which in German sailing language is used as an expression comparing to “Fair Winds”). In theory, we had run aground with Milagros. The crane was already ready, and we had to “simply” remove the forestay, which turned out to be a bit more challenging than expected. This front mast support had to be removed because the crane has a U-shape, and we are at the upper limit of the crane’s length with our boat. That is definitely a disadvantage compared to Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Peñasco. Their crane is significantly larger, so you don’t have to remove any stays.

Mud tracks

When Milagros was standing on stands at her new location, it was clearly visible that we had run aground, not just theoretically. We officially ran aground with Milagros for the first time! We hadn’t noticed anything; the keel had simply ploughed into the mud. When David brought our boat documents to the office afterward, he mentioned what had happened. After looking at the tide table, it quickly became clear what had happened. They had given us the wrong haul-out time! We had trusted that they knew what they were doing because hauling out is their daily business. They had also asked us several times for our exact draft. Once again, we learned that you have to use your brain yourself.

Here we go

Shortly after our arrival at the dry dock, the sanding work on the deck began. We took this opportunity to remove all the portholes. What we uncovered underneath confirmed that we were doing the right thing. The deck consists of a fiberglass-plywood-fiberglass sandwich. It is crucial to prevent moisture from penetrating the plywood because that would cause the wood to rot and compromise the stability of the structure. So, the wood must not be exposed anywhere. However, the wood had not been sealed where the porthole openings were cut. It was also evident that the sealant had failed at one window, allowing moisture to seep in. It was high time to seal everything. Again, no better time than the present. It also seemed like we were the first ones to remove these windows in Milagros’ 45 years of existence.

A new propeller shaft

Being on the boatyard for us meant: On your marks, get set, start the projects! We wanted to get as much done as possible now so that we could quickly leave the boatyard in the fall. Besides the deck, we had two main tasks: installing a new propeller shaft and adding a new UV cover to the headsail. First, we wanted to remove the presumably bent shaft so that we could get quotes for a new one. However, the propeller wouldn’t budge an inch. It wasn’t until the fourth attempt, after WD40, PB Blaster, heat, blows, and with the third propeller puller and a bit of luck – David happened to find a perfectly fitting part on the ground next to the boat – that we finally managed to remove it. We are curious to hear what the mechanics will say about the condition of our shaft…

The sewing workshop is open

For the new UV cover on the headsail, we were able to borrow Tom’s Sailrite industrial sewing machine in exchange for some beer. Keith, a sailor from El Mero, delivered the machine from Arizona, where it had been waiting for its next use somewhere in a dark corner for a few years. The Marina Guaymas kindly provided me with a room that I could transform into my sewing workshop for the following weeks. To prepare for the big project, I started with smaller tasks. The sail kit of our dinghy got a new storage bag, a lost hatch cover was replaced, and a new cockpit cushion was sewn. And just for the fun of it, I sewed some beautiful bags out of a former light wind sail.

If you would like to have such a bag, feel free to contact me.

We are slowly but surely getting into the boatyard flow, and one project after another can be checked off. That’s how we like it!

Did you enjoy this blog post? You can contribute to our beer kitty by clicking the button below. You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon. Thanks a lot!

Beer time

Der Beitrag No Better Time Than The Present erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

Yes, the El Mero docks are in a sorry state (you can read about that in our last blog post). There is no water and no electricity. No taco stands around the corner. But we have been well received here in the small «Kingdom of El Mero» and are having a really good time, making many new friends and experiencing all sorts of funny stories. Initially we wanted to move to Marina Fonatur in Guaymas because I fly to Bangkok for work in January, have almost scrapped that plan by now. Too big the rush for the slips, too little space available. We have called the office of the marina again and again and we always got the same answer: «No slips available!»

Bye Claudia, hello space!

But, after having our good friend Claudia over, we have all the more space aboard Milagros. It’s a pity that she had to head home again. The almost two and a half weeks with her flew by. She was the perfect guest to have on the boat, realized all kinds of projects, we had one too many beers, we laughed a lot and just enjoyed our time together. The most important lesson from the few weeks of togetherness? It’s nice to be three people on Milagros, four people would be snuggly, five would make for a tight experience aboard.

The work on Milagros never ends

One would think that after our huge refit of Milagros in Puerto Peñasco we (can) lie around lazily. Nope! There is still a lot to do. Our faulty starter motor had to be removed from our engine, we wanted to upgrade our solar system, improve our emergency equipment and repair our bent bow pulpit (as you might already know, we made acquaintance with a massive fishing boat in Puerto Peñasco). It is in the nature of things that other projects would automatically be added.

Time for repairs

So, we didn’t miss a beat and got to work. First of all, we took the faulty starter motor to a workshop. For once, everything went smoothly. We had the motor off our engine in no time, not least thanks to a brief consultation of a few YouTube videos. On the recommendation of 1-2 other cruisers we decided on a small workshop in town. We called Caesar, our trusted chauffeur, to El Mero and also took a second starter motor with us, which had been lying dormant for some time.

Heavy lifting

Crazy how heavy starter motors are. We couldn’t lift the box with the two starters on our own, we had to use our combined strength to drag the box to the car. Just a few days later and a few hundred pesos lighter, we had two revised starter motors in our hands. We re-installed one of the two, the other one we mothballed should the first one ever give up the ghost. A long time ago, the previous owner of Milagros had the opportunity to use spare parts from another engine that was out of service. We can benefit from that, but the spare parts are getting old and some need a refresher.

Very convenient but complicated

We had to plan ahead and order materials for our projects. US orders here in Guaymas and San Carlos are delivered by Debbie out of Tucson, Arizona. She makes her American address available for deliveries, which she then drives here to Mexico for a fee. The only disadvantage: She only comes down from Tucson on Saturdays, which makes planning relatively difficult. We would experience first-hand the things can go wrong.

Come oooooooonnnn!

For the upgrade of our existing solar system, we had ordered two additional solar panels to Debbie’s place. Since these are relatively unwieldy and bulky, it’s a little problematic for her to fit them in her car and cross the Mexican/American border with them. When we arrived at the pick-up point full of anticipation on one of said Saturdays, only one of the solar panels had arrived. “Solar panels are problematic, customs can always ask me for extra money for them, so I only brought one,” Debbie explained. Great.

We are not the only victims

Our new friend Pete from SV Swansong, who we met through Tyr the Icelandic Viking, drives us from the dock to San Carlos and back for pickups at Debbie’s on Saturdays, each a 45-minute drive. And we invite him to breakfast every time in return. This time Saxon and Holly, an Australian sailing couple, joined the pickup crew. The two were expecting a shipment of paint for their underwater hull. They were amazed when exactly zero cans of their paint had arrived. There they stood and had suddenly run out of a week’s worth of work on their boat.

On to America!

With hanging heads, we made our way home. Suddenly we started spinning a crazy idea – why not just rent a car and road trip to Debbie’s in Tucson? Said and done. A few days later, Saxon picked me up at Muelle El Mero promptly at THREE AM IN THE MORNING. 7 hours of driving to the USA ahead of us we set out into the night. A very short stay in the USA with a visit to Debbie and a few errands, then back to Mexico. That was the plan. Should everything go smoothly, we would arrive back in Guaymas in the evening the same day.

(Almost) like clockwork

And who would have thought? The whole northward journey, including the border crossing, went absolutely smoothly. We met a total of five CHEERFUL and SUPER FRIENDLY border guards at the American border. Coming from Mexico?! No accusations of genocide, terrorist attacks, human trafficking and cartel activities? We’re used to something different when entering the land of the free. When we arrived at Debbie’s house in Tucson, disillusionment followed. At least for me. The rental car had no folding rear seats. My solar panel didn’t fit in the car. AAAARRRHRGHGHGHHRHRHWHAHHAHH!

Sweaty hands at UPS

Saxon, Debbie and I tried all sorts of ways to get the panel in the car. No chance. The solar panel didn’t fit. Luckily it wasn’t our only order so we just packed our new power station and other parts that we had ordered to Debbie. After that we had to hit Walmart, Home Depot and, most importantly, UPS. Because that’s where Saxons and Holly’s paint was. Hopefully. With sweaty hands we entered the UPS station.

Back to Mexico quick!

Good news on the paint front for Saxon and Holly! Their paint had arrived! We quickly packed everything up. Back to Mexico it was! No problemo on the way back either: at the border, we were simply waved through by the American and Mexican border officials, and a few hours later we were back in Guaymas. We were dog tired. What a day. We drove to America for a few hours’ worth of sightseeing in Tucson, Arizona. The things you put up with for a bit of sailing.

Capacity limits

A few days later we were finally able to receive our second solar panel from Debbie. That was the start to our solar upgrade. The plan was as follows: Our batteries are slowly but surely approaching the end of their lifespan. Since we both work regularly on our laptops, we had noticed a capacity limit on our electrical setup. We consumed more power than came in through our two 140W panels. So, it quickly became clear that we needed more solar input – hence the two new, additional 190W solar panels.

A small power station for the office

We also bought an Anker 555 powerhouse as a power plant for the office and as a backup. The powerhouse contains a powerful lithium battery and comes with all kinds of sockets. We want to supply our three power vampires to it: Operate the Starlink satellite dish and our two laptops so that we don’t suck power from the batteries. (For those who are interested: these 3 devices together consume up to 20Ah.) Additionally, thanks to inputs from Katie and Mike on SV Alegria, we found out that we could connect the box directly to solar power. This means that no electricity is wasted from the batteries to charge the power station. The box simply draws part of the solar power being produced by our solar panels, the rest of the power goes entirely to the boat’s battery bank.

This and that and that and that

What needs to be done? We have to lay meters and meter of cable. We have to find out what size cable we need to use. Where the connections are. Where the cables from the solar panels should go through the deck. Where we should mount the panels. Which panel goes to which position? Where do we want to position the new solar controllers? Where and which fuses and switches must be added to the system? What can we still use from the existing system and what not? What needs to be modified or expanded?

Planning is everything!

After we had brainstormed the whole system for a couple of hours Pati drew up a plan, complete with a listing of the various projects. Nothing could go wrong, right? Our planning actually worked out really well, and an entire day of work later we were sitting in front of a fait accompli and our new solar system. It doesn’t look exactly nice and a few parts are just stand-ins until the actual parts arrive, but it all works exactly how we envisioned it. Bring on the Milagros office hours!

We need more stuff

To properly align the solar panels to the desired angle to the sun, they each need a «solar panel stand». On Facebook we found a local Mexican welder who has worked for many other boaters and is well recommended. We’ll combine the production of the solar panel stands with the repair of our bent bow pulpit. It’s been almost a year since the damage and it’s time to repair the poor thing. Off it came and to Jorge Garcia’s workshop it went!

We’re going sailing, too

When we’re not working on the boat or the computers, we just have a jolly good time. We have already been on several trips on other boats. Keith, for example, has two boats here at Muelle El Mero (because one is not enough, right). A big one and a small one. We’ve been out with both of them. Every time we were informed about the trips 10 minutes before departure. Suddenly there is a knock on the hull and the question: Wanna go sailing – right now? We were always on the water for a few hours, always in good company and having boatloads of fun.

Careful with Pete!

What we also learned is that we have to be careful of Pete. After a material run to Debbie, he simply kidnapped us at 11 a.m, took us straight to a bar, where he immediately ordered a round of margaritas for everyone. And then another. And another one. It didn’t help that the World Cup was also TV, too. So, we stayed longer to watch England lose to France. I actually planned to boycott this World Cup (because fuck FIFA!), but now I have watched a game anyway. What the hell. A short visit to Debbie’s turned into a full day of party and we didn’t make it back to the boat until well after the sun had set. There are pictures of us deliriously eating a whole chicken in the Walmart parking in Guaymas. That’s how it works when you live on a boat. You’ll never know what the day will bring. And that’s the beauty of it.

Feeling old yet?

Not as beautiful is the current situation of my back. I herniated a disc sometime last year. I’m actually getting old! Who would have thought! The intervertebral disc has been causing me sometimes more, sometimes less problems for months now. It pinched the sciatic nerve in my left hip, causing an inflammation of the root of said nerve, which sometimes causes really bad stretches of intense pain. After initially making great progress being back on the move after weeks of 9 to 5 in Switzerland, I’m struggling with the pain again at the moment. Sometimes I sleep better, sometimes not at all. At the moment I have to get up every few hours and walk up and down the dock in the middle of the night to release the strain down my left leg.

Mexico strikes again

The timing for this to happen is actually not all that bad, because a few thefts have taken place at the moment. The Muelle El Mero is visited by fishermen, other shadows and visitors at night and various things have disappeared from boats. The night guards at the gate are not very helpful. I have never seen a night guard doing rounds during my late-night stretching sessions. Well, what can you expect when the dock is almost free?

The sailors fight back

So, the princes and princesses of the kingdom of el Mero had to take matters into their own hands once again and we have recently organized night watches. Anyone who wants to take part has to take a one-hour shift. Pati and I are also part of the fun. For me at least that doesn’t make a big difference, because I’m awake all the time anyway.

Sleeping like on clouds

Speaking of sleeping: Another VERY important upgrade has taken place that concerns our sleeping situation. We have invested in a slat system for our Aft cabin from the company Froli and a new mattress from the USA. Our old mattress was ancient and, in my opinion, one of the main reasons why my back problems turned out so blatant in the first place. Every time we noticed that the mattress had become a bit less comfortable, our backs also reported on said findings. After a few nights on the new, comfy latex foam mattress I can report that the investment is worth every penny. I’m glad we’re finally rid of our old sleeping pad. The first few nights were definitely very, very comfortable. Just like our stay at Muelle El Mero.

The days are passing by in a rush and it’s almost Christmas already! There’s always something to tinker with, something to upgrade, beer cans are always hissing somewhere. Everything is going well aboard Milagros, but we’re very much looking forward to finally hitting the road again early next year! The far south is calling!

Wanna support us on our journey and with the blog? You can contribute to our beer kitty by clicking the button below. You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon. Thanks a lot!

Support us by clicking here! Muchas gracias!

Der Beitrag Margaritas, Upgrades and Back Pains erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

Before we left Switzerland, things got a bit hectic for a moment. The reason was a back problem that had been bothering David for some time. At times it was so bad that he could hardly walk. An MRI examination then brought light into the darkness: a ruptured intervertebral disc was pressing on the sciatic nerve in his left leg. So, for a while it was unclear whether we could fly back to Mexico in November. However, an appointment with a spinal surgeon (a sailor) and a pain specialist (also a sailor) two weeks before our departure, as well as physiotherapy, led to the decision that nothing stood in the way of the start to our second season.

We are back in Mexico

The 29-hour journey to Mexico was more or less uneventful. The only unusual thing was that after our arrival in Hermosillo we were stopped by some officials who wanted to see our passports. We were then taken to a separate waiting area where we had to hand over our mobile phones. But after a quick check of our passports and a brief discussion between two officers (we didn’t know what exactly was going on), they let us go again.

Something missing

When we went to collect our luggage, only one of the two pieces had arrived. A friendly gentleman referred us to another gentleman where we could file a lost luggage claim. According to the computer system, our luggage was still in Europe and would simply arrive one day later in Mexico.

Almost there

When we arrived at the Marina Seca office in San Carlos a few hours later, the office workers looked at us with big eyes. They thought we would only arrive a week later. Funnily enough, we weren’t surprised at all – we had kind of expected this to happen. But we were promised that Milagros would be ready for us 2 hours later. So, we walked to the port and enjoyed our first beer in Mexico. Just at the moment we arrived back at the boatyard, we saw Milagros passing by on the trailer. And a person who looked very familiar to us followed the boat and pointed to it. It was Ron from Mar de Luz, whom we had met in June on the open sea on our way to Santa Rosalia.

What will she have in store for us?

We got a ladder at the entrance and walked a little nervously to Milagros. I wondered what would be waiting for us? Dead batteries? Rats or other vermin? Holes from corrosion in the diesel tanks? Water damage from the hurricane if there were leaks? We removed all the covers, opened the boat and took a deep breath. It smelled exactly as it should – like Milagros. No mould, no smell of decay, no diesel – nothing. Relieved, we quickly opened a few floorboards. No water, no rat droppings, no dead cockroaches – nothing. We briefly check the battery charge, which was also fine. In some spices we found a few dead weevils, which is not uncommon here in Mexico. All in all: no nasty surprises!

It’s shaking

The jet lag was a bit annoying at first – being wide awake at 3am when the sun doesn’t rise until 6am. On the second morning, I got up briefly around 4am to grab a charging cable for one of the one thousand electronic devices we carry onboard. Suddenly the boat shook for a few seconds. When David woke up, he asked me what I had done in the front of the boat that made it shake like that. But I thought he must have very, very violently turned in his sleep. But it turned out to be a magnitude 6 earthquake, the first earthquake I have ever consciously experienced.

It’s not easy again

We quickly settled back in and everything felt very familiar again very quickly. Now we could start to wake Milagros up and prepare her for the upcoming trip. There were a few things that absolutely had to be done on dry dock, such as replacing the toilet flush thru hull valve on board. As we were about to tackle this project, we briefly encountered a first letdown. We had already ordered the supposedly correct new plastic valve a year ago (which is required according to the toilet manufacturer). But we had done the math without the person who had installed the current bronze valve a size larger than necessary in the past. Accordingly, the hole in our hull was too big for the new valve. What a mess.

Easy?

But since we still had spare parts for the bronze valve on board, we decided without further ado to replace “only” the defective valve and not the whole unit. That may or may not work, but we gave it a try. Armed with large tools, we tackled the old valve and, probably out of fear, it immediately gave way. And we were amazed. A boat project that “just” worked. Once again, we had worried unnecessarily. We had the new valve screwed on in no time. That was it.

Mending the freeboard

Another project was to add a black stripe at Milagros’ waterline. Sometimes yellowish-brown slime sloshed against the hull, which did not look nice on the white paint. We commissioned the painter Alejandro, who had already sprayed the freeboard of Iñaki’s and Carmen’s boat, to paint the waterline with a black stripe about 3 inch wide. He also patched up a few scratches in the paint left by our anchor chain in La Paz. Some workers in the boatyard ridiculed us for getting that fixed. But for us, there was so much work in that paint job – it just had to be done.

Claudia arrives

A few days after our arrival, Claudia arrived in Hermosillo after 5 weeks of travelling through the USA and Mexico. We picked her and our delayed luggage up at the airport by bus and taxi. She wanted to visit us for 3 weeks and we had already done some expectation management with her: there was a possibility that we would spend the whole 3 weeks at the boatyard. But she came by anyway. We were really looking forward to sharing life on Milagros with her.

A little faux pas

When we picked up our luggage at the airport in Hermosillo and opened it to check, everything was covered with a kind of sandy layer of dust. The webcam, the chocolate, all the clothes, just everything. It turned out that our 1 kg Herbamare (our favourite salt mix from Switzerland) refill had exploded. The entire 18 kg of clothes and equipment were now seasoned and garnished. Wow! Back at the boatyard, everything was quickly de-seasoned and taken directly to the Lavanderia, if possible.

We prepare Milagros

In the following days, we took care of other projects like changing the impeller – one of those projects that was supposed to take only 5 minutes but dragged on for days because two screws were corroded and so we had to remove the entire water pump. Claudia made sure that all our frayed lines had a nice finish again and installed an additional hatch in the cockpit. For our new mattress we made a template out of a piece of plastic cover, which we sent to the manufacturer to make sure the new mattress would fit.

An old trauma

We also made a few adjustments to the sail bag for the mainsail: Our very nice neighbours let us use their Sailrite sewing machine. So, we were able to remount both sails a short time later. Also, a long overdue adjustment of the reefing angle on the boom was finally implemented. We also started our problem child Burrito. Worry child my ass – Burrito started right up. Nevertheless, we seem to have suffered a little trauma from our past engine problems. Every time we start the engine, we expect something not to work. I wonder how long this will last.

It’s windy

We had optimistically planned the launch for the Monday about 2 weeks after our arrival. But when we looked at the wind conditions for that day and week, we weren’t so happy. The forecast predicted a lot of wind, and since we had to manoeuvre backwards in the narrow marina, we were looking for calm day. Wind from to our side would be even more unfavourable. So, we did everything we could to get into the water 2 days early.

Putting on an extra layer of antifouling on the hull in such short notice was a bit of a tight squeeze, but David and Claudia managed to splurge on a coat of Biocide successfully in a night time operation. In the meantime, I prepared my world-famous lasagne. And 24 hours later we were already anchored with Milagros off San Carlos. The launch went well: Ron from Mar de Luz helped us with the lines, Burrito started, we had no leaks on our thru hulls and there was no wind. Only the reverse manoeuvre turned out a bit hectic.

We are ready to go

We were happy to be back on the water in such a short time. Life in the boatyard is nothing compared to life on the water. Now we are looking forward to sailing with Claudia. We are curious to see how she will like it. What we can already say is that she finds washing up by hand just as annoying as we do.

Help Claudia deal with it

or

Celebrate the successful launch with us

Der Beitrag Jet Start Into The Second Season erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

I don’t really know where to start and where to stop. It’s completely crazy how many memories we’ve been able to make in the last year and a half. Looking back in my mind’s eye, I’m almost a little overwhelmed. The many scraps of memories and images overload my brain a bit. Life on a sailboat also overloaded my brain. Positively as well as in the negatively.

A little pride

One feeling I have is pride. I’m proud of myself and of Pati. What we have achieved in 2021 and 2022 is really awesome. Without any prior knowledge, we undertook a huge refit of a 44-year-old sailboat, went through ups and downs and just kept going. Even at points where others would have stopped. We have shown perseverance, persevered and have been rewarded. Because everything that came after the conversion often made us forget all the hardships. The wind on our face, the water beneath us, the stunning scenery of the Sea of ​​Cortez all around us. The time we put into rebuilding Milagros was worth every second.

Major and minor incidents

Something else that I have to emphasize is that we were also have spent half a year at sea without any major incidents. It seems that during our refit, we drew attention to the right places, and so far we haven’t noticed any major weaknesses that we overlooked or built in ourselves. If we ask around, we actually started off with a reasonably problem-free season. Apart from our engine failure at the worst possible moment, in wind, weather and waves, of course. Since the injection pump was repaired, we haven’t had the slightest problem with our Burrito (which is what we call our engine). Let’s hope it stays that way for a long time. Because you never know if an incident is lurking around the next corner. Life on a sailboat is full of surprises.

Life on a sailboat is a back and forth

I could describe sailing in the Sea of ​​Cortez like this: Engine on, anchor up, sails up, suddenly not enough wind, sails down, engine on. As soon as the engine is turned on, the wind picks up, sails up. When everything is set and trimmed nicely, the wind direction suddenly changes. We have to adjust the course, but the course no longer suits our route. At the same time the windspeed is increasing, we have to reduce the sail area. Just when that’s done, the wind shuts off completely. So, we take the headsail in, turn on the engine and motor along. Suddenly there’s wind again, we are sailing again. It was often back and forth, up and down, forward and backward. Where the heart of an inveterate sailor soars, the whole sailing thing gets on my nerves at some point.

Me and the sailing thing

Maybe it’s the lack of experience on our part to make the right decision at the right moment, maybe it’s just the Sea of ​​Cortez as a sailing area with unsteady winds, the irregular topography and what else. I can’t say that I not enjoy sailing at all, but at times I was just plain annoyed. Life on a sailboat, I guess. But here too: We didn’t experience any major incidents and were very conservative and cautious on our voyages. This will also be the way in the future. And when everything is going well, the conditions are ideal, the sails are trimmed correctly, the wind pilot has the boat under control and Milagros just wants to stubbornly move forward, then it’s just pure pleasure. Then I’m in full flow and don’t want it to stop. But whether I will become a die-hard sailor or not remains to be seen.

Baja Magic

What I am enormously grateful for is that we found Milagros here in Mexico and were able to take our first steps in Baja California. The Sea of ​​Cortez is completely overlooked by the entire world (including the sailing world). And that’s a good thing. This little piece of paradise is a giant playground with countless bays for water sports of all kinds, each new corner, every new anchorage is more beautiful than the last. It’s just magical. The wildlife is incredible, the scenery is breathtaking. We met so many people who had big sailing plans and ended up just getting stuck here. This place has everything a sailor’s heart desires. Still, I’m ready to move on. I’m looking forward to moving south, where there’s a little more change in weather and vegetation.

Special moments

I would like to highlight a few very special moments. They’re the first ones that come to mind when I think back. Places, people, short split seconds, encounters, nature, the wind and the water – the list of moments is endless. Still, I want to pick out a few special memories. And I’m not going to talk about our time at Cabrales Boatyard here. We could fill an entire book with memories from Cabrales.

The big reunion

A very important moment was the big reunion with our friends from the Boatyard in Puerto Peñasco. While we had managed (albeit with a great delay) to sail the entire Sea of ​​Cortez, our fellow sailor friends were slowly returning to the Sea of ​​Cortez from their season on mainland Mexico. We arranged to meet at Bahia Bonanza, an endless sandy beach. Cavu were there, Alegria, Boomerang, Empyrean. A gathering of many great people in a dreamlike place.

Party in paradise

We had a couple of great stays on Isla San Francisco. However, there’s not only the famous, horseshoe-shaped southwest bay, but there’s some more anchorages. For example, on the east side of the island. It was yet another rendezvous with friends on other boats. Cavu, Alegria and Boomerang, plus Perspective and Peep. Since we had to follow the spotty Sea of Cortez internet for Patricia’s online work, Cavu Dave’s birthday party was brought forward and so, after a boat crawl (everyone gathered in turn on each other’s ships), the party continued waaaayy into the night. All of this in one of the most beautiful anchorages we have had the privilege of visiting.

We didn’t want to leave at all

Another highlight was our stay at Refugio or V-Cove. We now had Starlink on board and therefore Internet à discretion and no longer had to hop from Internet hotspot to Internet hotspot. This was and is a huge game changer for us, so we just stayed in the same place for as long as possible. The V-Cove anchorage was our home for almost two weeks at a time while other boats came and went. The only permanent roommates were the pelicans, the seagulls, the fish and the dolphins. In the morning we worked on the computer, in the afternoon we just enjoyed the surroundings and our life.

We have finally made it

How we have met Marga on Dogfish, also a Kelly Peterson 44, is for the history books anyway. But the fact that we actually managed to anchor next to each other in a beautiful, hellishly hot bay was still special. Our two KPs on a crystal smooth water surface, a visit from two humpback whales, a trip with a rental car to visit Mike, Katie and Rosco on Alegria, morning coffee deliveries by dinghy – our time in the Bahia Coyote had everything that makes life on a sailboat beautiful.

The second half of our horror ride

Anyone who has been reading along for a while will remember how our maiden voyage turned into a horror voyage. An engine failure near the coast with winds of up to 30 knots and meter-high waves was not cool at all. Nevertheless, a veritable shitty moment turned into one of the memories that is one of the most important to me. Because when we had the boat and ourselves under control again, it became apparent that we can call an absolute monster of a sailboat our own. We always felt 100 percent safe on Milagros in these adverse conditions and we learned to sail her in those very moments. Simply because we had no other choice. Milagros showed us that she’s made for exactly such situations. That she’s made for the high seas and does not become stubborn and uncomfortable even when her owners are stressed and make mistakes.

Up and down, and up and down

In this way, a moment of maximum stress became a moment of maximum enjoyment. High and low are so incredibly close when you live on a boat. This was never more impressive than on this crossing. No book, blog post, article in the world’s sailing magazine could have prepared us for the emotional roller coaster that is life on a boat. In the blink of an eye, a beautiful sunset can turn into an absolute washing machine as unexpected waves come around the corner. Calm turns to insomnia because the wind suddenly picks up and throws the boat around. I have to say, sometimes the ups and downs and the backs and forths were a bit too much for me.

It can go on like this

But after a few months break and a little distance, I can say – let’s do this again! The anticipation of returning to Mexico and Milagros is growing and growing. We have big plans. First, we have to tweak the boat a little, then we want to head south. To mainland Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama. Or anywhere else. In the end, everything always turns out differently than we expect. But that’s the great thing about life on a sailboat. We can start each day from scratch because we have no idea what’s going to happen. And that’s the way it should be.

We’ll be back on Milagros soon with new stories! Feel free to offer us a beer by clicking on the button! You can also become a monthly contributor by heading over to Patreon if you want! Thanks a lot!

Help us keep our fridge stocked!

Der Beitrag Our Unique Life On A Sailboat – Looking Back erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

Two days before our departure from Peñasco, our adventure almost came to an end. When we returned from an errand run, I noticed that Milagros was no longer moored in the same place. She must have moved somehow, because the water and electricity panel were right in front of where we boarded our boat, which they weren’t before. But we didn’t think about it any further. Then the boat neighbour told us that in our absence a steel fishing boat had crashed into the dock. All of a sudden, we realized the damage to the dock when our neighbour told us that he had seen the fishing boat graze Milagros. We immediately panicked: Had the metal colossus damaged our new paint job??? But we quickly realised that “only” the bowsprit and the anchor roller were bent, and the navigation light was damaged.

It could have ended badly

When our neighbour told us how the collision had happened, our hair stood on end. The fishing boat’s reverse gear had jammed, and the boat had therefore crashed backwards into the dock. Just a few feet to the right, it would have been our boat, not the dock. And Milagros might not have been there anymore. What a shock! Milagros has once again lived up to her name!

And we still think the name is great, despite a comment we recently overheard from a Sea Shepherd crew member about Milagros when they were in Peñasco with their boat “Sharpie” and moored behind us with their dinghy: “Yet another shitty boat name”. In their campaing called “Milagro”, Sea Sheperd is fighting illegal fishing with gill nets in the northern Sea of Cortez these days. Good thing they are here, but obviously they don’t have taste in boat names.

Costs, work and annoyance

The harbour master had already issued a no leave order for the culprit, so they could not leave the harbour until the damage had been paid for. Marga from Dogfish Boatworks made a damage report on the same day, which we submitted immediately. And the various party boat operators at the docks of Fonature Marine were pretty confident that we will receive compensation. The damage amounts to about 1,500 $ and means work and annoyance, of course. Fortunately, this damage didn’t stop us from leaving Peñasco. Instead, something else did.

It’s not happening

On Monday morning, the 24th of January 2022 at 8.00 am sharp, we wanted to untie the lines. It was high tide and there was a nice weather window to cover the 140 nautical miles to our first anchorage. Doug and Marga came over to wave goodbye and even the harbour master was there to bring us our papers. David started the engine and 5 seconds later it stopped again. We tried a few more times to start the engine, to no avail. That was the beginning of the end. It was not happening; we were not heading out! We then made coffee. What else was there to do? We quickly realised that it might take longer to solve the problem.

Diesel engines are frugal

In theory, diesel engines are not very demanding: they need air, diesel, compression and, of course, enough cranking amps to run. If the engine simply stops, it is often due to a lack of diesel supply. This can be caused by empty tanks, clogged lines, closed supply valves, non-functioning valves, air in the diesel system, insufficient venting of the tanks, a defective diesel pump, dirty filters, and algae, among other things.

Air in the system?

We had full tanks, a clean air filter and enough cranking power – we knew that for sure. Marga brought us the necessary tools for a pressure test of the system to find any air leaks. We spent the rest of the day feeling sorry for ourselves and finding the leak(s) in the system by testing different sections. In the process, we pressurized our diesel fuel lines and smeared soap foam on all the fittings. We found a leak at the diesel lift pump, appearing as soap bubbles rising from two small screws.

Bad ventilation?

As we had suspected already that something was wrong with our fuel tank vents, we also opened the deck fills. We could hear air being sucked into both tanks. There was also a loud popping noise, which indicated a vacuum. So, the vent hoses had to be replaced. Our theory at this point was that we had created a vacuum in the diesel system during the last test run. The leaking diesel lift pump then caused the system to fill with air. This meant that the injectors were not getting enough fuel.

Larger hoses needed

So, our next task was to get larger diesel hoses for the vents. The previous diameter of 3/16” was far too small, and we wanted to upgrade to 5/8” hose. Our friend Lionel from the Caterpillar store recommended a small shop just around the corner where we immediately found what we were looking for. Unfortunately, they only had 12 ft in stock, and we needed 50 ft. But the shop owner was able to order the hose we needed for the next day. And since we had to disassemble the whole boat anyway, we also ordered a hose to improve the vent lines of the water tank, which was also inadequate.

An art project

In the meantime, we devoted ourselves to a long-delayed beautification project on Milagros. Some time ago, we had the French artist Marine Marcus make us a table inlay with animals from the Sea of Cortez. So, we unscrewed the top of our dining table, put it in the next best place sheltered from the wind (the marina shower) and doused the inlay with tabletop epoxy. It was nice to just take care of a nice, cosmetic project for ourselves during this frustrating time.

As if a bomb had hit

Once the new hoses had arrived, we began one of the most tedious jobs we’ve ever had to do on Milagros. Not only did we have to get behind the wall liner by clearing out cabinets, but we also had to take out the recently installed water tank again, as it is directly above one of the diesel tanks and its fittings. Inside Milagros it looked like a bomb had hit the boat. And since the new hoses were much bigger than the old ones, none of the fittings fit anymore, nor did they fit through the holes. At one point I even damaged a 110V power cable trying to make the passage bigger. It was a completely and utterly shitty day.

But in the end, everything was installed as we wanted. Nevertheless, our engine wouldn’t start even after sufficient bleeding. Somehow less diesel arrived at the injectors than we remembered. We had checked our Racor primary filters for clogging, only to find that the connected electric diesel pump was mounted on the wrong side of them. Instead of pulling diesel through the filters, the pump was pushing diesel into the filters. We fixed that immediately. We also replaced 2 valves that we didn’t know exactly how or if they were working.

More to be found

We also found out that our starter battery was dead, which was disguised by the way it was wired into the system. The fact that it was dead didn’t matter as we could also start the engine from our house bank, but a new battery was still needed. The next day we took our old battery to a battery shop where it was tested. Of the 900 units of cold cranking amps, there were 29 left. However, as befits Milagros, the new battery had slightly larger terminals, so we had to drill our cable connectors larger to be able to connect to the battery.

We were at our wit’s end

After all, we contacted Doug, a local diesel mechanic, because we were stuck and needed help. Together with him we found out that the diesel lift pump was stuck in priming mode and therefore not enough diesel was coming into the distribution. So, we set off again to get the parts we needed to bypass this pump. But after that, there was still not enough diesel coming out of the distributor. We also checked the secondary filter there, which looked OK. Therefore, we removed the whole distributor, cleaned it thoroughly and replaced the filter. Afterwards, when we bled the engine, the diesel did indeed squirt out of the bleed screws. But the engine still wouldn’t start.

Algae?

Doug suspected from the small black particles and the yellowish colour of the diesel in our primary filters that we might have algae. These are micro-organisms that multiply in diesel tanks and clog everything up. They need water and air to do this. We had made the mistake of not filling our diesel tanks to the top (=air) before hauling out and in summer the humidity was quite high (=water), which could well explain an infestation. Since the construction of our diesel tanks is far from optimal and we have no inspection hatches, an infestation could be super annoying. However, we were able to rule out a diesel infestation by circulating the diesel from both tanks through the filters, and the contaminants did not multiply. Lucky us!

Poor Betty

That same evening we were less fortunate. At 10pm there was a banging on our boat – it was the night guard. Something had happened to Betty, the boatyard car. Betty was parked on the road in front of the marina and no longer looked like herself. Betty had broken windows, a flat tyre, and a big dent. The security guard told us that a car came speeding along and hit poor Betty. Of course, he had committed a hit-and-run after wrecking the car an entire boatyard relied upon. What in the hell was going on this week?! The police took an accident report, but it was impossible for sure to find the car involved in the accident. Although the vehicle must have been quite damaged, it would not be noticed here as a lot cars are on the roads in such a condition here in Puerto Peñasco.

The last straw

5 days after our failed departure, our engine still wasn’t running. We also missed our next good weather window, which was additionally annoying. Nevertheless, we met up with Marga from SV Dogfish and Marc & Laura from SV Liquid for tacos and drinks. Marga suggested that we could play around with the engine before dinner, which we did. To eliminate sources of error, she suggested running the engine on a jerry can. So, we changed the diesel supply and bled the engine again.

A miracle!

On the first try, the engine wouldn’t start. But on the second try, it started. Cheers broke out on board Milagros. We had really earned our dinner! The next day we reconnected the engine to the diesel system and it started immediately. What exactly had made the difference, we don’t really know.

An instructive week

We had changed all the filters, had rebuilt and cleaned the diesel distribution system, relocated the electric diesel pump, bypassed the diesel lift pump, replaced two valves, enlarged the vent hoses and pressure tested the entire system. So, within a week, we had taken our entire diesel system apart and put it back together.

At this point we would like to thank Marga for her fantastic continous and patient support with her knowledge! Also the cruising community has been super supportive in word and deed and sympathised with us. Although this was probably the worst week since we started the refit here in Peñasco, we were glad that we were able to solve the problem here in the marina and not somewhere along the way or at an anchorage without internet access. We still can’t believe how much bad luck we had in just one week: the accident with the fishing boat, the engine damage, and the accident with Betty. Things can only get better from here.

Wanna cheer us up? Feel free to buy us a beer or two by clicking on the button below. Or you could become a monthly supporter on Patreon if you feel like it. Many thanks!

Cheers!

Der Beitrag It’s Not Happening! We’re Not Heading Out! erschien zuerst auf Milagros.