It's Mostly The Weather - November 1, 2013

The Weather: 

For sailing, the weather's not so great - or at least potentially not so great.  Yet another disturbance in the Pacific is threatening to become a "Named Storm" (a Tropical Storm or Hurricane that is named by NOAA) and the computer models suggest she (she will be "Sonia" if named) could head toward Mazatlan.  We're not sailing away until that weather threat is resolved! 

For boat work, the weather's not so great either.  For example, today it's 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) with 92 percent humidity.  Our readers in Oklahoma and Ontario can imagine what that feels like.  And while that's not a really bad thing for a day in the shade by the beach catching a breeze, it's pretty brutal for working inside a boat with only very small windows and four 7-inch fans to create a breeze - or even outside in the sun.

The Glamor of Life In The Sun . . .

 
So, we've delayed moving aboard.  To quote Molly's mother Patti:  We're too old and too rich for that shit. 

We will be staying in our little marina-side apartment and enjoying the 6th floor breeze, ceiling fans, nighttime air conditioning and swimming pool for another week.  

Morning From Our Window - Abracadabra Off Screen Left

Abracadabra Jobs:

We're also waiting on some new canvas shades to be completed by Tapiceria Upholstery Work's (sic).  This is our third shade design, based on what we like/don't about our last two attempts and what we have seen that works/doesn't on other boats.  Ruben Najera, the talent behind Tapiceria, is a real craftsman, and has helped us adjust our design.  This just might be "it".  We will share pictures when the shades arrive.

Other than the shades, Abracadabra's pretty much ready to go.  Molly has purchased $200+/- of additional plastic boxes and bins (one can't be too organized in a small, moving space), washed them and stuffed them full of food staples.  Bryce has done his favorite jobs (engine leaks tracked down and eliminated; head (toilet) re-plumbed (ugh)).  We're so ready that if the potential Named Storm gets a name and moves into Mazatlan there will be a lot of things to undo for storm preparation!   

Frivolity:

While not sweating it out on Abracadabra we've managed to engage in some frivolity.  Halloween was celebrated with the crew from S/V Lanikai (Mike an Leilani). 

Los Cuatro Diablos!

After a fabulous dinner at Water's Edge Bistro in Viejo Mazatlan we attended a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show - complete with prop bag (rice, toast, flashlight . . . ).  This cult classic is usually shown at midnight in the U.S. and Canada -- but here in Mexico it was shown at 7:30 in order to get all the retired ex-patriots home shortly after "Mexican midnight" (9 p.m. . . . ). 

Tonight is the Dia de Los Muertos parade in Viejo Mazatlan.  We'll report in on it and the potential named storm soon!

Splashdown - October 15, 2013

Abracadabra's Spa Visit 

When we arrived in Mazatlàn on October 2 Abracadabra was already out of the water and in the boat yard ("on the hard" in sailorspeak) perched on stands that - no matter how many times we've seen her up there -- makes those of us from earthquake country a bit queasy. When we first saw her on her tenuous looking perches, the craftsmen at Total Yacht Works had already scraped several years of paint from her hull. 

Sadly, the next time we saw her, she sported many scary little "x's" - marks identifying blisters in her fiberglass.  For non-boat people, blisters are just what they sound like: little pockets in the fiberglass that, if left untreated can allow water to seep in and create big pits in a boat's hull, ultimately turning a hull quite spongy.  In Abracadabra's case, these baby blisters are suspected to be the result o taking a cold-water boat to the warm waters of Mexico. 

Fortunately all of Abracadabra's blisters were very shallow and the crew at Total Yacht Works opened, scraped, dried and filled them within a few days.  Next came two coats of epoxy to prevent future blisters; two of anti-fouling paint to avoid turning Abracadabra's hull into a floating biosphere; and a pretty new boot stripe.  The boot stripe (the little paint strip about two inches above the antifouling paint) is ornamental - but in our case a new one was required because we had "raised the water line" a couple of inches -- put anti-fouling paint higher up the side of the hull.  Abracadabra is a heavy girl when she's fully loaded, and more of her is below the water than ever before!  

Finally, the Total Yacht Works guys gave her a beautiful polish job and -- after 12 days of work, she looked like a sweet young thing!. Molly's now interested in seeing what a two-week spa stay can do for her . . . 

Splashdown

The most dramatic part came next -- getting the pretty baby into the water, and back to the dock, without scratching the new paint! 

First  came the big monster lift . . .   

Dwarfing Abracadabra



Miriam - The (Fortunately) Cautious Lift Driver!



Five Foot One Inch (On A Good Day)
Model Next To A Lift Wheel

which picked up Abracadabra . . .

The Dark Blue Bottom Will Lighten Upon Contact With Water We're Told

for a last little dob of anti-fouling paint on the bottom of her keel which had been resting on a wooden support . . .

The Last Minute Finish

and then took her to dangle her over the ocean  . . .

Nervous Captain Following Closely

and sloooowly began to lower her . . .

Down She Goes

Once the deck was flush with the top of the pier, we stepped over the transom and joined Abracadabra's slow descent.  The Fonatour line handlers kept her from swinging into the pier, and dooooown we went:

Picture taking time was over when we got to the water.  The Captain checked for leaks - a bad thing on a boat.  Finding none, on came the engine, and away we motored. 

Happily, we docked without scratching her shiny new self - and sighed a sigh of relief. 

Now all we have to do (ha!) is move all the things stored inside to the outside, clean it and bolt it on - and we can sail away.  But that's another post. 

FYI Re: E-Mails of Blog Posts

Several readers that signed up to receive blog notices haven't been getting them.  Blogger Help says this is because we've been drafting in Word and due to Word's heavy programing content making a file that is too big for Blogger to e-mail.  (Why this has become a problem almost two years after we started this blog - go figure.)  This post was drafted on the blog itself and therefore should - if Blogger Help is correct -- go through as an e-mail.  If you have signed up for e-mails and you actually get one of this posting - we'd appreciate you letting us know!

And, FYI, there are several posts about our summer inland sojourn you may have missed due to this e-mail glitch.  Check them out if you're interested.