Running Southward

Sitting here in La Paz, BCS, Mexico after a lot of hand steering south from San Carlos after having installed a new autopilot is not what I had in mind when we left San Carlos.  It is reminiscent of the last couple of years since our last autopilot (you’ll recall Dion, the Wanderer) packed it in.  The remnants of Dion were unceremoniously deposited in a trash bin in San Carlos, as burial at sea seemed an extravagance at the time.

 ><(((\">`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><(((º>¸.
·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><(((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><(((º>

 The new AP has been named Steady Eddie despite that introduction.  He performed really, really well until he ran out of power.  That was not his fault in any way.  We were running down the wind in a glorious slide toward a small beach at the southeast corner of Isla Espiritu Santo called Bonanza.  This was the first leg of what was supposed to be a fast trip to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta area).  Naturally we chose a series of nights that proved to be moonless and in the middle of the night Eddie was struggling.  Hmmm, what is THAT about?  I cursed the batteries for not having enough power but later realized that we were NOT making power from the alternator.  In any case after a somewhat nasty night we decided to bag it and head for somewhere closer to recuperate and let the solar panels do their job.  There is now a way-point in the GPS labeled, “Here,” where we chose to have a different plan.

Here is the thing about sailing a smallish boat across lots of water.  It can be easy but if everything is not working as it should be it can be exhausting.  Hand steering is a chore that we like to by-pass by means of the autopilot.  It makes night watches much easier and you get better rest.  Sandy likely thinks I am a bit of a glutton for some forms of punishment because I don’t mind steering as much as she does but that has limits.  Try an eight hour watch hand steering in rough-ish seas and you won’t want to repeat it in a couple of hours.  That was how we diverted and took on shorter day “sails” running from anchorage to anchorage.  When we hit La Paz we both wanted to be at a dock for awhile.  We flipped a peso and said let’s get a weeks worth.  That should give me time to replace the alternator and test everything.  If it is a high capacity alternator running the motor every so often will fill in the blanks for the power the solar panels can’t give!!

It is times like this that have me lusting for more ways to make electricity.  We have a small Honda generator but it is noisy sitting above our bed as it does and we can’t easily fire it up under way.  We bought a wind generator but after assessing the stern of Faith there isn’t really a good way to put it there as we are currently configured.  We also brought down two more solar panels but likewise there isn’t anywhere to put them.  So the logic, you can already guess, is a remake on the back of the boat.  We NEED a full arch built to accommodate the BBQ and propane tank, the two already existing solar panels, flag pole, dinghy motor lift, dinghy davits to hold the dinghy, a 34” high “seat”, wind generator, two more solar panels, stern light… gee, what else can I throw on there??  Oh, lots but you probably get the idea by now.  If we ever get around to swallowing the hook we will be offering a stellar array of equipment to some future cruiser.  In the meantime we are steadily improving the comfort and usefulness of our Faith.  

 ><(((\">`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><(((º>¸.
·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><(((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><(((º>

One minor note of great importance in our plunge southward was that we had very quiet anchorages even though the wind outside of them was howling several of the nights.  Sleep is so important and it makes a huge difference in my usually sunshiny disposition!  On passages that’s the one thing that gets shoved aside at times.  It makes it harder to figure things out and fix things when you are tired… but then, you knew that.