Busy, busy, busy in Guaymas!

Ensuring salt spray is washed away

We are taking a short break after helping our friend Ken, of SV Plan B, move from the marina dock to the fuel dock, then over to the travel lift.  Having many pairs of hands available to take lines while the boat is maneuvered into the slings is helpful.  After only a slight adjustment for balance, all went well, under the capable hands of Horacio, the works yard supervisor.

SV Plan B secure in travel lift

Then, back to our own tasks on INTREPID II.  So far we have raised both the main sail and jib early in the day, to hose down salt spray, then let the sails dry before the winds began to increase. That meant some early morning wake up calls.  It's a bit of a task to lower these huge sails onto the clean deck, then flake them properly to ensure they fit into the sail bags for stowage.  Currently the bags are now tied onto the deck and we hope it doesn't rain.  (Actually - we had thunder and lightning Wednesday evening over the mountains to the north.  Quite uncommon, but no moisture after all.)

The dinghy and its cover are now washed and dried.  A succession of sheets (lines) have been soaked to remove the season of salt spray, then rinsed with Downy fabric softener.  This product works to make the lines supple and the soft fragrance is a bonus.  At the moment we have the jib sheets stretched out on the dock, drying in the sun.

Our haul-out date seems to be fluid, depending on to whom we speak in the works yard or the office. It could be as early as next week.  Instead of relaxing and doing a reasonable amount of tasks each day, we are fast tracking our projects to ensure we are as ready as possible.  Because the wind blows and sand and dust find their way into the boat over the summer, we are ensuring everything is clean before we pack linen, clothing, bags and other fabric away in large plastic Ziploc bags.  That makes for many loads of laundry as well as much hand washing for all the Sunbrella canvas items which must be soft scrubbed before drying in the wind and sun.

The Captain is consulting his checklist for all the appropriate maintenance work required prior to leaving a boat on the hard. Yesterday at our friendly Walmart we picked up green 'scrubby' pads to use in blocking the cockpit drains from little crawling critters and spiders.  The pads still allows rain to flow through, if there is any during the coming months.  We also bought large rolls of Reynolds wrap aluminum foil, as we will insert foil behind all the portholes, hatches and hatch-boards. This will reflect heat and keep the cabin interior a few degrees cooler.

Cruisers require a degree in time management as well as organizational skills.  We need to continue living on board, use up all the perishable food before we leave or give it away, ensure there is room to move about and sleep, while we still access lockers to clean, sort and package items.  Oh yes, this year, let's remember to bring home the inventory of what we left behind!

Then there is the small matter of the items we left in the communal storage room in San Carlos.  That includes sheets of pink insulation to add to the fridge, a project that won't get done until next fall.  Those materials will have to go into the v-berth.  Other items will find their place in a somewhat organized fashion we hope.  Ideally all this will occur before we are hauled out; otherwise everything will have to be lowered down or hauled up about 12 feet, adding a further challenge to each task.

Now it's time to tackle the next tasks.

(Family notes:
Congratulations Randy - to you and the Alberta team as you head into the finals of the Canadian Postal Employees Curling Classic in Miramichi.  We're cheering for you all the way!)