S/V INTREPID II - Cape Dory Intrepid 40

My photo
Intrepid II is a Cape Dory Intrepid 40 sailboat, hull #2, designed by Chuck Paine and discovered by the Captain in Blue Hill Maine in 2006. The crew are Kelly (Captain) and Carol (Admiral and Blogger). In 2009 INTREPID II embarked on her West Coast journey from Victoria to San Francisco, the Baja Sur Peninsula and into the Sea of Cortez. In 2010/2011, we sailed from Guaymas, south to Bahia Banderas and back. In 2011/2012 we left Guaymas, headed south to La Paz, spent three weeks at anchor on our northward journey and rested on the hard in San Carlos. Her 4th, 5th and 6th seasons were Boat Projects related. Season 7 - an incredible amount of boat work - but no cruising. Season 8 - Tropical Storm Sergio toppled Intrepid II in San Carlos dry storage. A disappointing season of serious and costly repairs. Season 9 - continuing those repairs and still hopeful for cruising.

April 12, 2014

Homeward bound - Adios amigos! Adios San Carlos!


A quick update from the Captain:

"Woke up at 05:00 this morning, motored out of the slip around 07:00 to head to the haul out dock, with just enough time to flush the engine before the marina crew arrived.  Thanks to the helpful friends who assisted; always much appreciated! Our stalwart S.V. INTREPID II is once again on the hard in Marina Seca San Carlos.  She's resting up, hopefully for future adventures of the passage-making nature."


Kelly advised he made time to provide one more feeding to the feral cats who congregate at the top of the Dock B ramp.  He will really will miss these furry, shy friends.  Thanks Ken, for carrying on looking after them while you are there.  This month went by quickly. Looking forward to seeing all out cruising friends again.  Don't forget to stay in touch.

Somehow all the 'coming home' items were squeezed into Rojo Grande.  Kelly was on the road out of San Carlos by 10:00 am and headed north on Highway 15.  This time he chose to cross the U.S. border through Nogales, Arizona, hoping that border delays would be reasonable.  In fact they weren't bad at all.  He reached Tucson about 04:00 pm, sttopped for gas and drove on towards Casa Grande.  That small community is about half way to Phoenix; a good location to over-night and plan the rest of his route homeward.

April 5, 2014

Swap Meets, Northers, Marina Cats

The Captain's efforts to clear out the store room are showing some results! This morning's swap meet had many more browsers than buyers, but in the end our air conditioning unit went for a disappointingly low amount of coconuts.  Better to pass it along now than have to store it one more year. Also great to see cruising friends who came up from Guaymas to check out what was for sale.

It was helpful when the store room next to ours became available to rent for a month.  Much better to be able to sort out the treasures we'd been keeping and really see what was still useful and what can be donated or given away.  Having "Rojo Grande" to store things in transition has been a bonus as well, as expected.

Now the only question is .....where will we put all these boat items once they are back home?

The latest Norther, which becomes a 'Wester' in the San Carlos keyhole harbour,  made for some tricky times walking along the dock on Thursday.  Quite the gusts!  Having turned INTREPID II around with the stern into the wind to defeat the efforts of Evil Birds made for much more pushing around at the dock.  Today was not quite as gusty but quite noticeable.

Marina Cats:  they are shy but so eager for any food and attention.  Fortunately some cruisers and, it appears, a very generous Mexican man try to ensure they have something to eat.  Kelly says there is a particular sweet little one which a few of the cruisers would love to bring home  She is the friendliest and least shy of the clowder (Carol looked that up).  For so many reasons, such as allergies or other cats at home, it hasn't been possible so far.
Gatita - a sweet but shy amiga - hope she stays safe and well!
Sadly, although this group of felines all seem to support each other and stay together, one fellow has been in a fight and has a very bad eye wound.  He won't let anyone get close to pick him up so far. Hopefully someone might be able to do that soon as it really needs to be cleaned and dealt with. There is an active group of people in San Carlos who raise funds to spay and neuter feral cats and we appreciate their efforts.

The haul-out date for INTREPID II has been arranged for next Saturday,  April 12th; bright and early! The logistics of finalizing everything on board, managing to leave enough space to sleep, getting up real early to look after all those last minute things, then motor INTREPID II out of B14 and over to the haul out dock are a bit daunting.  The Captain will have a very busy week.