Captain Kelly's page

Our 'intrepid' Roja Grande has made the San Carlos trip multiple times fully loaded with repair supplies 

OCTOBER 2018 to FEBRUARY 2019 - A Cruising Season of Repairs 

When I drove from Victoria to San Carlos, Mexico in late October 2018 and crossed into northern Mexico, the Sonoran desert was greener than I had ever seen it.  Knowing this was the result of the tropical storm rains that had toppled INTREPID II made the scenery a little harder to appreciate.  At least the major repairs to Mexican Highway 15 were nearing completion, so the drive south from the United States border was easier and smoother than in previous travels.

Once I arrived, settled into rental accommodations and started to work on INTREPID II, I was reminded of the pluses and minuses of being here.  On the plus side, San Carlos is about a half day drive from the United States border and it is much warmer and drier than Victoria in the winter.  On the minus side, there is no place to buy boat parts or supplies.  The local “chandlery” has almost no practical inventory other than some fishing gear.  If you have the foresight to bring down absolutely everything you will need; if there are no surprises once you start working on your boat; your boat projects should go well.  Otherwise, you fall back on the warmer and drier climate to compensate for these challenges.  There is impressive scenery.  The sunrises and sunsets are often spectacular.    Oh yes - beer is cheaper here as well!

Sunrise over San Francisco Bay 

On the plus side, it is now possible to order supplies online or by phone from the U.S. and have them shipped directly to the San Carlos marina office, at a cost.  Usually it is possible to track your parcel once it is en route and alert the marina office staff when to expect delivery.  The customs fee is payable to the delivery company.  In past years, I have had items shipped to Nogales, Arizona; once I knew the parcels had arrived I drove north to pick them up.   Doing so required an early morning start, a mostly pleasant drive, except for transiting around the city of Hermosillo (not for the faint of heart) and a wait at the U.S. border crossing of anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours or more.  After successfully retrieving my parcels, I then turned around and headed back south, with the same challenges except for the border crossing time.  For some reason, it takes considerably less time to enter Mexico than to enter the United States.

The tropical storm damage to INTREPID II included two broken stanchions, damage to the toe rail, some gouges and scrapes on the hull and a bend and other damage to the bottom of the keel.  The keel repair went quickly, if expensively.  Not having any pictures to go by to assess the damage, I had underestimated the amount of epoxy and glass needed.  As a result, I paid very high prices for supplies provided locally.  The following photos show the bend in the keel and the various repairs underway.

A local welder repaired the bent stanchions efficiently and well.  I also had him replace the existing lifeline wire with tubing from the stern pulpit forward to the midships gate.  This gives us more security on deck. It also provides more room to mount all the bits of gear that cruisers accumulate, such as our stern anchor.

Local welders provided excellent stainless steel work

A supplier I often use for boat parts is Defender Industries.  Unfortunately they were unable to ship marine sealant into Mexico and I had already used up what I had brought down with me.  So, two new seacocks and thru-hulls were sitting on the boat until a cruising friend could deliver tubes of sealant from Arizona.  The 3M 4000 sealant has arrived and that project is now proceeding.

Tru-Design seacock, thru-hull and load bearing collar before installation

Installed on port side under galley storage

In the meantime, I focused on giving INTREPID II  a new coat of bottom paint with the supplies I had planned for and purchased en route.

New bottom paint with Campbell Sailor prop sanded and coated

Abrasion on starboard upper shroud

Part of the damage that occurred when INTREPID II was knocked over in tropical storm Sergio was abrasion to the starboard upper shroud.  As my rigger indicated he had a shipment coming shortly, I added the necessary wire to that order on November 21.  The wire was to be shipped two days later from the U.S.  When that order finally arrived in Mexico FIVE weeks later, my wire was not included.  It is difficult enough to get things done in Mexico without "gringos" in San Diego completely dropping the ball with no follow up communication.   The wire finally arrived February 11. Another rigging customer actually drove to San Diego and brought my wire back with his own order. 

The other major casualty from the October 2018 fall was our Furuno radar.  Despite the best efforts of Senior Ernesto, the highly regarded electronics repair man whose shop is located in Guaymas, it appears that a replacement will be required.  About half the boaters based here advise "you do not need radar", but we do not fall into that group.  Even here fog rolls in.  A few years ago while approaching Mazatlan from the south at 6 a.m. in heavy fog after an overnight passage, I counted seventeen shrimp boats crossing our path.  During previous cruising passages we have also encountered unlit "pangas" at night, just drifting while the fishermen sleep.   

The silver lining for The INTREPID II Crew has been that several projects which never made their way to the top of the “to-do list” in previous years are now receiving attention.  Among other tasks, the ICOM 802 radio has been installed and the solar panels have been rewired in parallel instead of in series.  This was in response to learning from Nigel Calder at a BCA course that I had outsmarted myself by wiring them in series.

Rewired solar panels

Oh, did I mention that the weather is somewhat better here and the beer is cheaper?

Summer 2014 

The Captain and Admiral recently provided an update to the Bluewater Cruising Association "Fleet of 2014", focusing on what to expect when entering Mexico by boat, dealing with Port Captains while in the country, recommended cruising guides and the TIP (temporary import permit) issue.  We appreciated the opportunity to present our experiences and thoughts.   The proviso as alwaysis that always expect things to change, or be applied a bit differently when you arrive!

The Captain has good intentions about posting comments on several of his boat projects he completed earlier while in San Carlos with INTREPID II.  Somehow the house and yard projects, or a good book, or a chance to go bike riding take more priority.   



December 21st - Winter Solstice 
The Captain is contemplating what to comment on boat-wise.  Perhaps you'd like to hear about building woodsheds, installing garage doors, intriguing wiring challenges and fine tuning fire-making.

A fireplace insert makes all the difference!

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - One year later!

The Captain is usually 'doing' rather than 'blogging' and even more so as we are trying to prepare for our 3rd cruising season.  The Admiral is therefore jotting down a few lines and adding pictures in the meantime. 

Not the roomiest lazarette - taking out the old hot water heater

As we've mentioned on the main blog page, we have been challenged by both our planned for projects, such as re-installing the SSB radio which we took home for repairs, and installing the new hot water heater -- and for the unanticipated projects, like the water pressure pump acting up, finding our topping lift and attached Dutchman system missing, among other challenges.

Dealing with these day to day "problemos" can entail online searches for parts, asking other cruisers if they have spare items or know where to find them and most frequently, heading off to one or two favorite ferreterias (hardware stores) where staff have been extremely helpful in the past.  Yesterday, thanks to the staff at 'Distribudores 66' on Av. Lopez, the Captain has pieced together a variety of brass couplings, connectors and reducers which he hopes will allow him to successfully finish installing the new hot water heater to the engine.  Bronze fittings are the ideal.  We hope these fittings will be a reasonable 2nd choice.

Brass fittings - after a long search

A great ferreteria for many boat projects

Old water heater - installed in 1993

Removing the old water heater from its place in the lazarette required surgery.  It was soon apparent that this system had been installed before the wooden frame around the lazarette and its cover were added.  It was not possible to remove the wooden frame in one piece, so one incision was made in the wood.  With some wrangling, the old heater came out; however, the new one required a second incision as well as removing a piece of the fibreglass before it could be squeezed in.  So much for careful measuring; the reality is often a tiny bit different.  Another trip required to the ferreterria to find braces to attach the wood back in place, along with some dollops of silicon.

Results of surgery on wood frame and fibreglass

The staff at Expo Ferre are good enough to let the Captain have access to the inventory behind the counter when he can't find the exact words or phrasing to describe what he needs, or find a reasonable alternative.

We are both relieved that this project was indeed on the list, as there was a wiring issue which needed addressing.  It appears when the old water heater was put in place, the installer was short of the requisite size of wire, instead using undersized wire with butt connectors.  There were signs of over-heating.  We are wondering if that was part of the problem when the heater stopped functioning.  In any case, appropriate wire and connections are now in place.

Jib now in place

Thursday, January 6, 2011

As the Admiral reported earlier, we have spent some time at the top of the mast, as well as going up and down to get there.  Hanging on a line 56 feet above the water is one of my all time favorite things, so I don't do it very often, as I don't want it to get old. 

The project list doesn't really shrink, it just gets new things replacing old ones.  At least we are in the water, and have one sail up.  If the wind calms down enough, we will try to raise the mainsail.  We may wait until we leave the dock and go out to anchor, so we don't have to worry about the wind shifting in the middle of the job.

It has been windy here, and colder than we would like.  Cold meaning the Captain has to put on long pants with shoes and socks.  At least the outdoor ice skating rink here doesn't have to worry about the ice melting too quickly.  They had some shade fabric up, but the high winds blew it away.

With any luck, we will be heading south soon.  An abbreviated cruising season, but better than nothing.  Fair winds to you all.

Thursday, Jan 13, 2011

Lots of projects crossed off the list in the last week.  Although the "To-Do" list never really gets any shorter, we are now at the point that we can leave when the weather allows, and continue the projects as we go.

This afternoon we had some excitement on the dock.  Carol and I were in the cockpit, measuring and cutting some cushioning for standing at the wheel, when we heard what sounded like a couple of cannon shots in the distance.  We decided it was just a truck going over a tope, the killer Mexican speed bump.  A minute later, we looked up to see clouds of smoke, then a fiery boat drifting out of the fuel dock area.  The winds were keeping it well away from us, but we were glad they had cut it away from the fuel dock, as there are two 40,000 litre tanks there.

The Mexican Navy, whose docks and patrol boats were in harm's way, and the local bomberos (firemen)responded quickly.  We watched as the boat drifted, then was caught by a Navy boat and towed away from their other boats, and then back closer to the dock so the fire trucks could spray it.  A total loss, as you would expect, but the actions of the fuel dock personnel here at the marina, and the bomberos and Navy kept the situation from being much worse.  The explosion happened while the boat was being fueled, and the fire was not able to be stopped, despite quick action by the marina staff.  The skipper is in the hospital, but the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) ambulance crew said he will be OK.

We're glad we have a diesel, but everyone should always take care and get everybody off the boat when fueling.