Afterword

Email from Cindy:

We had some problems with the paper work after leaving you, had to go back to immigration, then the port office, stand around for about an hour or so, finally got paperwork back, and then told at next two ports that it was wrong and we had a problem. Finally got it straightened out here in Puerto Vallarta. We left yesterday for Mazatlán, were about an hour out when Phil decided to check the engine. We had been taking on quite a bit of water in the bilges and were worried about it. When Phil checked, we decided we had to go back, too much water in the engine compartment, so knew we had a big problem. Sure enough, the water pump had damaged seal due to an even bigger problem: a broken engine mounting bracket. Feel fortunate to be where there was a competent mechanic, he is from England, 30 + years of experience, found the problem right away, so we are having it fixed. I will miss my plane from Cabo on the 16th, so we are skipping Mazatlán and heading across straight to Cabo on Tues., when we are supposed to have everything working again. Mark is meeting Phil in Cabo and will help him go up Baja.

************************************** 5/18 Email from Cindy:

We REALLY got a big kick out of your Bill Gates Speech. We are passing it on to BOTH of our kids. I served for 8 years on the local school board trying to change all of the "fuzzy thinking" they are teaching in the schools these days. And unfortunately, some of it rubbed off on our kids too! We got our engine repairs finished in Puerto Vallarta on the 15th. We were victims of a Mexican machine shop that didn't follow the directions of our very competent Englishman diesel mechanic, "Teapot Tony". He was wonderful, knew right away what was wrong and how to repair it. While we waited the extra 5 days, we sweltered in the heat, and went to time share presentations to find some air conditioned places and pass some time--BORING! But Phil enjoyed the "freebie" tour we got later. We spent 60 hours crossing the Sea of Cortez. That was an interesting experience--it feels a little bit spooky out there all by yourself for 2+ days without the sight of land or any other boats. We did manage to pass another cruise ship leaving Puerto Vallarta, but it stayed a better distance away from us. Otherwise, the crossing was uneventful, we enjoyed three beautiful sunsets, saw sea turtles and flying fish. We came into Cabo at the same time that hundreds (smile) of fishing boats were leaving the harbor for their day of fishing. Phil thought that was rather exciting! I am leaving as soon as can catch a plane home, and Mark and his friend Andre are arriving today for the Baja Bash. Phil is taking a nap, tired from all the exertion of watching me write this E-Mail, so he will send you a note later. Regards, Cindy

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Email from Phil:

Well, it looks like this is the end of the line. We are in San Luis Bay, just north of Point Conception and having trouble with the engine. The main problem has to do with air in the fuel supply. This makes the engine quit running at unpredictable and sometimes inconvenient times, like when I was motoring out of this anchorage the other day. We had a mechanic out to look at it on Wednesday and we couldn't keep the engine running for more than fifteen minutes at a time. The guy who owns the boatyard here talked to the dealer, who wanted him to put a new fuel pickup tube into the plastic fuel tank, and the mechanic, understandably, doesn't want to do it, so we are trucking the boat back to the dealer in Seattle so he can fix it. The other problem is that it looks like the sea water cooling pump is leaking again, the one we had overhauled in Puerto Vallarta, along with the broken motor mount which kept Cindy and I in port for 10 days. We have been here almost as long waiting for the opportunity to pull the boat out of the water. This is not really a harbor, more of an open roadstead, and we have to wait for the right combination of swell, wind and tide so that the boat can be hoisted onto a truck without damage. Right now the wind is blowing 20 knots right here at anchor. Meanwhile, Cindy and I are camping out on the boat and doing things like visiting Mark in San Jose and taking tours of San Simeon. Cindy gave my old truck to Geoff while I was gone, so we decided to buy a new truck just like the old truck (very basic) only new, so we are driving around in my new Ford pickup. I have some remorse about not finishing the job I set out to do, but we have done all the challenging adventurous stuff, including Point Conception, which we did when our weather service warned us not to (inadvertently). We had a terrifically favorable weather forecast last week for sailing to San Francisco, and probably could have done it without the motor, but my crew (Cindy) wisely talked me out of it, so here we sit. No, I do not have a beard but, like most of the guys who helped me, I did lose a couple of inches around the middle, got a great tan, and let my hair grow. Now I have to readjust to the real world.