So it is not easy to leave the Baja. We came into Marina Cortez last week thinking we had to Change Fuel Filters, install a couple of engine alarms, talk to the Port Captain and check out of the country. Not so simple. The fuel filters went OK, the engine alarms took a bit more time than we had hoped but since the mechanic did them it was just a matter of money and we all know that the crew of Beyond Reason just goes to the ATM when ever money is needed, it’s magic and nobody knows how it happens but money just spits out from the machine when ever we type in the magic code so the engine work just happened like clock work. The big problem was that the transmission oil cooler was found to have sprung a leak and mostly the transmission was filled with cool, clean saltwater and a Pepto Bismol looking froth on top. The froth is really just the transmission oil that had been mixed with salt water and although it looks tasty is it really “no bueno” for the transmission, so our simple day turned into a flush, fill, flush fill, flush fill, and then the following day a couple of more flush fills. The really good news was that we had a spare oil cooler for the transmission so it was just a matter of minutes to replace the main issue. It was a couple of hours/days later that we completed the flushes…
Our next issue in leaving was the fuel. According to Nigel Calder (the Guru of all things marine diesel) we should have purged, scrubbed and filtered our fuel tanks every 2 years. Apparently there are little organisms that actually live in diesel, and if you don’t poison them or purge them, eventually they will clog up you fuel lines. Wellllllllll. OK, we have not purged for twelve years. Occasionally we have clogged fuel filters, but usually a change of the fuel filters fixes all the issues. After trying to do an extra good job at filtering the fuel with our own special filters we realized that the job would require opening the tank to take out all the “coffee grinds” that we were finding. That job should take place tomorrow and if the “magic card” works again we should be about ready to take off.
In the mean time, Lisa has been creating “space” to have the tanks examined, probed and scrubbed. This really involves the entire interior of the boat, as every usable space is filled with all the crap that we carry in the aft cabins normally. On 43’ worth of boat we currently have a 6’ seating space and half a “V” berth to sleep in. The aft cabin is completely cleared out though so Victor (our mechanic, ie fuel scrubber) should be able to filter to his hearts content when he arrives tomorrow.
Bill has been scrubbing the exterior in 100 degrees of shade- less sun. We thought he would pass out from heat exposure today and turn our return trip into an estate sale but apparently he is tougher than we thought and the boat was shinned up and a couple of cold beers and a shower later he popped up ready for his sundowners. Tough guy.
On the entertainment side we have been making a lot of friends here at Cortez Marina. We can’t walk down the docks anymore with out a hundred Hola’s or Hello’s being said. We did figured out what makes the dock so friendly and it turns out it is that everyone backs their boats into the slips. In the U.S. it is rare to find boats backed in. For most boats it is just much more easy to drive the boat directly forward into the slip. The problem is that makes the cockpit of the boat face away from the walkway of the dock which does not promote conversation. Here in Marina Cortez almost everyone takes the time to back their boats into the slip leaving the cockpits of their boats right next to the walkway. If you had enough imagination your might think the white sides and railing of their cockpits were picket fences surrounding their porches with the golden Cerveza’s in their glasses looking just like lemonade. Very southern and friendly. We could all take lessons from the folks at Marina Cortez.
We don’t believe that we said it before but we finally got hit with a hurricane this week. Just after we pulled into the marina and following a brief squall from Tropical Storm Kiko, both Lisa and Bill were hit with the reality of leaving the Baja and running up the notorious coast against the up coming winter storms and finishing Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. It took a couple of days of tense conversations and bitter feelings before we finally came to our senses and realized that our boat is better prepared and more seaworthy than most and the trip is just another grouping of 150 mile passages. We believe we are set. Lisa has precooked a couple of meals, and Bill has over analyzed just about everything. We don’t have a departure date, but that is coming soon.
Save room on the freeway for us.