Settling in

We have been on Wiz for about a week now.  It's been busy getting ready to live full time on her.  Most of the systems are working.  One big job we are doing is an engine service.  It's been burning some oil and blowing some smoke for the last few seasons.  The suspected problem is valve stem seals which we ordered in January when we were here last along with injector nozzles, gasket set, thermostat, and a few other parts.  We hired a local mechanic Omar to help us out.  He came by with a helper and tore the engine down in no time.  The list of things to fix grew some.  The turbocharger blades were blocked by rust in the housing.  It was also had quite a bit of carbon buildup.  We are expecting Omar to return with the rebuilt parts and some replacement hoses for re-assembly tomorrow.

Through inattention, we allowed our ham radio licences to expire, so I studied for the Technician test for a couple of days and passed it easily.  So I took the General at the same session without studying, and, well, did not pass.  There was another testing session in 2 days so a quick study and I then passed, so now I can talk nets that I was not licenced for previously.

We brought a van load of stuff down.  All the things from clearing out the house for sale.  We have been winnowing that down further for the last week and now have everything organized and stowed.

At this point the list of projects is pretty small and we will start to watch weather as soon as the diesel is put back together.  Then we will head across to the Baja and start working our way south.

We still don't have a clear plan, But I'd say we might be leaning towards heading across the pacific this season on Wiz.

Today was the first day that was not packed with boat projects.  Last night we even went to the movies and saw "Doctor Strange" in English with Spanish subtitles.  Three tickets for the current equivalent of  $6 USD!  The extremely strong dollar makes anything not imported from the US a good deal.  I still have not figured out why Gas and Diesel are more expensive here.  It was a little over $60 to fill the minivan.

We are feeling settled in, and Wiz is more ship-shape than torn-up.  We have already met a few kids boats we would like to catch up with and a couple of other cruisers that know or remember cruising with my parents.  We are starting to get integrated back in the cruising community, and are looking forward to being part of it full time now.

Modere su Velocidad

While driving from Phoenix to San Carlos and Wiz, I saw this message many times.  "Modere su velocidad"   So that is what I'm intending to do.  Reduce my speed, enjoy the journey and not focus so much on reaching the destination.

We left Phoenix at 5am and breezed through the drive to San Carlos arriving about 1:30pm.  We stopped by Wiz in the dry storage yard first.  She is not in the work area as we intend to go directly from storage to launch on Friday morning's high tide.  Wiz looked good.  Really dirty and a little more dust than usual below, but otherwise not bad on initial inspection.  One bummer noted is that the LCD on the SSB radio looks like it got cooked in the heat.  Hooked up the battery charger and solar panels.  We then unloaded a large part of our stuff.  At this point all that we own pretty much fits in one jam packed mini van.

After visiting the marina office we checked into a hotel, showered, and went to JJ's, our favorite restaurant.   Carne asada tacos!!

We walked around Marina San Carlos.  We ran into a couple on a boat from Seattle which knew my parents, unckes and many people we know.  As we were talking we met Heather from Carumba and asked if she knew of any boats with kids.  Score! kids on her boat and another.  "Would you like to come meet them?"  A couple of hours later, after talking with the crews of Caramba and Shawnigann we headed back to the room feeling right back at home and fortunate to find other kid boats on the first day of our new adventure.

Darrell - San Carlos 11/9/16

Beginning the next "phase"

Three months ago we decided to move up our plans to cruise full time.  For several years we a rough plan to do this when Cooper, who is no now 11, was a couple of years older.  But we couldn't wait!

We have been cruising Wiz for anywhere between 2 and 5 months a year for the last 10 years.  This year in January, we had Wiz all re-commissioned, provisioned and ready to go in San Carlos, Mx.  While waiting on weather to cross to Santa Rosalia we got an email from Susan's work that prompted us to put Wiz back on the hard and return to Montana and both our jobs.  We really missed our annual cruising fix and I think that is what ultimately tipped the scales.  We both felt that if we didn't do it now that it might not happen.

The last three months have been hectic and a bit stressful. Getting the house ready to sell/rent.  Winding up jobs, disposing of cars, boats, motorcycles and 95% of our "stuff".  This was definitely made easier by adopting an "everything must go" approach.

We are here in Arizona visiting my parents and doing the final things on the "wind up our shore based life" list.  We'll be driving to Wiz in San Carlos next week sometime.  From there the "plan" gets less defined.  After a few months in Mexico we will decide on two courses.  Either sailing Wiz across the Pacific, or sailing her to San Diego and buying a new boat in Europe.  Neither are bad options.  We have been looking at boats but have not found the "one".

Wiz is a great boat.  She is all dialed in.  Extended cruising would require only a short list.  New genoa, batteries, and a cockpit shade solution.  The new boats we have looked at are really nicely designed and functional for living aboard. Yacht design has come a long way.  But, the build quality is unfortunately far, far, below what we have become accustomed to in our '73 Swan.  By comparison, the new production boats look like Ikea showrooms below.  And I fear they would age about as well.

That's the quick catch up to our plans and status. We'll blog our progress on this adventure.

Cooper will be blogging at http://WheresCoop.com

More to come as we get plugged back into cruising mode.

Darrell