We got a TelCel Banda Ancha Movil card for better WiFi - 2013

Middle January 2013 - Melaque, Mexico

We broke down and decide to get a TelCel Banda Ancha Movil card for our PC.

To the far left is an ice store. People drive up ob bicycles with ice chests and motor scooters with ice chests and three wheel bicycles etc and get crushed ice pumped into bags and into the ice chests. They then bungey the bags on top of the chest.

Anchored in Chamela - Visit from Mexican Navy - 2013

Beginning of January 2013 - Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay)

In the foreground is an s\vShindig  - Rob and Nancy a Baja Ha Ha 2012 (Oyster 48 ft,) boat in in the back ground is the Mexican Coast Guard ship.

Note:
 s\v Shindig has since gone on the Pacific Puddle Jump and are still there 2018.

Spectra Ventura 200T water maker update 2013

Late January 2013 Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay) and now Melaque\Bahia de Navidad

Our Spectra Watermaker 200T Deluxe is still leaking.

Anchored in Chamela Bay (Perula Bay) and loving it - 2013

Late December 2013- Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay)

Sailing into Chamela (Perula Bay) by charts and guide books etc., anchored on land? - 2013

Mid January 2013 update to Chamela (Perula Bay)

 As you can see by the Garmin chart plotter we are anchored on land not in Chamela Bay 😜 That is one reason why we use more than one means of navigation!

Anchored in Chamela - Off to sail to Barra de Navidad but first we clean the bottom - 2013

Middle January 2013 - Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay)

Before leaving we needed to clean the bottom of the boat,(s\v Elegant'sea) at least as much as we could while holding our breath. 

Anchored in Chamela, Sail from Bahia Chamela to Barra de Navidad - 2013

Mid-January 2013 - Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay)
 After studying the grib weather files from the ICOM 802 SSB radio we decided to leave Chamela on Thursday as we saw some heavy weather dumping out of the Sea of Cortés (Gulf of California). We figured it was not going to affect us but who is to know. It turns out that it probably did not but on the day before we got weather from the south. A lot of wind and waves coming into the anchorage. There was a swell coming in to the anchorage from the south and winds of 18-20 knots whipping up wind waves and white caps. We decided to lash the wheel down as it was getting whipped from side to side with the wind and the waves/swells. Not a very comfortable day at anchor it was. Luckily we had done provisioning the day before by going in to Perula and going to a couple abarrotes (little grocery stores) and stocking up on cookies etc.

BooHoo...the Spectra Venture 2000T Water Maker Ate It 2013

Early January 2013
The water maker is still limping along but is leaking.

We were in the bilge working on the motor mounts when we noticed water that was seeping into the bilge from where the starboard side water tank is. We tested it by taste and it is salt water. By logic it would seem the water maker was leaking. This turned out to be true. It seeps down to the area where the water tank is encased in wood. Then seeps down into the bilge. Hopefully all of it. We located the water leak to be in the Clark Pump which is the main water maker component.

Solar hot water diagnosis with the Blue Sky Energy inc Solar Boost 3024iL DUO - 2013

Early January 2013
Our solar hot water diagnosis is that we are just not getting the summer sun. Yes it is in the low 80's now but the sun is low in the sky. The water temperature is in the upper 70's. We do get warm water from our hot water heater at night but not hot.

Between all our electrical needs like refer etc and the sun being low in the sky and the larger batteries we will not see hot water probably until the spring.

Yay! Got the VacuFlush toilet to flushing properly, VacuFlush water pump out - 2013

Early January 2013

We had lost the ability to flush the toilet by using the foot lever due to a broken VacuFlush water pump since day two of the Baja Ha Ha 2012. That is almost three months. We had tried a repair of the toilet water pump in place but it failed. So for all this time we were using a small bucket of water to flush it. Kind of a pain.

Anchored at Chamela Bay, ashore to get WiFi - 2013

Early January 2013 - Anchored at Chamela Bay

 

s\v Elegant'sea at anchor in Chamela Bay

Another good dingy landing and off we went.

Today we are at an internet Access store. Debbie is doing our business and am trying to do some simple blogging and unload some pictures. The key board is in Spanish and the PC is in Spanish???

So we are trying to post some pictures as you can tell there have been none because there is not a good WiFi point here for that. 

Garmin auto pilot Drive A kaput

 Early January 2013
 
OK after much to do we have found that the Drive A unit for the auto pilot is not functioning properly. The motor spins but the arm does not move. Now it is certain we will not have an auto pilot for the rest of the cruising season.

It could be the quadrant stops if they were not installed correctly by the installer or it could be a defective Drive unit or some other thing but it is toast. (These two parts of the autopilot system are the only ones we did not install ourselves of the whole system.) Good thing it is under warranty. Now how to figure out the shipping and receiving part which is a big deal here. Luckily we are able to communicate (thru SSB email) with Garmin about finding the closest authorized dealer.

It actually is not that big of a deal considering all the good stuff that is going on. We will scrap any plans for overnight passages and will duck into an anchorage for the night instead. There is really only one over-nighter we would do until we arrive back in Banderas Bay for the Summer. That is around the Cabo Corientes - Cape of Currents and instead will like I said duck into an anchorage instead and wait for the weather window there if need be.

The other passages south are only from a day to a couple hours each and we will probably make it as far as Barra or Manzanillo this cruising season. We are slow moving as for instance we like it here in Chamela so we are staying three weeks. In fact we like to hand steer when we are sailing along on a nice day and stiff breeze! Manana.

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Engine motor mount bolts loose getting loose - 2013

 On the way from La Cruz to Chamela Bay motor sailing Debbie noticed during an engine check (when doing a systems check for the log) that the front right side of the motor was vibrating more than usual.

Blue Sky SB3024iL DUO solar controller and hot water - 2013

January 2013

 It seems the reason we do not have hot water from the Blue Sky Energy inc Solar Boost 3024iL DUO solar controller, Blue Sky said the batteries are being used more. That's to say when we had our wet cells we were mostly at the marina in the States. Our refer ran off shore power and does whenever we connect to shore power.

Anchored in Chacala , Health Care in Mexico - good and real reasonable - 2013

Early January 2013 - Anchored in Chacala, Mexico 

 When we were in Chacala and took the bus to the nearest town. The bus was really a van with a few other people in it. We were going the six mile to a larger town and sparked up a conversation with another woman who was staying there for three months. She said she was coming to Chacala  for some years now after having some serious dental work done. She escapes the nasty part of the New Hampshire winters there. She was saying that a person told her of the dentist in  and that the dentist assistant speaks some English. She had her whole lower jaw bite re-worked and all her lower teeth crowned. It cost her less than the stay for the month it took for the work and she is very happy with the results.

Mastervolt battery stats

Early January 2013
 We have 4 - 260 Ah 6 volt Mastervolt batteries wired in a series then parallel.
Dimensions including poles lxbxh mm/inch 295x180x298 / 11.6x7.1x11.7
Weight 36kg / 79.3 lbs
We purchased these at A to Z Marine in San Diego just before leaving on the 2012 Baja Ha Ha.

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Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay), More About Bahia Chamela and Perula - 2013

First part of January 2013 - Anchored in Chamela (Perula Bay)
Chamela (Perula Bay) is a small bay and at the spot we are at is the fishing town of Perula with a nice beach and good access to the islands which are state parks. The town consists of a pharmacy, a hardware store and small fish market which is a couple of rooms and a tortilla factory which is a room with a tortilla making machine. These are all located around the town square. There is one paved road and it runs through the center of town. There are a couple few small hotels for the mostly Mexican tourists who come from places like Guadalajara and go out to the islands in pangas. They arrive by bus.

Anchored in Chamela ,Happy New Year With Rain...and More Rain, big waves - 2013

January 2013 - Anchored in Chamela
It rained all day and night for three days straight!

 On the third day it blew, had thunder and lightning and the swells were coming through the anchorage from the South and the anchorage is not protected from the South. A couple of boats tried to leave but came back. At one point I thought the swells were going to start breaking through the anchorage as they got real big and steep as they came rolling through, but thankfully none did. Being a couple hundred yards from the pounding beach was a little unnerving, but then being out in the sea was not the place either.

Anchored in Chamela, Helping a Local Boy adrift - 2013

Early January 2013 - Bahia Chamela (Perula Bay)
Finally we were able to dinghy in today as the swells calmed down enough to get in to the town. We were in search of WiFi and some groceries. Once back on the boat and considering going in for a swim, we noticed a little boy in a swim tube as he got taken way out past the swim area with the wind\current. He was close to our boat so we asked him, in Debbie's best Spanish, if he was ok.

Anchored in Chamela , Our first Kayak/Dinghy landing - 2013

Late December - 2013 in Bahia Chamela (Perula Bay)
We finally inflated our two person Solstice Trekker Duo kayak for the first time. We launched it and climbed down the stern steps and got in without a hitch! We took off paddling and went every which way. We need to figure out how to paddle together. W made it to the beach for a beach landing, it went badly. We got close and then should have gotten out at knee\waist deep, not so and a wave caught us and turned the kayak broadside and dumped us. I did a face plant in the shallow water but Debbie got away without getting her hair wet. The beach was crowded so this was an embarrassment to me.
Note:
  The Solstice Trekker Duo kayak is lunk and we recommend not buying it.
  We do recommend the Ocean Kayak Malibu Two.