ok so  we tried for 7 days to  start engine.   we have rebuilt, yet again the injector pump, no joy.

ok i see.

we need a new one???  or is this something different?   i saw the  vent was filled with diesel fuel–that could be an issue— but…..

so we will change out vent hosing or  empty it of diesel, we have already  re rebuilt injector pump.

we have   rebuilt the lift pump that chukkee the devilboy  saw fit to dismantle, causing the   diesel leakage that    convinced me to remain here until the sabotage  he effected  has been addressed and reversed.  i have no death wish.

no joy, only  fumes   despite having  over 300 liters of fuel.  and now installed racor….and….asthma.

ok.   albuterol and  beclamethasone and improvement  but still have death rattle cough.

this is flustrating, as i   do need to relocate boat for   repairs unable to be   effected here.

is only 300 miles uphill   for repairs i can afford.  oops .

i am almost convinced i may never leave here–how does that song go–you  can check in but you  will never leave….

buying new injector pump will mandate my  remaining for   i donot know how many more months so i can pay for it and move without losing ability to feed cat and self.   this is more entertaining   each time, isnt it… so many things,  so few repairs that work.

juggling  the pricey renta here with purchases of  equipment is a challenge, at best… i am   so  ready to go–iff only this boat would cooperate–what does it know i do not???

 

waaay long time ago, before the beginning of time, and after i lived in lost angeles and thereabouts, forever, i boat sat some different boats at the laurel street moorings in san diego.
once i bought my own boat , again, i relocated to coronado moorings. i also spent time on the other two mooring fields , as i was in sd from 1995-2011. quite some time., all on water, all over the bay, only place i did not keep a boat was anchorage 8, as that was no place for a lady to live.
1995-1999 was spent mainly in laurel street, with a month here and there, rock n roll hell and commercial basin, aka ac harbor. y’all new folks dont get it. ANYway, i made a buncha friends at laurel street.  we anchored around with a bunch of folks, and had a decent life.

storms in san diego bay initiate with winds from south east to north west, when laurel street is protected, anchorage 9 is open, then clock from nw, right through laurel street moorings, like a freight train, many times.
ok so this time was just last week.
oops
i donot know, as yet what happened at shelter island rock n roll hell, which is usually destroyed during storms, but i have been in contact with a friend in the laurel street mooorings. i contacted him because i saw a pic of a few boats at the old “abandoned” fuel docks with balls still attached, wrecked after this storm.
i know i donot have many friends remaining in the mooring there, but the loss of anyone or boat is sad and difficult.
there was a force 50 named islander. i first met that boat in cerritos channel, port of lost angeles, in a repo dock, selling for 20,000 usd. and i passed her up. i watched her daily, across the channel from me–beautiful girl. she was itching to sail the far oceans.
then she left.
i relocated to san diego, 1995.
wow there she was… my friends’ neighbor. same boat. same name. prepping for travel, owner said. ok awesome.
easter sunday 2001, 0200 in morning, during a nasty nasty storm with documented winds at over 60 kts, islander broke loose from her mooring, drove herself thru 4 other boats, patsy n jimmys boat, jays boat, annies boat, and the boat of queen of the bay, mark.
marks description was awesome, it was imaginary , he said, so very imaginary, as the islander charged into his motor sailor. oops.
that was first one……. then came the rest.
she was repaired, as were the other boats, and life went on. i watched her thru her changes– she still has same owner, and she no longer preps to leave.
damn.
now she is on bottom, done forever., gone.
along with many other boats from the same neighborhood. yes all were seaworthy. yes all were affixed to moorings and yes all were able to get under way easily. however, these storms are flaming bitches.
i know .
btdt. many times.
and, yes, each mooring is checked annually, since the china chain incident, 2001, easter sunday , featuring islander, force 50.
i am sad these folks lost homes. they lost boats and many have no recourse.
dayummmmm. i still donot know how many lost, but the numbers are many.

prepping for our first ever real furycame on top of us.
ok. paid a friend from oz to assist, and paid a friend from mex to help him. ok
so …..
furycame carlos best be a dud. please oh please be a dud or wander off elsewhere.
has been downgraded but i still do no ttrust momma nature….

ok… stressors..

time frames and schedules–because they limit your ability to herd cats successfully, as they refuse to herd…

nothing happens to a clock.

weather does not  hie to a schedule.

there is something  telling me quite loudly–a gut feeling– that i am not to leave  here yet, despite my dire need to do so.   there is a reason i am still finding  things done  that were geared   for catastrophic  fail.  my boat speaks  to me with   frightful accuracy.

now it seems oil pan  screwloose-itis?, with bilge blackosis.   ok.  so i only cleaned it well    5 times in  past  3 years. ok i guess it is time, yet again.

as i  dislike dwelling on past   stuff, it is difficult for me to  think the   person who was here  for 6 months  befouling my boat, doing exactly opposite that which i requested be done  was  actually  really  and truly here only to    hurt me and my boat and cat.  (could be why , when i sed we leave next week, he ran like stink the flock out of dodge with my lil  smartfone, including all my contact numbers and such unimportant  stuff).

but most of that has been repaired–  i still find  things  meant to severely  impair  me and my effort  through  murder of my boat.

ok so we got it down to only  8 million stressors  remaining  in my daily life—and dammit my bilge smells like rotting diesel and rotting  bilgewater, despite rose  soap….  yummmmy…  but, why now??it never ever did this before…not even during runaway.

yeah i am on this…would love to be able to reach  far enough to be able to take a pic of underneath engine…..without dropping fone into wet nasty  bilges…

this afternoon we do  soap and dock water  wash n rinse with  a second  person and   broom as brush.

whoooohoooo…  each one means one less to  have to locate and repair…and hopefully ability to  depart sooner than …..

but only   when that  gawdawful  feeling of impending doom leaves.

i have never  had this before a passage  prior to now.  not even  when i  should have, i didnt– this is odd..

 

and i am still awaiting my boom,  the  epoxy and  helper n clamps to climb and fix  mast, and repacking of   stuffing boxes, shaft and rudder.

i will run the  mizzen halyard forward to redirect the   upper mast away from cockpit if the  ungodly happens. we are continuing to  get done that which is needed to fly away.  we wont fly too  far of shore nor too close in, we wont fly    with  daring and  pizzazzz, but as a death run , or  hail mary run to mazatlan for repairs that are  much needed in a limping   and   somewhat disabled boat, which we are   searching thoroughly for potential fail points an repairing before departure–is 180 miles of   no where  to  duck into on an uphill leeshore run.   whooot.

so–the first 180 miles ‘ll kill ye, then the second 120 miles to  mazatlan  from banderas bay will do ye in….no problem.

what can go wrong….

yes i still have a momma, and she only has  3 of us left, so i have to remain safe.

oops.  .

 

almost payday with  need to depart from here and   things yet undone.

dink on coachhouse roof,  ready to leave,  just need  filling of   water tanks and  2 more   jugs for fuel–15 gal each.   then we  WILL get to mazatlan without   TOO many issues..mebbe.  oh yeah and a few other ..insignificant  .hahaha .. things

have cat food for 1.5 months,  just need   marlin tailmeat for the spoiled cat… he will have to do without, as i am NOT catching one of those

hopefully   with me as crew will mebbe  be mechanic, and  beto.. if i can afford carlos also,  yes.. working on that…will be a pricey  trip, if i have 3 on board besides me n  bubba

still  debating whether i can  pay crew and  marina and eat and cat food, or if i have to anchor out a month in the  old harbor anchorage…..

spot is activated and ready… fone numbers have been given to  the receiving end of this adventure, and i will warn em of my departure when that happens….i dont want to  remain anchored here  long after i leave marina, as i havent the   tool at my disposal to refill tanks with tap water until i rebuild em–now is only  fro washing. i carry garafones  of water  when i travel    for drinking, which are delivered to boat.

jus tneed the remaining   things repaired and   provisioning, and out the   lagoon for  mazatlan or wherever the sea gods want to  have me go…

we still readying for departure  to mazatlan.    we have found so many  things needing repair  so badly.

i need to stabilize mizzenmast so we can motor under  jib and main..mizzen will be stabilized. i removed the heavy  stuff from mizzenhead–mount and windmill i still have   epoxying of cracked mast to effect, and clamping of it for a coupla  days..

when  i removed the windmill, i should have  taken pix of the  connections. err lack thereof. and i wondered why it didnt work after patricia– the  wires were not connected but, rather, tied into a knot. ok. and the   gasket to keep out weather was not correctly  installed,leaving big gaps in  the waterprufing. hhhmmm…… seems someone took apart the unit and failed to  make sure this was done correctly, so i think i need to    find another unit.  we will see when they are tested  once i  arrive in mazatlan.   ultimately i will   again   have 2  installed and working along with my solar generation.

found a  charger invertor   to  finish out my  electrics–i  still need to relocate the panel but i   found that grail i been seeking– and at a reasonable price. whooot.   the electrickeryman is the best in mexico, so i am in good hands.  chebio  from cihuatlan. awesome.  he is   good friends with my engine man, diaz, from joluco and manzanillo.  and they are  buddies with my  injector pump genius, javier in  casimira castillo.

the first 180 miles is the bitch in this   treck.   there is no where to duck into if there  occurs a situation we fix at sea.  i am taking with me a diver and mcguyver mexican, and i am seeking one more  to  sail  via motor  to go with. i have asked my mechanic  a she is   the  creator of this engine which has fewer than 10 hours on it to accompany, we see. not answered yet.

new year transitioned in with the  fireworks i forgot to   fotograf, as i was in bed already, and cat wasnt interested…    music until 0700 from late in dark.,   celebration  means just exactly that in mexico.  was a good way to  go to sleep.  cat  didnt wanna sleep with me, so he found a berth to enjoy solo, with eyes on me and   entry  to boat. good kitty.

we will pack the  rudder post box and  shaft stuffing box and head out into wild blue yonder of wetness.  spot works.

https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=1SkxQp9cU7E1XsnTzrdjLTaut7uXMGigO

donot know  when we leave–will prolly anchor a  short time as 2 weeks is  almost now..eeps.. hard to herd cats in high season, and my  electrickeryman  is on vacation until 7th…  tight, but good.

we workin on leaving for mazatlan and  repairs.

ok

so we have the carpenter for the boom and   we have consult for stabilization of  mizzen  while underway….

we have inspected the  packing unit and the stern tube and tested the cutlass bearing.   ok….  still need to pack the unit,  but have packing and  we get it done before departure..

engine still pending, and electricals still pending. just need to coordinate this with 3  people..   not so easy..

and computer in  shop will be 60 usd to repair..  and hotspot is 800 pesos, similar in price, so all is well there–and with the way wifi here is going,  hotspot is needed to  make up  for the loss of an antenna serving marina.   funny that   this  problem has not been addressed nor considered in their  alleged search fro the problems with the wifi post patricia..   it  WAS working well until then..i pick up  hotspot puter today and pay for paarts for   my good puter which decided to quit working at 11 months of age….

so.. with limited  moneys and with limited  help, i am progressing on my list of  gotta be  fixed before departure items  of catastrophic fail…   seems like a lot, but actually is only   a few  things, but necessary.  i will   replace the lost and broken items   from cane as i go, it seeems, as i am not able to absorb those losses into my already overtaxed budget AND prep fro departure. this will limit my  ability to anchor out–no ladder no anchoring..simple..

i was able to , with assistance of donors,  help with the repair of   2  necessary for fishing and income generation outboard engines  injured in the  storm, and re roof one house. i wish i coulda done more,  but , with limited  moneys and limited donors, that aint happening.   we did what we could and that feels   ok.

thankyou to those who donated. it helped a lot.  roof on one home and  2 engines done so work can be   done.

whoooot!!

how does one broken human  triage the need for  roofs when an entire town has lost   theirs???    we did by youngest kids in home.  that one was roofed.   instread of buying  a boarding ladder for birdee–(mine  was crushed by  bird against dock after patty baby’s eyeball passed  over us..) i helped an outboard be repaired. one family gets to make  income   immediately post patricia.. has been a hard recovery.   govt sed no damages no casualties, but the reality is different.

yes i said 2  were fixed–one from donations and one  fromm y own pocket, as donors for the ref=roofing oof colimilla   has  not been received wiell by potential donors. probably because mex govt said no  damages bno deaths, which was   beyond wrong.  oops..  only so much  one disabled woman  can do.  this is why i  will wait a ladder for merely boarding and disembarkin gmy boat.  these folks  need roofs. makes my reality a lil absurd on occasion.

 

NOW i prep  birdee and  we gonna try   err we gonna leave barrra in end dec to mid jan sometime….  as soon a s stuff is stabilized and repairs are finished.

the pricing in marinas is variable here –in mazatlan in winter, my rent , long term, is 400 usd monthly..  big difference from the  1400  usd  that they want here….  summer in maz is  24 cents per foot per day–works out to being under 300 usd monthly  for my boat…    biiig difference from the 450 here.  yeah so the cane hole in   maz isnt nearly as cool as here–but….

and so i will remain in  mazatlan mebb e2 yrs mebbe 3 for  complete repairs to my  poooor    old boat….  she is a good solid hull and basically comfortable..just needs a lil reconfiguring and reduction in numbers of broken  items, with a  slight   addition of   thing that work …then we go south again.

the rigger in mexico is inla cruz de huanacaxtle.  peter. he is excellent.

in barra area is THE diesel mechanic one needs  to keep a boat in  good shape)(diaz in joluco an dmanzanillo). also electrickeryman(chebio from cihuatlan) and  injector pump rebuilder (javier in casimira costillo).  some cruisers think this is a vacation only locale–is kinda, but there  are   those  who are able to do reasonably priced work without removal of parts to ensure  immediate return for more abuse. sorry i donot   condone that method of operations.   that is  something brought here by gringos, not   done by locals who donot speak english.

and so far i have met  4   good  carpenters. one is making my mizzen boom, and one is  consulting my stabilization issue…

i have had a  bilge pump rebuilt..  whooot, and  i have had my engine  rebuilt and injector pump and injectors and rewiring limited done.. these folks are awesome and smart.   good history for over  30 yrs ..even to include shrimp boats. good work and not pricey.

and so we prep.

poco a poco until time to  get away….ohmy that time is coming   like NOW…

 

 

 

\

 

some  how, proly by way of folks shopping  until dropping  from  extra low priced items  being sold off for christmas  window filling and  prw  holiday mayhem.

i hope everyone had a lovely holiday yesterday.

is  a time of   commercialism at its best..or worst.  thank gods i dont have that to deal  with here.

my kind of black friday is an i miss my brother  kinda   day.

with rain and  wet everywhere.

the  sky is crying, but it is crying because sandra is   pissing on mexico.  she is quite beautiful, but……she is still a storm with a name.  she actually ot to  cat 4 status out in the  deep blue sea, and is aimed at mazatlan.  glad i didnt  get there yet. i have friends  spending the cane time in san blas,mx, for  bottom work.   woulda loved to be there when they are, but the   repairs on  this boat aint  working in  timely  fashion.

i still need mast(mizzen)  stabilized–yes there is rot below spreaders andit is   significant now.. wasnt there last year.  ok

and i neeed to tune rig some–it is  floppy.   ggrr…but cannot do that here..

and i need   to  find me some  decent jerry jugs for my  deck stored diesel fuel, so i  am able to make mazatlan without stopping for  refueling.

and i need my engine man and an electrickeryman here to   ready those parts for  travel. that has been arranged, now pending

and do daily need stuff….  and  rent  goes out of wak in december, so i need to fix before december…  1400 usd monthly  isnt  conducive to repairing and   using dock space for prep. ok.

and so promises of help fail.

no one shows up.

folks have lives of their own,and i am seeking someone, a mcguyver, without  a life yet is  decent human for  accompaniment–and hopefully the   individual hasnt 20  voices  saying to kill me, as last one did..lol..always  fun and  exciting…and hopefully  someone  willbe able to troubleshoot problems as they arise–no i donot  count on  way too much, do  i….

and so i am prepping with help  at intervals from  locals,  but they, too, have lives and homes to repair and ……

and so   i am trying my best to  get ready to leave a  lovely safe and definitely  overpriced dockage to   travel a shiplet to  mazatlan with issues.  ok.   we see if we live thru this…and succeed in further travels  and repairs as we go.   at present  that future is unknown, if   available.

we only have today. we all know this.