Mazatlan

[GPS: N 23° 16’ 12” W 106° 27’ 16”]
Doug’s flight home was set for Friday. Sunday was spent relaxing, and going out to dinner with Michael & Laura. So there were 4 days to put the boat away. It was a busy 4 days – and somewhat nerve-wracking trying to decide exactly how to leave it – and how much time there was to do some of the tasks. Should I take the main off, or leave it on and covered? Should I take the halyards out to prevent sun damage? Well, no to both of those.

It seemed like a reunion in the marina - familiar boats included Laura, Juniata, Avalon, Overheated, Maradon, Jabiroo, Ahea Kali, Slacker, ... It was great to see so many familiar faces/boats in the marina - and to get advice and help from many of them as well as from new friends.

Tasks included: top up the fuel (used jerry cans from the nearby Pemex), clean the boat inside and out, clean head, clean out the frig, shut off propane, power off except bilge pump/alarm and solar panels charging, deploy double dock lines with fire hose chafe guard (thank you BFD) and spring lines, remove bimini canvas and dodger windows, secure dodger frame, cover main and wrap/tie a line around the cover, remove jib and staysail, secure lines on deck (furling lines, traveler etc), secure boom, remove wind generator (thank you Michael) and store below, secure anchors on bow, tie down winch cover and binnacle cover, store cushions below, store dinghy motor below, store dinghy and kayak below (thank you Phil & Katie), close thru-hulls, etc…


Hopefully it is well put away for the summer. I hired Tony to help look after the boat – regular topside and bottom cleaning, running engine, airing out, no bugs, etc.

Nuevo Vallarta to Mazatlan

[GPS: N 20° 45’ 49” W 105° 31’ 06”] - anchorage at Punta Mita
Michael came down on the overnight bus Thursday night, arriving Friday morning. We left at about 10am, motored over to La Cruz marina to the fuel dock to top up, and then out to Punta Mita where we anchored for the night. We figured ca. 30 hours from Punta Mita to Mazatlan – if we went on through we would arrive at night, and waiting until the next morning would give the seas and winds along our route a chance to lay down a little more. We weighed anchor at 5:25am Saturday morning and set off. The trip up to Mazatlan was an uneventful motorsail – arriving at our slip at 8:40 Sunday morning. It was great to have Michael come help me do this passage!

Paradise Village - Nuevo Vallarta

[GPS: N 20° 41’ 27” W 105° 17’ 36”]
Doug flew back down to PV (along with the repaired chartplotter and replaced wind transducer) on March 4. Galatea was fine. Juanito had just finished refinishing the teak toerails and coamings – and polishing the stanchions – the boat looked great!

There was a large power yacht berthed along the opposite side of the dock, blocking the view and the wind – but not the surge that still managed to get through.

Doug was originally expecting to spend a week getting the boat back together, a week from PV to Mazatlan (with a couple stops along the way), and a week in Mazatlan putting it away. Since none of the people in the Bay Area that Doug approached as possible crew to help move the boat were available, we tapped Michael (from s/v Laura). They had just gotten to Mazatlan and were spending time with her parents. Michael was going to take a bus from Mazatlan to PV and then help Doug bring Galatea up to Mazatlan. Since he couldn’t be away very long, we planned to do it more as a delivery – no stopping at Chacala or Isla Isabella…

Doug ended up with almost 2 weeks in PV before leaving. He was able to more leisurely put the boat back together – and was able to spend time enjoying the resort and town. There were lots of sailboat races going on – leading up to the Bandaras Bay regatta that would be the weekend after he left. And a movie was being filmed at the resort (grade B – they said the working title was “Blood Coast”):


And he did get to downtown to enjoy the Malecon, including the sand sculptures along the beach: