Locals and Boat Projects

Hung around Nuevo Vallarta this week to keep an eye on the weather and get some projects done.  I did get a few nice photos of local fauna and it was good to get the boat closer to sea-going condition again.  Rain is expected for the next few days and there is a greater than 60% chance that in the next couple of days a tropical cyclone will form off the coast a couple of hundred miles south of here.  But Jorge is supposed to finish the lifelines by tomorrow regardless.  We'll see..... Cruising season is coming!

This map shows the path and strength of every major storm in

Pacific Mexico since the 1950s.  I am in the middle of the grey-

shaded circle.

A closer view showing my location (red arrow) deep in

Banderas Bay.  It is surrounded by mountains that usually

keep the storms away.

The only significant storm to come right into the bay was

an unnamed tropical storm in 1958.  No hurricanes.  

It's about as safe as you can find on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.

The only effect from Hurricane Norma when it passed

offshore of Banderas Bay this week was hazardous surf

at the beach.  It remained calm in the harbor.

I don't think this pelican was too thrilled with the

rough surf in it's fishing hole next to the harbor jetty.

In fact, most of the other jetty residents were crabby.

One of the half-dozen iguanas that hang out near the hotel bbq

waiting for a handout.

I finally got lucky and this young black-bellied whistling duck

let me get close enough for a phone pic as I walked along the dock.

Same thing happened with this green night heron roosting

on my friend Denny's dock line.

I remounted my fish table using new stainless fittings attached

to the new stern rails.  Much sturdier now with no wiggling

around like it did when on the lifelines.

Both bbq's remounted as well as the horseshoe buoy.

I remounted the holder for the propane canisters after

drilling a hole in the bottom to let water drain out.

The Life Sling was remounted after the case was repainted

with vinyl spraypaint.

I mounted a small stainless plate I had onto the stern cap rail

where the anchor had rubbed and damaged the finish.

I got one coat of Cetol gloss on the starboard rub rail after

sanding and masking it.  One more to do.

Stormy sunset at the harbor jetty

Time lapse of the sunset