Punta de Mita and Projects

It's been very hot this week, with the humidity still high, so I try to get things done in the morning before it gets miserable.  Afternoons are spent in the pool or in the boat's air conditioned cabin.  Tony and I took a trip into Punta de Mita on Wednesday and we had a nice time exploring and having lunch in a beachfront restaurant. 
I continued with projects and maintenance in preparation for the upcoming cruising season.  The big news is I seem to finally be over my intestinal issues.  I took the remainder of some antibiotics that my Ventura doctor prescribed for me when I left, and that seems to have done the trick.  Hurray!!!

Quite a turnout for the weekly cruisers' dinner at the yacht club.

A few folks have already returned for the cruising season.

The chef takes his bows.

Wednesday Tony and I took the bus from Nuevo Vallarta to

Punta de Meta.

It's about 25 miles.  The fare was only about $1.20, including

a serenade.

Unfortunately, he wasn't very good.

The bus terminal in Punta de Mita

Of course we headed right to the beach.

Looking northwest toward Punta de Mita and the Marietas islands

Looking east toward La Cruz

Looking toward town from the panga marina

We came across this nice-looking restaurant behind a hotel.

After checking the menu, we decided to move on.

It was overpriced, clearly targeting naïve gringos.

We found this less pretentious local place, and enjoyed good 

food, great service and a great view for half the price.

Tony enjoys a cold one with the Marietas in the background.

This unusual building is the Light of the World church.

It is still under construction.

I first saw it months ago while anchored off Punta de Mita.

I could only see this view of the roof and had wondered

what it was.  Now I know.

This horse next to the church was enjoying being "deep in the clover."

These guys seemed quite at home in front a small restaurant.

I wonder what might be in store for them.

Can't duck the projects!

With the reinforcement of the underdeck completed, it was

time to repair the gelcoat cracking at the base of the

cockpit coaming.

The right tools, fillers and paint were not available,

so I did the best I could with what I had.

Epoxy filler

Painting after sanding the filler.

This will have to do until I'm back.

Part of the preventive maintenance:  cleaning the raw

water strainers for the watermaker and the raw water intake

for the engine.

Pretty easy job for once.

I started refinishing the second pair of galley locker doors.

New varnish on the aft cabin grab handle.

Oils and acids from the skin eventually wreck 

the finish, so it has to be redone periodically.

Refinishing some of the trim around the settee

I took the cushion covers to a dry cleaners for

cleaning and a zipper replacement.  Quite the

mess in saloon right now.

Sometimes getting up early has its rewards.

Barra de Navidad to Nuevo Vallarta

Somewhat reluctantly, I left Barra de Navidad this week and headed back up to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta. It was a bit easier to reverse an earlier path and revisit places I had already been. I timed my passages well and had an easy time of it: 12 miles to Tenacatita, 30 to Chamela, 50 to Ipala, 50 to Punta Mita, 12 to La Cruz and 6 to Paradise Village. As you will see in the photos, it got pretty windy in La Cruz anchorage, but there were no problems other than having to stay onboard to keep an eye on things. I'm happy with the slip they gave me in Paradise Village. It's well protected in a channel behind large buildings with mangroves across the channel. The docks have obviously just been refurbished, too. It's also convenient, directly behind the little mall.

The approach of hurricane season and the ending of the cruising season has brought about some real changes. People are leaving either to sit out the season in a safe hurricane hole, head further south out of the hurricane zone, head across the Pacific, haul out their boat and/or leave the boat in a safe harbor and fly back to their land homes. It's definitely going to be different with fewer cruisers here.

Thankfully there have been few new technical or maintenance issues. Some friends recently told me they weren't seeing my AIS signal, so I'll need to troubleshoot that one soon. The big breakthrough was I think I have solved a mystery that has been driving me nuts for a long time. Whenever the boat is heeling or rocking in the waves, there is a disconcerting groaning sound emanating from a place that seems impossible to localize. If I were in a lightweight fin-keeler, I would be worried about the keel working. I've checked Circadian's semi-full keel and it's fine. Finally traced the noise to what sounds like a baffle in the water tank moving around and rubbing. Haven't opened up the tank yet to confirm it, but I'm pretty sure that's it. The repair will be a good summer project.