Sweatin' it out in Ixtapa

The overnighter from Manzanillo to here was uneventful. I like that. Our companions were porpoise, sea turtles and flying fish. I motored a bit more than i wanted to because hurricane Darby is stalled off the coast and forecast to turn back east and come in. But we got some lovely afternoon sails in, under the drifter and with some swell. Really delightful. Capped off by surfing in thru the entrance to the harbor. Drawing over 6’ (that’s nautical talk for how deep into the water Akimbo’s keel sticks down), the marina advised me that they would have a skiff waiting to guide me in, but if i decided to enter i was doing so at my own risk. Akimbo draws 6.5’.

But what choice did i have? I was tired after sailing all night. I needed good rest. And this storm was forecast to come back to the coast near here. Anchoring out in Bahia Zihuatanejo didn’t feel like an option compared to riding the storm out secured to a sheltered dock. Taking how tired i was into account, i double checked my reasoning. No, i really did feel i needed to get into this harbor. Our timing turned out to be near a high tide. Sails were down, Stuff was secured pretty well. So i went for it.
I watched a powerboat pound his way out. A lot of vertical action. The marina skiff waited for us well inside the surf, which wasn’t quite breaking. We lined up from just outside the two entrance buoys and i gunned the engine higher than ever before. We built up momentum, a wave started to pick us up, and we went surfing in on water and adrenaline. I kept watching the sounder and seeing the bottom come up. If we hit the sand bottom Akimbo would stumble in the narrow entrance and likely broach to one side or the other. The trick would then be to throttle back before ramming into a breakwater, turn her back in line with the channel and power up for the next lift in. We were comin’ in fast it, it would hurt if we came to a stop, but the depth stopped shallowing at 7.5’. We had a foot to spare. Only a foot.

How much did that wave lift us? Goin’ out we’ll pound up and down more. We won’t be goin’ so fast, it won’t be so dangerous in that way. The timing of our exit will be determined strictly by the height of the tide.

Now that we’re here, i’ve caught up on sleep and chores. During the night’s sail the radar repeater at the helm wouldn’t power up. So to check the radar i had to come below to the nav station each time. Haven’t figured out how to fix it yet. And this morning when i pulled out my folding bike to go explore Ixtapa, and maybe peddle to Zihuatanejo, the canvas bag i keep it in had an oily stain on it. Looking closer, the shelf the fridge compressor sits on was covered in oil. The compressor is leaking. Damn. It comes with the territory tho: “cruising = working on your boat in exotic destinations.” It’s Sunday, so no one to call today, but tomorrow i hope to get a technician on board and get a lesson.

Jerry will get here tonight, and surveying Akimbo tomorrow too for a new insurance company. I’m afraid the heat will be a shock to him. Sweat goes with everything here iat the end of June. I stick to everything, which kind of discourages some things. Like playing the guitar. And now – i keep a napkin on the laptop where my wrists rest while i type.

After Jerry flies out…i will be in new territory: sailing with no rendezvous or other event on my calendar. What will that feel like? On the outside, it will be good from the standpoint that no schedule leaves me free to wait for a weather window to cross “hurricane alley.” On the inside, it seems to offer a new potential or perspective. Went ahead for a nice (and hot and sweaty) bike ride around town. This seems another nice place. In this heat, the bus fare to get to Zihuat seems the way to go. A deal at twice the price. Stopped by a bar and caught most of a world cup soccer game – go Argentina (since Arturo is a dear friend and from there)!

One sweet thing last night was dining in a restaurant where i could use their internet access and skype calling my family. Whatever we spoke about didn’t matter at all. I was amazed at the affect simply hearing each others’ voices had on me. I went from being kind of lonely and alone to feeling in good rich company regardless of the geographic distance between us. Wow. Thank you.