Although we are mostly here in Guaymas to haul AEOLI out for
the summer, we took some time to enjoy the sights. With respect to tourism,
Guaymas seems to have a bad reputation, with guidebooks favouring nearby San
Carlos as more ‘resort-like’. However, if you want to see a real working
Mexican town, Guaymas is the place.
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| Mexico: the last place on earth with a Woolworth? |
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| Actually decent Chinese food (there are about 10 Chinese restaurants here, so we figured we should check it out) |
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| Rachel and Los Tres Presidentes de Guaymas |
We stayed at the Fonatur Marina for a few nights to prepare
for haul-out: taking down, cleaning, and folding the sails, removing all lines
from the mast, oil change, and hosing off as much salt as possible. We also
went to check out the Marina Seca Guaymas before committing to it, since we
have never hauled out there before. The bus labeled ‘Paraje’ goes along the
edge of the bay, past the Marina Seca, picks up at Calle 20, and costs $5.5MX. After
speaking with other boat owners in the yard, we decided that Marina Seca
Guaymas would be fine for AEOLI. We also received good advice about purchasing
some plastic (at Plasticos y Resinas, on Calle 20 around Avenida 3) to cover the
slings of the travel-lift, as they will stain the boat.
On the day of our scheduled haul-out, Francisco and Patricia
joined us for the sail over from Fonatur to Marina Seca. Francisco introduced
himself to us at the marina as being able to do or arrange any boat work that
might be required during haul-out. We actually had seen some of his work on
another boat in the yard, and knew he came highly recommended. Our scheduled
haul-out time was 8AM, but we stayed in the slip waiting for the travel-lift
until about 10:30AM. After several attempts at getting the positioning of the
slings, AEOLI was out of the water. You may need to ask/remind the travel-lift guys
to tie the two slings together on both sides, and a picture of previous
haul-outs definitely helps. Overall they were pretty easy to work with, and
seemed to know what they were doing. Also, the pressure washing was the best we’d
ever had in a haul-out.
Due to some blistering, and the fact that AEOLI will never
be in a drier climate, we decided to have Francisco grind the bottom of the
boat, so that we can let her dry out over the summer and epoxy and barrier coat
when we return. Note that they don’t tent the boat when doing the grinding, so
some plastic over the deck will save some staining (a lesson we learned a day
too late).
To avoid the dust during grinding, we took trips into town
to hang out and read at the central square. We also took a day trip to San
Carlos. The marina there is in beautiful surroundings, and we enjoyed our last
beach day in Mexico this season.
Now we are doing the final close-up actions for the boat,
and adjusting to life on the hard. We bought some sunshade fabric from
Ferre-Offerta (on Calle/Diagonal Yanez, around Avenida 10) to protect the wood in
the cockpit and dinghy, and to keep the inside of the boat as cool as possible.
The ferreteria will also sew hems and install grommets if necessary. We also
bought some very porous sponges from Waldo’s (on Aquiles Serdan, around
Calle 19) to put into the through-hulls, as other blogs have warned about
nesting insects. We put foil around anything mechanized or sun damageable (winches,
lights, windvane, blocks), and brought as much as possible inside the boat. We’re
also trying to clean out the bilge so that it might be clean and dry enough to
paint when we return.
Life on the hard takes some adjusting to: going up and down
a ladder to get on and off the boat, having the kitchen sink drain into a
bucket that needs to emptied, and the continual dust of being in the boat yard.
I told Matt the other day that I feel like Mop, the cleaning robot from Wall-E
who is constantly sweeping and dusting. The bathrooms here are dingy, but
acceptable with hot water in the shower. Otherwise, we have met some very nice
cruisers, and enjoyed the boat yard community spirit. We also really enjoyed
the cheap burgers at Popeyes (on Aquila Serdan, around Calle 12) and the
Wednesday market.
Guaymas Album
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| Laundry day.. |
Guaymas Album
