Recap: Guaymas, Life on the Hard… (w/ pics!)

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. 

Mexico: the last place on earth with a Woolworth?

Actually decent Chinese food (there are about 10 Chinese restaurants here, so we figured we should check it out)

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.

Laundry day..

 Guaymas Album