Finally Back on Board

On Monday, October 7th, we moved onto the Red Witch, and since we were feeling better we were finally able to make progress and feel good about things. 

Staying on board allowed us to get a lot more work done as we could get to work when we woke up to take advantage of the cool of the morning, and similarly we could work until dark and take advantage of the cool of the evening.  Midday was the time to be inside with the air conditioner on doing our engine service, cleaning our heat exchanger, cleaning out our diesel tanks, and the many other inside jobs that were on the list. 

Before coming down to Mexico we wondered if we would have to replace our batteries.  Well sure enough, after testing them, we decided that they had to be replaced, and after a lot of research we managed to find a place that would deliver them right to the marina.   

On the day that our new batteries arrived Jason had to carry six old batteries out of our engine room, into the cockpit, and down the outside ladder, and then six new batteries back up.  It was also one of the days that we got water, so Jason also had to carry eight 20-litre jugs of water up the ladder into our cockpit to empty into our water tank.  It was a tiring day for Jason! 

Not only had living on board on the hard worked well for getting lots done, but it was also nice for Falcon. 

He had a large, safe, fenced area to play in, many many boats to look at, and the water was very close by for us to walk to. 

He always asked for a “walk” and “beach”, and down at the “beach” he enjoyed looking at the large fishing boat that was moored not far away.  We had fun throwing rocks and watching the fish jump, and he would always get excited when the fish jumped and he would say “eat” and make the sign for "please" pointing at the fish.  When we pulled out our net on board, he said, “net, eat, please”, as he was very excited at the idea of us catching some fish to eat.  

Falcon was great at finding treasures on our walks around the boatyard, and he found us several things that we kept, such as a stainless steel clevis pin, stainless steel bolt, and other items.  During one of our weeks in the yard another family came to work on their boat, and Falcon got to play with their five-year-old daughter.  She also loved rocks and walks to the water, so they had lots in common and had several opportunities to play together. 

We also made friends with a small dog, and Falcon took great pleasure in petting it.  Even after several days of being away from the yard, Falcon would ask about the dog.  We are in contact with people who are still at the yard, and it sounds like the dog has found other cruiser-friends, and is being well looked after.

One afternoon we saw a particularly large and impressive cumulous cloud forming in the distance.  At around 5 o’clock Falcon and I saw the lightning start inside the cloud and it continued continuously for the next two hours.  One streak of lightning after another was visible through the huge cloud, but we never did hear any thunder.  It was very impressive, and we were very glad that it remained in the distance, as  Guaymas had a severe thunderstorm warning in effect at the time.