We've been living in the gorgeous mountains of Mexico for 6 weeks and as much fun as we're having (we truly are) we miss the water, daily family happy hours, fresh fish, gorgeous sunsets, always knowing the phase of the moon, being able to change scenery, and our boat! Leaving our boat in the Sea of Cortez is a catch-22. As much as we miss our boat and wish we were sailing, we know that had we stuck with our original plan to sail the Sea of Cortez all summer, we'd be hating life and probably each other. It's beyond insanely hot in the Sea of Cortez and although we don't consider ourselves weather wimps, we knew hauling out and heading to cooler weather was our best bet.
Days before hauling out, I couldn't sleep. Something about hauling our boat out of the water and all of the preparation to leave a boat on the hard for 3 months had me anxious. Honestly, compared to those who haul their boats out for hurricane season where the humidity sucks, we had it easy. The Sonoran desert is hot and dry therefore we don't have to worry about things like mold growing while we're away from the boat.
We chose to haul out at Marina Seca Guaymas (Gabriel's Yard). Nothing say's "we're having fun now" like running aground just trying to bring the boat into the "channel". I've never been more on the verge of a heart attack. A few feet from the unmarked channel (when the channel is a whopping 9 feet deep you think they could mark the damn thing?!) and all 40,000 pounds of Terrapin is stuck. Jess and I were having a "Who can freak out more" contest, the jury is still out as to who won.
The hit's just kept on coming! According to our coast guard documentation we draft 5.5 feet. In reality it's 7.5 feet after you've had the yard strap the boat and attempt to lift you up and fail. Holy Crapenoli! As if the 100+ degree weather, no sleep for a solid week and running aground wasn't enough......we had to get longer straps for Terrapin, add an additional 3 hours to the ordeal.
What we thought was going to be maybe 3 hours ended up taking over 8 hours. By the end of the day, there wasn't enough alcohol.
Enough of me blabbering about this hellacious experience....I'll spare you the details about climbing up the ladder of our boat on the hard, dealing with my insane fear of heights hoping like hell I wasn't going to urinate my shorts.
Here's a video of Terrapin being hauled out and carried to her resting spot, where she'll wait for us till October.
Running aground while hauling out in Guaymas...no fun and super scary, but you're in good company :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out our friends' account on s/v Sea Rover II: http://www.svsearover.com/2015/04/so-haul-out-didnt-quite-go-as-planned.html
That is one big honkin boat you have there----I read the other blog and enjoyed. Sounds like it happens at the place a lot!
ReplyDeleteWe had to laugh - imagining you and Jess freaking out at the same time - sorry to laugh - though ... good job Phil :0
ReplyDeleteHope you guys are doing well. People are complaining about the heat here in Wisconsin - we are wearing long sleeves still. I can imagine you guys miss the water, but at least you are in a great location. All our best from the Stochastic Crew.