SV Gallant Fox

The Snorkeling. Watch Me Do It.

I've recently mentioned snorkeling in Baja.  This is not as easy for me as it might be for other folks.  See, when I was very young and first learning to swim in a tiny neighborhood pool, older kids would play this game where 3 of them would pile on top of a younger kid and hold them under water for a time.  I was the younger kid.  In West Texas in the 60s, this was considered Big Fun - at least by the 3 kids on the surface.  It left me able to swim in pools and open water -- but not near groups of people, and not if I had anything confining on my face that restricted my breathing, like a mask or snorkel*.  So when GB proposed that we each buy - and use - wetsuits & snorkeling gear, I was very hesitant.  As in, Snorkeling:  Do Not Want.

GB persisted - gently (thank you, Gary).  He had both snorkeling and scuba experience and knew I'd enjoy looking at critters underwater.  So some years ago we took a vacation to Maui with some good friends and because the water was warm enough to swim in I tried snorkeling with GB's and our friends' encouragement.  I wouldn't say it ended badly - I got in the water and saw a bunch of fishies and even a sea turtle, which was very cool, but at the expense of labored breathing and a rapid heart rate and only a few minutes in the water here and there.  It helped not at all that my snorkel was clogged with beach sand (thanks for paying attention to where you tossed it, GARY), so the snorkel would randomly cut off my air supply.  Much panic and thrashing ensued.  So on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my first snorkeling experience at a suboptimal 4.

I didn't try snorkeling again until the latest leg of our cruise in the Sea of Cortez.  By then we had bought the gear (GB loves to shop and was sort of a freight train on the matter), and my thrifty nature to not waste an expensive purchase won out over my fear.  It took many short sessions - by which I mean, I hung on to the Fox's stern swim step with my face in the water, with GB refraining from any remarks - to get to the point where I could let go of the boat.  Long story short, I can now snorkel for about an hour at a time, the distance and time limited only by weather and water conditions (like, even with a 3mm wetsuit with hood, Baja water is very chilly).  Except I really feel better with a flotation device nearby - I drag a $5 boogie-board around with me, like a kid walking in the park with a helium balloon on a string.  I'm considering ditching the boogie-board crutch as soon as I find a snorkeling site that's calm enough.  No, really.  Hey, man - it's my phobia and I'm dealin' with it My Way.

Upside:  I've improved my ability to be in the water every time I'm snorkeling, and I've seen some way-cool fish:  king angelfish, bullseye puffers, Panamic sergeant majors,even a Pacific snake eel.  And much, much more.  It's becoming more fun.  Downside:  The first minute in the water is the worst for me:  the cold water penetrates the wetsuit and the gear on my face makes me hyperventilate.  I don't think I'll ever be completely comfortable snorkeling, and I still feel as if I can panic easily.  But I'm managing it, and GB stays close and watches me**.  So it's all good.

*  or hands.

** to the extent he can pay attention to anything.

m

The Mission District

Loreto is a good place for cruisers to do provisioning and get what repairs they may. There are any number of hardware stores and small groceries there, as well as a good pet food store, a couple of car rental outfits, gas stations and a propane supplier a bit out of town toward the airport. The malecon next to the pangas’ darsena makes for a nice walk, and ConaPesca has an office there at which you can get your national park permits for the islands in this part of the Sea of Cortez.*  Loreto’s old mission was established in 1697 and is the first permanent mission on the Baja peninsula. It and the museum next door are a fine way to spend a couple of hours.

Loreto and Mulege are about 120 miles apart on the Transpeninsular Highway - a more or less straight shot in the car we’d rented in Loreto. Mulege is on the coast at the mouth of a date-palm-lined arroyo and a river delta, but one or more recent hurricanes and/or floods have caused the river to silt in and it appears some of the homes along the riverbanks near the delta have been damaged - if not lost. There seems to be no comfortable overnight anchorage for a cruising boat, or access by dinghy up the river into town. But the 1705 Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulege sits atop a bluff overlooking the river and the town, and is a good place to stop and wonder - as GB did - how all those Jesuits felt over 300 years ago, sweating underneath those smelly, flea-bitten wool robes.

Nestled up in the Sierra de la Giganta mountains west of Loreto is San Javier, home to the historic Mision San Francisco Javier de Vigge-Biaundo, founded by the Jesuits in 1699. The grounds include olive groves lining fields of onions, and old fruit trees following a mountain stream. If you follow your nose down footpaths behind the mission, you eventually find a very old, very gnarly olive tree that was planted when the mission was founded. The church is still in use, and the town of San Javier looks like an average small, remote mountain town that has had a bit of prosperity that its history and some tourism have brought it.

But the road to San Javier is where the real entertainment is. In dry April weather, it’s a fairly well-maintained, mostly-1½-lane, 35-Km (feels like 35 miles) dirt road that runs up and down canyons, has switchbacks and hairpin turns, and sometimes crosses arroyos. Heck, part of the road was diverted to run for miles ALONG the bottom of an arroyo. In short, if you’re accustomed to driving small passenger cars on US Forest Service or logging roads, the road to San Javier is Big Fun. We rented the smallest 4-door Dodge contraption that Europcar in Loreto had. Geoff and Linda from Curare piled into the back seat while GB rode shotgun and I drove.

I prefer driving off-road because (1) it’s slow; and (2) there’s not much traffic, so (3) any mishap will probably be non-fatal and (4) meanwhile I can look at the scenery. The road to San Javier was perfect for my needs. As we started into the mountain range and gained elevation, the arroyos and washes below the road became narrower and deeper - in turn, creating a little bit cooler climate for plants and animals. We soon began spotting groves of date palms in the canyons below us. Cardon cactus became more plentiful, making a true cactus forest. Suddenly we saw water - and soon a shallow stream crossed the road near a wide spot where clearly many cars have parked for picnics and whatnot. We had come across a spot where “cave paintings” (I’d call them “pictographs”) decorated a cliff face. At least three different species of brightly-colored dragonflies flew low over the water and a small school of wee fish. We had found our first oasis.

Moving on after a time, we climbed higher to the village of Las Parras and the little roadside chapel there, all decorated for some lucky girl’s 15^th birthday celebration.

The land soon plateaued, and we entered ranch country. Cattle and goats were startled by our breakneck 20mph speed. One ranchero had put topes (large speed bumps) on either side of his house - but these topes were the only impediment to our progress. Soon the road approached another canyon and the village of San Javier appeared below. The rest of the trip followed a typical tourist pattern: lunch at a family-owned restaurant near the mission. Tour of the mission. Tour of the mission grounds. Back in car to Loreto for provisioning and other errands. Back to the respective boats and so to bed. Nice day.

* 260 pesos (about US $26) gets you a year's pass to all of Mexico's national parks.  This is a screamin' deal, people, especially if you plan to do a lot more than just sit on your boat.  Get you some.

m

No Gringo Knows His Name

So. There we were in 57 feet of water in Bahia Agua Verde, with a busted anchor windlass. GB believed after some serious testing* that the problem lay in the electric windlass motor. Which, fortunately, was heavy but portable when next we were at a port with some repair opportunities.

GB manfully raised the 66-lb. anchor and 175 feet of chain from Agua Verde’s watery depths by hand and got such a good workout that I thought his bully-boy anchor-raising method would be an excellent substitute for a gym membership. GB congratulated me on my thoughtfulness but asked me to please locate an anchorage with a shallower bottom or head for Puerto Escondido where we might get lucky and find a mechanic.

We opted for Puerto Escondido, snagged a mooring buoy in the inner bay and dinghied ashore to do settle up with the Singlar staff. At the Singlar dock we got reacquainted with a couple on a wooden Monk motor yacht we had last seen in Punta Pequena traveling down the Pacific side of Baja. They happened to have a car with them in Puerto Escondido and kindly took us into Loreto the next day to meet the electrical mechanic that another expat, “Sealover,” had told us about on the VHF cruisers’ net.**

Looking down the driveway into the center of the mechanic’s outdoor shop, we knew we’d come to the right place: there were about a dozen vehicles waiting for repairs, and dozens of dust-covered alternators and motors on tables and on the ground. There was also the biggest Rottweiler I‘ve seen in a while - very well-fed for Mexico and a true junkyard dog - chained to a truck’s axle near the front of the business. The Rottweiler did a good job of barking and lunging at any movement he saw. I couldn’t tell if he was jumping and smiling because he wanted to play, or was baring his teeth in anticipation of his next serving of meat. I would not wish to come to this business after hours when Bitey the Wonder Dog was no doubt let loose from the truck.

This mechanic’s business was booming. During the hour we were there he worked not only on our motor problem, but he and his apprentice repaired at least 2 vehicles local customers brought in. Long story short: with me gamely trying to explain our mechanical problems in Spanish (“el molinete del ancla tiene un cortocircuito,” “fusibles fundidos,” “la maquina no va” and more embarrassing phrases), and with GB and me looking with dismay at the fine soot that poured out of the motor as the mechanic pulled it apart, the mechanic unseated the copper brushes, ran the whole thing through a few electrical tests, and pronounced it…

Just fine.

It performed just fine. OK; so maybe by giving it a bit of a knock the mechanic had loosened whatever grit had caused the alleged short circuit. Or, we had a bigger problem in the part of the anchor windlass that was still sitting on the boat. While we pushed that scenario to the back of our minds, I showed the mechanic the blown 125-amp fuse from the anchor windlass and asked him if he knew of any place in town where we could get replacements. He shook his head sadly and told me no; nothing like that in town…but how about I solder that one back together for you, lady? What the hey, I said in broken Spanish, knock yourself out.

Five minutes later we had a soldered fuse and a working windlass motor. The mechanic charged us 200 pesos - about US $20. Awesome. Thanking him profusely I took his picture and he and his apprentice (the larger gentleman in the photo wearing the non-soot-covered shirt) were already on to the next job.

Once back at the boat GB put the whole windlass assembly back together, inserted the professionally-soldered fuse…and the windlass works with no problems. So all is well. GB says the lesson on how to solder a blown fuse was alone worth the 200 pesos. Although he’s going to need a lot more soldering practice before he can do the professional-level work in this Loreto mechanic’s shop.

I figured I’d find out the mechanic’s name later from some of the long-term PE denizens. What folly. Sure; they know what work he does, they know where to find him, have done business with him many times…but in the decades (yes, decades) that some expats have lived in PE, no gringo knows his name.

Not to worry: I saved the directions for how to get to his business. So if you ever need electrical work when you’re in PE or Loreto, give me a holler - or hail “Sealover” on the PE cruisers’ net.

* involving the destruction of 125-amp and 110-amp fuses.

** “Well, you drive down Juarez until you get to Misioneros and take a left. Keep driving until you pass the Corona distributor and Serape’s market on your right. Look for the metal-roofed palapa on you left about a half block further…”

m

The Denizens of Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido sits on the eastern lower third of the Baja peninsula, about 22 kilometers south of Loreto and about 175 miles north of La Paz, at 25 deg.48.4’N and 111 deg.18.1’ W. The port is a beautiful oval indentation in the coast, surrounded by high mountain peaks and lots of natural beauty, completely protected - or at least as protected as any Baja anchorage can be. It is known as a hurricane hole because the surrounding mountains protect the bay from the direct force of a hurricane and its dangerous sea surges. In the past many cruisers came here for the beauty and the safety of the bay -- and few ever left after having dropped anchor. However, a few years ago this excellent natural anchorage in central Baja was taken over by Singlar - the Mexican government subagency of Fonatur responsible for developing boating destinations along the coast. Singlar forced many non-cruising cruisers out of Puerto Escondido’s inner bay when Singlar installed mooring balls  - accompanied by high rates approaching $50 per night. We had long heard about these and other difficulties at Puerto Escondido - usually from disgruntled cruisers who had been there, and took great offense at the sudden imposition of high fees in exchange for little or no services. The area surrounding the Singlar facility is also the site of a failed resort development, so there are several acres of street lamps, streets, cement sidewalks and concrete-lined estuaries that go nowhere. A resort building - hotel? condos? - sits half-finished and crumbling. It is all very surreal.

Being morbidly curious about all the negativity, we decided to stop by on our way up the Sea of Cortez. It was a lucky choice, because about three nights before we got there our anchor windlass stopped working. We did not know the reason other than our 125-amp and 110-amp fuses were being blown, and the motor would not turn over. [I suspect user error. ms] Naturally the day it failed we were anchored in about 60 feet of water, with about 175 feet of chain out. I found out that the manual action of the windlass would function - it took me 45 minutes to raise the anchor. [Good thing GB spent all those years in the gym on the rowing machine. ms] I disassembled the windlass for some trouble shooting and decided the problem was most likely in the electric windlass motor.

Anyway - under the circumstances we were glad to grab a Singlar mooring ball in Puerto Escondido’s inner bay - and pleased to find out it was only $15 per night for our 40-foot boat. The inner bay was calm and peaceful - with about 75 empty balls and maybe 5 other boats in it. Alternatively, as confirmed by rumors and guide books, the 2 outer anchorages were packed with boats all jammed one on top of each other - some, we found out later, were in the outer “Waiting Room” anchorage using their own permanent, home-built moorings. The inner of these 2 anchorages - a large man made ellipse that was going to be a yacht basin for the failed resort - was also filled with boats at anchor. If I have my facts right, these 2 anchorages are controlled by another entity, API, that we heard charges only 10 pesos (about US $1) per day. Needless to say, this was where all the boaters of PE had gone. It seems that all the denizens were boycotting Singlar to show their displeasure with the rates. Despite the fact that Singlar still provided them with free potable water; a free garbage drop; Internet access, laundry & showers for small fees; and a place for the cruisers’ weekly Sunday brunch - also at no charge.

Once we were settled in we put out a hail during the next morning’s cruisers net asking if anyone knew of an electrical mechanic in nearby Loreto that could look at our windlass motor. Well - the cruiser’s net jumped into action and told us there was one - we caught a ride into town with a fellow cruising couple, the mechanic fixed the motor, and the windlass started working - all for $20 US. But more on that later - that is not what this story is about…….

We realized soon after heading north out of La Paz that the Sea of Cortez feels just like the San Juan/Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound back up in the Pacific Northwest. Many anchorages and other destinations close together make for easy cruising, and the warmer, sunnier weather down here makes it seem even easier. It’s taken us a while to understand that many folks in the Sea of Cortez have not traveled 5,000 miles by boat to get here, taken lots of classes, installed a huge bunch of equipment, spent 100’s of thousands of dollars, etc. From their point of view - why not buy a hurricane damaged boat on eBay in San Carlos for $3,000, or a busted trimaran, and live in PE and sail it around here while you gain some cruising experience. It does not take much to make create an easy lifestyle in Puerto Escondido - especially if you are not concerned with traveling very far on your boat - or getting out on the water very often. The point of this story is that everybody approaches cruising differently down here. Our point of view is from having traveled the distances we have, and our plan to keep going for a while longer.….

In all of the other Mexican ports we have been in there are a few folks who have put down roots, but most seemed to be moving on to somewhere else. Here in PE - this was the end destination. The folks living in PE had been there for a long time - some a really long time - others just for ten years or so. There was “Sunlover,” “Sealover,” “Manta,” “Frenchy,” “Neka” - and many others in the cast of characters. Many had simply pulled in, and not pulled out, content just to cruise the 200-300 miles or so between San Carlos and La Paz - with a homeport in Puerto Escondido. The living seems cheap, slow and easy - the cruisers had a Sunday potluck brunch we went to and met a lot of them. A real nice bunch of people. Many of the PE denizens have cars and are generous with their time and their help, but they seem to spend more that a few months each year back in the states. Fewer of them know very much about the area around PE itself. For example, hardly any of them had ever traveled the 30-mile road from Loreto to Mission San Javier - I guess because it was not paved and more like your average Forest Service or logging road - but what a great trip that was and what a shame to live in PE for years and not see it. Also, for such a small place with so many long term expats - PE has become sort of like an ingrown extended family - opinions, intrigues, backstabbing, and rumors spread like wildfire across the VHF net and beyond - it was Peyton Place in the Outback - a veritable soap opera of cruisers whiling away their retirement days…..

During our time there, we noticed that it is fairly common for boats to drag anchor all over the anchorages any time the wind exceeds about 12 knots. In one case the wind picked up to 15 knots and a bunch of guys jumped on one dragging boat to help, and pulled up the chain not attached to anything. Another guy said he made very sturdy permanent mooring buoys out of old hub caps welded together with rebar - for use in the public anchorage, of course. You don’t need a lot of high tech equipment in PE - just make your own anchor from what’s lying around. We were concerned, though, because (1) if you drag anchor in 12 to 15 knots of wind, something about your ground tackle or anchoring technique is very wrong; and (2) we would never want to spend hurricane season in a place where Draggy McDraggerson’s boat starts drifting into ours whenever the wind picks up above a whisper. Regardless, we truly enjoyed our short time in PE and the generous people we met there, and we’d recommend going there especially to get off the boat, rent a car and do some inland touring. [Or get electrical repairs done. ms] But, we were ready to move on after less than a week. If we ever get back - I am sure Sunlover and the Net will be able to give us the news about what has been going on……..

Gunkholing the Baja Way

If you’ve done a lot of sailing in the Pacific Northwest like we have, you will discover upon leaving La Paz and traveling the Sea of Cortez, that the anchorages feel similar to those in the San Juan/Gulf Islands and the Strait of Georgia up to Desolation Sound. In other words, if you’ve traveled up there and enjoyed it, you can cruise the Sea of Cortez with no problemo.

The main difference between PacNW and Sea of Cortez cruising is in how the weather behaves down here. The Sea of Cortez lies flat when the wind is calm but builds a very nasty chop surprisingly quickly upon the approach of big wind; you may find yourself pinned down in some anchorage or another for 3 days while a norther blows through, but like in the PacNW if you choose your anchorages (and your ground tackle) carefully you can stay comfortable. The advantage to Baja winds is that when they stop, the seas lie back down very quickly. And when it’s flat here, brother, it’s FLAT - no 10-foot swells with 2-foot wind waves in Baja. Tidal range in the northern half of the Sea of Cortez gets above 17 feet, but in the southern half it’s 6 feet or less, with only a few places showing strong currents of about 4 knots. Dinghy landings in Baja are done through surf in some places, which takes a bit of practice. You won’t have the convenient NOAA and Environment Canada weather forecasts down here, and it’s hard to understand the Mexican harbormasters’ twice-daily weather reports (rapidly-spoken Spanish on low frequency VHF stations), so you need a reliable high frequency/SSB receiver to listen to Don Anderson's morning weather reports (AmigoNet, 8123 Khz USB, at 1400 UTC is a good start). The Baja cruising season is much shorter than in the PacNW, where with enough layers of clothing you can get out on the water (and we did) pretty much 12 months out of the year. In the Sea of Cortez, you have those pesky hurricanes that shut out much of the cruising grounds for 5 months every year. Plus December and January are bad times for strong northers. And it gets really hot in May. So you plan your travel accordingly for a roughly 4-month good-weather season.

Most all of the anchorages and bays in Baja are more-or-less open roadsteads where wind and fetch can be significant - especially if you’ve gotten used to the calm, bulletproof anchorages of the PacNW - but so far we‘ve found the holding to be uniformly good sand with broken shells in varying proportions. The official nautical charts for the Sea of Cortez are inaccurate and incomplete especially in pinpointing reefs and rocks (of which there are many); most of the charts are based on surveys done by the USS Narragansett -- in 1873. So for safety’s sake you invest in at least 2 cruising guides and play the information in one off the information in the other. We have used the Charlie’s Charts and the Rains guides and have lived to tell the tale, but we have spotted enough typos and outdated information in each of them (including errors in the GPS coordinates each guide provides) that for the next trip around the Sea of Cortez I'd choose Gerry Cunningham's guide and the latest guide published by a sailing couple based in La Paz.  Whose name I can't remember.

Baja has fascinating geology, large varieties of birds and fish; hiking, kayaking and snorkeling opportunities - all over the place. Unlike the PacNW, the water in Baja is not lethally cold - a 3mm wetsuit will do you just fine - and many places it‘s clear enough to make snorkeling and scuba diving seem like you‘re inside a giant aquarium (which I guess you are…). Get off the boat and take some inland excursions and you can find pictographs, petroglyphs, Jesuit missions, and narrow canyons full of date palms and dragonflies. There is so much to see here.

Here’s a sample of how easy it is to go from anchorage to anchorage. Let’s start from La Paz and see how easy it is to even skip some anchorages and still not have to take an overnight trip. We stayed at most of these places more than just overnight, and almost all of them had plenty of white sand beaches and snorkeling/hiking opportunities.

La Paz (Marina CostaBaja) to Balandra Cove (Baja peninsula) 24deg.19.2N, 110deg.19.8W: 9.25 mi. Anchored in 20’. Nice spot but very close to La Paz so can get crowded.

Balandra Cove to Caleta Candelero (Isla Espiritu Santo) 24deg.30.4N, 110deg.23.3W: 6.0 mi. Anchored in 26’. OK snorkeling but conditions too turbulent for good viewing that day.

Caleta Candelero to Caleta Partida (Isla Partida) 24deg.31.9N, 110deg.22.9W: 4.0 mi. Anchored in 31’. Good snorkeling along reef off N entrance. Still close enough to La Paz (and big enough) that large charter motor yachts anchor here, disgorge all their water toys, & take their customers water skiing and jet skiing - in the anchorage. Holidays are the most crowded - but go anyway for the beaches and nearby dinghy excursions.

Caleta Partida to The Hook (Isla San Francisco) 24deg.49.242N, 110deg.34.233W: 23.0 mi. Anchored in 23’. Unusually heavy fish & pelican activity. Nice beaches. Still close enough to La Paz for large charter motor yachts to anchor here & harsh your mellow.

The Hook to San Evaristo north cove (Baja peninsula) 24deg.54.7N, 110deg.42’W: 9.5 mi. Anchored in 35’. Good snorkeling off Evaristo Point, good short hike to saddle above north cove.  Osprey hang out here.

San Evaristo to Bahia Cazadero (Isla San Jose) 25deg.01‘.N, 110deg.41’W: 8.5 mi. Anchored in 30’ but we were swarmed by bees & forced out of anchorage by increasing chop from south the day we arrived. Looks promising in calm weather though.

Bahia Cazadero to Timbabichi (Baja peninsula) 25deg.16‘.N, 110deg.56’W: 20.0 mi. Anchored in 18’. OK snorkeling off reef on north side of Punta Timbabichi, might be better in more settled conditions. Good shore hiking potential.

Timbabichi to Bahia Agua Verde (Baja peninsula) 25deg.31‘N, 111deg.04’W: 20.0 mi. Anchored in 57’. OK hikes along beaches & into town. Good snorkeling potential but conditions too turbulent to try.

Bahia Agua Verde to Puerto Escondido (Baja peninsula) via east side of Isla Danzante 25deg.49‘N, 111deg.18.5’W: 27.0 mi. Took mooring buoy due to busted anchor windlass. Rented car for trips to Loreto, Mulege, Mision San Javier. Good hiking & beach opportunities.

Puerto Escondido to Puerto Ballandra (Isla Carmen) 26deg.01’N, 111deg.09’W: 14.0 mi. Anchored in 28’. Thirsty bees all around, but excellent snorkeling off south entrance to cove.

Puerto Ballandra to Isla Coronado south anchorage, 26deg.06.139N, 111deg.16.749W: 9.0 mi. Anchored in 25’. Decent shelter from NE wind and swell.

Isla Coronado to Caleta San Juanico (Baja peninsula) 26deg.22.064N, 111deg.25.792W: 23.0 mi. Anchored in 19’. Good shelter from N winds in NW anchorage. Excellent beachcombing & snorkeling in multiple spots around bay.

We took a full 4 weeks to travel the 173.25 miles described above. It sure is wonderful to have the luxury of so much time. But the Sea of Cortez is a snap for the average PacNW boater who’s a bit familiar with anchoring, weather and navigation basics. As GB says, getting here is much harder than cruising here, so don‘t let the total mileage intimidate you. Except for many people, getting here is as easy as having their boat trucked down to Guaymas over on the Mexico mainland, crossing the 70 miles of the Sea of Cortez over to Santa Rosalia on the eastern Baja peninsula, and starting the vacation there. Regardless of how you get here, you’ll do just fine once you‘re in the water.

m

The Jerry Can Cozies

For someone who does not sew, I sure sew a lot.  I am the freakin' Queen o' Sunbrella.

So, in contrast to practically every other long-distance cruiser, GB opposed having Jerry cans with a bit of extra diesel fuel on board the Fox, because it offended his sensibilities of having a relatively clear deck unmarred by the sight of fuel cans riding by the shrouds.  He also did not want to give up valuable lazarette space to conceal belowdecks such an extravagance as extra fuel.  That is, he opposed it until he saw in a very direct way (1) how important even an extra 10 gallons of diesel could be on a cruising boat; and (2) how difficult it might be at times to get the boat to a fuel dock for a fillup, as opposed to simply dragging a couple of Jerry cans back and forth from fuel source to boat until the job is done.  He saw the light in Ensenada, when for 5 days straight, and right before we were due to leave, we had no access to the one fuel dock in town due to a succession of very large power boats taking up the fuel dock space and sucking up almost all of the available fuel, day after freakin' day.  Yep; GB broke down and bought two whole 5-gallon Jerry cans, with hyper-fancy no-spill spigots, at premium prices.  They fit in our lazarettes, as well as on deck if said lazarettes are full of "more important stuff."

Because these Jerry cans may sometimes ride on deck, GB wanted some Sunbrella covers to protect the plastic cans from salt and sun deterioration.  Enter the Pfaff.

Once again I used scrap Sunbrella for this project (at a Mexican price of US $30 per yard, every Sunbrella scrap is gold).  Some folks sew a simple pillowcase-type cover for their Jerry cans, but I had a spigot problem:  these no-spill spouts of our two 5-gallon Jerry cans stick up more than 6 inches from the body of the Jerry can, so a simple pillowcase style cover would leave a lot of excess material all over the place.  Instead I essentially sewed a box-like Sunbrella cover (open bottom, 3 narrow panels for top & sides and 2 larger panels for front and back) for the main part of the can, to which is attached a tubular condom cover for added protection of the spigots.  Yes; it looks slightly obscene, but it covers all parts of the can with the least amount of Sunbrella.  So there.

m

Gary as LOLcat

OH HAI

I IS ON UR MAST

CHANGIN UR ANCHOR LITE

kthxbye