With Connor and Abbey leaving the boat, it was down to just Eitan and me, and we were stuck at the Puerto Vallarta marina until we finished the hydraulic steering conversion. Unfortunately, filling the hoses with hydraulic oil was not as easy and straight forward as Eitan had expected. Since SV Sierra Wind has a center cockpit, there is a greater distance between the steering wheel and rudder when compared to an aft cockpit layout. This meant longer hoses with greater potential to trap air pockets, since the hoses needed to be routed from the helm, down into the engine room, aft under our cabin, and up to the aft lazerette (storage locker) where the steering cylinder is located, and then attached to the rudder. We spent four days covered in hydraulic steering oil as we slowly bled the air pockets out from the hoses. Finally, the steering system was once again functional and we could leave the marina to try it out.
Our first test run was back up to La Cruz, where we stayed a couple of nights at anchor. While there, we continued working on the remaining boat projects that needed to be completed before new crew members arrived. There is a seemingly endless list of boat projects and Eitan was excited to teach me how to do some basic electrical work to connect a new outlet by my bed since my electronics charging was taking up too much space on his side of the cabin. We also had a new leak from the freshwater tank to diagnose. Since the front cabin was now open, the tank was more accessible and I popped open the access hatch to find stalagmites of calcium buildup. I spent some time scraping out the buildup and Eitan poured in a couple of gallons of white vinegar in hopes of further dissolving the minerals. Unfortunately, this made our water system taste horrible for several days.
Next, we stopped for two nights in Punta de Mita, which is a small town comprised primarily of a Four Seasons Resort. With only a handful of restaurants and American prices, we decided to cut our time short and only stayed long enough to clean the boat hull before moving on to the other side of the bay. Sailing across the bay took most of the day and was filled with several humpback whale sightings. Prior to coming on the trip, I thought we would be lucky to see a few whales on their winter migration to and from the Sea of Cortez. As it turns out, the bay around Puerto Vallarta, Banderas Bay, is filled with them. Avoiding other boats is easy in comparison to the whales that surprise you in your path. Although I no longer run to my camera to snap pictures, unless they are very close, each sighting is still magical.
We first anchored in Boca de Tomatlan, a very cute and small town, a little more off the beaten path for American tourists. The bay goes from deep to shallow very quickly and we put out almost the entire 300 feet of anchor chain and a stern anchor to keep us from swinging. My dad had given me a drone for my birthday while I was back at home and we finally got to take it on its first flight and grab some scenic shots of the bay and sunset. After two nights in Tomatlan, we headed farther down the coast to Yelapa, which is geographically isolated and only accessible by boat. This attracts many day tourists from the city and a handful of bohemian travelers to this quaint town. With no cars, the local traffic is limited to horses and ATVs and most of the roads are narrower than 6 feet across. There are two waterfalls accessible by trail and less than an hour’s walk. The streets of this small town are lined with colorful murals and scenic views of the bay.
Although the boat seemed quite spacious with just Eitan and me onboard, having to drag the dingy up the beach on a daily basis was a constant reminder we needed more muscles aboard. Eitan posted a crew advertisement on his various yachting websites and I posted to a few Facebook groups. We interviewed a handful of couples interested in joining us. Some weren’t available until later in the spring, some would have to travel from across the world, and others had never been on a boat long enough to know whether or not they get seasick. Luckily, we were connected with a German couple in La Paz who had just spent a couple of weeks on a friend’s boat and were able to meet us by the end of the week back in Puerto Vallarta. So, we set off back to the city to welcome the new crew members, and then keep heading south!
Really interesting post!