The New Generator

The Surgical Team Checking

to make sure it will fit.

This was a big week for the boat named R Genesis. A delicate operation was needed to extract a none working appendage. THE GENERATOR. The surgeon assessed the best possible method of removal without too much intrusion upon all other appendages. Arteries to other parts would have to be delicately moved to ensure the transplant would fit. The removal was a success The rewiring and replumbing a success. Now the moment of truth. The surgeon and his surgical crew brought in the new Generator. A Northern Lights. A modern, quieter model. Would the generator fit in the cavity? Would the sawsall have to come out and leave an ugly scar? ………..

(Drama ER) It fits. It hums (quietly). Time will tell. Hopefully no rejection drugs will be needed.

Ken has decided to call his new generator Bill and Linda, after his Mom and Dad. His dad was a hard working man and the generator will be hard working. The generator is loud(not as much as the old one) and his Mom ...... As Ken's cousin put it at the funeral,"Earth just got a little bit quieter, but heaven sure got noisier. Thankfully it is the money that his Dad worked hard for that bought this new appendage and we are grateful. I am not so sure how I feel with Linda and Bill living in my basement and I wonder if something goes wrong and Ken wants to swear at it how that will go over.

It has been agreed upon by the manufacturer of our 2 dead battery chargers that we will send them back and they will send us a bigger, better, larger unit at no costs to us. Never mind that we had to buy new batteries. This makes us happy. Within a few weeks our electrical delema should be a thing of the past and we can look forward to different challenges say a new engine rebuild. Lets hope not.
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This week a lot of chores are getting done on the boat. More teak work and stainless steel by me All outside jobs. Lets face it, really its about keeping me out of the way. Who does he think he is fooling?
I have had strep throat this week and have begun to live like the real Mexicans. Self medicate. Here there are pharmacies called farmacias on every corner. Drugs that we need a prescription for at home are over the counter here. As luck would have it a Calgary Family Dr is on the dock and says I did the right thing. So this week I wondered if I was hot due to Heat, Hot Flashes or Fever. Or all the above. Yes Wayne and Wendy I am still hot it just comes in flashes!
So if you did a survey Ken was in the engine room by choice or necessity? 50% in favour of choice – Women 50% necessity – Men.
Last night a sailboat was drifting aimlessly in the anchorage. It had broke away from its anchor. Luckily 3 other sailors saw what was happening got on the boat started it and moored it in the marina. No one has come to claim a missing boat so I am not sure what is up.

A pot luck was held at the marina and it looks like the boats left here at the moment are either staying for hurricane season, getting ready to jump the puddle or heading north. There are much fewer boats than before. Well I better get back to the boat chores

Riley Sea Turtle

We are heading North to get out of hurricane alley for the summer season. We will spend the late Spring and Summer in the Sea of Cortes. Our plans are to spend as little money as possible and hang out mostly in the water. We are told that it gets quite hot up there only time will tell.
This blog is going to be about the sea turtles that have surrounded us on the Gold Coast. Hopefully you will find it interesting. Just the shear numbers and different things we have seen have had us asking questions and trying to seek out information about these very slow moving creatures.
There are 4 species that we have encountered. The green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback and olive ridley.
The Hawksbill sea turtle is 3 – 4 feet long weighing 30 – 100 pounds. They are brown in colour. These turtles are nearly extinct and have just 2 beaches for its only nesting sites. There is a hotel at the site and in December when the eggs hatch guests can help get the babies to the water. This is done by shooing the birds and predators away. Not picking them up. It is used as an educational opportunity by park guides.
The Olive Ridley are far from extinct they are everywhere and they were the ones we were dodging. They are the smallest sea turtle only 2-2.5 feet long.
The leatherback turtle is rarely seen but we saw we think at least 6. They are 7 – 8 feet long weighing a ton. They looked like sea turtles on steroids.\
The Green turtle also seem fairly plentiful as we passed through the area near Ixtapa.
They are about 3 – 4 feet long.
Sea turtles reach breeding age in 6 to 8 years. Many factors influence the return to the nesting beaches, such as "imprinting", kind of sand, temperature, streams, etc. The presence of a metallic mineral in the turtle's brain is a theory.
Sea Turtles are a unique species. A female Sea Turtle can lay up to 200 eggs at once. Cold weather is fatal to the hatching of the eggs: it can kill the turtle in the egg if the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. After 50 days in the eggs, the turtles start breaking out of their shells. A Sea Turtle's body shell is made from an inner layer of scales. About only 5 out of the 200 Sea Turtles will survive from the dangerous waters; that is the reason so many eggs are laid.
Sea Turtles do not need any training whatsoever to swim because they are born with that ability already. Green Sea Turtles are carnivores, eating fish, birds, and amphibians. Sea Turtles are very sensitive to sound. The Sea Turtle's eardrum lays flat on its head behind its eye. Sea Turtles have better senses of smell than a shark or a dog. The bad part about them is that they are color-blind. Leatherback Sea Turtles have high concentrations of red blood cells. Their muscles are stronger than a human's.
Interesting facts:
Most Sea Turtles are nomads and travel about 1,300 miles a day! Leatherback Sea Turtles have the longest migration of all Sea Turtles.
The Hawksbill Sea Turtle is probably one of the Sea Turtle you see most. They are given this name because of their hawk shaped bill. However, the Hawksbill Sea Turtle also is the most endangered!
A Sea Turtle's shell is tough as a rock, so when diving into waters it would never crack.
The Leatherback's staple food is the jelly fish.
The question Why do we not see young turtles was brought up on the SSB Net one evening. A research boat with University students gave us the answer. They go far out to sea and hide under floating vegetation. Who knows.

I was also fortunate enough to see a swordfish right beside the boat just under the water. It was about 6 feet in length. It was gone before Ken could see it. It is the way I want to see them as I really do not want to catch one while fishing.

We are now in La Cruz (Puerto Vallart) awaiting Alanna and her friends. We are installing the new Genset and the company with the battery charger is sending us a larger unit. Hopefully our electrical problems will be a thing of the past.

We have been very fortunate having very calm seas. The weather has been a delight.
We departed Isla Grande heading back North to Caleta de Campos, where again we stern anchored and had a nice evening.
We will be heading North up to the Sea of Cortes for the summer. This will get us out of hurricane alley. It should appease the insurance company and me. This will take us to anchorages we have discovered already and some new ones.
We traveled to Maruata Cove. This unique seaside refuge has formed where a mountain river tries to empty into te sea.There are sea caves where the sea has worn holes through the rocks.The waves were breaking with a curl to them and we watched campers surfing the waves. Even though we were stern anchored it was still a bit rocky.
Ken decided to start the Genset to make some water. Nada (nothing) After several attempts and a lot of blue air he gave that idea up. We only need it to work three more times. Deciding that this was useless he decided to start the engines and charge the batteries. ( Our battery charger is not opperating properly) The left enging started the right Nada (nothing). Now the air is really blue, I can cut it with a knife. We did not want to take a chance of turning the running engine off having no batteries and not being able to start at all soooooooooooooo. While the engine is running he removes the starter and attaches it to the right engine. Now with both engines running we decide to make a night passage.
Lets take notes. A screwed battery charger, a defunct engine starter and a dead generator. Yep we have electrical problems.
We head out in a full moon (at least something is going right). Until now we have had great weather, but the seas are building and the swell are 6-10' on 8-10 secs. on the nose. Auto can't drive as he doesn't like these conditions very well. Luckily our boat steers very well on its own in these conditions. Just so everyone knows these conditions are not dangerous just not tranquil. All night we had freight traffic and shrimpers around us.
We arrived in Las Hadas Marina at 0900 hrs. and got the last slip.
Ken took the dead starter into Santiago to the gentleman that had fixed it 3 weeks earlier. After several hours we had a brand new totally rebuilt new parts starter. Ken put it in and it starts. We ordered up a new starter to have as a spare. I am sure the other starter will come to the same fate soon IF we don't have a spare. This has us held up at the marina for a week.
We finally got a reply from the manufacturer in regards to the battery charger. Once in Puerto Vallarta they will fix our problem with a new heavier working unit. Second problem solved. The generator we purchased is also awaiting our arrival in Puerto Vallarta. So in just a week or so we hope our problems will be fixed. I am not sure what Ken will do with his time when he doesn't have to do energy management.
So we are stuck at this marina with three beautiful pools playing Mexican Train with another boathing couple from Fort McMurray, in temperatures of 90 degrees. What a troubled life!

RJ and Mike with their wake boards.

RJ and his friend Mike’s plane landed on time. It was a hot sweltering day and they approached us looking like typical Canadian tourist landing from the arctic cold. It took less than a minute to get the sweatshirts off and by the time we stopped in Zihuatanejo they were stripping in the street to get their shorts on. We were on a mission to get Mexican fishing licenses for the two boys. It is the law in Mexico that all persons on board must have fishing licenses, whether they fish or not. Unfortunately being Sat. we were unable to get the needed items. We were told to come back Monday morning and that we could purchase them at that time.
This made the decision for the next destination. Zihuatanejo harbour. It would be a short dinghy ride into the office to pick up the needed licenses. Mon. arrived but this time the internet was down and we still could not get the licenses. The nice gentleman told us to tell the authorities that every attempt was made and due to circumstances we were unable to get the needed paperwork. So off we went hoping not to run into any unforeseen problems.
Prior to entering Ixtapa marina, we had stayed the evening at Isla Grande (Isla Ixtapa). We deemed this to be a perfect anchorage to take the boys for the week. The island is surrounded by reefs making it a great snorkeling destination, has generated waves great for body surfing. Beaches, and a lake like atmosphere, great for swimming, kayaking and fishing.
We went fishing for two days but only manage to snag a bonita. It was tasty, made into fish tacos. Mike enjoys fishing tremendously, RJ not so much.
The snorkeling proved to be advantages for Ken and I as the boys swam and cleaned the bottom of the hull for us.
The boys kayaked over to the club med in hopes of having a beer. Security kept them on the beach. On the return Mike leaned a little too much to the right and tipped. RJ hooked his rope up to Mikes kayak and towed the filled kayak back with Mike pushing from behind. They had forgotten to take the bailing pump.
The landing of a dinghy on a surf beach would be their next challenge. Landing was a huge success. While looking for some basic supplies they ran into 2 retired Calgary firefighters that knew Ken. As it turned out we met up with them later in the week. We had dinner with Al Rothery and Brenda, Gary Borkristl and Dana.
Getting off the beach not sooooooo perfect. The dinghy came home a little damp on the inside. But all in all they did pretty well.
It looked to me like the body surfing and boarding was their favorite pastime. The waves were respectable breaking over them at times. I could be weeks getting rid of the sand that came back to the boat.
RJ was a little bummed thinking about the 90 plus degree weather he was living the past week and returning to -24 Celsius.
RJ and Mike’s plane was departing on time. It was a hot and sweltering day and they left us looking like typical Canadian tourist leaving to return to the arctic cold. RED!

Leaving. Hard to believe this tall lad belongs to us!