{"id":3381,"date":"2017-11-24T16:35:37","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T22:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/?p=3381"},"modified":"2017-11-24T20:09:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-25T02:09:03","slug":"in-which-we-miss-all-the-weather-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/?p=3381","title":{"rendered":"In which we miss all the weather windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were so excited to get up to Marina Chiapas, and be among cruisers again.\u00a0\"DSC_0004\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is a great marina, although they\u2019re still recovering from the effects of the September earthquake and subsequent mini-tsunami. Friendly boats, great staff, and the facilities are like new. We\u2019d planned to haul out here and repaint the bottom of our boat, but the slow repair schedule on the travel lift has us instead planning to haul in Banderas Bay. Why are we still here, then? Oh, glad you asked\u2026<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This is what it looks like when we get serious about engine work…an open well in the cockpit floor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before we left for language school, we contracted with a mechanic to have our engine head removed and a new head gasket installed. We\u2019ve avoided writing about our engine lately, as it has been running perfectly but peeing oil for the last, uhm, year and a half\u2014and it\u2019s just boring to read about cleaning oil out of the bilge. We really hoped that a new head gasket would finally solve the problems that we\u2019ve been endeavoring to repair for so very long. Of course, this did not go as planned.<\/p>\n

\"Extraction\"<\/a>
Extraction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Assessment,<\/a>
Assessment, as they prepare to move the engine over to the dock. We had the dolly on the pier custom-built, because we couldn’t find what we needed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both the mechanic and the machinist working on the engine head agreed: our engine was due for a total rebuild. Weirdly, this did not flip us out. We\u2019ve been feeling pretty good about our finances lately; we had three whole weeks to make the repairs before the start of December and the narrowing of the weather windows in the Gulf of Tahuantepec; we trusted the mechanic; we were eager to solve the messy oil issues; we figured this would help us sell the boat when we were ready. Most of these things are still true.<\/p>\n

\"Moving<\/a>
Moving the engine off the boat. We were happy to be able to use the boom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"DSC_0049\"<\/a>Unfortunately, we got word this morning that we have an additional problem\u2014pitting in the cam shaft and tappets. We need to order more parts from the excellent folks at Trans Atlantic Diesel, but it\u2019s a holiday weekend. So now, we need to order parts; wait for FedEx; wait for the parts to clear customs; have the engine put back together; reinstall it to the boat; run the engine for 10 hours (you know, just tooling around the marina\u2026); change the oil; and then wait for good weather to cross the Gulf.<\/p>\n

\"Michu<\/a>
Michu cleans out the empty engine room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is really not a bad place to be, but the Christmas Winds are coming. As we move towards the New Year, the windows to cross the Gulf of Tahuantepec get narrower and farther apart. The southern coast of Mexico is beautiful, but we\u2019re going to have to bomb past much of it. And, I swear, we have seen enough of Tapachula. There\u2019s nothing to be done, of course\u2014the engine is in pieces, it\u2019ll be fixed when it\u2019s fixed\u2014but the tick-tock, tick-tock in my head is getting louder.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t help that we are nearing the end of our journey on this boat. Yes, that\u2019s right, we\u2019re rebuilding the engine and painting the bottom right before we sell it\u2014someone\u2019s going to get a great boat, no question. We\u2019ll probably put her on the market in April, looking to keep sailing until early May; but that\u2019s just not very many months, and I\u2019d rather not be spending them at the marina.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a>
On the bright side, we had a lovely Thanksgiving! Making biscuits on the boat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lining<\/a>
Lining up for turkey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Despite<\/a>
Despite not organizing until Tuesday, we managed to draw in about 30 people–pretty much the entire sailing population.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Aftermath.\"<\/a>
Aftermath.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were so excited to get up to Marina Chiapas, and be among cruisers again.\u00a0 It is a great marina, although they\u2019re still recovering from the effects of the September earthquake and subsequent mini-tsunami. Friendly boats, great staff, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “In which we miss all the weather windows”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3381"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3384,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3381\/revisions\/3384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sailingmilou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}