Mirador is still anchored in the Marina Santa Cruz
"virtual marina" which is at the SW end of the Malecon
- the waterfront boulevard and pedestrian area in downtown La
Paz. Mirador is still anchored in the Marina Santa Cruz
"virtual marina" which is at the SW end of the Malecon
- the waterfront boulevard and pedestrian area in downtown La
Paz.
The picture to the left is looking ENE along the Malecon.
The Don Jose Abaroja 60-ton travel lift pulled Mirador from the waters of Bahia de la Paz on Thursday morning, November 13. Cecil Lange, a US marine surveyor, did a complete inspection of Miradors hull and bow while Mirador still hanging in the Travelift slings. The really good news was that Cecil declared Mirador stout and sound with no structural damage to be found.
Cecil is from Port Townsend, Washington where he designed and built the Cape George line of traditional cruising boats. He has been cruising Mexico for many years and has based his boat in La Paz for most of that time. Cecil is one of three local surveyors that Blue Water insurance has appointed to handle claims in the La Paz area.
As Cecil sounded the entire hull of Mirador he kept commenting about how well built she was and about the quality of the glass work. The three large cracks in Miradors port hull were all superficial and occurred where bulkheads and floorboards were tabbed to the hull. As Mirador lay on her port side and was assaulted by TS Marty's waves the hull tried to flex under the pressure of those waves. However, where there was a hard point under the hull, i.e. a bulkhead, the fiberglass bonded to the hardpoint could not move at the same rate as the adjoining unsupported glass. Therefore the hull cracked at the hardspots.
Cecil and Alejandro, the yard manager, inspected the entire interior of the boat and found only one spot where some shelving and a floor joist delaminated from the hull.
I also had Jim Knapp, who used to own Knapp's Yacht Services which was a rigging and boat repair company in Seattle, do a complete inspection of the standing rigging. He found no problems except for one cotter pin at the top of the forestay that was breaking apart. Jim also commented on how stout the rig was and how the mast was way stronger than necessary for a 40' cruising boat.
Alejandro then wrote up a proposal to repair Mirador and return her to a 'good as new" state of cosmetics. The repair process will include:
- grind out all the cracks and repair them using the appropriate resin and fiberglass
- grind most of the paint off the keel and repair all the damage
- apply all new barrier coat below the waterline
- apply three coats of new Hempill bottom paint
- sand the entire hull from the waterline to the toe rail
- apply all new primer above the waterline and sand that
- apply two coats of Sterling LP paint above the waterline
- repaint the boot stripe and the stripe below the toe rail
- reapply the MIRADOR name on the sides and the Tacoma, WA on the stern
The entire job shown above was less than $1,000 over the doubled insurance deductible in effect for a named storm. My first inclination was to not file an insurance claim. However, both Cecil and Jim pointed out that the bow pulpit was badly bent by TS Marty and is very much weakened. The stainless tubing that forms the bow pulpit is all that keeps me on the boat when I am working on the genoa, drifter, or spinnaker while underway or during a lot of anchoring drills while not moving. They are both strongly urging me to replace the entire bow pulpit.
Blue Water Insurance has said they will only pay to repair the bent pulpit which would cost about 50% of a new pulpit. Both Jim and Cecil feel that the bends in the stainless are too severe to safely straighten. It will cost about $1400 to repair the pulpit and about twice that to replace it. If I decide to either repair or replace the pulpit I will then file an insurance claim.
I have hired Cecil Lange to supervise the entire repair project while I am in the States for the holidays. If things go as planned Mirador should be ready to head south for the Mexican Riviera when I get back to her on January 6, 2004. However, this is Mexico and I expect I'll be in La Paz most of January.
At this time Mirador is still anchored in Marina Santa Cruz, the "virtual marina" and will stay there until Saturday the 22th or Monday the 24th. The Abaroja yard is full and very busy and I did not want to live on Mirador in the yard any longer than necessary.
This is a virtual marina because all the docks washed away in October 2001 in Hurricane Juliett. But all the other amenities are available, e.g. a dinghy dock, great showers, a club house, book exchange, and they come to the boats to pick up trash and deliver laundry, gasoline, water as requested. It costs $77 a month to anchor in the "virtual marina."
La Paz is looking better than ever. They have almost
finished the beautiful waterfront pedestrian area that extends
several miles from Marina Palmira to Marina Santa Cruz. It is
built on top of the sea wall at the edge of 20 yard wide white
sand beaches. The walkway is about 30 feet wide and is done in
tiles and bricks. There are lots of nice palapas on the beach and
benches on the walkway. Bronze sculptures are installed about
every 1/4 mile along the waterfront.
The picture to the right is looking NNE along the Malecon and was taken from just southwest of the municipal pier where the small cruise ships dock.
The social life here is more hectic than ever. I've been here seven days and nights now. I've had dinner with cruising friends three of those nights and had to go to Monday Night football twice at Paradise Found where they serve all the hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings you can eat for $4.00. And the beer is $1 anytime. Thursday afternoon is a dominoes tournament at Paradise Found with a super Meatloaf dinner for $3.25 after the tournament.
And of course I've been going to Super Burro and Rancho Viejo every chance I get to eat tacos and papas asadas con carne. The latter dish is a big baked potato that is mashed somewhat flat in an aluminum foil pan. It is then covered with cheese, corn, mushrooms, carne asada (dry barbequed beef), more cheese, more...more...etc and then baked over an open flame for a few minutes. It is a complete dinner for $2.75.
This is another picture taken along the Malecon
looking toward the municipal pier and the Yorktown Clipper which
comes to La Paz twice a month while it spends then winter
cruising about the Sea of Cortez.
One of the big changes here is the coffee shops that have sprung up. I have discovered at least five shops with a "Starbucks" type interior and similar types of pastry. Several of those shops also have internet machines and connections for my laptop. Unfortunately the prices for coffee are getting to be more like US Starbucks. I had a $2.25 latte in one which is about three times what they were last year.
Another interesting happening is the decline of the Mexican peso which today costs 11.02 pesos per US dollar. Twenty months ago it only cost 9.25 pesos to buy an American dollar. If the price of goods in Pesos does not change that makes things here about 19% cheaper than two years ago.
And finally, everyone of the dozens of internet sites now offers DSL or faster connections. And, unlike last year, the connections are all very stable. A nice change to the ambience of La Paz.