We left Acapulco so we could enter the Gulf of Tehuantepec during the predicted low winds Wednesday at 2:00p.m.; however, when we checked again, the weather had changed and 40 knot winds were expected on Wednesday. Thursday looked better, so we decided to spend a day in Huatulco. I was excited for the detour; it was a recommended destination, and it did not disappoint. We anchored at Playa Organo, a national park and beautiful beach.
We were the only boat when we pulled, in and the beach was empty. We paddled into the beach and the kids had a blast boogie boarding. Motivation to do school work the following day was nil; there was a gorgeous beach calling our name! From the beach, there was a 1.8 kilometer round trip nature walk filled with lizards, butterflies, flora and beautiful birds. The turquoise water was inviting and refreshing with the 90 degree heat of the day and coral along the cove resulted in great snorkeling. Playa Organo became my number 2 of places we have been so far. I was disappointed that we couldn’t stay longer; Huatulco hosts some of the top beaches of Mexico.
Paul went into town to check in with the port captain (we are required to check in and out of every port, and they all seem to have their own rules). This port captain informed Paul that there was a port fee…so Paul pulled out cash from his wallet. Immediately there was a lot of yelling, and the only word Paul could understand amongst the rapid fire Spanish was “corruption”. The security guard with the M-16 rifle was not easing Paul’s anxiety. Paul was trying to use Google translate as fast as possible and came to understand that he was required to go to the bank to pay the fee. Sure enough, there was a poster at the bank showing a big red circle with a slash through it over a picture depicting a person handing over cash. Paul also found out that we had illegally anchored overnight at Playa Organo, and we would have to move our boat. Several hours later, Paul finally got his entrance and exit pass for the port and headed back to the boat. We packed up the boat, secured all loose items, headed to the anchorage and went to a great dinner in town. At 3:00a.m., Paul and I woke to the sound of grinding anchor chain. We looked at the screen in the room that showed that we only had 1.5 feet of water under the hull. Suddenly wired, Paul decided that we should edge forward, pull up the anchor and get an early start to the dreaded t-peckers.
So…Tehuantepec was bad for the wrong reasons. Waves sprayed over the bow of the boat, but, all-in-all, the wind and water were easy-peasy. But….we got low hydraulic oil alerts. Apparently not the same issue that we had when lost stabilizers in October on route to San Diego. Paul hasn’t yet found the source of the leak. We have gone through 2 5 gallon drums of oil, and Paul centered and pinned one of the fins to reduce the pressure on the system.
To further complicate the matter, we got a high water bilge alert. The bilge pump was clogged. This seemed to me to be the same exact issues that we had back in October. I don’t understand; why does this keep happening? While Paul explained that it was the a different bilge pump this time – in the engine room, not the lazarette, I continued to be perplexed.
Was it the waves causing things to go loose? They were nothing compared to what we will face on this journey. Did we just stick a bandaid on the issue in San Diego instead of addressing the underlying problem? Or is it a new problem?
Paul discovered that the hydraulic oil is leaking into the bilge and likely the source of the clog due to its high viscosity. And so, Paul, aka Mr. Gadget, attached the kids sand bucket to the hook on the dock stick, and we use it to scoop the oil from the bilge. We dump the used oil into a bucket and then refill the used oil tanks with the used oil.
10 hours until Chiapas; how long will this jerry-rigging hold out?