Cruising  ~  The Cat’s Meow Style  ~  September 2005

THE CAT IS BACK!

 

 

Yes, The Cat is Back, at least a bit back, and we will tell you all here…..   we are still not quite out of La Paz, but The Cat’s Meow has at least had a “maiden voyage”, short but oh so sweet, and we will soon be able and ready to head out of La Paz and to the mainland of Mexico, then on to other adventures farther south…..  Read on:

 

Linda and Frank Szerdahelyi, of the svInterlude, are friends of ours from the days with the Hurricane Gulch Yacht Club in San Pedro, CA. Twice they have attempted to head across the big blue sea to the South Pacific, and twice they have had to turn back. They decided to spend this spring and summer here in the Sea of Cortez, and we have had the fortune of meeting up again here in La Paz. Frank & Linda graciously fixed a wonderful dinner aboard their boat, giving us a nice resbit from our work on TCM. It was really fun to catch up with them, find out where they went in the Sea, what they did, etc. And the food was excellent! It is always an extra special gift to see people you connect to from an earlier part of your lives….   Dining on Interlude with Linda & Frank S. (photo by Linda S.)

 

September 9th is our wedding anniversary, and 2005 was the fifth one for us. We celebrated by taking the entire day off from working on the boat, and then having a very nice dinner at a good restaurant along with about 10 of our local friends. This day was a nice one – relaxing and fun, and it is always good to celebrate special occasions with good friends.

 

Most of the time, of course, we continue to work on boat projects on The Cat’s Meow. While still at the marina for the boat yard, Robin wanted very much to complete the painting of the hull on the boat, so she was out there on the dock, every day, in 100-105 degree heat! It was a challenge, but she did eventually get the job done. (Stephanie & Diane & Erin: déjà vu all over again??)

 

                    

Just another day in paradise….                                  Robin wiping the sweat from her chin

 

Meanwhile, Martin could be found working in the engine room or up in the air on the top deck. One of the projects he had was to make a lift, which he decided needed to be hydraulic, for such activities as lifting our dinghy up onto the top deck. The work itself was always difficult, and the heat + humidity added another component to the jobs. 

 

                                                                                       Martin working on the wiring of lots of instruments

 

 

Then……. Finally………  September 20th, exactly 17 months to the day after The Cat’s Meow went up on those big hard rocks, she made her maiden voyage from the Abaroa boat yard & marina to Marina Palmira!! This was a voyage of only about 10 miles, and it only took around 20 minutes, but boy oh boy this was a BIG ONE!!! All systems (that we had operating at the time) worked, including the new exhaust system, there were NO leaks, and it felt soooooo gooooood to be moving on the water again, even if for such a short trip!!!!  We pulled into the marina fuel dock and we put 800 gallons….. that is right, 800 gallons….. of diesel in the fuel tanks, which had been cleaned and re-cleaned and prepared for this day. Oh my but it hurt the pocket book  ~  but TCM needs fuel to run, and we needed the weight in her belly, as well. After fueling up, we moved over to our new slip, where we were assisted by Two Can Play’s dinghy as a stern thruster, and we were met at the dock by John and Marilyn of Cracker Box to help us with line handling. It was such a nice day, and it was such a relief to have even that little trip “under our belts”.  The Cat’s Meow is lookin’ good, eh?! 

 

                                                                              

                                                                                                           The Cat’s Meow after her maiden voyage

 

We spent four months in this same marina during 2000-01, our first winter in the Baja. At that time we were still building the lanai room on the aft deck, and Robin was taking care of a friend’s elderly cat on a boat down the dock. The amenities here are very nice, including a few restaurants and a nice pool. Both of us have enjoyed taking a swim and lounging by the pool a few times since we have been here ~ it is a very relaxing way to unwind after a hard day on TCM.

 

                                                                     

                                                             That is Martin actually enjoying a swim and a rest                         The resident iguana, Iggs

 

Two years ago, during hurricane Marty, which devastated much of this area and ruined many boats and marinas here in La Paz, a goose now named Lucy was blown off course and she landed here at the marina. Lucy is reportedly a Canadian goose, and boy she is a real “honker”!!! Lucy was quite young when she appeared here, and local people at the marina made sure she was fed well and protected from wandering dogs and such, and now Lucy is very much a part of the local marina scene. She flies and swims all over the marina, honking LOUDLY for her meals, and she knows exactly which boats are good ones to go to! She reportedly even pecks on the hulls of some of those boats, to let the people inside know that she is ready for her veggies. “Lucy the goosey” is doing well here, and evidently she has decided not to move on when some of her kind come through the area on their way north or south.

 

                                                               

                                                                    Lucy the goosey at Marina Palmira

 

 

At the end of our first week here, the marina put on a fiesta to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day, which was actually September 16th. The fiesta was held for all of the clients of the marina, and was quite well done. Tequila flowed, there was home-made pozole, the Folklorico Dancers of La Paz performed for us, and a very good mariachi band played. It was really very much fun, and a wonderful way for us to re-enter the cruising community. 

 

        

                              Marina Palmira Fiesta celebrating Day of the Dead

 

There are more cruises and more adventures for us and for The Cat’s Meow in the future. We will continue to get our great boat, and ourselves, ready for them, and soon we will really get on down the road! Stay tuned! Come back for more  Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style!