Summertime

Enfin safely docked to hide away from hurricane season. Superyacht sized slip gives us extra room and safety should a hurricane hit.

For the second summer in a row we find ourselves in a hurricane zone: We've had our share of hurricanes when living in Panama City and Baytown, including escaping major hurricane Ike on our small sailboat and hunkering down in a hurricane hole while it went over us.

We stayed safe that time and every hurricane before or since, but don't see it as a reason to be pushing our luck on Enfin. Enfin is our home and losing her would be devastating.

These little guys warm back up on the hot rocks after swimming

So we're hunkering down in Puerto Vallarta / Nuevo Vallarta, following a hurricane plan agreed with our insurance carrier.

Official hurricane season ends on 01st November, and we will monitor the weather and tropics closely before we set sail again, this time heading South towards central America.

Marina time isn't my favorite, as I see it as living almost the worse of both boat and shore based lifes. The boat isn't any bigger, so we're still living in small accommodations, and routine maintenance continues for many items that shore based life wouldn't need.

On the other hand, marina life allows for constant electricity and plenty of potable water. Easy(ish) purchase and delivery of spares and in Puerto Vallarta, excellent shopping combined with good medical facilities. There are plusses, but it doesn't take long for me to see it as too much of a good thing and before I want to let go again.

Most important though, Bahia de Banderas is a deep U-shaped safe harbor, and we're further up deep in a safe marina with solid docks, excellent wave protection, unlimited potable fresh water and steady electricity. Safe.

I can't really complain too much having to spend time here! We walk the beach every morning to Princess' delight

Before arriving here, we were both gang-ho on doing all sorts of upgrades, washing and cleaning, yet, like last summer the oppressive heat eventually catches up to us to temper our enthusiasm!

It's a different heat than up in Loreto, with its dry heat and incessant sun that never hides behind any cloud. Here, the heat is more like that of Houston or Panama City, a tropical and humid steam room. The daily pattern tends to repeat itself over and over: Beautiful and boiling sunshine in the morning, with progressive cloud cover arriving during the day giving some relief from the burning sun. End of afternoon or evening showers bring a very welcome respite and cooling down effect, even if the air humidity then hovers close to the maximum.

Luckily, we had included air conditioning on our list of "must haves" when purchasing the boat. We've been very happy with that choice the last couple of years now, all 3 of us hiding away from the heat during the worse of it. Princess in particular appreciates the cool and cold air coming out of the AC vents, and knows all the best and coolest spots around the boat.

One of our stops during our walks, providing some welcome shade and breeze

Stepping out of the boat's AC, either outside or in the engine room, makes working an unpleasant task very quickly, though of course maintenance and repairs continue needing done. Luckily we'd also included "unlimited hot showers" and "ice maker" on the must-have list, so we can cool down with a nice cold drink after a good post work shower.

We arrived here with a list of low priority items and routine maintenance to catch up on, from repairing the leaking washing machine pump, deep cleaning of the AC system and so many more.

Cruisers often joke about "the list": We all have one, and it's never ending. As soon as you cross one item off it, one more (at least) is added back on. In 7 years I've never had an empty list, though I must say that excluding those items that are purely in the "if we win the lottery" camp, my maintenance planner was showing all in the green as we came in port. Everything done in time.

Failed electronic board. Replacing it middle of the night took attention to detail

Then, on top of "the list", boats have a way of throwing extra work your way when systems fail, often at the most inopportune moment.

For example, one night around midnight, I noticed that the salon AC had been blowing air for a while and not stopping.

Investigating I realized the air wasn't cold, which I quickly attributed to an iced over exchanger. Opening the settee to access the all-in-one salon AC unit, I found it iced over indeed. Yet, something else had to be wrong: Why was the fan still blowing? Why was the water pump not running?

Digging deep into the electronic controller's logic thanks to my onboard documentation and the internet I concluded that the control board was acting up. By now, at almost one in the morning, with the exchanger de-iced, I ran a few tests that confirmed my fears. The board was toast.

"Spares" I thought.

A couple years earlier we'd swapped our bow AC unit for a more modern one, and I could vaguely remember spending time to carefully disassemble everything around the dead compressor to recover any working part for our spares. The old bow unit was the same make and model as our current salon unit, so maybe somewhere deep in my spares lockers there might be an electronic board?

Deep clean of the whole AC system: All 3 units were taken out, acid washed inside, cleaned with special detergent before being repainted. All hoses and thru-hulls flushed

Digging in I went, taking almost every spare out of the settee's cavernous locker and spreading them around the salon, until -miracle of miracles!- I held what looked like the right electronic board in my hands.

Checking the layout and version number with the existing one confirmed my luck. Or maybe my fore vision? Squirreling parts away is not hoarding, it's proper spares management!

In any case I could now attempt to reconnect the new board. I studied the electrical drawing, took multiple photos of the existing board as I was slowly disconnecting it and started reconnecting the new board exactly as I had found the old one.

At around 2 in the morning, with the new board connected to the AC unit, I switched the electrical power back on before starting it, a little nervously. I was rewarded by the immediate humming of the AC pump, deep in the engine room, followed a few seconds later by the blower and compressors. Less than half a minute later, having checked the water circulation from the dock, I could feel nice cold air once again filling the salon.

Rest well earned! We weren't going to be out of AC for weeks, waiting for a part.

Moving the 185lbs machine out of its locker to access its internals is not easy, but I bought a folding work bench to make the task a little easier

Even here, in a good marina where we can receive parts fairly reliably, we often face long delays. The washing machine pump is one of those examples. I had ordered a repair kit a few weeks before arriving here, accounting for normal delays. I had been lucky even finding this kit, after hours of internet slogging and calling many companies. Our washing machine is as old as the boat, so parts are getting difficult to find.

I'd only been able to find one in the US, so needed the services of Carlos, our San Diego based freight forwarder to send it on to us. Somehow, despite telling him exactly where to send it, he erroneously sent it to the wrong marina, back in Loreto where we were last summer. So the kit disappeared somewhere in Mexico, with Carlos trying to track it back so he could resend it to the correct destination.

After a couple of weeks, I became highly suspicious that I'd ever receive it.

Our washing machine leak had grown from drops per wash to now almost a gallon per wash, it was really time to get this under control.

Back on the internet and contacting the parent company of the machine's maker. They dug in some more and found the last 2 kits they said. They weren't making any more. I bought both of them. They're cheap and with Princess' hair everywhere I suspect it's not the last time I'll need to repair the pump. One to install, and one for next time. If not, Enfin's next owner might be very happy one day to find a spare.

The famous washing machine pump. It isn't made anymore but I managed to score some of the last repair kits

Another couple of weeks and I got a confirmation of a package at the marina. Not just the 2 kits I'd recently bought, but all 3 kits had showed up at the same time! You wait for the bus...

I now have an extra spare then.

The story ends well, with a repaired washer / dryer and a couple of spare kits, but highlights the difficulties in getting spares promptly. Being as independent as we can is a necessity, and the further away from the US we stray, the more that'll be the case. Many of the sub systems on board are US made, or parts are not stocked locally.

I was very leery of shipping not a just simple small repair kit but a whole 185 pounds washing machine. Not only is it a specialty machine for RVs and boats, so expensive in itself, but adding the freight and custom costs to get it here would make it an absolute luxury item. Assuming it'd even arrive in the first place, or arrive with no damages.

Then, I'd need to get a local crew to help taking the old machine out and the new one back in. Repairing is definitely the better option for now, at least until we can get a brand new machine delivered easily.

In that vein, I purchased and now carry as spare, a new replacement board for our AC units. Incredibly the maker still builds compatible -but more modern- boards that can directly interface with our old units.

We have all the medical services we need close to the marina

We also have a separate list for the crew: medical checks and follow-ups we can't do when cruising full time and far-away from everything.

Now is the time to catch-up, and do the full 100,000 miles services for both Di and me.

It started as every 6 months with my full blood checkup and discussion with my Doctor back in France. The results came once again "perfect" as she says, and she confirmed I was now 4 years in remission.

Even better, with my immunity numbers slowly edging up, I'm still slightly low but not as deeply immune-compromised as I had been since my last high intensity chemotherapy.

She therefore green lit a number of simple things I wasn't able to do, starting with visiting the Dentist.

It might sound bizarre, but I was deeply emotional in the Dentist chair. For most it's not a particularly enjoyable experience, but for me at this point in time, it's yet another indicator that my normal life is slowly resuming.

My Doctor's always advised me to "live your life" and I've been keenly doing so ever since our return to the boat. Our cruises to Alaska, and down the whole coast ever since have filled our memory banks with so many wonderful moments. What is life but making memories?

Soon, with hurricane season behind us, both the boat and crew will be ready for long term cruising again

"Living my life" also includes those mundane moments most people take for granted. Going to the shops, the restaurants, mingling in a crowd, and now going to the Dentist.

Best of all, the Dentist was very happy with me, finding only a few tiny problems that took a few minutes to sort out.

Same with my eyes. No long term sequel detected. Or my heart, when many patients who underwent similar chemotherapies as mine have long term damage.

The ticker's ticking strong. Again, same with my lungs....

My friend and ex cancer researcher says my boating life style is helping, and I won't disagree!

Clear to go on.