We left New Mexico on December 27 and planned to make a one-day drive to San Carlos. However, by the time we reached Deming, New Mexico, we had a problem with a front wheel bearing. We were given directions to a repair shop and waited for someone to arrive as it was still very early. The people at E&M were great. They put us in the shop immediately, verified that the wheel bearings (both front bearings) were bad, and proceeded to get the Jeep in and out in 2 hours. After the delay we decided to get a room in Benson, Arizona, and rest up. We had had very little sleep for the past 2 nights.
We arrived in San Carlos on December 28 and went immediately to the boat yard to see how the boat had fared the past few months. She looked beautiful with her new paint job on the hull. She was dirty but had weathered Hurricane Henriette very well. We rented a room for the week and began cleaning her up and trying to get everything organized. We had to unload some of the stuff that we had brought down--as you can see, there was very little room.
On December 31 the boat went back into the water, and we were lucky enough to get a slip for a month. We began to work on our many projects, which included stripping and painting the cap rail, mounting the new life raft, applying new lettering on the transom, etc., etc. Steve had a real challenge designing and mounting support posts for the solar panels--especially when he tried to find parts down here. I have been busy sewing covers for items on the boat.
Our current plan is to leave San Carlos on or around January 31 and sail over to La Paz. We will have to wait for a good weather window since every 3 to 4 days the north winds really blow. The temperatures are pretty cool at night right now, but the days are beautiful with temperatures in the mid-70s.
We did have time for a lovely dinner at a restaurant on the beach. The sunset was spectacular!
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