Musical Mazatlan

After a week at the El Cid Marina we motored over to the nearby Marina Mazatlan to haul the boat and get the prop pitch adjusted.  Since we were pulling the boat I decided to go ahead and get the bottom painted, too.  And, of course, as soon as we were secure on the stands I could see quite a few large blisters around the keel -- may as well grind those out and fill them while we're here.  Hmmm, wait a minute, there's a little play in the prop shaft -- better replace the cutlass bearing while we're at it.  As I contemplated the additional work in my head I watched a couple guys waxing and polishing the boat next to us -- it made Jean Marie, with her weathered hull and oil-stained gelcoat, look old and tired in comparison.  Ok, ok, go ahead and wax the topsides.

And, so, our simple haulout quickly evolved in to a slightly more complicated and costly project.  Since this is not a DIY yard I knew I wouldn't be doing the work (which is great until the bill comes).  This allowed us some free time to get off the boat and explore Mazatlan a little.  We booked a bungalow down the street for a week, optimistic that the work would be done in that time.  And, to our delight, we splashed down exactly one week later.  That may be the first thing that actually went as planned since we left Alameda.  Thanks to Bob at Total Yacht Works for staying on top of it. 

We're at the Marina Fonatur now where we'll stay through the weekend to watch the Super Bowl before motoring out on Monday to drive the boat around for a while and complete the break-in process now that we've got the prop adjusted. I'm not very optimistic that we'll see any change and fully expect to be right back here in another week or so to pull the engine out for rebuild number four.  There's a chance I could be wrong.  The engine gods may smile down upon us and send little engine angels to sprinkle fairy dust on our Perkins until the rings seat and it stops burning oil.  I'm not counting on that happening, though.

And, if we do get stuck here in Mazatlan working on the engine it won't be such a bad thing -- certainly not like the nine painful months we spent in Barra.  We've had a lot of fun checking out the old town and some of the local favorites.  On Thursday we went to Palapa Del Mar where Melissa from Total Yacht Works was singing with her band Rock Creek.  We looked forward to enjoying a few beers, some gringo food, and live music.

The place was packed when we got there and Colin was immediately drawn to the music.  At first he stood mesmerized in front of Melissa as she serenaded him.  But soon the rhythm took over and he cut loose on the dance floor, twisting and prancing through a crowd of mostly grey-haired Canadians and Americans.  It was as if Colin suddenly acquired a hundred new grandparents as they all laughed and danced with him, snapping photos and a few hugs in the process.  By the end of the night Colin was presented the Rock Creek spirit award which we accepted onstage before dragging him away for some much needed sleep -- for us, not so much him.  In moments like these I flash back to the words of his very first pediatrician who said "he's going to be a handful".  Oh joy.