More about the launch

She floats!
Now that Rumiko is in the water one might think that sailing her would be imminent. Not so, unfortunately. Because she was sitting on the hard for three years, it is likely that her hull got slightly deformed. She needs a bit of time in the water to regain her natural shape. At that point, we can align the engine, and then we're in business. So, for the next week we'll remain anchored off of the Bercovich yard, biding our time. There's plenty to do during that time. We have to get the electrical and plumbing systems functioning, finish our bed extension, finish varnishing and painting the name boards, sew cushion covers, and move all of the stuff from our apartment onto the boat.

   Bottom primed and being painted

The launch

The final prep-work occurred on Saturday and Sunday, the weekend before the launch. Dan spent both days at the boat, tightening hoses, patching small dings in the fiberglass, installing a new bilge pump, and fixing the electrical system to make the pump operational. Also, Rumiko's bottom-sides got primed and painted by Bercovich workers. Bottom paint does not want to sit in the open air for long, so typically boats are launched the day of or day after the bottom is painted. Rumiko's second coat of bottom paint went on Monday morning, the day of the launch.

On Monday morning, Lisa and Dan spent a couple of hours tidying up and stowing everything on the boat so that things would not be thrown around while Rumiko was being moved. Sailboat stowage reminds us very much of tying everything down on a boat when rafting. What isn't tied down can disappear, or, in the case of sailboats, break, spill or do damage to the boat interior.

Lisa's parents, Ruth and Chuck arrived in the early afternoon, along with Burke, Kacey and Quinn. We held a brief naming/christening ceremony. Rumiko, as we've explained previously, was named after Lisa's mom, whose given name is Rumiko (although she goes by Ruth). The root of Rumiko is "Rumi," which in Japanese can mean current/flow, water, beauty, lapis lazuli (deep blue). The suffix "ko" in Japanese means child. So, in addition to naming the boat after Lisa's mom, we like that the name itself means something like "child of the deep blue, beautiful, flowing water." After naming Rumiko and asking for blessings from the gods and critters of the sea, Ruth christened the boat by pouring a bottle of tequila over Rumiko's bowsprit. The tequila was aptly named Lapis. We celebrated by swigging on a second bottle of tequila.

Ruth about to christen Rumiko

Dan's turn!

After the ceremony we started eating the picnic lunch that Ruth had prepared.
Rumiko on the moveIt was partially eaten, and then promptly forgotten because Dan spotted Rumiko on the move. We all ran out to the road to watch Rumiko head to the boat launch ramp, then we raced to the ramp to see her enter the water. Dan, Lisa and Burke jumped on Rumiko, while everyone else watched and cheered from the shore.

Her bottom's getting wet! (Rumiko's bottom, that is)

Rumiko slid easily off the trailer and into the water, and lo and behold,
   Dan and Burke setting anchorshe floated! Abel and Angel towed us to a mooring and tied us to the shore, and Burke helped us set the anchors. Dan went inside and surveyed the boat for leaks. . . none found, our hull is sound. We did discover an internal leak in the cockpit drain after we rinsed off Rumiko's decks. But Dan was able to fix that leak with little ado.

We are so happy that Rumiko went in on Monday. It meant that Lisa's parents were able to be there for the big event. Also, on Tuesday the weather turned hot! Temperatures hit the high 90s F/mid-30s C. If we had remained on the hard, we would have been miserable and crabby. Instead, we're on the sea, where we have a nice breeze and can easily jump in the water to cool off when we get overheated.

Ruth and Chuck's visit

Chuck, Lisa, Ruth and Dan posing on the Malecon with Neptune

We had our first visitors since arriving in La Paz. Lisa's parents were here for about a week. It was their first visit to Mexico, and although much of their time was spent helping with boat tasks (varnishing, sewing cushion covers), we still managed to fit in some beach walks, tours of the La Paz markets, and a few seafood dinners.

   Ruth and Lisa prepare the b-day dinner Also, we celebrated Chuck's 70th birthday. To mark the event, Ruth cooked a fabulous dinner of teriyaki chicken, wild salmon, chow mein, salad and chocolate cake. Burke, Kacey, Quinn, Eric, Alexis, Bob and Ulla came to help us celebrate. It was a great visit, although too short, and we are looking forward to having Chuck and Ruth come and visit us again, either in La Paz or some other anchorage in Mexico or South America. Next time, they'll actually get to go sailing.

Chuck's 70th-birthday party