Rumiko Under Sail

This is going to be a long entry, because so much has happened in the past couple of weeks. And we have been living without internet access. Tonight is only the second time in the past three weeks that we’ve visited an internet café to check email.

Also, FYI, tomorrow we are embarking on our first sailing trip (more on that later), so this is all the news you’ll be getting out of us for a while.

First time setting the anchor

We've been anchored out in the bay of La Paz for 12 days now. And we’re loving our little floating abode.

Anchoring was quite the adventure. Our friend Ron, a canuck with a very cool junk-rigged schooner Theophilus, came along to show us how to set our anchor. (See Isis’ blog to see a photo of Theophilus and catch up on the adventures of Isis). With excitement in the air, Dan got the engine started (although it took a few tries) and we began to motor out of the marina. Before we made it to the end of the dock our engine stalled. Dan got it going again, but soon it quit for good. So there we were, engineless. Ron leapt into action, removing sail covers and getting Rumiko ready to sail out of the marina. We didn’t end up using the sails, because Ron’s family – wife Sherry and son Josh, showed up in their powerful dinghy and towed us into the bay. Thankfully we’re so green when it comes to sailing that we didn’t even know enough to be embarrassed by this. Ron quickly and effectively dropped the anchor, and we were set.

We were very thankful to have such an unflappable instructor aboard. And thankful that we found one who accepts beer as payment. . . a true Canadian! This is Ron, our fearless teacher (Note: Photo snagged from the Tales of Isis blog).

First Night at Anchor

We had an exciting first night at anchor. We had a great dinner of fish tacos, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. Then, we lay awake in our bed, listening to the sounds of our new living environment. Here are some of them:

Snap, Crackle, Pop! Anyone who has actually sailed before probably knows this, but it was new to us. Sleeping in a boat on the ocean is like sleeping in a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal (with the milk) – there are tiny shrimp that attach themselves to the boat and produce a crackling sound.

Slurp shlop. . . Sometimes it seems as if we’re sleeping in a bowl of milk, and there is a giant cat lapping it up. This noise is produced as the water moves against the boat - at least that what we think is the cause. Maybe it's the giant Humboldt squid rumored to inhabit the waters around here.

Whappa-whappa or hummmmmmm When the wind catches the various ropes and wires (i.e., “rigging”) that hold the sails, they either start whapping the mast or can start vibrating and producing a hum-like sound. This may or may not be accompanied by a clank/thunk – any metal bits, such as shackles, if not tied down properly, will either clank when they hit the metal mast or thunk when they hit the fiberglass.

Creeeeeeak Our boat is more than 30 years old. It creaks. Quite a bit sometimes.

We finally did get to sleep, after getting up numerous times in order to adjust the rigging to stop some of the whappa-whappa-clank-thunk. But sleep was really not in the cards for us that night, because a couple of hours after falling asleep Dan began having some very sharp pains in his left side. So we were up for several hours doing what we could to manage the pain (drugs, hot water bottles, etc.) Best we can guess. . . Dan had a kidney stone. He had one other night with similar pains, but nothing recently. So hopefully it has passed.

In other news, Dan has now been 12 days without a cigarette. He had vowed to quit smoking when we started living on the ocean on our boat. And he has done it! Yay for Dan!!

The Projects Continue

Since arriving in the bay, we’ve continued to work on projects to make Rumiko a more functional home. Dan got to work right away repairing the engine, which he was able to do in a day. Since then he has been busy fine-tuning the propane system, and working on our PV (i.e., photovoltaic or solar) system, which is so important for living on a boat. Without good PV system we would have to run our engine fairly often to charge up the batteries that supply our power needs. We really want to avoid that (as much as possible).

When we bought the boat it did not have enough PV panels for our electricity needs, but we were so busy with other projects that we did not have time to look into buying any panels. In this case, dawdling paid off, because when we were at the marina we were given a 43-watt panel by Bill and Jean from the boat Mita Kuuluu. We continue to be amazed by the generosity of folks we have encountered in the cruising community.

With that one panel we are able to generate enough electricity to run our little fridge for 12-hours a day, and operate our VHF and nighttime lights. Once Dan gets our 50-watt panel installed we’ll be in even better shape.

The living space is so small (probably 150 square feet) that we continue to grapple with space-management issues. Lisa continues her sewing projects, which are functional (e.g., stowage bags, or the padded little "jacket" for the woodstove, which has very sharp edges) and also attractive. Despite its small size, we are both enjoying the coziness of the space, and Lisa is especially tickled by the fact that for once in her life she can reach into every cupboard without having to use a stool.

Rumiko Under Sail

A week after we set our anchor we pulled it up to take Rumiko for her first sail. Our friend Ron, who helped us anchor Rumiko, provided us with our first sailing lesson. Eric from Wistful came along for the ride (and also provided us with sailing tips). We were out for an hour and a half, learning about the different sails and how to move them around in order to get Rumiko to move. Ron did a great job giving us the basic theory on the various forces that work together to propel a sailboat.

Probably the highlight of the day was when we raised the spinnaker. Spinnakers, for those who don’t know, are huge balloon-like sails constructed out of very light fabric. They are not effective for sailing into the wind, but can be really really helpful when there are light winds coming from the sides or back of the boat (Lisa apologizes for her ignorance of the proper sailing terminology here). We are told that our spinnaker will be very helpful for sailing in the Sea of Cortez. Spinnakers can be really flamboyant, and ours is no exception. What is really exciting about our spinnaker is the ease with which it can be hoisted or lowered. It has a special sock that rolls up and down over the sail, not unlike a condom.

Next: Rumiko’s maiden voyage

That sailing lesson was four days ago. Tomorrow we will be joining the crew of Isis and our friend Will from Monsoon on a trip to the islands north of La Paz. The Tales of Isis describe what we have in store for us. . . snorkeling, eating fresh clams, hiking and sailing!! We’ll be out anywhere from one week to 10 days. Although we’ve only had one sailing lesson, we’re actually feeling very good about heading out. We will be in radio-contact with Isis and Monsoon, and if things ever get dicey we can always fire up our engine (thanks to Dan’s repairs). We’re looking forward to “learning by doing.” And mostly, we’re looking forward to getting out and playing on Rumiko. One thing we learned when Ron took us out for our sailing lesson is that not only is Rumiko a great home, she’s also a nifty watercraft, and we fully expect that she's going to be a source of great fun as we begin to learn how to move her adeptly through the water.

Expect a full report when we get back.