The Waiting Game

Time seems to be slowing for us here.  The days are growing longer as we wait for the work to complete on our engine and transmission rebuild.  We moved the boat back out to the anchorage last week to avoid unnecessary marina fees.  This unexpected stay has already busted our budget -- no reason to further escalate the situation.

While in the marina we were fortunate enough to meet Jason, the captain of a large motor yacht.  We spent some time with him, his visiting wife, and little boy by the pool at the Grand Bay resort.  After some conversation about our current situation he mentioned that the owner of his yacht was flying down the following week on a private jet and offered to bring in parts for me.  I jumped at the chance and the next day made arrangements for a box to be delivered to the airport in southern California.  Less than a week later Jason handed me a box with all the parts we needed for the rebuild.  This saved us weeks in time and hundreds of dollars in shipping and agents fees.  I thanked him profusely.

So, now we're floating patiently out here in the lagoon waiting for the work to be completed as our friends depart, one by one, for destinations north and south.  The cruising season will be coming to an end soon and the cruisers are beginning to make their way for ports above or below the summer hurricane belt.  As soon as we have a working engine we'll be doing the same -- sailing up to the Sea of Cortez and, eventually, the San Carlos/Guaymas area where we intend to leave the boat for the summer. 

It's difficult saying goodbye to the many wonderful people we've met so far on this journey, many of which we'll never see again.  But, as most travelers know, this lifestyle is an inevitable cycle of hello's and goodbye's.  We feel fortunate to have met our cruising friends -- people who have helped us along the way and provided Colin with a large and loving extended family.

We were planning to be in La Paz by early April and spend a couple months sailing up the Sea before flying back to California in June.  But, La Paz is still a long way north and March is slipping quickly away.  There are so many places I wanted to see before the season ended.  Now we'll decide which ports will have to wait until next year.  How futile it is to make plans.  I should know better by now.

The good news is that we'll have a practically new engine (I hope) for next season.  I'm looking forward to seeing a shiny working motor in place, and hearing the steady beat of a reliable power source.  It will be nice to remove that major source of anxiety from our next passage.  Hopefully, that will be soon.