AUGUST 2010 Cruising Expenses

I've procrastinated getting this posted mainly because I've procrastinated tallying up all the costs. I really don't want to know... really.

Our new boat is wonderfully spacious, her engine is sound and powerful, she sails like a dream, BUT... she still needs work. Boat owners will tell you that all boats need work, but this boat was set up as a marina boat, not a full-time mostly at anchor sail boat, so it needs additional fulltime work. For example, the refrigerator/freezer system was 120 volt. In case you're wondering, your generator needs to run full time to handle that kind of load or you need to be plugged into the little box at the slip. Jim also felt we needed a bigger anchor. Third Day brought our 80 lb. Manson this month and once we attached it we felt better... until we dragged in the Santa Rosalia harbor on the 2^nd day! In all fairness, the bottom of that harbor is nasty... trees, cars, pangas... you name it, it's probably down there. I'm all for giving the Manson another chance. My cup is half full, Jim's is... well, moving right along!

So, we spent most of the month of August in Santa Rosalia, Mexico. We love Santa Rosalia. The town is precious, the people wonderful and the taco stands are out of this world! As my prickly heat rash spread over the backs of my knees, hips, under arms (I'll stop there), I wondered if I didn't have a tad of it on my brain... the temps were in the upper 90's with humidity factoring in at about 85%-90%. There was no breeze. The harbor is too polluted and nasty to swim. However, we were waiting for our refrigeration. Rich on Third Day so sweetly offered to pick it up for us in San Diego. Our friend Don on Young American in Burbank offered to drive it to San Diego on his way to Tijuana. Thanks to our network of friends, we would have refrigeration soon.

Unfortunately, Rich ran into problems that kept him in California for 2 weeks... and kept us in Santa Rosalia that much longer. And although we could have emptied our Engel freezer and used it for refrigeration temporarily and gone north on our merry way, Lori and her two kids on Third Day would have been left on their newly acquired 51' boat... and we just didn't feel right doing that. Not that Lori didn't prove that she can captain that big vessel all by herself... she can! But I know that if I had been in her shoes that I would have felt that extra security in knowing that my friends were there for me in case I should need back-up.

 So, those taco stands add up and the beer and colas that were downed in the sweltering heat also add up. In addition, the remaining groceries and supplies the kids and I brought back in late June from our trip to Arizona was on this month's credit card statement and so was paid off. Let's not forget that this is the annual fishing license renewal time. And that tiny anchor we recently acquired? It's paid for this month as well.