To Guaymas to haul Kialoa

We departed from Punta Chivato at 3pm on April 15th, the weather was fine for the 70 nautical mile overnight crossing from the Baja to mainland Mexico.  Since we only average around 4-5 nautical miles per hour our expected crossing time is minimum 14 hours with a dawn arrival in Guaymas.
It was mainly a motor across, I did try some sailing as we left Punta Chivato, but when boat speed was reaching 1.2 nm per hour the crew got restless and the motor was started!  I guess two and half days to get to Guaymas is a little long!  We had a nice uneventful night and were greeted with a lovely sunrise and a fresh breeze as we approached the mainland coast.  Sails went up and we had a delightful broad reach sail for the last two hours of the trip.  The dolphin greeting committee just outside of Guaymas harbour was icing on the very lovely cake!
Once we arrived in Guaymas it was time to get to work.  Decommissioning the boat for 6 months of storage is a lot of work.  All the canvas and running rigging must be washed, dried and put away.  Anything that might have gotten salty needs cleaning.....you can not imagine how many things might get salty on a boat......Food needs clearing out, cupboards cleaned, clothes sorted, teak oiled, engine serviced and the list goes on.
We were soon joined by our friends on Searover II and Greybeard who had also decided to make a switch from the dirt yard where we all hauled out last summer to the government run Fonatur yard in Guaymas.  The pricing was equivalent, charged in Pesos not USD, and the Fonatur has a cement yard. It is also close to downtown Guaymas and all the wonderful street food as well as many hardware and marine supply stores.  It is common practice in the marina industry in Mexico to bill in USD.  Works for the Americans but can be less wonderful for us Canadians when conversion rates are not so favorable.

One other reason we liked the Fonatur, it had a pool!  We had lots of  happy hour
get togethers after a hard day of boat work, cooling off and relaxing with the
crews of Searover II and Greybeard.  What a special treat!

This guy was out fishing all the time on his homemade craft.
His paddle was a couple of bucket lids nailed to a board.
Hard work! I think the fender tied to the side is for a little
extra stability.

Guaymas has some beautiful old stately buildings, in need of repairs.  This one
is for sale if you are interested in restoration work!

Where have all the Woolworths gone?  Apparantly to Mexico!

Kialoa being parked in her spot.

On the morning of April 26th we said goodbye and piled into the car, along with Karina from Searover II, and departed Guaymas.  We dropped Karina off at the airport in Hermosillo in a reverse of our trip down and proceded to Phoenix Arizona.