The Not-So-Simple Life

Back on the water again, ready for another magical season

Hello again to our friends and family! After months of waiting, De Novo is back in the water where she belongs, and we're exactly where we belong--right here with her.

In our last blog post, we shared the joys of cruising, titled it "The Simple Life," and then went on to experience the stark opposite: the ultra complicated, unnecessarily confusing reality of keeping a boat in Mexico during the off-season. So while this post won't feature pristine beaches or following seas fondly associated with this lifestyle, it will reflect the hard work that make the lifestyle remotely possible.

And "remotely" is the key word. Cruising isn't just the freedom of our own passage or that perfect sail trim. But as sailors we chase those highs, or even the possibilities at those highs, at all costs. Those highs are pure dopamine. And as we get more remote, away from the conveniences of Fisheries Supply and West Marine, the challenges can be expected to grow with the rewards. Bottom line: sometimes boat life sucks, and we ride through that suck until it's awesome again. And let's face it, when life at sea is awesome, it's awesome.

So here's the suck: from June through October, the Pacific Coast of Mexico experiences hurricanes. We don't particularly like hurricanes and we'd rather not die, so we did many sailors do: scheduled a haul out in San Carlos, historically considered north of most hurricane paths. Then we flew back to live with family in Washington State, spend quality time with our cat, Uma; work 9-5s to buffer the other type of cruising kitty; and plan each boat part fix, purchase, transport, and installation to come.

I don't know who decided the Sonoran desert was the best place for boat storage lots, but my guess is they didn't particularly like boats. It's brutally hot. With air temperatures usually lingering above 100F/38C and the humidity oscillating drunkenly between bone-dry and inhumanely humid, it's not a fun place to be in the summer. Small-boat cruisers who stayed rented air-conditioned apartments or RVs on land, bought a small air conditioner to use on shore power in a marina, or slowly lost their minds. Add in this summer's El Nino, and it was, in one friend's words, "literal hell." Even the swimming was too hot.

It's equally hard on the boats. Without the cooling effect of water on the hull, boats left in the desert storage yards can reach or even exceed 140F/60C inside. This is hot enough to fry batteries and electrical components. Solvents burst, plastic warps, and rubber and elastic stretch and crack. The violent sandstorms (video here taken where we left De Novo this summer) grind topsides. All nonperishables become perishables. In the spring, we donated many items we accumulated over the years with the hope we could find replacements in the fall; other items we placed in a storage unit that we found was just as hot. We won't mention everything we did to prepare Novy before we left and recommission her when we returned, but it was extensive. The lists commonly used are multiple pages long...single-spaced. We worked 8-10 hour days for multiple weeks on both ends, often with temps in the high 90s, cleaning, scraping, sanding, glassing, barrier coating, fairing, painting, sewing, lifting, splicing, whipping, crimping, fixing, sourcing new parts, polishing, draining, reorganizing, testing, waxing, rigging, installing, drinking, pleading with the sea gods, making mistakes, trying again...

Granted, we were also installing several pieces of new equipment and prepping our boat for our upcoming Pacific crossing while there, but that's an exciting story for next time. :)

But Denise and Dave, aren't you always working on your boat. Yes, yes we are.

De Novo takes good care of us, so she deserves the same.

But like most things in life, preparation is met equally with luck. One friend had all of her messenger lines disintegrate in the sandstorms. ALL of them. Another lost his house battery bank. One friend hilariously returned to a drawer full unusable underwear (the elastic!). Some boats have flooded and therefore damaged their engines. We had minor issues, but mostly things we didn't notice until after we left San Carlos. More fun projects to do at anchor!

So why do sailors put themselves through this? Are we just masochists and martyrs?

Maybe. But this is the life, right? Anything worth doing in life has challenges. We wouldn't want it any other way.

But in reality, there are few better options.

Stay in a marina? Probably the more obvious choice; however, they're more expensive, much more in demand, and still vulnerable to hurricanes. Stay further south in Mexico? More hurricanes, and fewer insurance options. Bash upwind to California? You'd need to go pretty far north to find seasonal moorage. Head south of Mexico altogether? Sailing back is a slog. Continue sailing in Mexico and avoid hurricanes? Hurricanes are fast and sailboats are slow. Also, hurricanes occasionally come with no warning. Buy a big yacht with a generator and air conditioner? Many of us are cruising on a shoestring budget, so definitely not.

Each option has pros and cons. But to put this summer in perspective, only 16% of Mexican households have air conditioning and local shipyard workers work all summer. Local boats, mostly local fisherman and other small maritime businesses, don't have all the options we do.

Therefore, this is the part of the blog where I shift my tone and remember just how grateful we are. Let me start again:

This spring and fall, we had the opportunity to work on our reliable sailing home in beautiful San Carlos and prep her for another magical season of sailing. The cruising community in the boatyard and marina became close friends, as we all shared tools, materials, and stories. Locals were always willing to provide help and advice. We are so thankful for them, and of course to our real families for everything they did for us this summer. Dave and I got to know our boat even more intimately and learned new skills--skills that we'll undoubtedly use as we sail to more remote boatyards. We were, and are, remarkably good partners--navigating the ups and downs, the simple and not-so-simple, together.

And now that we're out of the yard and in the "good" part of cruising again? Totally worth it.

In the timeless words of Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia, thank you for being our friends. We have so much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

Ah. Perspective. :)

Love, Denise and Dave

Beautiful San Carlos

Running into old friends!

Taking everything apart on De Novo

Inspecting and cleaning all rigging

So much rigging!

We made chaps for De Novo this summer. The sewing machine was at my mom's in Washington and the dinghy was in Mexico, so it was a bit of a challenge.

Fortunately, a neighbor helped us find vinyl in Guaymas so we could make a pattern before leaving Mexico in the spring. Wasn't an exact fit, but good enough.

Releasing sea turtles at Playa San Francisco. Life is pretty rad.

This is Scotty the Scorpion. Although Scotty lived under our bed at the inn, he was not cuddly.

Despite Scotty's presence, it was a beautiful place to stay. Leaving our inn early each morning to make our way across town to the boatyard. It's coolest this time of day.