The deed is done. We have parted from Gosling. We left early
this morning for our trip inland and our winter of RV-ing with our trailer,
Rosita Casita (Fran’s idea).
In the last few days since Virgil arrived we have been
briefing him on all that is Gosling, both good and bad. It has been an 8-year
partnership between us and her and we consider that we are intimate with her
qualities and her quirks, but how do you impart such knowledge to someone in a
matter of hours and hope that you haven’t missed anything important? Then I
think back to when I first stepped aboard in January 2008. Fran had sent me
ahead, from Puerto Vallarta, where we were vacationing with friends, to ‘bond’,
she said. For the first few weeks before Fran arrived, I lifted deck-boards, rummaged
near-inaccessible spaces, traced plumbing and wiring and examined, trialed and
prodded everything I could. When Fran arrived she did her exploration. Where we
were stumped or needed assistance there was no shortage of expertise from the professionals
in and around Shelter Island in San Diego. All of this was done with very
little input from the former owner, who lived in Oklahoma, and a healthy dip in
our bank account. Trial and error were the rule. Lucky for us, not too many
errors, but after those 8 short weeks we considered ourselves ready and we
sailed south to Mexico without many problems, especially after we finally got
around to the “renaming ceremony” in Turtle Bay.
Guaymas is a world away from the boating centres of
California and, although there are a few really good techs, it is a far cry
from San Diego where, literally, anything can be accomplished, for a price… At
least Virgil got the benefit of our in-depth knowledge of Gosling. How much he
was able to swallow and digest remains to be seen but, at least, he will have a
direct contact, by e-mail, should any mysteries come up.
Virgil's boat now. Scottish flag aloft.
It was hard to say goodbye but goodbye it was as we drove
out of Marina Seca Guaymas that morning on to new adventures. This time, we
will be relying on the Mexican road system and the few unknown (except what is
written in our ‘new’ 2009 edition of a Mexican RV site guide). No longer will
we have to watch out for adverse winds, currents, anchors, sometimes stubborn
engine, that shore break when landing with the dinghy, birds landing on the
mast instruments, ships in the night, toe stubbing and shin skinning, rocks and
reefs, tsunamis (we endured 2 of those), microbursts, lightning and the other
myriad collection of things that make life as a cruiser so interesting and
attractive. Yes, we will miss the sunsets, sun-downers, (henceforth, ‘happy
hour’), secluded anchorages, trolling for the big ones, whales, dolphins, all
those places only accessible by sea, our cruising friends (in that element),
etc, etc. Now we will be cursed by road tolls, gas fill-ups every 3-4 hours of
driving and RV park fees every night.
Thanks to all of you faithful followers who I have bored to
tears with my ramblings but, obviously, kept you motivated to come back for
more.
Fran and others have asked me to start another blog about
our land travels. We have decided to call it Travels in Rosita Casita. OK, Fran
decided on that name. The trailer is a Casita (brand name) and Rosie is with
us…..
Fair winds and a following sea, Gosling……
Postscript:
The day before we left we attended Ariana’s wedding. If you
recall from previous entries Ariana was the former office manager of the
Fonatur yard, a lady we had known and loved since our first arrival here in 2008.
She had been let go from her position in a political ‘re-adjustment’ just
before we departed, the previous year (mentioned in an entry a few back). It
was a beautiful ceremony in an old church in Guaymas, followed by a reception
in the courtyard of her former place of work. We arrived at Fonatur to find a
40-50 kt wind blowing with chairs and tables and decorations being blown hither
and yon all over the courtyard with several items broken or threatening to fall
off the dock into the harbour. For the next few hours it was mayhem as we
re-organised tables, chairs and all the other bits into the more sheltered
areas of the yard. A few hours later, after the wind died down, we re-organised
everything back to the original plan and the reception went off as planned. All
of this didn’t phase the newlyweds or any of the guests. We guessed that this
was to be expected and certainly not a negative omen. As the small contingent
of gringos, it was a very pleasant experience to be treated as members of an
extended Mexican family by all the attendees.
One happy couple
