Saturday, December 5, 2015

Final note


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……

It should appear soon at http://rositacasita.blogspot.com

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
 

No comments:

Post a Comment