Anticipation in Puerto Vallarta

It has been a frustrating month trying to set up a work schedule to ensure the boat will be ready to sail by mid-March.

We are still in Puerto Vallarta so all dealings and arrangements must be done by e-mail and service down here isn’t as regular as we have been accustomed to up north. However, we aren’t dealing with snow and rain so there are some consolations.

Our first problem came up when the boating insurance company in Victoria that we had been dealing with announced that our application had been rejected by Lloyds because of: “ the age, the low value and the condition of the boat, as per survey and recommendations”. It is inconceivable that such a highly respected company as Lloyds would reject an application for a boat built in 1974, in the UK, to their own strict specifications. On quizzing the agent I was told that they don’t normally insure boats under $100K. With regards to the survey, there are no red flags that can’t be set right, and besides, what experienced sailor will sail away on or buy a boat that is unsafe. The strong construction of the C&N boats and their reputation are what finally convinced us to buy Gosling. Needless to say we were ticked! We were really puzzled when we applied online to a company in Vancouver and were immediately accepted for a Lloyds policy. Go figure!!!

Lining up experts to deal with the survey recommendations has been a problem. Some of those we had arranged to do work have not responded to e-mails so we have been forced to enlist others. Luckily, here in Puerto Vallarta we are in a cruising heaven so there are lots of people down here who know who to go to in San Diego. Their recommendations have been fruitful and we now have commitments from a rigger, mechanic and an electronics specialist. Everything seems to be lined up now and, hopefully all will get done in time to meet our 12 Mar target date. Much of the work would probably be cheaper if done in Mexico but the price of parts is much more and many boaters have had very bad experiences when shipping parts south of the border. At least at Shelter Island I have the advantage of the complete variety of tech experts and the availability of just about any part needed.

Gosling was out of the water from the 10^th of Jan to the beginning of this past week. Clark Hardy, our sales rep (and guardian angel) at Yachtfinders has kept us up to date on progress and reports that the bottom job was very well carried out.

Fran and I have decided that it will be better if I arrive in San Diego earlier than originally planned to supervise the work and get Gosling ready. I am booked out of here on the 12^th via Mexico City and Cabo San Lucas, however, Aeromexico has been playing games with my reservations. As of the time of this posting I am leaving here at 0700 and have a 12 hr layover in Mexico City.

On another note, we have been in contact with Passat II. Unfortunately we won't be able to see Barry and Sandra as they are still in transit from Mazatlan where they spent a few weeks including attending the famous Mardi Gras. We were able to have their CFSA burgee delivered in time before they cast off for points south.

More in a week or so after I get to San Diego.