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| Intermezzo all clean and shiny, only to gather dust in the Cabrales yard |
Intermezzo is all buttoned up for extended dry storage at the Cabrales Boatyard and I'm back at The Ranch in California. I'm transitioning into "land life" and anticipating a significant break from sailing. I'm still not sure what will fill in the gap, but happy to be taking it day by day for now.
Getting through my long list of lay up tasks took diligence, but wasn't too hard. The weather was kind, cool with a breeze most of the day, only hot for a few hours in the sun some afternoons. I maintained a good attitude throughout, didn't encounter any surprises or setbacks, and ticked of almost every item on the list, leaving just a few non-critical items to take care of next time I'm at the boat. There is nice community of DIY cruisers working on their boats at Cabrales. I enjoyed getting to know a few and the camaraderie of the community in general. My Airbnb was in a convenient location and reasonably comfortable except for a strong odor of mothballs which permeated my clothes and, very unpleasantly, my sandwich bread. My newish rental car was a bit expensive, but made getting around much quicker and easier than the alternative of walking and taxis. I discovered a few good restaurants and an outstanding taco stand near the boatyard, Tacos El Patron. All in all, it was a pleasant and satisfying week of hard work.
I departed Puerto Peñasco on Saturday (May 27th) dropping off the rental car and then lugging my baggage a kilometer to the Las Nenas depot where I got in a shuttle van for a four hour drive to Phoenix. The van stops on the Mexican side, you walk across the border, and get in another van on the US side. The shuttle terminates at a nondescript strip shopping center of Mexican businesses in west Phoenix that hardly looks any different than where it started. I took an Uber to the airport, caught a two hour flight to San Francisco, got on an airport shuttle bus to Petaluma and took another Uber to The Ranch. It was a 12 hour journey, door-to-door. The Nenas shuttle from Puerto Peñasco to Phoenix cost $60, roundtrip. My two Uber and Sonoma Airport Express trips cost almost $80, one way!
I always feel sad when I leave Intermezzo on the hard. I feel nostalgic for the recent passages and anchorages, the cozy feeling of my compact home afloat. I feel like I'm abandoning the boat to the elements to gather dust, to get stale from not being used. Though I'm looking forward to land life, I also know that I will soon miss life at sea. In the past, I have often felt anxious during the transition. This time, I'm feeling far more comfortable, perhaps because I'm planning to spend more time on land, forgoing a season of sailing, with sense of commitment to this plan.
The first order of business now that I'm back ashore is to get the "deluxe" edition of my Sailing Intermezzo book printed and published. The publisher expects to ship me the first 25 copies this week. This edition is a hardcover with color photos and, because it is a small volume, print-on-demand book, will be expensive. I'm publishing this version for family, friends, my local library and for serious discerning collectors of fine literature, not to mention my own vanity. This edition will only be available for purchase on my publisher's website.
I am also working on the "standard" edition of the book, a softcover with no photos that will be affordable for everyone else who's interested in reading my story. Same high-quality literary content, just no pictures. I will also publish an e-book version of this edition, even more affordable. Both the softcover and e-book will be available for purchase on all the major online book stores (e.g. Amazon), as well as the publisher's website.
I'll post more about the book and its availability as progress is made. I also have several other topics that I'd like to cover in upcoming posts. So, the Sailing Intermezzo blog continues...
