Puerto Refugio, Baja California
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| Aloft in the Cabrales Boat Yard, Puerto Peñasco |
I left Intermezzo on the hard in the Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Peñasco last May. I began a major "10 Year Refit" project last September and substantial completed the work at the beginning of April. It was a lot of work!
I replaced the cracked front windows, repaired a transom crack, re-galvanized the anchor, repaired a leaking hull-to-deck joint, replaced sail drive oil seals, bearings and shafts, performed major service on the engines, replaced the engine mounts and replaced hatch seals. Those were all big, difficult jobs. There a many more small jobs still on the list, which aways seems be growing in length.
Puerto Peñasco is a sandy, dusty, gritty town and the best I could do was to manage the level of filth that collected on and in Intermezzo. I rented a studio apartment while I was working on the boat and the best I could do was manage the level of filth that collected on me, too.
The Cabrales yard is a great place to do your own work among others doing likewise. It is a great community of boaters, always ready to help each other out. I made some good friends while I was there.
Intermezzo finally went into the water again two days ago. I paid my yard bill, bid farewell to my friends, said goodbye to Puerto Peñasco and pushed off the dock yesterday. I felt happy to be leaving the dust and dirt, but with a touch of melancholy that comes from leaving a place I called "home", even if just for a spell.
Yesterday began "The Bash to San Francisco".
I'm bringing Intermezzo back to San Francisco Bay for a while. I'll be sailing the length of the Sea of Cortez south, turn north at Los Cabos and do the notorious "Baja Bash" against wind and weather along the remote Pacific Coast of the peninsula, and then harbor-hop up the coast of California, also against prevailing winds and waves.
I'm hoping to pass through the Golden Gate in mid-July, almost nine years after passing in the other direction and beginning my sailing life.
