Haul out & Skiing

Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Mon 18 Feb 2013 23:52
Haul out and Skiing
 
Time2 was hauled out at Baja Naval in Ensenada to have the bottom paint redone, the hull polished and the zincs renewed. For the uninitiated - "the zincs" are sacrificial pieces of zinc, attached to various bits of metal under the boat that protect that metal from corrosion. So they corrode and need to be replaced regularly - Time2 has about 8 or 9 of these. After our last bottom paint nightmare we were thrilled to see that the paint applied in Panama (Sea Hawk Island 77) had held up very well with the help of the diver at Cruiseport marina
 
   
 
Time2 in the slings at Baja Naval                                                            This is the zinc on the propeller - being eaten away
 
While the boat was on the hard we took advantage of the spare time do some skiing at Mammoth in the Sierra Mountains of California.  It was a bit chaotic getting from Ensenada, over the border and then up to San Diego. It was raining and we had to use a taxi and then a shuttle , do customs/ immigration on foot and then get on the trolley to the city. So after 4 hours of travelling we were happy to check into the W Hotel in downtown San Diego for the night, and enjoyed a fabulous meal at a local steakhouse called Cowboy Star.
 
Next morning we flew up to Mammoth and using our airmiles the tickets only cost $10!  What a great deal - seems using your Voyager airmiles in the USA is a whole lot cheaper and easier than in South Africa! We stayed at an Inn, that was in walking distance of Canyon Lodge - where there are a number of lifts going up the mountain, and a gondola taking you back down into town. We had a very pleasant week skiing with good snow, not too many people, lots of sunshine and NO injuries! 
 
  
 
Waiting for the bus - love my Croc Boots!                                                Mike ready to head down
 
 
We got back to the yard in Ensenada to splash the boat and everything was looking great. We were lowered back into the water and as we backed out I heard Mike calling the yard on the radio - with some urgency in his voice.  The bow-thruster props had been put in back to front and so his maneuverability was stuffed up!/ He was having to drive the bow-thruster backwards, while operating the main engine and stern thruster correctly.  All this,  with a tide that was rushing out and a very narrow exit!  Yikes, that could have been a total disaster, but of course it wasn’t. Mike worked it out and got us back to the dock unscathed!  We were hauled out again and very quickly the propeller was turned around correctly and we were back on our way to Cruiseport Marina.