31 May 2022 - On 28 May, the day after we arrived in Puerto Peñasco, we got up early and went to the boat where we changed the engine oil, changed the coolant, and changed a small hose at the bottom of the coolant loop. All with minutes to spare before our tide-dictated haul out time. I chewed my nails to the cuticles but we got finished, started the engine and got Antoinette hauled out of the water on schedule if not under budget.

The yard only works a half day on Saturday so after hauling us, they left us in the Travel Lift slings over the weekend. This was a good thing, as was our arriving here early; the work we need to do on the boat is monumental, from scraping the hull to cleaning out provisions to taking off the sails to bringing off all the items we will take from the boat, either because we don’t need/use them or because we will repair or modify them and bring them back.

We met all kinds of great folks here in Puerto Peñasco starting with Salvador, the yard manager; Jamie from S/V “Totem”, (with whom we corresponded before coming here); Matthew and April from S/V “Blow Me”; Brian and Debbie from S/V “Dawn Treader” (who have done some serious sailing); and a whole host of other great folks from around the sailing world.

After hauling out we had some big jobs to complete so we managed our days thusly: we woke up early and went to the boat to work while it was relatively cool, (although it still got rocking hot inside the boat), then around 0900 we would go get breakfast at a good place we found called El Local, maybe go back to the boat for a short stint, then be back at the hotel by midday or early afternoon. We relaxed for a while then showered and went to a restaurant for lunch/dinner. After that we returned to the hotel, read, updated the blog, and went to sleep to do it all again the next day. But it was not all work and no play, we did still manage some exploring and poking around the town.

This we did for a week until we got the boat as prepared as possible to leave in the hot, dusty conditions in the yard here, May turned into June and we began trying desperately to break orbit out of Puerto  Peñasco. Not because it was unendurable or because we were behind schedule, but because it was not where we were supposed to be,

So, we take a break for the next several (hot) months, visit family and friends, take lots of showers, and relax on land. It will not be near as peaceful as dropping the anchor in a beautiful, remote anchorage and listening only to the pelicans and the whales, but it will be nice to see loved ones and visit friends.

Then we will come back in the fall, do lots of work opening and cleaning and maintaining and preparing Antoinette for sea, we will head back out into the Sea of Cortez again with a new plan for the next leg of this adventure. We have taken inspiration from all the people we have met along the way who are living on their boats, cruising for months or years, and seeing and doing all things thereunto pertaining. Thank you to all who have enriched our lives and our experience of cruising.