Or in other words, let’s get back to work! The sailboat cruising life may appear carefree and it’s true that we have a lot of flexibility in choosing when and where to go, but not as much flexibility as you might think. As an example, I will describe our preparations to leave El Cid Marina in Mazatlán.

First we need to make sure we’ve taken full advantage of the protected mooring and land-based amenities of being at a marina because we are probably at least a week away from our next marina and some things are more difficult or impossible at anchor:

• Did we do all our laundry using the self-serve coin op here at the marina?
• Have we given our boat a good freshwater washdown (note, this wasn’t really fully possible in Ensenada where both Baja Naval and Cruiseport marinas had tons of salt in the dock-side taps so best we could do is get the dirt off but still have salt all over the rig, but here in Mazatlán the dockside water may even be good enough to drink – but we did order delivery of purified water jugs to refill our tanks just to be on the safe side)
• Do we need to do oil or other fluid changes or top-offs? We spent yesterday changing engine and transmission oil as well as changing engine oil filter and cleaning the sea strainer. Cannot change oil without somewhere to take the old oil!
• Are there other maintenance items to attend to that are easier tied in a calm marina? Today we are replacing the filters on the watermaker and cleaning it out. We’ve also done other cleaning and such.
• Do we have all the food provisions we need?

Second, we need to think about our next steps and what our plans B, C and D might be. The first destination of interest when we leave here is Isla Isabela. It’s a somewhat difficult anchorage in that it’s not well protected from breeze and is a rock bottom. It is known to have eaten many anchors so we will need to be prepared to choose not to go there if the forecasts change which means we could have some overnight passage to get to the next anchorage. So we need to be well-rested as if we may be facing an overnight trip, even if we think we’ll have no problem at Isla Isabela. The weather might be just perfect for it but we get there and can’t find sufficient space to feel comfortable anchoring near the other boats that are already there.

Third, I mentioned food above, but we do need to think about food a little more. We can probably go on shore with dinghy at some of our upcoming potential anchorages such as Bahia Mantachén but it involves a wet dinghy ride and a taxi into the main town (since we don’t want to go into the actual port and marina at San Blas). So I want to make sure I have enough fresh food to eat well even if we don’t get a lot of fresh food until our next marina visit. I’m going to plan for 10 days of meat and maybe 7 days of fruit and veg. I’m already pretty well-stocked on shelf-stable staples.

Fourth, do we need to do any paperwork or advanced arrangments?

• In Mexico we need to clear in and out of major ports. This can usually be done through the harbormaster when at a marina but in some ports you have to contact the port captain, potentially in person. Luckily here our marina handles it for us, but we do need that paper for the next port.
• Isla Isabela may or may not require us to get a parks permit. We are having trouble figuring out the details of that so are hoping that if it is necessary we can make arrangements with any park authorities when we get there (we have read this is possible at other park anchorages in Mexico).
• Do we need to contact any marinas in advance to ask about reservations? We did call Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and learned that similar to Mazatlán, for our size sailboat there is pretty much always a slip available, but it’s nice to check and let them know to expect us as some marinas want you to provide details of your boat and all your insurance and registration before arriving.

Fifth, did we receive all the packages we were waiting for? Just like in the US, you can have Amazon packages delivered to a pickup site (often in Mexico it is a DHL shipping center), you might have ordered something delivered to your marina, or you might be working with a local chandlery to have a specialty part delivered. We did have some items that we already picked up at the DHL and also were working to have a spare propane regulator delivered because the bracket on our current one is rusting to shreds. This has not arrived so we need to make some arrangements to have it sent ahead to La Cruz or one of our other future marina destinations.

Finally, did we update the blog enough while it was convenient to do so? Maybe, but I think my laundry is about done in the washers so I can go move to the dryers before somebody else occupies those with their wash.

UPDATE: by mid-day Thursday just hours after posting this we decided to wait in Mazatlán until early next week. Why? (1) we were tired from major miles walked during our tourist time staying at a hotel downtown and from our chores – getting the oil filter off the lower side of our engine is always a crazy painful hassle and still wanted to go spend a couple hours walking around Estero El Yugo before leaving, (2) it’s inexpensive here and we’re still waiting on that part – easier to just get it here than ship it forward, and (3) gives us more time to discuss “strategy” around whether to anchor at Isla Isabel or not – what weather conditions or arrival situations will make us choose to go on to Bahia Mantanchén instead and what are some check-in times on making that decision? Also, the first half of the final season of Ozark drops on Netflix today (Jan 21).

We can keep enjoying the easy life at the resort – all this fun and ability to shower on shore for a reasonable daily moorage cost until then.