Provisions in Mexico: Hard-to-find items

Updated: October 22, 2014 & November 3, 2014

As boats congregate in San Diego,  preparing to head south to Mexico,  it seems timely to comment on provisioning in Mexico. 

By and large,  we were very pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of food items available in places such as Cabo San Lucas,  San Jose del Cabo,  La Paz and Mazatlan.  Fruit and vegetables are better tasting and better priced than we see north of Mexico (although some vegetables/fruit often look a little "blemished", they are fine inside).  Meats are good (especially chicken!)  although cuts are smaller/thinner than up north (but,  you can always ask butchers behind counters for a thicker steak,  and many of the larger stores do put out thicker cuts). Liquor (especially tequilas and rums) is inexpensive and available everywhere. 

For the most part,  there is NO reason to stock months of provisions in San Diego -- Mexico is good for provisioning. 

HOWEVER,  some of our favourite food/drink items proved to be difficult (or impossible) to find in Mexico. We wished we had known before leaving San Diego.

Some items one can't really stock up on either due to practical (how much cheese can one store in one's boat fridge?) or legal (there are only so many bottles of wine/alcohol one is allowed to bring into Mexico -- though they don't really check boats) reasons. Still, some are easy to stock and even bringing a little extra would have been nice.

Here is a (very incomplete and subjective) list:

Orange Pekoe Tea (or other decent black tea): for many this may not be a big deal, but getting decent black tea (such as Dilmah, Tetley's, Red Rose) in Mexico was impossible. (We were always on the lookout, and occasionally found a couple of black tea brands, such as "McCormicks", but they were terrible.) So, for those tea lovers (listen up Canadians!) about to head south, stock up on decent tea.

[On the other hand, herbal teas (including Roibus -- "Rojo" -- tea) are plentiful and easy to find in Mexico.]

Aged cheddar cheese: One can find Joseph's Farms "suave" (mild, tasteless) cheddar cheese in many stores in Mexico. But good luck trying to find decent "old" or "aged" cheddar. There is one place we found this in Mexico: Costco. (But note: on the Pacific Coast, Costco is only in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta.)

Update October 22, 2014: Surprise, surprise, we found plenty of (small size) Tillamook Aged Cheddar (pretty decent cheese) at the Mazatlan Gran Plaza Mega store. 

Update: November 3: Unfortunately, no more Tillamook cheddar! And our hopes are dashed.... Aged Cheddar is very hard to find (even harder in La Paz)

 

Greek "Kalamata" olives: Stores in Mexico often have an amazing variety of olives, many of which we like very much. But Kalamata olives (for greek salad) were very rare.

Natural Peanut Butter:  We could only find hydrogenated "Skippy", "Jif", and "Alladino"  peanut butter.  

Bisquick: Great for making pancakes and quick biscuits,  we couldn't find Bisquick anywhere. UPDATE: We found Bisquick in La Paz!

Muffin mix: In Canada we have excellent brands of muffin mixes for many types of muffins.  These were hard to find in California and very rare in Mexico

Pine nuts: If you like to make your own pesto,  you'll search high-and-low for pine nuts,  to little avail (although we did find pine nuts in their shell -- seemed like a lot of work to use them). 

Beers other than lagers (e.g., Pale Ale): Lots of lagers,  and a very good dark lager (Negro Modelo)  are available,  but pale ales are hard to find.  (However,  San Jose del Cabo has a good micro-brewery producing great brews.  In La Paz,  go to "Harker Boards"  on the Malecon for great pizza and micro brews.) 

Wine: Leaving California,  you leave behind good inexpensive wines.  Decent wines ARE available in Mexico,  but at a higher price.  We became very fond of Ensenada wines: the L.A. Cetto Private Reserve Chardonnay ($14) is excellent; the L.A. Cetto basic Chardonnay quite drinkable ($7). Easy to find L.A. Cetto in La Paz -- not as easy in Mazatlan.

Maple syrup (the real stuff): (for Canadians) once you have real maple syrup, it is rather difficult to accept "Log Cabin" or "Aunt Jemina" "maple-flavoured" syrups. Only place we've found real syrup was at Costco.

Molasses: Still have not found molasses in Mexico.

Dental floss: OK,  this is an odd one,  but there only seems to be old-style thin and shredding dental floss available in Mexico. 

Update October 22, 2014: Another surprise, we see new varieties of dental floss  at the Mazatlan Gran Plaza Mega store. (Did they read our blog post?)

VANCOUVER to SAN FRANCISCO: Time ticking down... departure in 3 days (hopefully)

Time is ticking. We are currently planning to leave for San Francisco sometime Tuesday August 27th. (Of course, this is subject to last-minute hiccups.) We have the great fortune of having our friend Jim from SV Berkana join us as crew to San Francisco. We sailed with Jim on Berkana Hawaii to Vancouver in 2004. One couldn't get a more experienced crewmember! It has been a very busy 3 weeks -- very tiring -- getting ourselves and Pelagia ready. Won't get it all done. A very typical situation, apparently.  More to come.

PROJECTS FOR JULY/AUGUST

Time is ticking for our late-August departure south.

We have many projects we are hoping to complete. Some are important; others are "nice-to-do".

For example (in no particular order):

•  Haul boat, paint bottom etc (completed)
• Install fans in v-berth (completed) and quarter berth, and more in main salon
• Purchase and install solar panels (in process)
• Minor engine work (new impeller, etc)
• Re-tune new standing rigging
• Remove forward diesel tank (under V-berth, we've never used it) and replace with water tank (in process)
• Purchase/install pedestal chair for nav desk
• Install tie downs for liferaft
• Non-skid for deck
• Dodger revisions (add opening window)/minor repair (in process)
• Install lee cloths
• Install new refrigerator (of course, our old one now seems to be doing fine...)
• Add tie-downs for various items

This is a short list of a much larger list -- our Excel spreadsheet is up to 160 items -- 96 of which have been completed since 2011. Many of them major, such as new sails (2011), new running (2011) and standing (2013) rigging, SSB (2012),  Hydrovane (2013), new instruments, etc.

Then there are the non-sailing "administrative" things required to sail south. Sell condo (done), storage locker (done), mailbox (done), new passports (done), etc. etc.

But we are getting there.

Haul-out in Nanaimo: Good experience with Nanaimo Boatyard at Stones Marina

We hauled out at Nanaimo Boatyard (“NB”) at Stones Marina. Our first time at this boatyard, we had heard good reviews from friends, their prices were better than Vancouver area and, importantly, they have a large Travelift, so we would not have to remove our backstay.

Now that's a dirty bottom...

Our plans were fairly simple: (i) haul out and pressure wash the bottom (by NB), (ii) wetsand/clean the bottom then 2 coats of bottom paint (by us), (iii) replace 3 zincs (by us); (iv) fair keel’s very minor nick (by NB) , (v) repack stuffing box, check stern tube hose, and consider dripless stuffing box (by NB), and (vi) if time, polish hull (by us).

We booked a nearby motel, not being sure what it would be like to stay aboard at this boatyard. Turns out, this was not necessary. The boatyard allowed staying aboard and would have been perfectly comfortable, with good showers, etc. Oh well, next time….

The haul out (and splashing back in) was the most careful we have yet experienced. The yard very organized. The pressure washing was definitely the best we have seen. But the better surprise was how quickly NB staff got onto the items we requested them to do. Half a day into the haulout, the stuffing box was shining, repacked and with a new stern tube hose (turns out, after measuring, they determined a PYI dripless box would not fit), and the keel was faired and sanded (as I said, it was minor: it only cost $42 to repair!). Meanwhile, David was still scraping/sanding the bottom, and Michelle polishing! After two nights (due to low tide, we had to haul out/in in the later afternoon), we were finished.

Very impressed with Nanaimo Boatyard at Stones Marina.

After splashing back into the water, we spent an evening at the Nanaimo Yacht Club's reciprocal docks (good facilities), then had an excellent sail across to Howe Sound -- so much faster with a clean/smooth bottom!), where we recovered in Port Graves for 2 nights (we were tired!) before returning to our home dock at VRC in Vancouver.

CONDO SOLD... Our Great Purge

Guess we gotta sail south now...

Boxes for locker... boxes for boat... stuff for donation

Condo emptied and cleaned... Goodbye to our home of 17 years!

Our day to move out, May 25th, came too quickly.

Back in March, when we put our condo on the market, we expected it to take several months to sell. Not so: we sold in less than 2 weeks, and found ourselves faced with more than the typical move! We thus began a discombobulating 7 weeks.

Essentially, we did an almost complete purge. A couple of decades of possessions -- what to keep? Very little! With only a small storage locker, all furniture had to go, as well as most of our possessions/clothes etc. Friends, charities and, especially, the many binners in our West End alley were all beneficiaries of our purge.

The final week came and we were on top of our move. Indeed, we turned over the keys a day early. We then retired to Pelagia somewhat shell-shocked, wondering what the hell we had done!

We are dividing up where we are staying: on the boat (both at the dock and at anchorages), up at Whistler, as well as plans for visits with friends/family, and a short-term rental (during boat work).

Hydrovane installation and first use

Our new Hydrovane is now installed and (thus far) works great!

Our Hydrovane "Fin" installed on Pelagia

First try -- "Fin" worked great immediately (sailing in English Bay)

We purchased our Hydrovane just over a year ago. Will Curry (who is currently sailing their Beneteau Hydroquest in French Polynesia) from Hydrovane came down to Pelagia to check measures and suggest placement. Will recommended mounting the Hydrovane with an "H" bracket on the stern grid (after "beefing up" the stern grid) and an "A" bracket on Pelagia's transom. Will's in-person check really helped (of course, it helps that "Hydrovane International" office is located in nearby West Vancouver)!

Last Spring (2012), we contacted an installer recommended by Will -- unfortunately, that person turned out to be completely unreliable and strung us along and finally never showed up. (Yes, we noted our negative experience to the Hydrovane folks.) Lucky we had, by then, postponed our departure by 1 year. 

It turns out that our rigger, Paul at Ocean Rigging is also an installer recommended by Hydrovane. One thing we know about Paul, besides his good work, is that when he agrees to a job, he does it when he says he will (weather permitting, of course).

Paul and Gus came down to Pelagia a couple weeks ago, and we began the process of mocking up the placement of the Hydrovane. (The "mockup" uses PVC pipes to determine placement of brackets and lengths required for the stainless steel pipes.)  This was a rather drawn out process, and we ended up with a placement of the "A" bracket that was somewhat different than suggested by Will. (Will thought the "A" bracket would go to either side of the transom walk-thru, but this was not possible with the fixed 40-degree angle of the bracket.) We found that one arm of the "A" bracket could be placed below the walk-thru and the other arm placed starboard to the walk-thru. A benefit of this is it allows easy access to the stern grid (for swimming, dinghy access, and for putting on/taking off the Hydrovane rudder).

Gus & Paul check angles of mockup (white tubes are PVC)

"H" bracket on stern grid (not yet reinforced); "A" bracket on transom

Significant reinforcement of stern grid underside (all stainless steel)

"H" bracket on top of anodized aluminum backing plate

It took a little over a week to complete the reinforcement of the stern grid -- we did a little more "beefing" up than suggested by Will Curry. Nothing wrong with building something stronger.

Last week, we got together again, and did the final measures and installed the Hydrovane. This too required the better part of a day.

The next day, Michelle and I headed out on Pelagia for a few days sailing (in the sun!). Immediately upon entering English Bay, we hoisted our sails and tried out "Fin" the Hydrovane (well, it looks like an Orca's fin, and Vancouver fans will know "Fin"). Amazingly, we got Fin to work on our very first try! (It probably helped that we'd had previous experience with a windvane -- a Monitor -- when sailing on SV Berkana back from Hawaii in 2004.) After several tacks, we set course across Georgia Strait: Fin guided us all the way across to Porlier Pass, where we then anchored in Clam Bay. A couple days later, Fin again guided us from outside of Silva Bay all the way back across the strait to Bowen Island.

In Snug Cove (Bowen Island). Fin "resting" after steering us across the strait

Look Ma, no hands! Fin steering us in English Bay

It is still early, but we are pretty happy with Fin, our new crew member.



(Again, thank you to Paul and Gus of Ocean Rigging, and to Will of Hydrovane.)

Pelagia sails again -- Mast re-stepped (finally)!

Sailing home after re-stepping mast (Point Grey and North Shore mountains in distance)

After way too many months without mast and rigging (late September 2012 to March 2013), Pelagia is again a beautiful sailboat.

Again, the weather made things difficult for us. With an appointment at 2pm on Tuesday with the crane in Steveston, Sunday and Monday gave us strong (20-25 kn) northwesterly winds -- which would make the 27nm trip at best uncomfortable and possibly worse (wind over tide at Sand Heads). We waited and watched all day Monday; finally saw a decrease of wind and seas late afternoon. Forecast was for a further decrease, so we left at 5pm, making for "Coward's Cove" at the end of the North Arm of the Fraser River, with plan to anchor just before the sun went down at 730pm.

Arrived Coward's Cove 7pm, after an exceedingly rolly trip when beam-to the seas around Pt. Grey. (My goodness, how a sailboat without its mast ROLLS with small waves!). "Cove" was empty and looked like a good choice for the eve (this was our first time here). Charts show 10 ft at zero tide; we arrived on a rising tide, currently at ~4ft above datum. Surprise, surprise, we bump the soft sandy bottom (i.e., <6ft). Becoming darker, we decide to anchor closer to the river channel in about 8 ft. Luckily, a calm night windwise, but the river remained busy with commercial traffic all night. Not much sleep -- noisy and rolly; up at first light to hi-tail it out of there. (No, we're not likely to re-visit Coward's Cove!)   

Arrived Steveston early (1130am) -- moved crane appointment earlier due to coming severe weather forecast. (Gale warnings, rainfall warning; even a waterspout warning!)

Mast re-stepping went very smoothly -- again thanks to Paul and Gus at Ocean Rigging.

Mast in parking lot (in the distance, Michelle checking out boom)

Mast rolled out to crane/travel lift slot

Mast lifted

Gus and Paul being very careful...

putting in mast partners

Mast boot... tried-n-true inner tube method

Completed mast boot (lots of rain overnight w/o a leak!)

Next day (Wednesday), we were stuck at dock in Steveston with gale-force winds all day, until sunset. Thursday morning the winds were down to Northwest 5-15 knots, giving us a perfect sail all the way from Sand Heads (end of Fraser River South Arm) to Snug Cove on Bowen Island (after first visiting the Stellar's sea lions and cormorants near Sand Heads). Our first night "cruising" since September! Friday, we managed another sail most of the way back to Vancouver.

A very large (male) Stellar's Sea Lion

Cormorants and sea lions at Sands Heads

Sailing north

Finally, a mast with sails!

Pelagia at Snug Cove (Bowen Island), after a great sail from Sand Heads

Great to be sailing again!

This is not a baby step...

Our moves towards sailing away (into the sunset? to Mexico? ...) have not always been large. Some may even think we've been making mostly "baby steps".

Well, today we took a BIG step: Our condo went on the market today.

Selling our condo, where we've lived for the past 17 years, is not easy. But it is time. Assuming we do get it sold, it will be one less thing to worry about while we are sailing, and one less expense (a significant expense).

Should it not sell, it is not critical.  We still go sailing.

Mast install? "No" says the weather...

We were scheduled to re-install the mast with new standing rigging, LED trilight, spreader lights, etc this past Monday (Feb 25th). To do so, we would have to return to Steveston, normally a 27 nm trip via Sand Heads and the Fraser River.

The normal route from Vancouver Harbour to Steveston (North up)

Michelle and I planned to go either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather forecast. Well, it was not to be. For the first time in a very long time -- we cannot remember the last time -- we had three days of gales in Georgia Strait. Both SE and NW gales.  And it really did blow.  Given that Sand Heads (and the route) are very exposed to both SE and NW gales, and there can be nasty conditions where the river outflow meets NW winds in the strait, we decided to re-schedule to later in March.  (Much better for the rigger, who probably wasn't looking forward to going aloft in strong -- and cold -- winds.)

If the same forecast happens in March -- unlikely -- we may take the protected (weatherwise) back route via the Fraser River North Arm (entrance just off "Pt. Grey" on the chartlet above) to New Westminster then down the South Arm to Steveston (an  extra 15 nm). The low bridges on this route will be no problem, given our lack of a mast!

We are anxious to become a sailing vessel again. Until then, some more skiing and lots more other stuff on Pelagia.

Spiffing up Pelagia: New upholstery

Among many upgrades completed/in progress/planned for Pelagia, some fall into the "spiffing up" category. The upholstery in the main salon was definitely showing wear and a little tired (after at least 20 years) 

Here is what the old upholstery looked like:

old port-side settee

old starboard-side settee

We decided (February, 2013) to re-upholster: new material, new colour/design, and new foam. Here is the new main salon upholstery:

New starboard-side settee and table

New port-side settee

Besides looking great, they are also "improved". The bottom cushions are thicker and definitely more comfortable. We also had the backs cut differently to make it easier to use the settees as sea berths. 

We're pretty happy with the results!



P. S. In case you are wondering, we had the cushions done by Randy at
 The Chair Centre

Good work done very fast (that's right, he's not a "marine" upholsterer)

Dismasted!

A new type of powerboat?

On purpose!

We brought Pelagia up the Fraser River to Steveston to pull the mast. It has been at least 20 years since she has had new rigging, so we figured it was time, especially given our plans to go offshore next year.  (Sorry for the over-dramatic headline....)

A little nerve-wracking at first, but all went well (and easy) thanks to Paul and Gus at Ocean Rigging (plus an experienced & careful crane operator).

About to lift...

Liftoff! The mast is out!

Now, please be gentle...!

And to think, folks back in central and eastern Canada have to do this every year -- yikes!


After this, we motored over to Port Graves/Artaban, and spent a night at anchor. But it just isn't the same without the rig and sails. Normally, even when we motor, we always have the hope of sailing. Not so today. How do powerboaters put up with all that boring engine running? We motored back home to the Rowing Club the next day.

[Of course, there was no wind on the way TO Steveston, when we could have and wanted to sail; but on the way over to Artaban from Steveston, there was a good SE wind, but we had no mast to sail!]

Mastless at Artaban...

We leave soon for a 2+ month trip to Asia -- so we plan to put it all back together in January. New standing rigging; tri-colour/anchor light; spreader lights; trysail track; and a new winch or two.

The best laid plans... Change!

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft agley... (Robert Burns)

As happens for so many offshore "dreamers", we have decided to postpone our planned (well, it was really only "hoped for") departure for southern waters to August 2013 (yes, 2013!).

Actually, the decision was made for us -- although we were already contemplating the delay. Sure, we still have a lot to do to get ready (but all doable, providing we were focused); Sure, David made more work commitments than expected, such that as "retired" he was spending 2-3 days per week working on "work" rather than working on the boat. But these were not the reason to postpone....

What made the decision for us, however, was this past week's news that our condo -- indeed, the whole building -- was going to undergo a full "re-piping", from approx August 2012 through January 2013. This would make it impossible to sell, impossible to rent (difficult anyways, due to rental restrictions) and something we would not wish to be far and many months away from. So, in the end, we've decided postpone the big adventure until Summer 2013.

Hey, the cloud has a real silver lining! There are many advantages:

• we get to do some enjoyable cruising/sailing in B.C. this summer (this would have been difficult if we had to get Pelagia fully ready for August 2012)
• we get to go back to Nepal (yay!) for another trek in the Fall, as well as some travel afterwards in Indonesia (Bali & Borneo) and Thailand. (Indeed, we had wanted to go back to Nepal this April -- i.e., now! -- but decided we couldn't because time was too tight for getting ready to sail off this August)
• we can have another winter skiing up at Whistler
• we have much more time to prepare Pelagia, and time to try out/learn to use some of the new equipment we already have purchased (SSB/Ham, Hydrovane, etc)
• we have more time to get the condo ready -- most likely to sell 
• David can finish all those work commitments
• and, finally, in general, we will have time to enjoy our retirement....

So, although it may seem like we are just another example of "dreamers" who postpone and never leave the dock, it is not the case. Even if the condo repairs are the "straw" (that broke the camel's back), we're happy with this. (Indeed, we are getting excited about Summer sailing possibilities and Fall travels!)

We will continue to update this blog with our sailing, Pelagia prep, and perhaps non-sailing things such as skiing, hiking, and Nepal trekking.

So many projects, so little time...

At least, it seems that way!

Last year (2011) we took care of some large ones: 3 new sails; new wind/speed/depth instruments; new chartplotter/radar; new primary anchor and new chain rode; and almost all running rigging replaced.

 
Still, so many projects to start/complete before we head south in August (or will that be September?)

We have some larger items we know we need/want to take care of, such as (not in any special order):
- purchase and install ICOM M802 SSB
- purchase and install Hydrovane
- purchase & install LED trilight for top of mast (purchased Lunasea trilight/anchor/strobe)
- backstay insulators for SSB antenna
- standing rigging check and, if needed, replace rigging
- purchase and install solar panels (which brand?)
- AIS transponder
- repair or replace several portlights
- install permanent chair or bench for nav desk
- remove large wooden navpod over companionway and replace with low-profile shelf
- cockpit table
- new dinghy (thinking about a Portabote)
- purchase/install liferaft
- EPIRB
- engine maintenance
- haul boat, bottom paint, etc
.
.
.
and lots and lots of "smaller" items, such as:
- touch up interior wood
- engine tachometer in cockpit
- "power" for WHAM4x remote mike
- improve arrangements for computer on nav station
- manual foot pump in galley
- repair aft manual bilge pump
- heavy weather tie downs (drawers, floorboards, etc)
- add more fans
- more interior LED lights
- etc, etc, etc

And then there are the questions about "luxury" items:

• do we install a watermaker (current answer: "No"). If yes, which type?
• do we replace our older energy-hungry refrigerator with a newer more-efficient one?  (Current answer: Hmmmm, maybe)
• New generator? (Current answer: No! We'll stick with our Honda e2000)

The list goes on and on (and on). I guess this is how everybody feels as they prepare to leave. And I (David) am the type that has to have everything "just so". I know, I know -- "everyone" (all those websites...) says "it'll never be completely ready -- just go". Time to think that way will be when it is getting closer -- in the Summer.

Must be lots of others feeling the same way right now.