Talleres Navales Bercovich

So out she comes at the yard in La Paz, they use a hydraulic trailer which makes a pretty small target to aim at. One of the guys waves his arms around to direct you in but it is a little intimidating with the rocks so close at hand and the breeze picking up. But no problem, I was told that I "put it really good in".

Grace is now stripped of all canvas and halyards and anything else that might blow away, the dinghy is lashed down tight, the wood all topcoated and all the onboard systems decommisioned, I feel comfortable with the location and the yard has a great reputation.

There is an interesting cast of characters living on half finished homemade boats, they will regale you for boring hours about the virtues of their chosen crafts, some of them actually make it into the water. There was one genuine character called Doug who only has one eye and owns the local sail loft called Snug Harbor Sails, we talked about buying his business, I have to admit it was a tempting thought, however reality creeps in.

I am now back in SFwhere it is cold as usual, I'm feeling it more than normal but I suppose I'll get used to it.
Heather and Liam are in Tacoma so it's up to me to get our living situation sorted out so that I can get my family back together.

Grace will stay out of the water at least until December, it is possible that she will sell, I have very mixed emotions about selling her but again reality rears it's prozaic head.

Michael

Liam is developing an appreciation of nautical art

The consolations of civilisation

He's three and he's bored!

Zephyr

Zephyr is the former pilot boat "San Francisco", now doing research on science stuff in the Sea, it has a "robot" actually an Underwater Autonomous Vehicle. But Liam was interested enough even though it wasn't the robot that he imagined it would be.

San Evaristo

San Evaristo is about 50 miles  north of La Paz and is at the southern end of the the Canal de San Jose, it's a protected  anchorage from most wind directions , except the east from which it was blowing with reasonable strength when we arrived there, but the holding was good and besides ourRocna anchor has been infallible.
There is about 20 families a small store or tienda, a school and a water desalinisation plant, the local fisherman are hardworking and it is a beautiful setting with the Sierra Giganta as a back drop.
We met up with an interesting character called Reno and his wife Kathleen, many years ago they had cruised the Pacific on a very small bilge keeled Westerly Centaur, 25ft long. Katheen has been writing a book about their adventures. In the meantime they split time between a stone house that Reno had built near Troy Montana, and their Yorktown 35 sailboat called Star. They haul Star at the Berkovitch yard in La Paz during the summer and spend the entire winter and spring sailing in around San Jose and San Francisco. Reno seems to know all of the locals in the area and spends most of his time helping them out on such projects as trapping goats on Isla San Jose, they hauled 11 of them over in a panga when we were there, collecting firewood, driftwood that blows in with winter storms, there are no worthwhile trees. Hanging arouns in the shade and talking, there seems to be a lot of that going on. He reprovisoins and waters now in San Evaristo then goes out for about six weeks at a time, very low budget and really great guy.
When he heard that we were hauling out at Berkovitch he went back to his boat and came back with a conch shell with the end opened up, I blew it and it had a great loud tone that echoed off the surrounding hills.
Apparently he and his wife collect these shells and hand them out to Berkovitch people, you blow your conch at night and pretty soon someone within earshot will answer. I was really happy to get the conch, unfortunately Liam decided to investigate its bouyant characteristics and the conch once again rests in the tranquil waters of San Evaristo Bay.

Islas

In the background of both pictures is Isla San Jose a very large dry island, in the right foreground is the North side of Isla San Francisco, a popular destination. In the left foreground on the upper picture is Isla Coyote, one of the few populated islands in the Sea where people still make their livelyhood from fishing.
In the lower picture in the left foreground is Isla Cano, a mysterious place described in Steinbecks "Log of the Sea of Cortez.
Turns out there is more still going on on these islands that it first appears.