Putting the boat away

I'm back in the USA!  I made it north to the place to put my boat away and she is now sitting in a hole waiting for me to return.  

Here's a phone camera shot of a remote volcanic island on the way up...

And a bit higher...

It was a bit of a complicated story, getting to my boat hole...  I was in a bit of a hurry, or rather, I had an assertive pace going along, but then I unburdened myself of the spare time jingling around in my pocket at Puerto Refugio, in order to square the clock precisely upon arrival in Penasco.  My goal was to haul out at the tide's summit, and to stay away from the harbor until that fated hour.  

So I left Refugio at about noon, with the goal of averaging four knots, and upon setting the mainsail and spinnaker I found six!  But nary a few minutes at six passed before the deceitful wand of the speedometer strained further to the right and advanced to seven!  And then upon the eight it rested, not a few minutes more.  

At this moment the delightful dance was interrupted with a sighting of a blue whale nearby.  It is very unusual (I think) to find blue whales in the northern sea of cortez after about mid-march.  My understanding is that they migrate into the sea around the middle of January, and then leave in March to go to Costa Rica area (well, offshore of there), then in June to near Los Angeles, and then in October to Alaska, before doing the circle again.  But there it was.  

Anyways, then wind carried me along my way presently towards the evening, and a fleet of shrimp trawlers, which I dodged in the growing darkness, and on to a record of 10 knots, before ebbing with the tide in the dark hours of the night.

I tried to rest a bit while sloshing around, but eventually the sun roused me about and as the waters rose with the gravity of the day, I transited the shallow entrance to the harbor and to a shallow water dock (that is too shallow for me at low water) to wait the final minutes until my alliance with the travel-lift.

Here are some photos of the lift

And then they drove me out along the street to another lot where it is dirt.

Then the dug a hole ...

And finished it by hand

And brought the hull to the hole to settle.

Once lowered, the stands are much shorter.

So now the boat is all covered up with shades and will soon be covered in dust as well, and she will wait patiently for me to return in the fall.