Yesterday we all headed here for Barra de Navidad. I took my time getting out of Tenacatita because I did something to my neck and was very very sore. I think it was from swimming a couple mornings ago, not stretching out well enough or something. So after I stretched out some more and did some self-massage, I pulled anchor and started out of Tenacatita Bay, close reaching into 15 knots, when "BANG!" - loads of noise and craziness from above my head from a wildly flapping mainsail. I had to get pointed into the wind and get it down somehow, before more bad stuff happened. Bottom line: my outhaul had broken. What happened is that the outhaul is connected to a stainless still ring which is attached to the boom mandrel (mandrel is the right word, I think?) which is the thing that the sail rolls around to furl. The bolts that hold the stainless steel ring to the mandrel had had too much strain over the years and they finally just broke. Two of them broke, anyway; the other two ripped out. So trying to get the sail down with a broken outhaul and a boom-furling main was a chore. I ended up being able to get a temporary outhaul jury-rigged well enough to get the first couple wraps around the mandrel, and then was able to use the furling system to get it down the rest of the way. It was a good "sailing challenge" and a great place for it to happen since I only had about 2 hrs of motoring before I was in a marina. Luckily, Al on Sailfisher has a full-on machine shop on board, so with his taps I was able to re-tap the stripped holes and he also had bolts I could use to reattach the ring to the mandrel. It took some pounding to re-shape the stainless ring to fit back on the mandrel, but we're good now, but I'll need to raise and re-attach the sail more permanently.
So, the marina at Barra... it's pretty luxe here, with some huge awesome motoryachts, golf and tennis and a full-service spa. I don't feel like paying $80 to get a massage, though I desparately need one. There's a place in town where I can probably get one for $20, so I'll check that out later. Who knows, it's probably the same masseuse. It's almost $100/night to stay here, so I'll be here only until I get the boom fully repaired and get some other necessities taken care of. I got my outboard motor fixed this morning, so that's a relief.
Next stop is Manzanillo after one more day of luxury (and golf, if my body can handle it).
