Our Batteries Fail, And We Survive….Zihuatanejo

Onward to Zihuatanejo where the movie Shaw Shank Redemption ended! We left Coleta de Campos in a hurry due to big waves curling over way too close to the boat, but everything was in order and the weather was good. We had the sails up in 9 knots of wind and we were making good time.

This passage would be a one night overnight and we planned to arrive with the sun up. Around 9pm the wind died and we had to take the sails in and start the engine. About an hour later, the battery fault light came on. Bill measured the battery temperatures with our temperature gun and one measured 140 degrees while the other two seemed OK at 110 degrees. We shut the engine down and put the sails up allowing the batteries to cool down. Bill rewired the battery bank so that the hot battery was out of the circuit. We were down to two batteries. Sacagawea was barely making way in the light ghost of a breeze. We decided to start the motor again, fingers crossed. Not long after, another battery started getting hot. Bill took that one out as well. We were down to one battery. One battery to run the navigation lights, chart plotter, auto pilot, freezer, refrigerator, water pump, everything! Obviously, we would need new batteries before December.

Sunday morning, we arrived and anchored at 7am off of Grand Isle, just north of Zihuatanejo and called Marina Ixtapa to see if we could get a slip and some electrical help. We had planned to anchor and enjoy Grand Isle for a day or two then move around to the anchorage in the bay at Zihuatanejo but as always, plans change or get completely obliterated.

The marina called back at noon and we were in luck! The marina had a slip for us AND found an electrician who was willing to come on a Sunday! We were a bit on edge and had our fingers crossed for our one remaining battery as we fired up the Yanmar to motor the few miles to the marina. There was no choice, the entrance was narrow, winding, shallow, and had current. We had to use the engine and the engine would push power into the battery possibly causing it to overheat. There were four foot waves at the entrance of the channel which pushed us forward as we crossed in. We had to make a hard 90 degree turn immediately to avoid the rock jetty in front of us. We made it! We were docked by 2:30 and the electrician was scheduled to come at 4:00. Our remaining battery was still working! Whew!
Alexis arrived with his tool bag and started the diagnostics. Thank goodness for Google Translate! Our barely-serviceable Spanglish would not cover the technical language and specific questions we needed to ask. The bottom line was that there was nothing to do but get new batteries. Everything else was in good working order. The alternator, the solar charger, the hydro generator, the charge controller, the inverter, and all of the wiring were fine. Well, that was good, right? Alexis is a young professor at the University. He has competed internationally in robotics technology, so he isn’t a marine electrician but he knows his stuff. There were very limited choices of batteries to purchase. Lithium batteries, which was what we had planned to change to when our AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries died, were not a possibility. We could order AGM batteries like what we had but it would take about a month. I honestly didn’t think our one battery could last that long, and neither could we since our visas would expire in about 5 weeks and we needed to exit the country by then. The other choice was to get 6 deep cycle marine batteries which would take two days. It wasn’t really what we wanted but it was what was available. We asked Alexis if he could also install a battery monitor on our bow thruster battery bank and if he could repair our broken D/C amp meter.

The next day, Alexis picked us up and drove us to the marine store where we purchased all of the supplies for the projects including the batteries. Everything would be ready for pick-up tomorrow. Alexis dropped us off at the Port Capitan’s office where we needed to check in. Every time we move from one city to another, we have to check in with the Port Capitan, present all of our ships papers and passport and fill out a form stating where we had come from and where we planned to check in next. The process usually takes about an hour, sometimes less. We took our big note book full of papers and entered the building. There were at least a dozen people waiting in the hot room, most looked like they had been there for quite some time. This was odd. We eventually figured out that we needed to fill out a short form explaining why we were there, turn it in, and wait to be called.

About 45 minutes later we were called. We showed our documents and copies that we had. It wasn’t enough. We would need five color copies of everything, also three forms (in Spanish) needed to be filled out. Once they had the documents, she would issue a payment voucher which we would need to take to the bank, pay the fee, get a receipt of payment, get five copies of that, and return. Usually there is no charge and one copy of everything is required. This process sounded like the process for getting international clearance. I inquired stating we only planned to stay in Zihuatanejo a week then move to Acapulco. The woman said it was just to check into Zihuatanejo and the same process would need to be repeated on exiting. This is crazy! But we had already turned in form one so there was no going back.

Divide and conquer time! I would do the forms while Bill did the copies. Bill hustled to the copy center about three quarters of a mile away while I struggled with the forms. Bill made it back sweating and hot just as our name was being called. It was now 2pm. They said that in order to get our clearance completed today we would need to pay extra or we could return in the morning. Not wanting to pay for taxis for the hour drive to and from the marina or spend another day in the crummy office, we said we would pay extra. We waited another half hour watching frustrated people trying to get their issues resolved. We got our payment voucher and ran to the bank which was right next to the copy center three quarters of a mile away, how inefficient can this process be? We got in line at the bank. They only took cash, OMG! Got out of line, went to the ATM, back in line, paid, got the receipt, went to the copy center right next door (thank goodness) and ran back. We returned to a locked office at 3:30. No way! We paid extra! We knocked on the door and waved through the window. They let us in and took our vouchers but told us to return at 9am to pick up our completed paperwork. We were hungry, thirsty, and dumbfounded. Where is the beer?

The next morning we were up early and had decided to try out the bus system to get over to the Port Capitan. We walked about a mile to the main corner and waited. A minivan stopped and opened the door. I guess this is the bus? He stopped various places and when we got to the corner with the bank and copy center we paid a dollar and got out. The bus certainly had a stop closer to the office but with our limited Spanish we couldn’t ask and at least we knew exactly where we were since we had done the walk back and forth several times the day before. We arrived at 8:45 expecting a long process. Just as we did the previous day, I filled out the short form and turned it in. The woman took the form and smiled at us with recognition on her face. We looked around at familiar faces from yesterday and inquired how were things going. I shouldn’t have asked! Two minutes later, we had our official documents. Wow, I guess paying extra did help. We could feel jealous looks on our backs as we skipped out of the office. We got a Taxi back to the marina anticipating Alexis arriving soon.

Alexis showed up just after lunch with a helper, Alan, a recent graduate of the University. They installed the monitor, repaired the amp meter, and started prepping for the battery install. We went for a bike ride around the area. The resident Croc was swimming under the bridge, flowers were blooming everywhere, and life was good! The next day, Alexis and Alan showed up with the six new batteries and three more helpers, Alejandra, Luis, and Emilio all were students at the University. Our boat was pretty crowded! They worked hard all day until 8pm to get the job done. We celebrated with a pizza party aboard the boat! Certainly these batteries will last until we can get Lithium installed? I think I will keep my fingers crossed.

April 2, with our problem at least temporarily solved, we decided to venture over to Zihuatanejo to begin the two day check out process and explore the town. It was full of shops and restaurants and had nice beaches. We pulled out of Marina Ixtapa at 10:30, negotiated the channel, over the wave, and out into the Pacific Ocean into some beautiful clear water. We put the sail up and started the water maker. At 3:30, we were anchored in the bay among other cruising boats, none that we recognized.

At 10am in the morning we went to check out with the Port Capitan. They said we were missing an official letter from Marina Ixtapa stating that we had paid for our dock there. We showed the receipt of payment but they said it must be accompanied with an official letter. OMG! Frustrated but not shocked, we found a taxi and called the marina on the way so that they could prepare the document. The marina manager apologized and said she has worked there for 23 years and had never been required to prepare both a receipt and a letter. She explained that the Port Capitan is new and perhaps is trying to impress someone with mountains of paperwork. We returned with the letter and receipt of payment. Of course, we would need to return in the morning to get our check out paper (called a “zarpe”). We arrived the next morning for our zarpe which went smoothly and we spent the rest of the day exploring the area and trying to get rid of the bitter taste of the Port Captain experience.

There were nice outdoor restaurants lining the water front, a walking path that went from one beach to the next with fun artwork along the way, and there was the more central area with all of the souvenirs imaginable. It really is a nice town but we will recommend to all of our cruising friends to avoid Zihuatanejo. It was more difficult and more expensive to check in to this little town than it was to check into the country! Tomorrow, April 4th, we head out for Acapulco!