At the top of our world

On our last day in Puerto Escondido, I enlisted Raquel for an important mission at the top of our small 53’ world.

<This the sixth and last in a series of posts I have published about the three weeks we spent at Puerto Escondido, Baja California. Click here to access the first post>

Pesto is a sailboat and as such it has a mast. The mast is sustained by a set of stainless steel wires, known as Standing Rigging. If the standing rigging fails, the mast falls and bad things happen. To prevent this, it is necessary to check the wire’s terminals for mechanical failure and corrosion. The challenge is: some of these terminals are up the mast.

I wanted to check the terminals for some time. Given that Raquel is the lightest, and the willing-most member of the crew for this job, there’s no surprise she was the one to make it up there.

It started on deck. She sat on our new bosun chair, secured by our two strongest halyards:

 

First she checked the lower spreaders:

 

Then the upper pair:

 

And finally the terminals at the top of the mast. She took the camera, so that she could photograph the wires and their terminals up there. This was essentially her mission, and this is what she did:

 

But, being 74ft above sea level, this is what she saw:

 

This is Pesto, tiny under her feet:

 

And a bird’s eye view of Coastal Drifter:

 

 

Raquel is an excellent deckhand. She is strong, agile, embraces tasks with enthusiasm, and tries hard to make things right.

When she came back on deck, she said it was fantastic, a “Disney-like” experience.

I am very proud of my little girl!