Hilbre is back in her home port of Cabrillo Marina, San Pedro (LA) after completing the infamous ‘Bash’ north from Cabo San Lucas during the last 3 weeks.

Our three years of cruising the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Mexico are over. We started with the 2011 Baja Ha-Ha and continued cruising in the Sea of Cortez and then the Pacific coast of Mexico as far south as Barra De Navidad. We have many great memories of various ports and anchorages and the many cruising friends we made along the way. [U]Our 2003 C36 (2135) performed flawlessly[/U], the only replacement being a raw water pump last year and most recently in Ensenada, the packing in the Gland. We did do some improvements such as:

• Replacing the 40 lb SAS-CQR anchor with a 20 KG Rocna and modifying the Bail on the anchor roller to securely hold it in place.
• Having our sail maker in La Cruz replace the sun shield on the 135% Genoa which improved our pointing ability immensely

We were absolutely religious in our maintenance program for all essential items especially those related to the engine. While we carried over $3,500 of spares such as various pumps, an exhaust riser, a full set of engine hoses, other hoses, spare running lines etc., we never used anything but the packing and the Raw Water Pump which was immediately replaced with a new spare. We also had many regular maintenance filters and other items, many of which were never needed. However, we found it comforting to know that we would not have to hassle trying to get parts in Mexico.

We did perform an aggressive maintenance and review program before leaving including a thorough inspection of all standing rigging, running gear and the engine. It all seems to have paid off; Hilbre never gave us any cause for concern and is in wonderful condition. With many great cruising extras, she is ready to turn around a do it again. Sadly for us, we will shortly put her on the market as we take a break from cruising and decide on our next steps, maybe a bigger Catalina.

For anyone interested in our 3 years of cruising on a C36MKll, our Blog is at;
[url]www.sailblogs.com/member/hilbre[/url]