Med moor in Punte del Este
Friday 02.01.2008

The Maggie B is tied up “Med moor” in Punte del Este, right next to the Prefectura Crash boat, which seems to have a nice, helpful crew. We are at 34° 58S, 54° 57W. We motored from Piriapolis in a 10-15 knot headwind.

Punte del Este is quite different. Lots of motorboats in the 40-60 foot range. Not seeing any Superyachts, but that is OK. They are probably already north for Carnival or the Caribbean. It is a well-protected harbor with perhaps 1000 boats tied up or at anchor. Ashore there is a mix of some lovely old buildings and then the super flashy condos and hotels. Most of the boats seem to be Argentinean.

We had a reception last night on the Maggie B, as we often do in harbors with a nice crowd of yachties. This was the first time we had done it when hauled out. I was concerned later in the evening that we might lose a guest overboard. Hard if it is concrete 15 feet down instead of water three feet away. Aboard were four French, one Irish, one Scandinavian, two Canadians, one Uruguayan, the crew of the Maggie B and probably some others.

I got the prices wrong in an earlier letter when I said it was US$25 to get hauled. We misunderstood. That was the Prefectura fee to allow us to get hauled. It turned out to be US$120 to get pulled out and the same to get dropped back in. Still a deal. More surprising, it was US$32 a day to be afloat in the marina, but only US$8 to sit out on the hard.

The Maggie B now has two coats of lovely expensive bottom paint that will make us fast the way home, as well as poisoning every barnacle within 100 feet.

Essentially everything on the Maggie B seems in top shape for this last leg, with the exception of the Onan generator. We are waiting for a new fuel pump to be shipped from Canada, which we hope will solve our problem. It is due here “any day.” We hope that our new connections with Uruguayan Customs will make it easier than the last package.

All is well.