Ensenada
Jeudi 24 janvier 2013, "¡Qué mala pata!"
After the Spanish course I went to Center
Information to obtain information. I never
reached it. Driving on the center lane of
the Malecon avenue I was doubled on the
right and on the left by police cars with
sharp speed, sirens howling and gyrophares
in action, but I do not know for which
reason an unmarked police car violently
ran up against the right back of my truck
causing some damage as one can see it on
the pictures below. I realized that I was
in a difficult situation not being able to
express Spanish words which I learned
under the blow from the emotion. At this
time a man took to me in his arms and
tells me:
¡Tranquilícese!
¡No se preocupe!
It was Humberto, a speaking
English young employee of California RV
Park who was there by luck. He took the
things over, discussing with the federal
police, at the origin of the accident,
then with the municipal police for the
report. An ambulance was able to take care
of the police officer, driver of the
pick-up, and myself. Humberto tells me
that I was very pale and that I was to sit
me on the forage ladder of the pick-up.
One of the ambulance men took my blood
pressure and say that it was high and wanted
to make me a puncture which I refused for
two reasons, the ignorance of the product
and the syringe which was not in a
sterilized packing. With Humberto we went
to the administrative center for the
report and to expect the representative of
the insurance "Qualitas Compania de
Seguros" which proved to be also the
insurance of the police, phew. The
insurance agent by the means of Humberto
told me that the police being responsible
the insurance will pay the repair of the
damage directly to the workshop. Then we
went to a repairer "Taller Universal" to
deal with the repair of the damage. The
garage was to contact me the following
week. We returned to California around 6
p.m. knowing that the accident had
occurred at 13:30.
¡Menudo dia!
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Le Vendée Globe, 27/01/2013
On Sunday, January 27, 2013 I attended the
arrival of Vendée Globe thanks to Wi-Fi
Internet connection of California RV Park.
I am not a skipper but I lived one great
moment of a sporting exploit out of common
run by a skipper except standard. François
Gabart 29 years, bac (school leaving
certificate) “S” with mention very well,
school of engineer INSA of Lyon,
mechanical engineering graduate. Is the
era of the adventurers of the sailing
finished? Did the advent of overqualified
arrive? Should genius-level IQ ones to
overcome these monsters of technology? At
all events superlatives could not
translate the intellectual, physical and
psychical prowess to surf during 78 days
around the world by doubling the three
caps of the south to sail around the
Antarctic. It should be recalled that
without Eric Tabarly, the passion of the
French for this sport at high-risks would
not exist. Quite simply cheer to all the
skippers of Vendée Globe, called the
Everest of seas. In these times of “French
bashing” by the British news papers, it is
not useless to remember the greatness of
French people. They are not the English
who created EADS and Ariane Space. I think
that the backwards of the years of “City”
existence has started. David Cameron
understood it well, his politicking
gesticulations are the subliminal
demonstration… I have to mention the
“fairplay” Alex Thomson who changed his
course for providing a safety to the “froggy”
Jean-Pierre Dick.
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| François Gabart, screen capture of
www.lequipe.fr, news paper |
Taller Univeral, 30/01/2013
On Wednesday, January 30 I had appointment
at 3 p.m. at Taller Universal to begin the
renovation work. Using a column fastened
with a ring on the ground and of a chain
rolled up around the bar of embedding a
hydraulic actuating cylinder drew it to
roughly give it on line. The same
operation was employed for the trunk in
order to find its original squaring. Then
the two elements were deposited to be
worked in order to correctly give them in
shape. The block of lamps was installed in
a manner of ensuring the back safety of my
truck while waiting for the phase of
reassembly on February 5th as from 3 p.m.
after my Spanish course.
Ensenada, 02/02/2013
On Saturday, February 2 I had invited
Humberto to lunch in a Mexican restaurant
which he had chosen. We lunched royally of
typical dish of fish & seafood. Then we
made a trip into downtown area invested by
recently unloaded American tourists off a
cruise boat. The day had started
under a hot spring sun but finished under
an overcast sky heralding bad weather.
Ensenada,
continuation & end of repair, but...
The repair of my truck was by
episodes with deferred appointments. Finally the
work was carried per half-days taking into
account the Spanish courses. On Saturday,
February 9 at 13:30 all was finished
except that the block of rear lights was
not in conformity, I thus left the
original block
partially destroyed. Repairs
cost at the insurance, 9670 MXN is
approximately 600€. Then I was going to
make purchases in Wal-Mart where I met
Oliete from Béziers, France. We promised ourselves
to re-examine us on the road towards La
Paz. But I must tell another event because
an incident is never alone, it falls under
an infernal continuation due to the
devil.
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Indeed on Thursday, February 7 at the
return from Taller the tire at the left
back which
had a crack on the side brutally deflated
and I due to park my truck quickly
destroying completely the tire. It was
18:30 and the night had fallen. A
municipal policeman intervened and
called a break-down mechanic to change the
wheel because the tools for disassembling
were stored in the damaged trunk and I had
left them in California RV Park! Where I
returned around 21:30. The tire of the
spare wheel is very worn and could not
make more than 1,000 kilometers, I were
imperatively to find tires. On Friday
afternoon before to return to Taller
Universal, I went to Michelin but after
consultation of the database in Mexico, no
size of R20 tires was available and
not tire ex-military. I sent a message to
the dealer at Irvine, California, USA,
who had already helped me, TCI #866, to
obtain the tires ex-military. Take advice
of my pillow, on Saturday night, I
decided to go back to Irvine. But I was to
obtain a ESTA. As I told, I had not been
able to give the green card at the exit
which I had sent by postal mail. Alas I
did not have any return. I thus tried, in
the night, to obtain again a ESTA by
Internet procedure already used. With happiness I obtained it
against $14 paid by credit card. It
remained me to try my luck on Monday
morning to enter the USA and to return
to Irvine, to follow.
