WhiteSpotPirates · video

What this video covers

Nike returns to her sailboat Karl in a boatyard in Mexico — specifically near San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez — after an absence of one and a half years, having originally planned to return within six months.▶ 11:48 The visit has two purposes: retrieving gear (including a watermaker and recycling equipment she wants for an upcoming Cape Verde passage on Ana Maria) and sitting with the question of whether to sell Karl.▶ 4:37 The engine fails to start.▶ 16:40 Nike removes the starter motor, disassembles it, identifies carbonized oxide pitting on the commutator as the likely cause of poor electrical contact, files the commutator down with fine sandpaper, and reassembles the unit solo — a process that runs late into the night.▶ 26:04 She also cleans the hull and interior with natural anti-fungal oils, flushes the cooling system, and checks batteries (100%) and fridge (running).▶ 1:49 The watermaker requires ocean water rather than the marina's chlorinated supply, so she pickles it instead of running it.▶ 28:53 A flat tire on her Brompton folding bike leads to an unplanned afternoon with locals, including a spontaneous road trip to San Carlos to watch the sunset — an encounter she identifies as one of the defining pleasures of solo sailing life.▶ 8:49 She ends the visit without deciding to sell Karl, concluding instead that she wants to sail him again in the Sea of Cortez regardless of any longer-term decision.▶ 33:44

More from WhiteSpotPirates

Has the unusual become the normal?Apr 2026Cape Verde: Sailing Between These Islands Feels Very DifferentApr 2026Sailing to Cape Verde — Where We Chose to Make Landfall (and Why)Mar 20265 Water Maker Lessons from 1.5 Years of Sailing – What We’d Do DifferentlyJan 2026

From WhiteSpotPirates — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.