Modoc has come a long way in the last 2 weeks while anchoring outside San Quintin – a small worker’s town in Baja, Mexico. We not only extended our refit crew by 9 Mexican crew members, we also started taking out the big guns (read: exciting power tools) and things are changing at fast pace every day.

San Quintin is a small cowboy town - not a euphemism, they literally have guys herding cows on horseback. Luckily we can also find most of the bits and pieces needed for our refit. Where we struggled making ends meet in Ensenada, San Quintin surprised us with a wide range of affordable hardware shops.

In every corner of the boat people are hustling around, grinders are buzzing, welding rods are glowing, saws are hissing… Honestly?! It has been quite a cacophony. One thing we learned quickly here:
Ear muffs and breathing masks are the daily fashion routine on this boat refit.

One of the biggest changes for the refit, is the galley. Before now, we only had a tiny 9 square meter kitchen to cook for a team of up to 20 people - this had to change! First up was cutting out 3x2 meters of solid steal-wall into an unused section of the smoke stack which allows us to almost triple the kitchen space. If you’ve ever handled steal before, you know how heavy it is. We decided to cut it into three pieces – each about 200kg – which we reused for welding closed unwanted doorways to the training room and to the deck.

Speaking of, the deck itself has been under quite a make over the last few days. When starting the conservation missions, the deck will have to be as functional as possible. The big carrying beams on the stern have been cut down. This created much more space and allows for a much more flexible working environment, especially when we’re pulling big fishing nets out of the water.

The tiles and concrete have been lifted and the steal chequer deck beneath is being revealed (one slow day of grinding at a time, we’re currently on day 9) – which is much more useful to our working boat than the slippery tiles of bygone days. Access-points to petrol and water tanks emerged, and these might come handy in the future.

Also, the training room is getting custom window frames done. With a carpenter from town our crew quickly made progress on the woodwork and things are starting to look less like a construction site and more like the beauty the Modoc will be soon.

While about 10 people are working on prettying up the joint, our engineers are still slaving away in the engine room. A new hot water system has been installed, and they’re preparing the crane to move it down one whole level. This sounds easier than it will be. We expect it to be quite an undertaking including cutting concrete and steal mixed with plenty of welding and heavy lifting.

It is a long journey to make a change in this world. The right gear is essential and takes a lot of thorough preparation. We are expecting our military grade surveillance drone any day now, which will be a big part of the anti-illegal-fishing missions we are preparing the Modoc for.

Let us introduce some of our crew to you. We are blessed to have an interesting mix of people on board. While in the past crew mainly came from military background or film crew, now the we have people from all over the world and various backgrounds, that gives us numerous different perspectives on the matters of conservation.

Cassandra (The gentle Soul)
Nationality: USA
How she got onto the boat: Messaged Pete on Facebook

Calm waters are deep… and Jeezus - that is just so true with Cassandra. On first impression she is the polite lady who wouldn´t harm a fly. But give her a sledge hammer, and – boom! - kitchen gone! Hand her the grinder – Bam! – roof polished! Let her get hands on the needle gun – no more rust in sight! She does not shy away from hard physical work, and whatever job has to been done Cassandra climbs right into it, head first.
She has been studying conservation biology and has her heart set on being part the change. With her previous work experience in habitat restoration with the Washington conservation core for a couple of years, she is now where she truly belongs. This fun bubbly spirit is always up for a good laugh (– especially after a margarita or two ;) ) and is a remarkable asset to the crew for her unparalleled work ethic and her ability to always keep the spirits high.

Sean (The helpful Mechanic)
Nationality: South Africa
How she got onto the boat: Previously worked with Larry in South Africa and decided to join the Modoc for 4 months

Sean is on dinner duty? You know that the braai (barbeque) will be fired up! Playing with fire is in his South African nature ;)
Sean is the people-person every boat should have. One of the characters that people just instantly get along with. With no bad bone in his body, he is the man to help on any projects going on around the boat. If you are in a pickle Sean is the man to turn to. He certainly doesn´t shy away from the rather shitty jobs that have to be done around the boat. (e.g. everyone´s nightmare: pumping out the black tank)

Especially in the engine room he showed his talents as a mechanic, that he previously utilized in his car selling business back in Durban, South Africa.

If you think you (or someone you know) could be part of this dynamic team, send us an email and join us in Mexico! We have about three months of big projects ahead of us and are especially keen to hear from anyone with carpentry, welding, or outstanding cooking skills: Earthrace – over and out.

Kind regards

Captain Pete Bethune
pete.bethune@gmail.com
Mobile: +1 (310) 309-9504
Whats App: +642102188188

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