Cozumel News May 18th, 2015: the results are in for the 2015 Cozumel Fishing Tournament, Rodeo de Lanchas Mexicanas Cozumel 2015, Cozumel General Hospital Closes its Doors, and in Aurita’s Corner, Cozumel Home Maintenance, the first step towards preparing for Hurricane Season!
Cozumel General Hospital closes its doors
By nightfall on Thursday, May 14, Cozumel General Hospital was closed entirely. No consultation, no first aid, let alone emergencies. Ambulances were unable to transport new patients to the hospital, because the patients they did have were evicted to make way for remodeling projects. It is my understanding that their patients were moved to both IMSS and ISSSTE Hospitals.
An article in Por Esto stated that the poor people of Cozumel are prohibited from getting sick these days because General Hospital was closed allegedly for the intent of finishing the remodeling before the first week of June.
ISSSTE and IMSS hospital should receive patients, but they have to cater to thousands of their own beneficiaries. IMSS Hospital, a small building built in the 70s is perpetually full and serves at least 45 000 beneficiaries. The ISSSTE hospital with fewer than 15 beds and has just over 20,000 beneficiaries. Both are expected to receive the patients that usually go to General Hospital, the only other option left for the patients is to go to the clinics located at various pharmacies in case of emergency.
It has emerged that the order to close the hospital came from Juan Ortegón Pacheco, Secretary of Health, and that Hospital Director Arturo Villanueva Marrufo immediately executed the order Thursday night without creating alliances with other medical institutions. The staff made up of nurses, doctors, interns, and others will have unexpected time off.
General Hospital security officers simply inform new arrivals that until further notice the hospital is closed and do not know when it will open.
Rodeo de Lanchas Mexicanas Cozumel 2015
By all accounts, the “Rodeo de Lanchas Mexicanas Cozumel 2015” was a success. One Hundred fifty seven boats participated in the two-day competition that attracts local and international anglers. This year’s tournament, one of the most important and busiest in the region has been around for 44 years and had $300,000 pesos in cash and prizes up for grabs. One Hundred fifty seven boats participated crewed by local, regional, national and foreign fishing fans.
On Friday night, during pre-competition meal Chankanaab National Park, the State Governor highlighted the good environmental stewardship through the form of “catch and release”, which promotes the conservation of the marine species.
The tournament is not just for the participants, I am always amazed at the number of spectators that crowd the passenger ferry area during both days of the competition. Watching the fish weigh-in is as popular as the tournament itself with local families and tourists alike tolerating the heat and sun in a carnival-like atmosphere.
Here are the winners as reported and pictured by Novedades and Por Esto:
Vessel: Pez Vela (Vera Cruz)
Crew Members: Mauro Antonio Tiburcio Delgado, MauroTiburcio Pinto, Patricia Tiburcio Pinto, Guillermo Rueda Villa ,Guillermo Rueda Torre, Pedro José Valerio Hernández, and Eduardo Setien.
Catch: 102-inch Blue Marlin weighing 374 pounds 37,400 points, White Marlin (Caught & Released) 2, 000 Points Day One 39,400 Points.
Won: First Place Mercedes Benz, $10,000 pesos Best Captain Martín Novelo Ruz alias “Tito” (Cozumel), and $5,000 pesos for the best sailor Antonio Mezo Loría, alias “More” accompanied by Second Sailor César Manuel Martínez Castillo alias “Payaso”.
Vessel: Sea Queen (Puerto Aventuras)
Crew Members: Román Quian Alcocer, accompanied by Miguel Ancona & Miguel Erosa
Catch: Blue Marlin, White Marlin, and Sailfish (Caught & Released) 6,000 point plus 1,000 extra points for the first ever “Grand Slam” of the competition, Dorado weighing 10 pounds 300 points, and a Tuna weighing 18.5 pounds 740 points. Two Day Total Points: 9,040.
Won: Second Place
Vessel: Swell Kisseer
Crew Members: Not Listed
Catch: White Marlin and Sailfish (Caught & Released) a Dorado weighing 20.5 pounds, 3,620 points, plus a repeat performance on Sunday for an additional 3,700 points. Two Day Total Points: 7,320
Won: Third Place
The first to fifth place winners received a car, while the sixth to ninth place winners a motorcycle. Tenth Place was awarded $10,000 Pesos. There was good fishing in this 44th edition of the Boats Rodeo Mexican, with the presentation of Dorado, Tuna, Wahoo and Barracuda, but just one species was brought to the scale.
Aurita’s Corner
Hurricane season will be starting in a few weeks, and the first step in preparation for the elements is Home Maintenance. Next week I will cover Hurricane preparation, but this is where it starts. Whether you are a long-term renter or a homeowner there are things that must be done around your home when you live in Cozumel. The process can be costly by island standards and time consuming. Here are the tasks my family undertakes each spring:
Inspect and clean the rooftops: Debris accumulates on the rooftops that will fly around in a storm and cause damage as well as clog your drains. The cement roof will wear with age and eventually cause leaks that can weaken the walls and ceilings in your home. Resurface/Seal Roofs when necessary.
Clean, repair, and replace (if needed) the drainpipes: It is not as simple as cleaning the gutters around the roof back home. We have unattended property on two sides of our home, dirt, sand, and leaves make their way into the tubing very quickly. Cutting overhanging branches is necessary. Take great care to avoid cables and wires.
Inspect all the doors: Replace the weather-stripping around the doors as needed, check your locks, door handles, and hinges.
Inspect all caulking around windows. One year we found all the window caulking held well, but some glass bricks in one bathroom wall allowed rain in when the storm was coming in from the south.
Inspect the walls: The south side of our home is very inaccessible from the outside. The owners of the property next door keep their gate locked. The property consists of some crumbling structures with weeds, bushes, and trees that had been left unattended the three years we had lived here, possibly for many years. I obtained permission to enter and got the key to their gate for what I thought would be a simple caulking task. Wrong, that entire side of the house had to be reinforced with cement. That wall was deteriorating to the point that serious damage could be caused by the next hurricane that came along. I contacted a cement worker and had a crew reinforce the south side of the house. This is another argument for using good outdoor paint with a sealant!
The procedure on the island is to get an estimate for the labor, a list of supplies and a start and end date. You buy your own supplies and have them available for the workers. The day they finish the project, you give the workers lunch and beers.
Inspect window protectors: The neighboring property is an eye sore and that side of our home had just been out of sight, out of mind. There is only one small window that sits high on our bedroom wall on that side of the house. To our dismay, we discovered the Window Protector was held in place with screws! Anyone could have come along, unscrewed the wrought iron protector, and entered our home in our absence. I promptly contracted the “Iron Man” to cement in the window protector and inspected the installation of all the window protectors in our home.
Check all screens for holes and tears it is dengue season. Normal wear and tear will enable the little creatures to get in your home.
Inspect the hurricane shutters; make certain they close properly and find the keys.
Inspect everything metal and iron: We are on an island were everything rusts due to the salt water. A thorough inspection of everything that is metal is necessary annually. If maintained annually, the wrought iron gates, window protectors, and patio furniture will only show a minimal amount of rust and will just need to be touched up. By touched up I mean sand it down, apply rust proofing paint, and then the color paint.
One year I discovered that the two new overhead fans we purchased and had installed only months earlier had metal blades. What I thought was a little dust on the edges was rust. The inside lid to our washing machine and almost all major appliances had small rust spots. A little sand paper, rust proofing and a touch of metal paint will extend the life of everything, prevent major expenses, and save time in the future. (Note that we also own our gas tanks, their upkeep will prevent having to buy a replacement.)
The water tanks or Tinacos must be cleaned annually. Even though they are kept closed, stuff grows in there that you do not want to be bathing and washing with.
Air conditioners need annual maintenance to keep them operable and running efficiently.
Have repair-person inspect all plumbing: Plumbing should be inspected for slow leaks you might have not noticed. Faucets and fixtures need replacing often on the island, I do not know if it is because of the wear and tear or the quality available. The shower-heads need to be soaked in a special solution periodically to unplug clogged holes.
Get out the Generator: Run your generator to make certain all is well. Change the oil and buy a new spark plug.
Paint or Touch up the Outside of the house: When you paint your home, you can save money by purchasing a good quality of paint. Buy the paint that contains a sealant. Spending more money on the paint initially will save you the cost and labor having to paint annually. We have been lucky the last few years and have only had to touch up some spots that were stained, discolored or had been newly cemented.
Clean storage areas and rooms: Pull everything out of storage areas for a good cleaning. It does not matter how clean you keep your home, the humidity affects everything on the island and we have critters that will find their way into your home. A Clorox bleach or vinegar and water solution is necessary for disinfecting and fighting mold.
You should Oil everything wood on a regular basis, especially wooden handles on knifes brought from the States.
Fumigate regularly, we fumigate monthly because of the unattended lots on either side of our property.
