We have spent the week working and saying our goodbyes. We have rebuilt the head (read toilet), replaced all five fuel filters, re-spliced the anchor rode, sewn new items to make our lives run smoother and reinforced the stitching on our sunshade which we rely on heavily to keep us cool. We’ve washed the boat, stowed the gear, done our online banking, topped off the fuel tanks and water in the batteries. We spent a few great evenings having dinner with various friends, saying our see you laters and now its time to go.
The destination is flexible, we are hoping to get as far south as Barra de Navidad, but there are many beautiful coves between here and there, so who knows how far we will get. We will stop and stay in each place until its time to move on. In other words, we don’t really have a plan other than a departure day and a direction. Which is exactly the way we like it.
Within the next three weeks we will turn around and start heading north, our destination being the Sea of Cortez. There we will spend the spring and possibly the summer. But for now….. The Costalegre coast is in our sights.
For those who like to follow our track the Delorme inreach is up and running again and we will turn on the Mapshare when we depart the dock, sometime tomorrow in the early afternoon.
Las velas de Pablo 
Sounds like a good plan….not having a plan that would cause you to hurry. I’m glad you gave me a short rundown of items on boat that needed repair/ rework. I know you both spent a lot of time planning and preparing the boat. I was wondering if the failures you had was the result of boat age or conditions sailing down or just poor quality.
The weather here in Santa Cruz has been very nice. This week temps. In the 70’s. Anne and I did get out on our boat on Sunday and went over to Angel Island and walked around. With all the rain we had in January, everything was Really green. Big change after 3 years of no rain to speak of.
Yacht club is pretty much the same but getting ready for the National and Worlds Champships for the Contenders class of boats. Regatta is mid April with boats from Europe, Aust/ New Zealand coming for Worlds.
Take care and continue to enjoy. Have a Happy Easter!
Hi Ed, Glad you and Anne got out for a sail and that the weather is so nice. We have been following along with friends who have finally gotten to ski after years of no snow, and it sounds like the hills are green again. Yay for rain and sunshine!
The work done on the boat this week was mostly maintenance. The head is a Groco EB hand pump and the gasket, flapper, and joker valves have to be replaced every year when under constant use. We have two fuel tanks and each has two fuel filters and the engine has a single fuel filter, all of which were due for replacement. Sewing is just that, making new bags to hold cloths pins, water bottles, late night snacks while on watch. And the reinforcement on the sunshade was just preventative as it is invaluable to our comfort.
The anchor rode, however, was a different story. When we last anchored in La Cruz the rope portion of our rode got caught on something ( anchor?, debris?, who knows) and the rope literally unwound itself as we spun during wind shifts. I cut the damaged rope and old splice out and spliced a new connection between rope and chain.
Life is good! We are surely loving every bit of this journey, even the work days. My best to you and Anne.
Ahhhhhhh…Bon Voyage!
I always look forward to your updates! We will be there soon! How much chain do you have and how much rope rode?
Thanks for following along! Our primary anchor is a 35lb Delta with 375 feet of rode consisting of 125 feet of chain and 250 rope. Our secondary anchor is a 45lb CQR with 250 feet of rode consisting of 75 feet of chain and 175 feet of rope. We also have a 15lb danforth with rope and chain rode that is our stern anchor (although we have not needed to use it yet). Hope that helps. We will watch for you on the horizon!