Sitting here in Marina Mazatlan, Mexico, and welcoming 2012, it’s interesting to reflect on the past year and our preparations for this big voyage. In a little less than two months, we plan to depart from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, bound for the Marquesas Islands. The passage is approximately 2800 nautical miles, and we expect it to take 23 to 29 days, depending on our average speed and how long it takes to cross the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone). Our current voyage plan takes us through part of French Polynesia – the Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands – then on to the Cook Islands, the Samoas (Western and/or American) and the Kingdom of Tonga. We’ll spend approximately a month in each island group (including the passage from one group to the next). Then, in October, we plan to leave the tropics and sail south to New Zealand. All together, we expect to sail more than 6200 nm in 8 months. We’ll keep you posted on how our itinerary evolves... This is a voyage that Mark has been dreaming about since his mom gave him the book Dove, by Robin Graham, when he was 9 years old.
I imagine at least some of our friends thinking, “Aren’t they gone yet? They’ve been talking about this for ages!” It’s true, it does feel like we’ve been preparing for a long time, but this isn’t the sort of trip that one plans in a week. The preferred time of departure from Mexico is late February or early March, so that we don’t arrive in the South Pacific before the end of their cyclone season. Since we’d committed to work part of this past summer in Greece once again, we certainly weren’t going to depart last March. So, we’ve used this time to prepare Cheers, and ourselves, for long ocean passages and months away from easy, inexpensive supplies (hardware, boat parts, groceries, etc.). Once we leave Puerto Vallarta, we don’t expect to stay in a marina until we reach New Zealand. While we’ll certainly have access to supplies at various points along the voyage, we expect they’ll be expensive, so we’re trying to be as self-sufficient as possible. We’ve added more solar panels and batteries, to allow us to be off the grid and not have to run the engine so much. We’ve exploited every square centimeter of storage space, for spare parts and provisions. Mark’s been obsessed with maximizing the output of our water-maker, so we can be more comfortably self-sufficient, even with our small water tank.
Since we decided to make this voyage, we’ve spent about 7 months total time working on the following:
- replaced propeller shaft, cutless bearing, rudder and shaft packing
- completed fiberglass work on rudder, skeg and keel to address water intrusion
- replaced grounding plate
- removed all old bottom paint and replaced with epoxy and new anti-fouling paint
- repainted blue stripes on hull
- repainted boat name and hailing port on transom
- added 2 new batteries to the house bank (included fiberglassing in a new tray to hold them) and added a new battery monitor and shunt
- added 2 new solar panels and a stainless mount on top of the dodger
- moved the starter battery
- replaced the engine mounts, rear seal and forward crankshaft seal
- realigned the engine (several times, Mark’s really good at it now)
- replaced the engine room insulation
- replaced old alternator with new high-output alternator and a regulator
- acid washed heat exchanger and coolant system for the engine
- installed new saltwater pump in engine
- installed new starter and had old starter rebuilt to keep as spare
- installed new VHF at nav station
- installed new GPS units at nav station and in cockpit
- added a second fathometer
- varnished and painted our teak caprail to seal it from water intrusion and reduce maintenance time
- varnished (6 coats) teak handrails and main companionway
- added a new inverter
- replaced 2 faucet fixtures in the head (both sink and shower)
- added a fresh water foot pump in head to minimize water consumption
- added a salt water foot pump in the galley for washing dishes while at sea
- replaced all interior lights with LED bulbs or fixtures
- installed 2 new watertight hatches in head for storage
- installed a watertight port in the shower for accessing plumbing
- replaced insulation in top of refrigerator
- sanded and applied teak oil to winch boards in cockpit (10 coats)
- painted hull interior in quarter berth
- replaced large side windows
- installed 2 small hatches in coach roof to act as dorades (ventilation for galley and nav station)
- installed new electric autopilot
- replaced sea valves in head
- fiberglass repair in bilge
- replaced all standing rigging
- replaced mast boot seal
- replaced 200 feet of anchor chain
- replaced old genoa
- installed new LED masthead nav, strobe and anchor light and ran wire down the mast
Michelle's sewing projects
- new cushions for cockpit
- new bags for main sheet and traveler lines
- new covers for cockpit VHF, GPS & other instruments
- covers for all water and diesel jerry cans (to protect against UV damage)
- “hammock” for Mark’s clothes
- cover for Michelle’s clothes shelf
- cover for Lifesling
- storage cover for outboard engine
- UV cover for mast boot
- mesh hanging “wall” for galley
- salon curtains and throw pillows
- “chaps” for dinghy for UV and chafe protection (this was the most advanced project I’ve ever done and they came out so well I got offers from other sailors to hire me to do theirs!)
- removable shade cloths for the cockpit
- vinyl water collector, for funneling rain water into our storage tank
- lee cloths to make sea berths for sleeping while on passage
- new shower curtain
- vinyl bag for paper product storage in head locker
We still have a list of projects that we’d like to accomplish before our departure, but it feels very manageable. We look at each other just about every day in disbelief that we’re finally this close to departure. It’s a very exciting time for both of us, despite the terrible daily headlines and the pervasive feeling of global malaise. We’ve saved our pennies for a long time to make this happen, and are certain that this is the time to do it – while we’re young and fit enough to enjoy and appreciate it, as well as to do it safely. We’re incredibly grateful to have this opportunity, and hope we can share some of the adventure with all of you.
I’ll post a photo album of some of our projects, and look forward to sharing more interesting and picturesque photos once we really start sailing. We’ll post photos only when we have an internet connection, but will be able to post to this blog while we’re at sea.
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