January 2009Every needed gadget, switch, fan, screen, wind catcher, sun dodger, kayak, absolutely everything has been put on the boat. I believe we are ready to leave this land where you can get anything fairly easily (i.e. the USA). San Diego is sort of the hopping off point. Anything that is added to the boat south of here is much more difficult to find and to get on the boat. That’s why we’ve spent the extra time here. That and also ‘home’ for the holidays.
I feel sadness as we leave San Diego because I am leaving family behind but also looking forward to being away from the dock and doing more exploring of unknown shores. I’m also happy that we will have extra crew of more family. Biagio’s son Matt (http://www.mattmaddaloni.com) has signed on. We will be part of HIS current project which seems to be something to do with going down the Mexican coast and along the way, kite surfing and taking movies. Great timing Matt! More of this in next month. He will be crew with us for about 2 weeks. I’m sure he will have us doing interesting things.
(Photo of Matt on the cover of a magazine with the earth well below him.
)The trip from San Diego to Cabo takes about 1 ½ weeks if you stop for 2 nights along the way. Our goal is to go around Cabo, then up to La Paz and on through to the islands just north of that in the Sea of Cortez to do some diving. I just checked on the temperatures and they are in the 80’s. That is motivation!
My Dad told me that many people are asking him where we are going. Well for us, the best plan is not to have a plan. Unlike a car trip where you may drive through bad weather, snow, mountains, etc. we have many more things to consider. Not only bad weather but hurricanes, hot weather, insects, wind and water currents, and of course your health because this lifestyle is work. And did I mention 'whim' factor? That would be when you are tired of the heat or another island or whatever. You just head North or South from where you are. Depending on the other factors, of course. So we sort of mix all those things together and come up with several plans that can change over night. For example:
Plan #1 – Hang out in the Sea of Cortez through the summer with diving and dipping in the water when it gets too hot. Combine that with overland travel in Mexico or surrounding countries and a year will pass. Then we would continue to other countries.
Plan #2 – Enjoy the Sea of Cortez for 3 months through April. Put the boat on the hard (on stilts in a marina) and travel on land for 6 months, returning to the boat the following March and then head out.
Plan #3 – Enjoy the Sea of Cortez for 3 months and then go on to Plan #A, #B or #C.
After Plan #1, #2 or #3
Pacific Ocean – (the area encompasses half of the mass of the earth)
Plan #A – Head further south going through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and the Galapagos. Then go to Plan #B below or go farther to South America including Peru and Chile.
Plan #B – Go West to the Marquesas Island Group, Tuoamotos Island Group, Society and Cook Island Groups, Tonga, Vanuatu, and maybe Australia and New Zealand. At this point we would need to decide to stay in the general area or if we headed west of Australia, we would be committed to going around the world.
Atlantic Ocean - (not as likely we'll do this, but possible. We don't like crowds.)
Plan #C – Go through the Panama Canal and on into the Caribbean Islands and the Mediterranean.
As a point of reference, during Biagio’s last sailing trip out for 7 years, out of 250 countries in the world, he visited only 25 (living in one country for a year). It’s a big world out there.
(Photo of currents)So as you can see, it’s best to take it a few months at a time with a general plan and an open spirit to enjoy things as they come. After all, we could take Plan #4 (not previously mentioned above) and be in Hawaii in 14-21 days. All it takes is enough food and the desire to follow our whim.
as talked with us here in San Diego has said, ‘Isn’t it hard to get around without a car here?’ I tell them it’s a trade off. A car and a house or a boat and a bicycle. We decided. Getting the bicycles down to a science is a trick. Reflective tape. Carrier baskets. Backpacks. Flashlights for the early night falls at 4:30pm. All of these things help.
Photos below: Left: Clark & Suzie now back in San Diego from Final Straw with thoughts of going out again; Center: San Diego's Torrey Pines Rock Layers; Right: A hike at beautiful Torrey Pines with Jess & Tracy, Matt, Biagio and Jill.
