“oops”
Most of the really big jobs are now done and we can start to fine tune “the plan”. As always, little problems come up from time to time and result in altered plans. The Gantt Chart tells us that after the standing rigging was replaced we would head out for several days of sailing to stretch the new wire so that it could then be retuned for a Pacific crossing. When attempting to put the headsail back up, I discovered the situation captured in the photo above. Most sailors, at least those with roller furling headsails will know that the gizmo that I am holding in my left hand should be above the shiny bulbous bit, not below it. The riggers reassembled the furling gear incorrectly. Fortunately, it was a relatively simple but time consuming fix to set things right. So we are still at the dock but will head out, maybe tomorrow, for some rig stretching sailing.
The big picture plan remains the same. We will depart La Paz on or about 3 March, depending on advice from our weather router based in New Zealand who may suggest a different date to take account of good, bad or both weather systems. We might stop in San Jose del Cabo to refuel (diesel and food) after a day or two of motoring and up to 3 days of eating. Then we point south and head for the equator, planning to find the spot where the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is thinnest. The ITCZ is full of nasty squalls with rain and fierce wind, or no wind. Finding the least worst way to cross it will be aided by our weather router. Roughly 30 days after our departure from Mexico we hope to arrive in the Marquesas.
We will spend roughly 2 weeks in the Marquesas before heading for the next logical island group, the Tuamotus. A month or so after arriving there we will head for Tahiti, and maybe Bora Bora. We will leave the boat somewhere and fly back to Canada on 18 June. This date is written in stone based on a 90 day visa on arrival and already purchased air tickets.
For those interested, we will add a link to our real “float plan”. Also, at the bottom of the “links” column on the right hand side of the page, is “Where is Marathon“. Clicking on that will provide our real world location which will be updated every 24h by a satellite connection. After reaching the Marquesas, it will be updated less frequently.