Take to the sea

The (mis)adventures of two dreamers that do

Passage notes: Bahias de Huatulco (Bahia Sacrificios) to Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Nothing short of perfection. After a moderately rolly night at Bahia Sacrificios and general feelings of restlessness, we are eager to get back out on the water. We find ourselves craving time at sea where options are limited, where we move slowly through the world, where a day is satisfying even when we can’t recount what, in particular, we did, where time is full without filling it.

December 2014: month in review

Following two action-packed months, December was fairly low-key…for me at least. Jeff, however, was a slave to his computer. In an effort to keep every available option open to us upon our return home, Jeff is throwing grad school in the mix of possible future trajectories. Consequently, Jeff busied himself with grad school applications and prep for the GREs, which turned into full-time work for a couple weeks.

Passage notes: Puerto Chiapas to Bahias de Huatulco, Mexico

At noon the navy and port captain visit the boat to issue our Zarpe and do the dog sniffing test. No issues with paperwork and the dog is too preoccupied with Tack’s food to do a thorough inspection. The inspection starts the clock. We have two hours to get out of here. At 2pm, after a flurry of activity to get ready (mostly internet related) we try to fire up the engine and discover that our starter battery is dead and dessicated. The guys in the office have been trying to convince us to stick around forever, or maybe just through Christmas. They might get their wish.

All is not lost, but all is not well: one sailor’s perspective on The Ocean is Broken

It’s been over a year since the viral article, The Ocean is Broken, caused waves in online forums and across the blogosphere. The article details Ivan McFadyen’s encounter with a polluted, seemingly lifeless ocean on a recent ocean crossing between Australia and Japan on his sailboat. He contrasts this with previous crossings where life seemed to be bubbling forth from the depths, plentiful and animated. His conclusion? The ocean is broken.

For nearly a year I’ve been looking at the ocean through the lens of that question: Is the ocean really broken?

November 2014: month in review

This month, in its entirety, was pretty flippin’ fantastic. The high highlights were our stopover at Isla Montuosa and our incredible passage from Western Panama to Southern Mexico. Isla Montuosa was on our Panama “bucket list” and we were enchanted by her shores before we even set foot on them. We played and relaxed on her beaches and prepared for the long journey ahead. The passage to Mexico was our longest to date, which had us both a bit anxious, but once we got into a rhythm, it was bliss. I think we might be hooked. I’m hard pressed to think of a low…maybe eating skipjack for two meals in a row? Though, that is a pretty high low.

Welcome to Isla Montuosa: clothing optional

I am going to take advantage of the fact that we have good, fast internet and upload pictures of our “circumnavigation” of Isla Montuosa. Let’s go a visual journey together, shall we?