Category Archives: Failure

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V-Cove at Isla Carmen to Isla Coronados

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Here is a photo of the area we went snorkeling in on Saturday. We were in the small, shallow strait between Isla Carmen and the tiny rock island. The anchorage is just to the right (south) of where this photo ends.

On Sunday morning, it rained again. The rain didn’t last as long as it had yesterday, but it rained harder, so Kosmos got a good wash down. Undeterred by the heavy rain, the Erics went for a hike onshore.

They literally watched the flora and fauna come to life with the rain – flowers blooming and bugs and lizards coming out of hiding. 

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Bahia Candeleros to Puerto Escondido

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Q: How far north are you planning to go?

A: We doubt we’ll go farther north than Bahia de Los Angeles, but we have no firm plans.

Q: Have you fished? Is the sea warm?

A: We have not fished as of yet. The sea is about 84 degrees Fahrenheit. 

On Thursday, Eric ran the generator first thing in the morning, as he normally does. But this time, the batteries weren’t charging. Eric spent some time trouble-shooting the problem. We decided that we should head to the nearest marina, where it would be easier to diagnose and fix the problem. The batteries were still charging from the wind generator and the solar panels, and we have a small back up battery charger that was working, so this wasn’t an urgent issue for us. But charging the batteries with the full-size battery charger certainly makes life easier. 

We contacted the marina at Puerto Escondido, only 6 nm away, and made a reservation for Friday. We spent the rest of the day doing chores. In the afternoon, Eric got out the SNUBA gear so Christi could tackle her most arduous chore: cleaning the bottom.

It was particularly rocky in the water that day, so swimming took a lot of effort. She pooped out pretty fast. Eric used the SNUBA to make sure all was fine under the waterline, then he used it to adjust the flopper stopper. Eric and Keith played in the water for a while before we called it a day. 

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Keith’s First Ocean Adventure: Enjoying Catalina, Then Back to San Diego

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This is part three of a three part series. Click on the links for part 1 and part 2. 

Saturday morning we headed to shore right after breakfast. Keith was again furious about the life jacket, but this time his screams weren’t as hysterical as before. We quickly made our way over to Isthmus Cove, where Richard and Pam were waiting for us at the dock in their 1991 Sea Ray Sundancer 420. We hopped onboard. Here is Eric approaching the boat while holding Keith in the carrier.

They were on their way to Continue reading →

More About Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation

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Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People covering Australia to Oman is now on sale! Read the first few pages on Lulu’s “preview” feature and read an excerpt from Chapter 1 here (starts on page 18)!

Jeff Merrill wrote an extensive book review for the Nordhavn.com site.

Many people have asked us why they should buy our book if they can read our blog for free. Just like Part 1, the book is very different from the blog. Here are a few of the differences between the two:

  • Prologue: Picks up where the Prologue of Part 1 left off. It focuses primarily on the research we did as we planned for our journey and addresses the majority of the questions we were most frequently asked.
  • Several new stories from the journey – And there are some really good ones!
  • Many details have been added that were best left undisclosed while we were still on the journey (sometimes we didn’t want our parents worrying about us; sometimes we didn’t want to incriminate ourselves!)
  • In Retrospect sections with great insights — so you can see the situation through the eyes of a newbie as we learn, while simultaneously seeing the same situation through the eyes of experience.
  • Streamlined stories – some complained our posts were too long and detailed, the book is a condensed version they will enjoy more.
  • Formatting is first person, through Christi’s eyes – Some complained they didn’t like the third person format, so they will enjoy the book more.
  • Actual dates on each post. On the blog, the dates are not real time, which is a significant piece of information for anyone hoping to follow in our footsteps.
  • All profits will go to our cruising fund. The more books we sell, the sooner you can start reading about our next journey! So, buy one and get all your friends to buy one, too!

People have also asked us why we broke the series up into four books instead of only three. We had very different experiences in each of the four world regions, so it was best for each region to have its own volume.

  • In the South Pacific, Part 1, we spent most of our time in sparsely populated areas communing with nature. And we did a lot of rough sea time, learning about boating the hard way.
  •  In Asia, Part 2, we were mostly in densely populated areas building cultural bridges. Our sea experiences were also different from the Pacific, with both our best and worst passages occurring in this region.

Off to San Francisco: Leg 1 and Repair/Maintenance Items

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On Wednesday we left for San Francisco. Leg one was from San Diego to Ventura, which took 24 hours. We left at 1130. For the first seven hours, the wind was steady at 15 knots from the forward port side, with two to four foot swells, gently shaped, at about 3 – 6 second intervals. Wind chop was about 1 – 2 feet, also gently shaped. We wish all rides in head seas could be so nice! Speeds varied from 5.5 to 6.5 knots at 1775 RPM depending on currents.

As the sun started to get lower in the sky, the wind picked up to 18 – 20 knots and the wind waves became slightly bigger at 2 – 4 feet, but noticeably sharper and at more rapid intervals. The pointier waves caused Kosmos to hobbyhorse and sent some sea spray over the bow, but it still was not a bad ride considering it was head seas.

The rougher conditions only lasted a little over an hour, then we got into the shadow of Catalina Island, where the seas slowly but steadily improved. By midnight the ride was relatively pleasant again (for head seas) and speeds had picked up to 7 knots. There was no moon and it was pitch black out, so there was no visibility all night.

We expected conditions to worsen once we passed Catalina, but they didn’t. In fact, they continued to slowly and steadily improve the whole rest of the trip. By 1000, the wind chop was completely gone, leaving only the gentle swell, making for a lovely ride.

Shortly after leaving San Diego, we had a small SNAFU arise. The entire downstairs reeked like the blackwater tank. Christi Continue reading →