Shakedown Cruise

A few days ago we set out for the Sea of Cortez islands north of La Paz. The first day there was no wind, so we motored up. We anchored in a gorgeous little cove near our friends SV Anon. All of a sudden westerly winds whipped up outta no where and got us all rockin and rollin. I felt my first touch of seasickness which sucked, but I didn't get sick.

In the morning we were up and adam early and got underway, anxious to sail. The batons we made helps the TOTALLY blown out main tremendously, but I'm 100% that we *should not* set out across the Pacific without getting a new main. We sailed along happily for a few hours, though we were beating into the wind. Then, all of a sudden, BANG! What was that? A fishing net that was lashed to the backstay seemed to pop up from the deck. We looked at all the stays and nothing had snapped, but still it seemed loose. Then, we saw it, the chainplate failed - and came up a bit of the way through the deck!! Yikes. This can be the making of a lost mast in the wrong circumstances. We quickly doused the sails and headed back to an anchorage. (Unfortunately I was lounging in the cockpit when this happened and I think I jumped up a bit too quickly as I had to toss a few cookies into the drink. My shipmates were impressed that I got sick, wiped my mouth and immediately started tailing a line. I can only assume that my somewhat embarrassing seasickness is from being away from the ocean for so long. In any case, I'm a get sick - get going kinda person, versus the get sick and stay sick kind.) Anyway, we motored back to an anchorage and had a quiet night.

In the morning we had a lovely breakfast (my Namibian special) and paddled to the island for a little hike. Gorgeous desert island with cacti and red rock everywhere. And on the other side, blue blue water. We swam and snorkeled some, and had a great time. We motored on back to La Paz. I read the last rigging survey that was done on the boat and it is troubling indeed.

Back in La Paz, Ben set to work on repairing the chainplate. We've consulted a few different folks in the area for opinions, but he'll be doing the work himself. I trust that it'll be done well, but what concerns me more are all the other things the survey raised flags on. Truth be told, you don't ever really get to leave port knowing nothing will go wrong on board, I get that. But it still worries me.

Our mainsail is blown out as well. We desperately need a new one, and they've known that for a while. But they thought they could just roll into Puerto Vallarta and pick one up. I have contacted a sailmaker there and found out a new main is going to take 4-6 weeks (which is what I'd expect, actually). When I reported that to the boys, they were put off. Ben said, eh, why wait. Just ship to the Marquesas instead (i.e. cross the Pacific with what we have). It's a downwind run and the main isn't that important. While this is true, I wouldn't do it, and I don't like the idea one bit. I've become very very fond of the owner, Don. He's surrogate favorite grandpa material for sure. But eesh, the boat....

Sooooo, where do things stand now? I went onto findacrew.net and registered as available crew. I was contacted by Todd, the captain/owner of SV One World (www.schooneradventures.com). They are sailing around the world over the course of about 3 years. They've just begun essentially, and are in Venezuela now. I could meet them in Curacao (near Aruba) next week. I have to pay my own way there (~$600), but after that all expenses are covered.

There are no other options for me here in La Paz. I could wait around for about a week with the boys and sail to Puerto Vallarta and try to find a boat there. Right now I'm leaning heavily toward One World. I'm hoping to Skype with the captain sometime today. I put it up on Facebook for a vote and so far it's a landslide: go to Curacao. The plan would be fly to Curacao, then do the leg with them to Panama - it's a short 4 day passage. As it happens, they are shorthanded for the trip and could use the help. It'd be a great try-out for me and them. If things didn't work out, I could much more easily find a boat in Panama (which was the original location suggested to me by Robb.....). Now if only Todd would sign on!!

More to come.