The countdown begins. 38 days until we cut the dock lines

Or at least plan to….   Lots can go wrong, but realistically not much will stop us from making our trip South.   That’s right, we will be quitting our jobs at the end of the month, and heading South with the dogs on October 30th!

These adventures always start with a foolish question:

Foolish question #1:  It all started with Sarah and I a couple of years ago with the question of “Would you like to be on a boat with a few strangers, or have a romantic time with just the two of us?”  That question cost me several thousand dollars in the short term.   We were looking to join a charter to the BVI with our sailing club and had our eye on a Beneteau 42.3.  I had dreams of cruising and wanted to try a bigger boat than our current Beneteau 34.  Long story short, we both fell in love;  Certainly with cruising, and more so with each other.

Foolish question #2:  “What are your thoughts of quitting our jobs and cruising for a couple of years?”   I asked Sarah that question two years ago fully expecting that she would scoff at the idea.   This is the girl that worked two jobs for 7 years to stay busy.   I was blown away when, without hesitation, she said “sure!” with a smirk.   What have I gotten myself into…

And so the not-so-foolish journey begins!!!  We sold our Beneteau in March of 2016.  We purchased perspective in June of 2016.  In July we signed up for the Baja-haha rally.  Now the clock is ticking.   38 days to go.

Where are we going?   That’s a great question that has a lot of variables.   We know we are going to start by sailing in the Baja-haha rally which will take us to Cabo San Lucas.   From there, we expect to spend several months in Mexico, largely Puerto Vallarta and up into the Sea of Cortez.

By March we will need to make a decision.   While we have our eye on the South Pacific, we don’t know if we(Sarah, Sydney and Zorra and I) will want to make a 3,000 mile, 25 day passage.   If we don’t, it will be either staying in the Sea of Cortez or heading South to avoid the hurricane belt.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, we will talk more of our travel plans as the date nears.

Below is a good visual of the route to Cabo.  The rally has scheduled stops in Bahia Tortugas and Bahia Santa Maria.

San Diego to Cabo San Lucas

Varnish be gone!

We made the decision to strip the existing varnish and replace with Semco clear teak sealer. Here are 10 things I learned while going through this process…

1. Bigger is not always better. I mean, was 46ft of boat really necessary?!

2. After hours of sanding, your iPhone no longer recognizes your thumbprint.

3. Timing is everything. Don’t scrape too soon or you’ll make dents in the teak. Don’t scrape too late or you’ll burn the beautiful teak. Either way, it means more sanding is in your future.

4. Bruises are a way of life.

5. Heat guns are really hot- especially when they meet your delicate skin.

6. Teamwork makes the dream work- and the job go much quicker.

7. I have a love/hate relationship with blue tape.

8. If you think you’re done sanding- keep going, you’re nowhere near done! (Yes, Jesper, you made your point!)

9. Shop vacs rule!

10. The process has been completely rewarding and a major team effort! Dare I say….fun?!

While we aren’t finished yet, we are getting

closer and closer. ??