A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 12/29/2024 – 1/05/2025

Hello hello! Happy New Year! Did you see our latest YouTube video? Crew & VIPs can watch it ad-free here, plus an exclusive year-in-review video where we discuss our favorite memories of 2024, what we wish we’d done differently, and our goals for 2025. 🙂 

It has been a week of relaxation and recuperation for us. After setting up our sunshade, we spent all day Sunday lounging on the bow. Ray brought the cushions from our top deck to the trampolines, and we rotated between them and the bean bag chairs, kicking back and staring at the beautiful mountains of Nuku Hiva. 

We ventured to shore on Monday, stopping by the chandlery and the produce market. The island is carpeted in lush greenery, and the trees are loaded with flowers or fruit. The air smells sweet and floral. There are women with folding tables overflowing with mangos, tomatoes, and limes to sell! 

We were able to pick up what we needed to complete a project that’s been on our to-do list for a while: repairing the teak on our port-side sugar scoop. A portion of the teak has separated from the fiberglass, allowing water to get underneath. Ray was able to lift and apply adhesive to the affected portions to reattach them to the deck. We used what we had to weigh it down while the adhesive dried- including boxes of canned vegetables, heavy books, jugs of teak cleaner and tools.

We also dropped off three giant bags of laundry at the Yacht Services building- a total luxury for us. We somehow used every towel we own between our rough passage here and cleaning the boat afterward. We had every intention to head to shore Tuesday evening to ring in the new year, but when the time came, we opted to stay home. We were still feeling quite fatigued. Instead, I baked some cookies and Ray made us a cocktail using some fresh mango and passion fruit. We had dinner together, watched a TV show, and went to bed early. 

I spent the day Wednesday editing a video while Ray did some boat maintenance tasks (changing the engine impellers and cleaning one of the anti-siphon valves that was leaking). He discovered a wad of plastic fibers in the raw water strainer. Could this have been the cause of the water in our sail drive? 

We went to shore Thursday morning to pick up our laundry and walk to the hardware store. It was a beautiful walk, and the sunshine felt so good! We gawked at the plethora of pamplemousse growing on every corner. 

Unfortunately, the hardware store was still closed for the New Year holiday. So, we made the trek back to the dinghy dock, stopping to purchase a bottle of wine on the way. It was a beautiful evening. I love watching the mountains turn gold as the sun sets. 

We got some rain on Friday and Saturday. We’d been spoiled with constant sunshine since our arrival in the Marquesas, so we couldn’t help but roll our eyes when we heard the rain hitting the fiberglass. At least here, the rain storms have been brief, and there seems always to be a patch of blue sky peaking through! We discussed our plans for next cruising season and reassessed our list of future projects/upgrades. Sorry for the short update, we really have just been resting! We have zero plans for today. What about you? 

I hope you had a great week. ❤️