Every month, we publish a bullet point list of things we dealt with while living full-time on our sailing catamaran. We hope these monthly behind-the-scenes reports give you a better idea of what boat life is really like! If you want to see the extended version, join our Crew! Otherwise, per usual, here is a bullet point list of things we dealt with in October 2024:

• We launched our new website! In light of recent changes to Patreon’s fee/billing policy, we’ve decided to host our own membership program to ensure that any contribution you make to our adventure goes where you intend it to. Click here to become a Sabado Crew or VIP member! You can also join for free to get our posts straight to your inbox and be able to leave comments. 
• I cleaned and applied UV protectant to our white vinyl helm seat. 
• Our Spectra watermaker lost its programming during a lightning storm. At first, we thought the motor speed control board needed to be replaced, but Ray was able to reset the programming with a magnet. 

• We spent $415.00 on diesel in Raiatea.
• I scraped the hulls once. It was all soft growth concentrated around the waterline, with sparse barnacles around the sugar scoops and bottom of the keels. I used a plastic scraper and a scrub brush for the props and thru hulls. 

• Ray repaired a portion of our helm enclosure—the aft sections are barely hanging on! The stitching has disintegrated, and the eisenglass has cracked along the edges. He re-stitched with UV-resistant thread and reinforced the weak areas with tape. We plan to replace them next year. 

• Three boats dragged down on us in 24 hours. It was an exceptionally gusty day in Taha’a, and most boats do not carry enough chain for the deep anchorages of the Society Islands (us included!). This, combined with no anchor alarm, is a recipe for disaster. We did not drag and were able to avoid collision, but one of the boats ended up grounded in the middle of the night. We spoke in depth about our tried-and-true anchor alarm setup in this video. 
• French Polynesia has been the wettest place we have ever been. To prevent mold growth, I have been wiping down all interior surfaces with a diluted vinegar solution twice as often as in the Caribbean.  
• We could not make water for four days after a storm with hefty rainfall brought significant runoff and debris into the anchorage. 

• We were swarmed by termites again in Moorea. Thankfully, we noticed immediately and already had our screens closed on our hatches. We have yet to see any evidence of termites inside. 
• We assumed we could check out of French Polynesia at any island with an airport since that has been a good rule of thumb throughout our previous travels. However, we were surprised to learn there are only a few islands you can check out at, and the checkout process takes at least two business days! We had to sail to another island to check out.   
• We defrosted our fridge/ freezer once.
• We spent $690.00 to get an insurance addendum to cover a last-minute trip to New Zealand for cyclone season. After watching our weather window disappear in a matter of hours, we have requested the addendum to be reversed and are waiting for a refund. 

We hope you enjoyed this month’s behind-the-scenes report! The following section is for our Crew and VIPs only. Log in to continue reading. We discuss our experience with weather resources in French Polynesia, as well as a detailed account of the issues and concerns we’ve had since reconfiguring our reefing system 9 months ago…