March 2024: Behind the Scenes
During an upwelling event, the marina became infested with jellyfish. At any time of day, there were at least ten jellyfish in our slip alone! Ray had to… (read more)…
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Applying for a French Polynesia Long Stay Visa from Panama
As Americans, we would typically be given a 90-day visa upon arrival in French Polynesia. However, we hope to stay for over a year exploring the region’s 121 islands. So, we applied for a long-stay visa on February 15th, 2024… (read more)…
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February 2024: Behind the Scenes
We visited Islamorada in Panama City and had them print two small-scale paper charts, one for our Pacific crossing and one for the islands of the South Pacific, for $50 per chart. Although… (read more)…
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Transiting the Panama Canal on our Sailing Catamaran (February 2024)
The line handlers tied the messenger lines to our rental lines, and before we knew it, the doors began to close behind us… (read more)…
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January 2024: Behind the Scenes
We hauled out at Bobby’s Megayard in Sint Maarten. The haul, launch, and storage cost $1,344.00. Additional work was as follows… (read more)…
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December 2023: Behind the Scenes
After going up the mast, Ray was able to identify the problem: a missing pin in the shackle. In preparation for our Pacific crossing and future remote cruising, we purchased a Portable 115V- High Output (cased) Rainman Watermaker for… (read more)…
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November 2023: Behind the Scenes
As Sabado ages, we’ve noticed many lower-quality odds and ends breaking. So, we spent an afternoon with some epoxy and superglue repairing busted cabinetry buttons and the thin plastic tachometer bezel. We noticed a squeaking/grinding noise when the boom moved… (read more)…
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October 2023: Behind the Scenes
We paid $15 per night to stay on a mooring ball outside St. George’s. We removed our Mantus chain hook and switched to soft shackles a couple of years ago after a line got caught under the bridle while we were furling in the gennaker, launching the heavy, metal hook through the air right toward Ray…
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September 2023: Behind the Scenes
Having recently purchased a new outboard engine for our dinghy, we decided it was time to upgrade our lock. So, we purchased some stainless steel chain, a new lock and shackles, and a chafe guard from Island Water World for $410.85. The case for our life sling broke. It appears the… (read more)…
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