Ali reminded me today that not everyone is a sailor, and most people probably don’t even understand what we’re doing right now, or why we are so busy preparing to go sailing.
When we sail away from Puerto Vallarta, we’ll be heading southwest about 3,000 miles to the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands group of French Polynesia. To put the distance in perspective I once said that it is similar to getting in your car in Los Angeles, putting the shifter in drive without touching the gas, then driving at that idle speed to New York. For most of the trip we’ll be closer to the Starlink satellites flying over our heads than we will be to any land. We’ll also cross the equator and begin spending our time in the southern hemisphere.
So anyway, that’s what we’re preparing for.
After sailing out for the weekend and discovering that our inverter (the thing that turns battery DC power into the type of power you need to come out of your outlets to plug things into) wasn’t working, that became my number one priority. Fortunately, the battery guy here in town had one in stock and he delivered it to me by Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning I was knee deep in wires.
The new inverter is an inverter/charger combo. A Victron 3000/120 Multiplus for those that care. Previously there was both an inverter and a large charger side by side. So, this wasn’t a straightforward swap. Twenty years ago I wouldn’t have had a sniff what any of this meant, what wiring went where, or even the difference between AC and DC power. Becoming an amateur electrician is one of those skills that boat life has taught me, whether I cared to learn or not.
I took my time, labeled the wires as I unhooked them, thought it through ever so methodically, hooked everything up, and threw the switch. Success. New inverter is in, it’s charging, and it’s powering everything it should. I must say, I am quite pleased with myself.
The only hiccup was that the new inverter was significantly wider than the old one and I found myself having to remove one of my new batteries from the battery bank. There’s simply no way to squeeze it in. Fortunately, I was able to get half my money back by throwing it out on the dock with a for sale sign.
No pics of my amazing inverter install, unfortunately. We’ll have to imagine it fondly in our minds.
That’s not an oil spill, that’s a red tide. Nasty, up and down the coast. Ali had puffy, itchy eyes and Ouest had a cough. The only cool thing about red tide is the bioluminescence it throws off at night. Spitting in the water makes a fireworks show.
Diesel tanks are topped off and the extra tanks are filled and stored. This boat carries 1/4 the fuel that our Grand Banks did, so I suppose we’re going to have to use those big white sheets attached to the big stick in the middle of the boat to get us where we’re going.
With the Semana Santa holiday coming up, and lots of sailors gearing up to cross the Pacific, the Port Captain has been busy. I went in on Wednesday to start the clearing out process and got a 10:30 am Tuesday appointment for the following week. That’s when Customs and Immigration will show up at the boat, stamp our papers, and watch us cast off our lines.
The Port Captain has lately begun asking cruisers for their Captain’s License. Of course, getting a license to drive a sailboat isn’t like getting a driver’s license, so the only people who have one are those that captain a boat with paying passengers. The marina office gathered all the papers I would have to bring to the Port Captain, and to get around the license issue they prepared this document for me. It says, “I do not have documents that certify me as captain of my boat, but I have the necessary knowledge and experience to manage it.”
Ali, in addition to everything else she does for us day in and day out, spent the week organizing and packing in more food. I should mention that when we are stocking up the boat like this it isn’t necessarily for the few weeks we’ll be at sea, it is just as much for our arrival. The South Pacific is not the place you want to be running off to the grocery store because you are out of everything. The prices are jaw dropping and the selection is minimal.
Still scrambling to get everything done, we drove downtown to a scuba shop in town and bought three used tanks. This is another one of those things that’s just crazy expensive down here. Seven year-old tanks (hydrostatic tested last year) cost more than new tanks in the States. I also got a quote on a dive compressor that would have run us like $4k in the States and the dealer quoted me $18k here. Those that plan to buy a used boat and outfit it to go sailing around the world, I do not suggest doing so in Mexico.
Some aspects of life are cheaper down here, but when it comes to boat gear, everything costs more. Oh, cash is king, too. Some of this stuff I could have found workarounds to get from the States instead, but we simply ran out of time to make it happen, so we’ll make do with what we’ve got for now.
Trying to organize gear and especially secure the tanks to keep them from flying around.
We’ve never had a freezer on a boat before. Looking forward to the prospect of having hamburgers after two weeks at sea.
Once upon a time we all used to tease that Ali (or me) never cooked. We ate every meal out. Those days are long gone. Kids changed all of that. While I still don’t cook, unless a grill is involved, Ali is constantly whipping up something new. She still hates every moment of it, but the rest of us love her for it. She first got The Boat Galley Cookbook on Bumfuzzle 2 when the kids were wee ones. It’s gone everywhere with us since, and it shows.
I ran the watermaker a few weeks ago. Tested it, flushed it, and pickled it. So I wasn’t concerned about it when I went to flush it with fresh water (remember the red tide) on Saturday. Not until I flipped the switch and all I heard was a brief humming noise followed by the breaker popping in the other room.
I first pulled the impeller, and while it was a bit swollen, it looked to be in good shape. Of course I have no spares so I had to put it right back in again. Just one of those items that got overlooked, and there isn’t one to be found anywhere in town.
I played around with the shore power and inverter, thinking maybe it would have something to do with the GFCI. Suddenly, it popped on. I shut it off, got myself ready to give it a flush (I needed two buckets of fresh water to dip the hose into), and then threw the switch again. Nothing but a popped breaker again.
Next I pulled the cover off of the black box holding the switch. The wiring inside looked fine. I wiggled connections around a bit, then gave the capacitor a couple of gentle whacks with the screwdriver. Success. I really don’t know why, but it’s now working just fine again. I tried it on shore power, on the inverter, and did it all over and over again and it’s worked every time.
Whoever installed this was not thinking things through very well. They could have placed it anywhere in this huge locker and they chose to bump it right up against the filter. You can probably guess where the impeller is located. Yep, right down there at the end of the blue tank with the filter three inches away from it. The only way to get at it is blindly. Sure, I could have moved the unit myself, but now that would require having me make up new longer white hoses to reach it, which is something I didn’t feel like getting into the weeds on right now.
If there is one thing I really hate about catamarans it is that everything is tucked away underneath a bed. The watermaker is under Ouest’s bed, and the electrical breakers are under Lowe’s bed. So working on a project like this requires tearing two rooms apart, then tripping your way through the hall a hundred times.
She looks fast. But then you look at the waterline and realize it’s going to be a slow start. We are overloaded right now, and we also need to transfer some weight around to even things out. But we’ve got a couple more days to do it.
24 Comments on “Crunch Time”
I am so excited for y’all, for your adventure, and for me to vicariously experience it through your blog. Thank you!
Pat,
Good job on the inverter/charger swap out. I chuckled at your comment on labeling wires. The first time I swapped out the main power transfer switch on my 2001 Wanderlodge LXi, I spent more time labeling wires than I did changing it out. BTW, I didn’t see the old Wanderlodge on your vehicle history. 🤔
I’m not a sailor, but given the mission critical nature of the water maker, based on your comments, I would grab a spare start capacitor before I shoved off.
Ironically, as I was reading your update, my wife blurts out ‘we need to get the bus out and do some traveling’.
Safe travels as we vicariously live the trip with you. Love your blog.
Mike in landlocked San Antonio, TX
Blue Water and peaceful travels to 4 Bums!!!
Really looking forward to again following your trip across the Pacific. When you arrive in Sydney, I will take you all out diving.
They would love that! I’ve seen your FB posts!
Pat and Ali
Last couple of posts I’ve detected a happy excitement in your writing. You really are looking forward to the big adventure. Also good you write about things that don’t go quite so well. It adds to the sense of realness. Fair winds, Gerry
Thanks, Gerry. We’ve felt we had been stalled out for a few years – not bad, but things just not going as planned, or plans made but then not done. So having something coming up, that we knew we could go off and do – felt good.
Have a great trip!
Wi-Fi for your journey?
It appears so. Starlink.
Go get’m “person without documentation, but with the ability and expertise to manage” !!! Ha! Dbl ha!
Safe travels…an Adventure begins!
That’s great, right?! They had just started this “requirement” and so everyone was scrambling with what had to be done, to get stamped out. It worked!
Huge voyage ahead. Good luck getting prepared, remembering at least 95% of the gear and food you want to bring.
95% yeah right! There will always be something we will have wanted to bring, but after a few weeks, it is forgotten.
So many questions but mainly will sails just be down when you sleep? I assume you can’t exactly anchor at sea.
A ship at sea is a ship at sea. There is no rest, just sailing. Sails will always be up. We will sleep in shifts at night, and nap whenever we can during the day.
BTW, give my regards to Paul Gaugiun!
We were just on Hiva Oa and various other islands of the Marquesas on the Aranui. Paul Gauguin is respected for his artwork among the islanders but not so much for freely sharing syphilis during his stay there. We visited the cemetery where he is buried and there are no extra decorations on the grave like there were on others.
Safe travels as we vicariously follow along.
What an adventure! My boy and my buddy want to go somewhere as an adventure, our last one was Machu Picchu. Im looking to you guys for ideas! Fuel my imagination!
your cat is beautiful, I bet it sails better than the wildcat. omh so many systems on this boat, kiss principle doesn’t apply to modern boats…at least you have complete autonomy , that good . here, for your Pacific crossing a garden: hihihia:https://www.amazon.ca/Vegetable-Varieties-Heirloom-Non-GMO-potag%C3%A8res/dp/B0BSG3NGJQ/ref=asc_df_B0BSG3NGJQ/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=579207244944&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2565547994055358243&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000259&hvtargid=pla-1970152941795&th=1
good luck circumnavigating again,
I’m ready again for trading took a break, I’ll be back with you guys for trading, alone I’m loosing when trading.
Mihail
Looking forward to having you with us again at Wanderer Financial, Mihail. Talk to you soon.
Hello there fellow cruisers, I’ve been on and off following your adventures for many years, so inspiring, truly. One question about the starlink: it now obviously works on moving objects, what setup do you have on the boat? Would it work on a Mono despite much more movement, do you think? On the one hand I love the disconnection out in the ocean but on the other it would be a complete game changer in terms of being able to not having to decide between sailing and working. Warm regards, Rike (SV Ponyo / boatnotes)
We just have the normal dish and the Global Roam plan. Works great. Pretty much every boat out here has Starlink now, including the monos. I can’t attest to the difference in how well it works, but at least at anchor I imagine it is very similar. It is indeed a game changer.
Thank you 🙏!