We have had a week of major discussions and planning for next steps. We had several options to consider given that attempt one over to Bonaire did not end as we had planned. Our main discussions focused on the following - One: continue with the original plan to take the boat to Bonaire, sail around the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) and then sail onto Columbia. Two: leave Galt in Puerto Rico, fly to Colombia and find somewhere to live for the next year. Three: hire a crew to take Galt straight to Colombia while Bill and I fly into Colombia to meet them. After much back-and-forth discussion, we opted for Option 3. Earlier this season, we had met a couple on a boat when we were in Palmas and they had a captain who lived in Colombia. We contacted the captain and came to terms for him and a crew to move the boat across to Colombia for us. The trip will take them around 6 days in good weather. Given that neither Bill nor I sleep well on long passages and navigating along the Colombian coast is one of the more challenging trips in all the sailing world, we voted that it would be best to hire someone with experience to safely get Galt to Colombia. The main reason the coastal waters of Colombia are so challenging is the unpredictable and strong winds that come off the mountains and the infamous Magdalena River. The Santa Marta mountain range is the highest coastal mountain range in the world so the winds often roar down the mountain at 50+mph. As for the river, after heavy rains, captains have reported dodging cars and cows that were washed down river into the ocean! I’m all for seeing dolphins or whales in the ocean but a floating cow would definitely freak me out! Our captain said the most challenging part of the trip for him is finding crew that can function without alcohol for 6 days. He already told us that once they land in Colombia, we’ll need to get the crew a hotel room because we won’t want them on the boat after they have “been to town”. Once we fly into Colombia, we will meet Galt at the marina and set up our home base for South America. We will be visiting as much of South America as possible by land over the next year. We have made an incredible list and can’t wait to get started!
Meanwhile, we wait. The captain is currently in Mexico and will hopefully fly in this coming week. Then, he will spend several days with us while we train him on Galt and all of Galt’s egocentricities. Luckily, Galt’s systems are simple and the captain works on cars and boats when he is not relocating boats so Larry the Lehman should be in good hands. We’ve just been passing time this week with small boat chores and catching up with each other after our time apart. The highlight of the week (possibly the month!) was finally locating the new Oreo Cakesters! I have been on the hunt for awhile and finally found them. If you have not had a Cakester, your life is not complete! Bill might argue that the birth of his new grandson (who was sweetly named after Bill) was the highlight of the week. Hmmm. Tough choice! So, while you wait for a more exciting blog next week, go get some Cakesters to make your day complete!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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