A big thanks to Mike McDowall with Boat Radio for the fantastic radio interview.
We were interviewed while we were in Barra de Navidad, Mexico last March of 2016. Still pretty fresh in the cruising scene, it’s fun to reflect on our perspective at that time.
Listen Here: Boat Radio
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our picture from over a year ago already seems so outdated, can’t wait to compare 5 years from now.
Christian took a trip down from San Francisco to the boat in Mexico this past week. The mission: to do some repairs on the boat from the hurricane and add some gear that we wanted before we cross The Pacific this coming season. The damage that we thought was going to need a haul-out and a paint job, ended up being only minor “Do it Yourself” fixes!!! So one major hurdle out of the way! The rest are add-ons since we were able to work and refill the cruising kitty.
We finally got our Hydrovane hooked up! Having a efficient self steering system was a must for us before making the crossing. We can’t wait to get some use out of it!
A new Standard Horizon VHF: that way we can talk from the cockpit with a strong signal. Before, our handheld wasn’t strong enough for some of the areas we were in, so we had to go down below to talk on the ship’s radio.
Weather Station: AcuRite 00589 Pro Color Weather Station with Wind Speed, Temperature and Humidity. Yay, accurate temperature, humidity, pressure readings. The wind speed is a bonus, but we’ve always preferred our own senses when monitoring the wind and our sails. Sometimes knowing the exact wind speed can freak you out instead of trusting your skills and your boat.
A FREEZER!!! Engel MB40V-H 12/24V DC drop-in fridge-freezer – with attached compressor We are soooooo excited to put this fridge/freezer in. Its one of those “we don’t need this, but we have the perfect place for it, the money, and the solar power to run it, so why not?”
Can’t wait to catch some fish and store extra in our freezer, prep meals before crossing to pull out underway, and freeze some vegetables for when we run out towards the end of the crossing. We might even make ice cream for the equator crossing! Luxury hahahaha!
Some other gear we stocked up on:
Mantus head lamp and wet gear bag.
Spear fishing equipment and trolling gear.
Replaced damage GoPro.
New external hard drives for saving photo and video memories.
Boatschool supplies mostly from Oakmeadow Waldorf curriculum for the year.
Year ago, August 20, 2015 we left San Francisco to head to Mexico via our Steven’s 40 sailboat. I added this video to the last post a little late, so I’m posting it again by itself because I feel like it deserves its own post. Our family of 5 plus Nina’s best friend Ava and Ellamae’s biological father, Jason joined us for the first leg from Horseshoe Cove San Francisco to Halfmoon Bay, California.
A Family Afloat 