Setting Out

 Evan working on the new floorboards that will be used when we replace our watertanks

When we pulled into La Cruz we had no intention of going into the marina. Storm damage to our bow roller changed that plan though. Once we were in the marina we planned for our visit to be a short one (marina’s tend to be hard on the cruising budget—and even at a relatively affordable 50 cents per foot per night, the fee would have put a significant dent in our budget if we hadn’t been earning.) But with work rolling in, plans changed, and somehow two months slipped by, which is both the blessing and curse of this lifestyle.

The joy of cruising is you get to set your own schedule; stay longer when things are working out and move along if they aren’t. The problem is with getting stuck. You need to keep your eye on a long term plan if you want to get anywhere. There are seasons that force you along (the migration out of this area in advance of hurricane season is well underway), but every comfortable harbour we’ve ever visited has a few cruisers that have never left. Most of them plan to, either this season, or next…

 Maia doing the vacuuming

But WE are leaving today. Yesterday we made good use of the ample water that we didn’t need to make ourselves and washed down every surface. We sent our laundry off one final time and admired the nicely folded clothes that came back (I tried to get Evan and Maia to etch the folded-look into their minds so that they might try the technique someday…)

 Despite regularly cleaning the boat-the dirt here is astonishing

So the boat is spic and span. A bunch of things are crossed off the to-do list. The cat has a sea sickness remedy to try. The cupboards are full. Evan has a new crown on his tooth. We both have more work to finish but we can do it in our next harbour.

 Our lovely laundry. After this, it's back to the hand wringer.

From here we’re making our way north to La Paz. This can tend to be a bit of a lumpy bash at times, so today and tonight we’ll make our way up the coast, then wait for a weather window to sail the 200+ miles across the Sea of Cortez. It’ll be nice to stretch out our legs again, in a sailing sense.