There is nothing like a deadline to make things happen. The crew is here and we are grinding through final preparations. This morning we received our departure clearance from the local port captain and set our departure date for Tuesday, March 26th.
Pam has been here for several weeks cooking and provisioning. Shop, prep, cook, vacuum seal, freeze, repeat. That’s been her life lately.
I got down on Sunday after two weeks in Australia and New Zealand for work. Flying over the very ocean we are about to sail across was humbling.
Mike and Joan arrived on Monday and immediately jumped in to help with the prep. John came down on Tuesday and successfully smuggled in a replacement for our Single Side Band, long distance HF radio.
Despite nearly a year of working on the boat there are still a few projects left to finish. We’re expanding our solar energy generation by over 50%. We also decided at the last minute to have a clear enclosure made for the cockpit to make it livable when it rains. We have a large shipment of spare parts from the US that we hope arrives on Saturday after more than three weeks in transit.
Mike and I took the boat over to La Cruz on Tuesday to fill the fuel tanks and our extra fuel jugs. We’ll take 200 gallons of fuel in our tanks and another 30 gallons in reserve in separate fuel jugs. That gives us the ability to motor for almost 1,500 miles. We don’t expect to motor that much, but it is nice to have the option. While in La Cruz our rigger, Peter Vargas, was on hand to go up the mast and give our rigging a final inspection. He pronounced it healthy and fit for the ocean.
Thursday Mike and Joan rented a car and ran a bunch of errands gathering up more spare parts. We needed extra oil for the engines, hydraulic fluid for the steering system, parts to make up an emergency “crash pump,” fittings to allow us to transfer propane from French tanks into our US tanks, and another run to Costco for more groceries.
While they were out, Chava and his crew were onboard welding up our new solar panel frame, and Pieter our electrician was working out the details of the installation. They will be back tomorrow to do the final installation.
John has led the way in reorganizing all of our spare parts and tools. He’s emptied every locker, consolidated the contents and then put everything away.
I’ve been working with our meteorologist and weather router, MetBob on our plan and routing. The conditions aren’t ideal but they are good enough to go. We’ll be chased by spell of light winds behind us. With luck we’ll be just in front of it. If not we may have a few days of motor sailing to get away from the coast. But MetBob agreed with my assertion that it is better to try to outrun a lull than try to outrun a storm.
The port captain here requires 2 business days notice. We processed our paperwork today. He, his staff, the customs official, and the immigration official will all be on our dock at 10am on Tuesday to inspect our passports and ensure we actually leave the dock and the country. I’m not sure why they need to do this, but they take it seriously.
I had to show “proof of competency” before they would approve our clearance out of Mexico. Fortunately, I’d gotten a heads up on this requirement several months ago and got an “International Proficiency” certificate from US Sailing along with a “California Boaters Card” while I was home. Neither of these is a testament of my competency to captain a boat across the Pacific, but the port captain seemed satisfied and stamped our forms approved.
We hope to have everything done by Sunday so we can take Monday off and lounge by the pool and rest up for the big voyage.
These are long days of hard work but Tuesday will come and we will go.
You all look a little tired but it will all be worth it!! Amazing feat!! Jim, glad you have that CA boaters card. You are now certified to operate a boat on Bass Lake in addition to Roam!!!😂 Eric and Julie need to get that certification soon!!! Christopher has his! So excited for your adventure and prayers for a safe voyage!! ❤️🙏🙏
Thank you guys! We couldn’t have gotten to this point without all your land and moral support, best neighbors EVER!! 🙂
I just want to say that I was disappointed to find the California Boaters Exam didn’t include any questions on how to manage a raccoon attack aboard a moving vessel.
We so appreciate you guys keeping an eye on the homestead for us.
😂😂😂I will see if I can arrange a raccoon visit for you!! It will be better than a shark visit!!
Awesome you all. So very very excited for your upcoming adventure. Safe and smooth sailing. Can’t wait for all the updates.
Congratulations on getting everything done to push off the dock in just a few days! We know it’s been a long time dream to do this and we’re so excited for you. We’ll be arm chair cruisers following your blog. Safe travels.
Of all people, you guys can appreciate what we are about to step into. We were talking about you both last night at dinner, reminiscing about our collective dinghy trips to negotiate shrimp from the boats in Mexico on our last adventure! Vicki, I so appreciate all the tips on the provisioning, I have used them all!! 🙂
So excited for all of you! Trip of a lifetime. Mike and Joan are great friends and I know you have a terrific crew! We will be watching your progress and updates! Prayers for a safe journey
Yes! Mike and Joan are the BEST! I started racing with Mike on his ‘tuna 35, Spirit of Bombay back in late 90s. We met working together in the software business. Many years later they returned from their two year odyssey sailing around Mexico and put their boat up for sale. Pam and I happened to be boat shopping one weekend and we saw Esperanza at the broker’s dock in Alameda. “Hey, I think that’s Mike and Joan’s boat…” I called Mike right there and said, “hey, you don’t really want to sell your boat do you?” He grimly agreed he didn’t want to sell it and that is how our 15 year partnership in Esperanza started.
Fast forward many years later, we sold our share of Esperanza to Mike’s friend Bill and they sailed her down here to Puerto Vallarta. They happened to get connected to Roam’s former owners who were looking to sell and that is how we found Roam. And the next thing you know, Roam and Esperanza are parked 4 slips apart in Mexico. The world is a small place sometimes.
They sold Esperanza last year while we were all here in Paradise Village. Hopefully a trip across the Pacific will help Mike with his boat withdrawal symptoms.
I can imagine you flying over the Pacific at 500 kts and updating the old jingle “Nothing goes to weather better than a 777!” Hopefully the work trip was lucrative, given the boat units expended. Sandy and I will be riding with you all the way…great stuff. Are you still KO6JJ? I’m still KE6FGD but have no rig. Keep the posts coming…love them and the pics are great. It looks like provisioning/preparing for Mexico quadrupled. LOL about proof of competency.
Hola Alfredo! Indeed a 777 is by far the best way to go upwind. Although Roam with her daggerboards down draws 10′ and goes upwind as well or better than most monohulls.
I’m still KO6JJ though like you I rarely operate on the HAM bands anymore. John found us a used replacement for our dead SSB radio and brought it down. He got it up and running a few days ago and has been net control on the Pacific Voyage net since then. Unfortunately, the new replacement SSB rig doesn’t have the software mod to use the HAM frequencies. The electronics tech stopped by the boat tonight but we decided against trying to update the software. Too much risk too close to departure. We’ve got SPAM but no HAM on this trip.
SSB (and HAM) are a dying breed. Almost everyone has moved to satellite communication (including us). Facebook groups and WhatsApp group chats are where cruisers seem to congregate now. But we are old school and still love rag chewing on the maritime nets. And we still have paper charts!
And you are right about the fire hose of nautical financial units being sprayed on this boat right now. I told Gina the marina patrona that we had to leave the dock because we were running out of money.
73
KO6JJ
Congratulations So excited for you!! The adventure of a lifetime. Enjoy every minute of it! Wishing you a safe trip and can’t wait to follow your trip through your updates.
Sending you guys a big hug!
We so appreciate all your good wishes and support Marcela! I finally got through all the provisioning LOL, and used some of your suggestions just fyi :). I hope you have a great visit in the Bay Area, so sorry to miss you this time, but look forward to connecting later this year! 🙂
Wow! Sounds like you guys are ready, I know it’s been a ton of hard work, but it will pay off when you take the most amazing trip of your lives!! Enjoy every moment, take tons of pictures, write down all of your stories, get sleep when you can and have a blast!!! Anxiously awaiting our next update….
Aww thanks Michelle, really miss you already, but we will absolutely post pics! Hoping to see some amazing marine life along the way, weather looks good, here we go!
Bon voyage and Godspeed, cuz!
Thanks Greg! We will keep you guys posted (assuming our starlink keeps working like a boss!), and hope you and Joyce are doing well 🙂
Wow – a couple days away. There‘s a big part of me that wants to come down and just see you all off! Once I cure myself of this job thing’ I’m hoping to be more spontaneous. At this point, it’s all about loved ones and experiences, and this feels a big one on both fronts. All the love and support from all of us is with you!
Thank you, James! It meant so much to have you guys come down and spend time sailing with us here. Banderas Bay is one of my favorite sailing venues and it is all the more special when you get to show your friends around!
And I agree. People and experiences are good things to spend money on!
Pam and Jim,
We were just thinking about you the other night wondering if your departure was imminent. It was such a pleasure meeting you last month and enjoying he afternoon on Roam. Thank you for sharing it with us. Sending prayers to you for a safe journey and an amazing adventure. Can’t wait to read your updates and see your pictures. Bon Voyage!
This is Laura,(Bree’s Mom)you probably won’t recognize the gramgreeneyes email. Hope your launch on Tuesday goes smoothly, I’m a little jealous but not envious. I know how much work you are in for, but also lots of fun and adventure! Looking forward to your posts. Be safe everyone!!
We are so excited for you guys! What an incredible journey! We love reading your blog and can’t wait to see updates! Safe travels🙏🏻❤️
Thanks Brittany, we are excited and nervous but ready for launch tomorrow! We will keep you both posted, and look forward to seeing you in FP! 🙂
What a marvelous adventure! You two are amazing, and your preparation is just incredible
We wish you great weather and smooth sailing. As the Irish poem goes, may the wind be always at you back, and may the sun shine warm upon your faces . . . We look forward to your updates!
Hi Lynn, thank you so much for your support, it is looking like a good weather window so we are a “go for launch” tomorrow morning at 10:00am! Hoping for some of those tropical Tradewinds and sunshine along the way, will keep you guys posted! 🙂
Great to stay up to date on your amazing adventure.
Enjoy and good luck!!
Dank je, Rob! Good to have you with us on the blog. Perhaps we will meet up with you guys in the southern hemisphere!
Congratulations for all the hard work of the entire team to get ready to sail! You are an inspiration and we’re excited to follow your journey! I’ve got no doubt you’ve thought of everything that is possible to think of, and for the rest, you’ll figure it out as you go. So happy for this incredible journey you are taking and for all the stories you will share when you return! Best to all of you….
Thanks so much for your words of encouragement, I do think there will be a lot of figuring out as we go! Hope you and Eric (and pup!) are doing well and look forward to catching up! 🙂
Fair winds y’all! Hopefully you will find that the sail to the Marquesas is easier than all of the prep!
Fair winds and following seas.
Great story and insight on what it takes to be ready for a responsible and successful trip. I hope you got the rest day you planned and are on your way!!
As the saying in the Navy goes: Sailors were meant for ships and ships were meant to sail. Following seas and fair winds!