Stinkpotters

We’ve made the transition — temporarily — to motorboat. Sailors call them stinkpotters but we don’t mind, at least for the time being. As a catamaran with two engines and pretty generous fuel capacity, we have a longer range than most monohulls of our size. In our situation, that’s a good thing.

We took delivery of 250 gallons of fuel on Tuesday and added to whatever we already had on board (who ever trusts their fuel gauge?) we’re confident we can make Costa Rica safely.

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Yes, Costa Rica. That will be our next destination. Our options were limited but with great input from various quarters we think this is our best bet. No solution is without its challenges and Costa Rica has them too, but the biggest vote in its favor is that we’ve never been there and for us virgin territory trumps familiar every time.

The cruisers still here in The Galapagos at this late date are all in the same predicament. All have experienced gear failure of one kind or another, all are waiting for replacement parts to arrive, all are doing the daily permission dance with the agents and port captain. At the Internet cafe ashore they share news of tech support calls and shipment tracking, make trips to local machinists or chandleries, and wait out a longer stay than expected in a place that starts out enchanting and ends up feeling like a trap.

The boats heading across the Pacific to the Marquesas and beyond, all of them but us, are starting to worry about timing. The Pacific is huge and it’s a long way to go before the beginning of cyclone season when you have to get safely out of the cyclone belt for the southern summer. This constant readjusting of departure date and cruising schedule is wearying and stressful. In a way, we’re a little less stressed because our choices are more limited, and we have a solid priority: get rerigged. Everything we do is to get us closer to that goal.

We’re more or less ready. Today we provision, make some reheatable meals, and watch the weather.

2 Comments

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2 Responses to Stinkpotters

  1. Hope you get a good weather window soon.

  2. deb

    Costa Rica should be a great place to chill for awhile and do some yoga.
    Really glad you’re going there.

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