Tahuata. It's the smallest inhabited island in the Marquesas archipelago and means sunrise in Marquesan. Here, we had our first ever encounter with manta rays and met our new friend, Jimmy. We were fortunate enough to be invited to his home for music and dinner. French Polynesia is treating us well. 🎶🌅
The bulkhead and rudder issues each put a pretty large dent in our optimism and spriits. But we weren't naive enough to think they would be the last of our problems. And sure enough, it didn't take long for the third gut-punch to arrive.
The keel of a sailboat is the lowest part in the water, and contains weight to keep the boat upright while the wind blows against the sails and pushes it over sideways. In our case, the keel is part of the original hull mold and is called an encapsulated ballast keel. Nine thousand pounds of lead were poured into the bottom cavity of the hull and then it was fiberglassed over, forming a water-tight compartment of ballast.
While going over our hull to see where more sanding was needed, we layed on the gravel and took a look at the very bottom of the keel. We knew this had some gouges and was a bit rough, but what we weren't expecting to see was some signs of water working it's way out through some small cracks.
I grabbed a drill and begrudgingly put a hole right through the bottom of the boat until I felt it hit lead. As soon as I pulled the drill bit out, the flood gates opened and water poured out.
Would this be it? The final straw? Time to throw in the towel and accept the Pacific crossing wasn't 'meant to be'?
The good news is our keel is filled with lead, which doesn't corrode in salt water. The bad news is that if water is inside this compartment, there must be a way in, which usually means cracks or problems with the fiberglass. It is extremely rare for encapsulated ballast keels to catastrophically fail, one of the prime reasons we chose One Life, but this will still require some further investigation and fiberglass repairs to feel good about it.
With a few more drilled holes and a few days of letting it drip, it eventually appears to be dried out. A shop vac sucked the last signs of water out.
Hey, we're already doing major fiberglass work right? So what's a little more? A few holes and cracks in the bottom of the bo
Come see us at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach! Today from 9am - 11am meet on the beach!
Just hanging out with my friend....wait for it.
😂⛵
Costa Rica: the waterfalls are beautiful, the monkeys are fun....but how about the rodeos?
A bit different than the rodeos we have seen in the US. Here, the men stand at the edge of the arena and take turns running in front of the bulls, beer in hand of course! What a wild and fun time!
We are beyond thankful for experiences like this, when we are able to get to know a place outside the typical tourist path.
Since we arrived in Bocas Del Toro we have been working with Wasteless World (who just opened the island's first recycling center🙌) and Epic Water Filters planning a beach cleanup.
Today it finally happened and it was seriously EPIC! We had a huge turnout (over 80 people!) and had the best time giving our planet some love! It felt so good! 🌍♥️♻️
And that's a wrap, adios 2021! Bring on 2022!
After a 26 hour overnight sail, this morning we woke up in Cartagena, Colombia!
This is the biggest city One Life has been anchored next to. It's a bit overwhelming but we are looking forward to exploring for a few days.
More pictures from our sail coming soon but we made it!
Today on One Life.....
Gary hung from the mast while I hoisted tools (and drinks) up and down. Another project crossed off our list! 🍻
Who knew our new grocery bag would double as a tool transportation device!
We're super excited to announce that we have been featured in the Liveaboard Sailing Podcast this week!
When we were in Florida we had the opportunity to speak with @Annika Rautiola about our decision to leave the 9 to 5 grind and pursue a life of adventure on the seas. We talk about our experience so far and what we wish we knew when we started.
Follow this link to listen to the entire podcast!
https://shows.acast.com/liveaboard-sailing-podcast/episodes/sv-one-life
We made it to our anchorage for the night! A tad windy but a pretty sweet little spot next to the Hobe Sound Wildlife Refuge.
Cruising along at 6 kts in the ICW today.... beautiful day for sailing south!
T-2 days. Not looking much better yet!
