February 12, 2017

Cape Town

The kids eat breakfast, tell us that their schoolwork is done and dash off to see their friends. There are two kid boats here right now (Eva and Yemaya) and five extra kids mean that there is never a dull moment for them. Vick and I take advantage of this new freedom to explore the […]

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January 22, 2017

Position Report: January 23, 2017

Position: 33º 54.498′ S 18º 25.098′ E Arrived at V&A waterfront marina. We are so happy to be here that we keep looking at each other with enormous grins on our faces. I think Cape Town might give San Francisco a run for it’s money. As if that weren’t enough we already have dinner invites […]

January 21, 2017

Position Report: January 22, 2017

Position: 34º 52.14′ S 19º 58.398′ E Dawn is breaking as we approach Cape Aguhlas (the Southernmost tip of Africa). As the nascent sun starts to burn away the crisp chill of the night, it dawns on me that our long hard southing is soon behind us. This ocean has been demanding for sure and […]

The Indian Ocean is not my favorite ocean!

Perhaps there has been another blog post of the same name; this is not a fun blog post; or a feelings story. This is just a tally; an acknowledgment that our exhaustion after a year and a half of travel is well earned, and a shoutout to the folks who live that cruiser adage “it’s just what we do [for each other].” We’re not entirely done with the Indian Ocean, but we have certainly crossed it. These nine months on this ocean between Indonesia and South Africa were hard on Convivia and challenging for the crew but as my friend Diane told me a year ago, “The Indian is rewarding.”

The damage:

Thing that Broke	Cause	Solution
Strap toggle	Fatigue	broken, jury rigged, replaced (thanks Trevor & Gustaf)
Monitor control line	Chafe	respliced/replaced
Lazy jacks	UV	broken, repaired, broken, repaired
North Sails Sail cover	poor design/UV	planning replacement
Standard Horizon VHF	totally dead	replaced in Durban
Shakespeare VHF antenna	poor reception	waiting for replacement
Dinghy thwart for mast on Fatty	snapped under pressure	waiting for replacement
Full River Batteries	1/2 totally dead, removed from system,	replaced in Richard’s Bay
Raymarine Anemometer	pretty broken	rewired and epoxied back together (for the second time), reads wind direction
Honda generator	dead	but not removed from the lazarette (Tucker!?!)
Toilet	one totally broken	replaced in Durban
Toilet reduction fitting	broke during maintenance	Gustaf, you are my freaking hero for welding us a new one
Harken Profurl M3 Furler	top of cage broken	replaced with homemade substitute (also cage dropped into the sea and retrieved after an extensive SCUBA search, thanks again Gustaf you legend)
Aeropress	broken, second Aeropress overboard, third Aeropress broken	ordered two new ones (of course)
Glasses, lime squeezer, muffin pan	broken, corroded and rusted through
Drawer handle on one drawer	smashed to pieces, massive bruise on my ass
Hela Fans	broken or pretty well worn out (god damn these fans)	replaced with Caframo
Flip flops	approximately 10 pairs walked through or broken
Favorite Keen sneakers	worn through	tossed in the trash at the end of a hike
Clothing	outgrown, stained, ripped and patched (100% of Miles’, less so for the rest of us)
Engine overheating problem	Kinked hose, & heat exchanger cleaning, also overhauled the impeller pump	fixed (Gustaf again, seriously, this guy’s hands are in that picture because his hands are in EVERYTHING)
Weather cloth	ripped, ripped again	patched and reinstalled
Engine off switch (morse cable)	seized	repaired (thanks Gustaf for your help!)
Monitor hinge	broken	welded and spare made in Phuket
Lewmar Windlass	broken and repaired electrical problem	(Trevor, you climbed into my anchor locker and called it “spacious”)
Windlass	fire in Imtra solenoid	replaced with spare
International “Perfection” (I beg to differ) Paint	scratched like crazy in a couple spots
Slug on mainsail	ripped out	resewn
Baja filter	overboard (oops)
Kitchen scissors	overboard (MILES!!!)	replaced
Ruby’s favorite Adidas skirt	overboard (78 knot gust, after she handwashed her own laundry)	will be replaced
A couple of jerry cans	cracked, taped together	trashed
Raymarine Autopilot	totally dead, hand steering now if we have to motor (what is it with this company?)	awaiting replacement
Snubbers	broken, broken, broken, broken	replaced
Pillow	overboard (possibly sabotage)	replaced
iPad chargers	Dead	replaced
REI backpack	zipper corroded, cut the flashlight out (lifetime warranty means nothing out here)	T9
Outdoor Research rain coat	that I LOVE, side zips corroded, front zip barely works	T9
The book Hatchet	Survival story, didn’t survive the wetness in Miles’ berth (Sorry Gwynn but I promise no less than four people read it on two boats and two book reports were based on it)
Three insulated water bottles (2 Hydroflask, 1 Swell)	rusted	trashed
Teeth	one grown up tooth broken (Miles, due to Ruby), one baby tooth broken (Ruby, due to Ruby)
Engine	dry exhaust rusted through again, black soot everywhere	replaced in Mossel Bay
Engine starter	failed	replaced, but in the meantime I learned how to hot wire a boat 😉
iNavX	All the things; from not being able to delete a waypoint from a route, to the NMEA disconnecting every 5 minutes (This program went from rock solid to a buggy pain in the ass in the span of 4 months. I’ve got words…)	Looking at other options

This is just my top of my head list, there must be more. My recommendation to future sailors: buy everything you need to get around the world and return back home in just under three years. Everything will be within warranty and you will have arrived in the nick of time before it all wears out. Alternately we can remember what Robin Lee Graham said, “At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.”

Stay tuned for the follow-up, “What Survived”

Editorial note: This list was (of course) complied by Vick. The ultimate keeper of lists. The little parentheticals are mine (Tucker) ultimate keeper of snide and compliments!

January 19, 2017

All Is Well

I’m tucked into the corner of the settee, wedged in with seven pillows so I don’t move and I don’t have to support my own body. The bucket is next to me but I’ve taken my seasick pill and I hope to sleep instead of vomit. The dorade vent that goes under water only drains […]

January 18, 2017

Position Report: January 19, 2017

Position: 34º 10.602′ S 22º 8.502′ E Safe and sound in Mossel Bay. The difference between this town and Durban is like the difference between Nantucket and Detroit. The Yacht Club manager welcomed us with open arms and a card already in her hand. We were told that it was the safest beach in South […]

January 18, 2017

Position Report: January 18, 2017

Position: 34º 16.2′ S 24º 29.298′ E Bbbrrrr. It’s cold down here. The air is crisp and clean and today we were blessed with blue skies and a tail wind. Looking to port, the next land we could see is Antarctica, just 3000km to the south. We are passing the time listening to the Hamilton […]

January 18, 2017

Position Report: January 17, 2017

Position: 33º 44.1′ S 27º 4.002′ E (these didn’t post initially, including for completeness) Our first 8hrs out of East London gave us 60 nautical miles good. This coast may be brutal, but at least it’s fast. While the rest of the family was taking a day off (seasickness abounds) I was smiling like a […]

January 14, 2017

Position Report: January 14, 2017

Position: 33º 1.002′ S 27º 52.998′ E Arrived safe and sound in East London. This was our fastest 24 hours ever at 254 miles (just over 10knots average). It wasn’t the most comfortable, and there was a bit of motoring involved but we are past the Wild Coast and looking forward to leaving for Port […]

January 12, 2017

Position Report: January 12, 2017

Position: 29º 51.798′ S 31º 1.422′ E We are looking forward to heading South tomorrow. The weather window looks good and, if we are lucky, we might be able to push all the way through to Cape Town. This next stretch of coast is called the Wild Coast, and has a reputation for bad behavior. […]

s/v Convivia

The damage: