September 19th is international talk like a pirate day. It will also be our first full day at sea.
We’ve finalized our departure date and (while the details may change) the plan will involve a cast-off party on Saturday, September 17th (Francis Chichester‘s 110th birthday) , followed by our actual departure Sunday, September 18th.
The goal had been to leave in May, a date that we chose based off the requirement of making it to New Zealand before tropical storm season in the southern hemisphere. While that would probably still have been feasible, it would have left us a bit strapped for cash and rushing to complete our “must do” list before leaving. Waiting till September will let us knock out some “should do” projects and will let us explore some places along the way that we may not otherwise have had time to do.
The new route is still up in the air (and will be even once we leave) but will almost certainly take us down the coast to Mexico, through Central America (Costa Rica, Panama, maybe El Salvador), South America (Ecuador, Peru) then passing by the Galapagos before crossing to the Marquesas. From there we’ll island hop through the South Pacific until the beginning of their storm season at which point we’ll take a break in New Zealand.
Now the question is: Where are you going to come meet up with us?