OK! Now what?

OK! Now what?

I set out to circumnavigate. That is not going to happen, so now what?

Assuming that Judy wants me to come home, there is one big problem facing me. What to do with Laelia. The obvious solution is to turn around and sail back the way I came. There is a problem with that. The trip here was mostly down wind. Although it had its rough spots, it was not a terribly difficult ocean passage. Going back, Laelia would be going upwind – not her best point of sail. At one point on the trip down here, I attempted to turn around. I spent four days bashing into oncoming wind and waves – very rough! It is the kind of sailing that causes equipment to fail and boat parts to break. On top of that, in a rough sea, the best Laelia can do is to sail about 70 degrees off the wind. If the wind is coming from the direction I want to go (which it would be most of the time), I would have to sail almost three miles for every mile that I made good toward my destination. From Cabo to San Diego is a little over 800 miles. I would be tacking back and forth for 2400 miles, getting beaten up by oncoming wind and waves. If I want to bring Laelia back to San Francisco Bay, add another 1500 miles of sailing. In my mind, this is not really an option. The cost in physical effort and broken equipment would be greater than I am willing or able to deal with.

However, there are occasions when the wind shifts and blows from the south. It happens during the Winter. The winds are light but from the right direction. It also happens in the Fall when tropical depressions and hurricanes form in the Gulf of Tehauntapec and move north. They normally turn and head off to the west into the Pacific before they get to Baja – but there have been notable exceptions. As they move, they generate some strong south to southwesterly winds. Assuming that I didn’t get unlucky and get caught up in one of these exceptions, I could ride the fringe winds northward. Of course, it is not certain that this will happen. Remember the 800+ miles to be sailed. Under the best of circumstances, it is seven or eight round-the-clock sailing days to make the trip. It is not likely that the winds from a given storm would last long enough to cover the full distance. The schedule for a trip using this strategy would be unpredictable and probably would not allow a start in the next few months - but it is possible.

That leaves “The Clipper Route.” This means sailing mostly downwind from Baja, mostly toward Hawaii until the winds curve around and allow me to sail north without the wind coming from straight ahead. It might even be best to sail to Hawaii, rest and recuperate, then sail Hawaii to San Francisco Bay. Baja to Hawaii would take about 25 days. Hawaii to San Francisco would require another 35 days. Let’s call it three months from start to finish. If I left in mid-May when my new sails are ready, I would get home mid-August. It is possible.

The fourth option would be to sell Laelia here in La Paz. I have talked to a broker about this. Obviously, he wants the business and paints a fairly rosy picture. I can’t actually sell Laelia here. The broker arranges an off-shore transaction which means that the boat is not sold In Mexico or in the USA. It means that sales taxes on either end would be avoided. Knowledgeable buyers are interested in La Paz boats because they have been sailed down here. They are out fitted with serious cruising equipment and are, on the whole, much better equipped than the average boat sold in San Francisco or San Diego. The down side is that it is not likely that the sale would happen in a short time. Buyers want to be pretty sure of what they are getting into before they spend the money to come to La Paz, look at the boat and have it surveyed. Laelia has to have a home during that time. Slip rentals are about 50% higher here for non-live aboard slips - $600 to $700 per month for a Laelia-sized boat. If it takes a year to sell (not unusual) I will have spent $7000 on slip rental. Not an attractive proposition. So far, this appears to be the best option - but I'm still looking.

There is one other option – move the boat to San Carlos (across the Sea of Cortez from here), have it put on a truck and shipped to the desired location. I’ve heard estimates of $6000 to $7000 for that. Given the state of my bank account at the moment, this is not really an options.

So, gentle reader, that’s the situation. Those are some possible answers. Perhaps you have another. Don’t be shy – email me at SailorRalph365@gmail.com. I will give serious consideration to all but the wildest ideas.

Of course, there is the possibility that Judy will decide that I have abused her love and trust beyond repair. I wouldn’t blame her. In that case, I would probably keep Laelia for now, apply for an extended Mexican visa and live aboard here in Baja for some length of time. If I were to anchor out most of the time, my expenses would be minimal – the slip is the expensive part of living here.

But it would be incredibly lonely without MiLuv.

I hope it will not come to that.