The Moment

This is the moment that I will always remember - the moment we cast our mooring lines from the buoy that has been our symbolic tether to our fast-paced land-based lifestyle. Now we will start in a new direction with our lives - a direction chosen together - that combines our passions for the sea, our desire to live self-sufficiently, and our interest in learning about other cultures and traditional ways of life. This new life will be challenging on many levels, but we feel ready for it, and we're excited to see how the experience will either change or solidify our personal philosophies.

Our moment came in the afternoon of April 25, 2011. I had just returned from my final walk around Corondao, getting last-minute items from the hardware stores and the grocery store. Our rneighbors had been visitng all morning to send their good wishes with us. We even received the latest copy of the San Diego Log ( a free local boating magazine) from our neighbor who has been special delivering sailing publications to our boat since we arrived in the mooring area eight years ago. Another neighbor decided to help us mark the occasion with a special "Countdown to Cast-Off" which he broadcast to the mooring area on his boat's hailer as though we were on a NASA space shuttle mission.

When the moment seemed right, I cast off our leash and I raised my hands in the air, as much a celebratory gesture as it was a signal to Glenn that we were clear of the buoy. Glenn engaged the throttle on our engine, and it died. Less than a minute after we untied from our buoy, we were tied up to a different one. Glenn spent the afternoon troubleshooting the fuel delivery system on the engine before he narrowed down the problem. It turns out that the same part that caused us problems last year before we hauled out was plugged up again. This time, the exhaust was plugged instead of the water passage. We didn't bother cleaning it out this time. We had the parts for re-creating this system, using common fittings from a hardware store, which was suggested to us last year by another neighbor in the mooring area - a very resourceful cruising couple who are now visiting the Pacific Northwest. The new system works great! But, by the time we got the engine running again, the sun had set, and our energy was rapidly fading too.

We spent one more night in the mooring area, and left quietly in the morning before most of our neighbors were awake. This was our moment, without all the fanfare of the previous afternoon, but we carry with us the support and good wishes our neighbors have given us for so many years. Thanks to all of you!

Now, we have been sailing for six days. We have lots of catching up to do with sharing our story, and we're sure to post more in the next few days. Our current position is N 23° 20.6'; W 120° 33.5' with 20 knots of wind pushing us due south. We're averaging about 5 knots, and all is well on board!