I thought I would provide a bit of details on the still developing plans for 2020. Sabado is currently in the Caribbean heading North with Ft. Lauderdale as our destination. We’ll be leaving Dominica in two weeks with a total of four crew on board.
This trip will take about two weeks since we’ll be stopping to explore in the BVI and The Bahamas.
Once in Ft Lauderdale, Sabado will be receiving some upgrades to make her more comfortable during longer passages, easier to sail shorthanded, more reliable, and better provisioned.
Creature comforts such as a larger television (also used for navigation during passage), upgraded computer network and server, kitchen supplies, beanbag chairs, paddle boards, and other items that are next to impossible to find where we’ve been will be added.
We’ll be adding a remote for the anchor windless and the autopilot to make it easier and safer for one person to manage the boat if necessary. This will allow me to raise and lower the anchor without needing to go back and forth between the helm and the bow as many times and allow me to control the autopilot from inside the boat while underway.
On the reliability side of things, we’ll be adding better battery monitoring and management systems and substantially increasing our tool and spare parts inventory. In addition, we’ll be taking advantage of the large storage capacity of Sabado to stock up on food supplies at Costco.
We’ll be in a marina for two weeks doing this but will need to finalize our plan for what we’re doing after. Currently, we have two of us that will be staying on board after Ft. Lauderdale with the possibility of at least one more crew joining. As a team, we’ll talk through our options and make a decision. We have a few options but the two most likely ones are to spend the Winter in The Bahamas then head North or West. The Bahamas offers months of exploring opportunities so this seems like a great start for the new crew.
The North options post Bahamas is one that interests me a lot for a number of reasons.
- There is so much to explore on the US East Coast. So many historic maritime towns are within easy reach.
- Easy provisioning. Sabado hasn’t spent any time in the US so we haven’t had easy access to stuff. This would allow us to do a solid shakedown while we have easy assess to all the stuff.
- Easier commitment for the new crew. We’ll have at least one person on board who doesn’t have experience with long term sailing. That isn’t an issue but coastal sailing just offers that bit of comfort for new sailors that can help them focus on learning rather than worrying.
- Anchoring next to the Statue of Liberty! I really want to do this.
Another option for us is to head to Panama. This get’s us going in the direction that I want and is a strong candidate. Ultimately, we’re headed to the South Pacific. Current plans are for that to happen in 2021 but we’re running out of planning time to allow us to make that happen. This options get’s us on track but could be a bit challenging for a new crew.
You may notice that I didn’t list an Atlantic crossing to Europe as an option. That trip even more than two options above is a challenging crossing even for a full crew of experienced sailors. I’m a very conservative captain when it comes to safety of crew and boat and at this time, that trip is outside of my comfort level for the crew.
So that’s what I’m currently thinking for 2020. As with every plan when sailing, it will change but it’s a starting point. Like I said above, I have three crew members joining me for the trip to Ft. Lauderdale with one of them staying for a longer term. I’m currently looking for additional crew that would like to join. If you’re interested, reach out to me and let’s discuss.