If it's not broken...

Every year, (except for the last few) the Marianas Yacht Club ("MYC") hosts a Guam to Rota sailboat race. Interest has waned over the last few years, so it was exciting to see TWELVE boats registered for this year's event.  We had not planned on being in Guam during this time of year, so although I held the position of Race and Regatta chair at MYC, I did not join the planning committee. As soon as we found out that we would indeed be on island for May and June, I threw my hat in. Planning/organizing an event like this (for the first time) is pretty stressful. I haven't been to Rota nor have I sailed our boat from one island to the next. Stress? Who, me?    Oh, and Nick was gone for three weeks in April/May and couldn't help prep the boat until the week preceding. 

(Oh, and picked up a new crew member...a young biologist who showed up at the Yacht club and asked to catch a ride. She was very helpful and even brought her own food - and shared!! That's the best kind of crew member !!!!) I didn't make her sign a photo release, so I hope it's ok that I post her picture....

Since we have not taken our boat off island yet, we didn't want to brave the "Rota Channel" at night like most of the other boats (high current, high wind, no landmarks visible, yada yada...). We left a day early and spent the night at anchor with our marina-mates on the Northern end of Guam. 

Anchored at Double Reef with Spindrift

The trip to Rota was uneventful, and un-windy. Because we had to catch Rota Customs before 4pm (to avoid paying overtime) we had to run the engine a bit. The best part of the ride was letting Autopilot take over. Nick JUST got the autopilot to work after owning the boat for a year and a half, and we took full advantage...until about the last half hour of the ride to Rota.

 The autopilot linear actuator was a planned replacement, and Nick managed to bring the replacement back with his luggage when he returned from Florida. He knew it was on borrowed time, but we were hoping to have time to replace it in one of our ports...or upon our return. Turns out, the existing one didn't quite make it all the way to Rota.  About a half hour out, the rudder turned hard to port and STUCK. This is an ordeal on any boat, but one with two sails up makes it a bit more complicated. As Nick jumped down below to check the autopilot, I had to run to the bow to get the jib sheets unstuck from under the open hatch so the sail could "switch sides" without tearing the hatch off. We went from relaxing and watching the approach of Rota to full chaos in approximately 5 seconds.

I may have to make one of these...

This is the spot he needed to fit into in order
to fix the autopilot...

Since Nick knew immediately what the problem was (he's pretty good at that), he could disengage the autopilot quickly so we could steer safely into the Port of Rota. He replaced the dysfunctional unit with the new one while at the dock the next day (you know, a '5 minute job...') This turned out to be one of several jobs that we should have completed BEFORE leaving the dock in Guam...

 
Laundry!

While in Rota we managed to make time for relaxing, swimming, fixing, and laundry. Our new crew member took L on a "round the island" trip with the other Biologists who work on Rota. Could I have chosen better people for him to hang out with? Probably not. They are all at least 10 years older than him, but when he got back he said, "I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. When we get back to Guam we're going to do another 'around the island' trip!" Seriously, if I told him we were going to do that with him the grumbling would never stop.

V is for vacation....

To summarize the first leg of our trip...

• we built confidence in our boat and in ourselves. 
• We learned that when sailboats gather, there's a common "fix what broke on the way here" time of day. 
• Camaraderie is essential when you're in the beginning/learning stages of sailboat cruising (and beyond). 
• This has already been the trip of a lifetime, and we're only beginning!

 Stay tuned for the next leg of our Marianas journey...