Departure

"So", you ask, "Why plan a 1400 mile sailboat trip to the Philippines right before you are planning to move from Guam to Singapore?"

Well, there aren't a lot of ways to get your boat out of the water here...and Stillwater requires some work that can't be done easily while sitting at the dock...especially with another active typhoon season staring us in the face. The major project is pulling out the rudder to address corrosion and leakage inside.  Something that needs to be done soon...it's on borrowed time already. (Yes, we sailed 1400+ miles with an injured rudder assembly.)

So, instead of spending half of our repair budget just to get her out of the water, we did what most boat people in Guam do...we went to the Philippine boatyards. There we can probably get a whole new galley for the price of a haul-out in Guam.

This is our friend Kevin's boat, "Mango", at the same yard where we left Stillwater. This is one way to get the work done out of the water....better hurry though.

Having our boat nearby at a yard was a very appealing idea when we thought we were moving to Manila. Once Nick's company changed our destination to Singapore we had already begun preparations for sailing to the Philippines, so we went ahead with it. You don't just hop on your boat one day and decide to sail across an ocean...it takes months (or years) to get ready for a big passage.

Not only does it take time, it takes HELP. We are lucky to have so many seasoned sailors in our Sumay Marina family. Right up until the end they were helping with route planning, fiberglass, engine replacement, cleaning, storing, stowing, securing (yes, those are 3 different things). It takes a village, as they say. We may never have left if not for their help.

Our plan was to leave by noon on May 15. Of course that didn't happen...but with much help we did leave before 1300.

Sails up in the harbor, and off we went.
Photos courtesy of Ivy Heberle Photography :)

It took us a bit to get our bearings and set our course. The idea was that we were supposed to set our sails and just head downwind until we hit the Philippines. That was before we lost the tradewinds, which had been blowing for the last 4 months reliably from the NE. Not for us. The next 10 days would be quite the exercise in sail/wind management.

One of us was asleep even before we were out of sight of land...
 

The first sunset was probably the prettiest, but I'm sure the first night watch was the best of them all.

I was pretty glad to see the almost full moon, as it was my first night watch alone. Nick was asleep on deck, but it was very intimidating to be in the open ocean in the dark. The moon's light was very comforting, to say the least. Although as we moved west, my reassuring partner appeared later and later every night, I was always relieved at its return. However, before and after the moon's appearance the most amazing night sky opened up and revealed the beauty so many of us don't have the opportunity to witness. That first night was definitely my favorite.


"Cool Change"
Little River band

If there's one thing
In my life that's missing
It's the time that I spend alone
Sailing on the cool
And bright clear water

Lots of those friendly people
They're showing me ways to go
And I never want to
Lose their inspiration

Time for a cool change
I know that it's time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it's time for a cool change

Well, I was born in the sign of water
And it's there that I feel my best
The albatross and the whales
They are my brothers

It's kind of a special feeling
When you're out on the sea alone
Staring at the full moon like a lover

Time for a cool change
I know that it's time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it's time for a cool change