The shipping folks told me March 6th. The San Diego port arrival list says March 7th. SV Star Lima, carrying Changabang, is due in the Mexican port of Mazatlan on February 26th. I’m still without information about how things will proceed in San Diego. So, let’s call it D-12. To get to San Diego, my plan will likely be to rent a car one way so I can pick up Rob T along the way and carry all that I need to take with me.
I know I said last time that my paper charts were all ready to go but that may have been a small lie as I wanted to have container for it all. It probably sounds like I’m belaboring this point; the reason is simple. It’s really the first item I’ve been able to check off “the list”. So here goes:
A few days ago Changabang entered the Pacific Ocean, still on deck of MV STAR LIMA. She’ll then stop in Guatemala, Mexico and finally in San Diego, maybe on March 7th 2020. The shipping company has gone silent so I have no information about how things will proceed in San Diego: communication is not their forte!
Paper charts
I think I’m done with the paper charts I plan to buy. Besides small scale charts for all oceans, I have bought medium scale charts for Torres Strait, Cape Horn. Some of the small scale charts are from NGA and pretty outdated, and although, I don’t think that any islands or rocks are born on the open sea, offshore buoys have been deployed .
Electronic charts
I’ve downloaded Navionics charts on two iPads, which is good except that iPads don’t have GPS. I also downloaded the charts on my small Android cell phone. I want to download them to another tablet or two. To protect them from water and shocks I plan to store all electronics hardware in a somewhat waterproof/shockproof case, maybe each wrapped in aluminium foil.
Not alone
Gaetan’s Class40.
I don’t know what it is with Belgians but there’s another skipper who’s preparing a Class40 for a circumnavigation. His goal is to beat the current record and his boat is much faster than Changabang, but then we don’t have the same problem. He needs to be beat a record, and, if anything, I’m just cruising along hoping to make it safely back home. I’m talking about Gaetan Thomas. He’s much more experienced, younger, stronger, has a better boat, a solid team, etc. His odds are higher by at least an order of magnitude but wouldn’t it be nice if two Belgians were to hold the Class40 records, one in each direction. Dream on, baby, dream on!
Friendly support
I continue to reach out to companies and parties who can help us with donation, discounts, used material. It’s really great to see folks being enthusiastic and supportive. Although there has been no recent development I’ve listed our supporters here for now. In fact, if you’re interested in joining Team Changabang and are willing to commit to helping get us to the start line and onto the finish line, please drop me a note. If there are enough of us maybe I’ll think of some sort of merchandise, a T-shirt maybe?
PredictWind has offered their forecast, weather routing and other weather related services. I’m really happy to have them contribute to this adventure as their expertise is highly regarded in the sailing community.
We continue to taste the good food of our friends at Backpacker’s Pantry. So far my taste buds are happy with what we’ve been trying.
Changabang appears to make it to the East side of the Panama canal.
And I’ve updated the Navigation page, summarizing what my choices have been, considering what I have and what I can afford within my budget. Hopefully, you’ll find it an entertaining read.
It looks like MV Star Lima, carrying Changabang, has entered the Caribbean Sea.
Closing in on Panama!
On other fronts, I’ve been busy figuring out my navigation tools so I’ll have an update on that soon. We’ve also received a bunch of samples from our friends at Backpacker’s Pantry so we’ll start eating re-hydrated freeze dried food over the next month; this will allow me to select what will work well for my palate.
And then, keeping an eye on weather, check this out:
Not an easy passage to negotiate. Truth is; there is no negotiation. There’s only accepting what I’ll get
That’s very much how I am these past days. I can feel that I’m starting to get into “preparation” mode. The task at hand is so enormous and diverse (including a job search) that I’m not yet able to focus my energy into specific accomplishments. Well, ok, that’s my usual self-deprecating me speaking there. There have been a few developments since my last post.
Sailing!
It had been 3.5 months since I last had gone out sailing. Every year, the SSS organizes a fantastic race in the San Francisco Bay: the Three Bridge Fiasco. This race usually attracts over 300 racers, strong tidal currents and light winds, and often ends up with a very large portion of the fleet retiring. I double handed on Frequent Flyer, a Farr 30. We did retire; still, it was fun being on the water again.
300+ sailboats drifting in light air
On the wait list
I’m in need of a berth for Changabang. The folks at Redwood Landing Marina are not accepting my application because the owner is a foreigner. I’ve applied for the wait list for Pillar Point Harbor. It’s unclear if I’ll have a slip by the time Changabang is up San Francisco.
Aerial view of Pillar Point Harbor
Marking things off the shopping list
I’ve slowly started shopping for things and they’ve started arriving. I bought a sailing harness as I don’t think a life jacket is of much help when sailing solo offshore (in fact, I got two as the seller seems to have made a mistake). Some of the navigation lights need replacement bulbs so I bought 4 LED bulbs. I also bought 150 feet of 2″ Dacron repair tape; this is to wrap the fiberglass mainsail battens and associated spare (these shed micro shards of fiberglass everywhere; it’s also to prevent splinters should they break when in use). 50 ft of 1/8″ shock cord will be used to re-attach the mainsail. The battery on my portable VHF HX870 did not seem to hold the advertised 12 hours so I got a new one.
Ouch, that hurts!
And, ahem, I got to cough up the remaining invoice for the shipping of Changabang. There are still incidentals but, oh boy, my fingers were sure heavy when I setup the wire transfer online.
I realized how much food I might need when I started counting the number of bags of freeze dried food I’d have to buy. Let’s say we’ll need 6 months to finish the course and that I eat 3 times a day. That’s 3 x 6 x 30 or 540 bags. Add 20% for safety and we’re talking about 650 bags. At about $8 each that’s $5,200! I started wondering if I should do my own freeze dried food! So I decided to reach out to the main players and ask for discounts or something. Most of them came back negative but Backpacker’s Pantry made me a solid proposal that will help me cut the cost in two. It’s not sponsorship but it’s a very nice gesture. I really enjoyed their Pad Thai on the way to Hawaii during the SHTP in 2018. Now, I do know that there are options to buy in bulk and compose your own meal. I’m just not sure that’s something I’d like to do while sailing.
Navigation
Today I took out the small scale paper charts I had bought to start plotting my course (I mostly looked at the South Pacific). I had to reach out to Navionics to better understand my electronic charts options (what happens if my subscription runs out when I’m out there?). I’ve researched what I could find about Torres Strait.
Torres Strait passage
Over the next 30 days I would like to finalize my navigation tools and charts. Although using SailGRib WR worked to sail to Hawaii, I think I need something a little more practical than a tiny phone screen for this circumnavigation: a larger tablet or a laptop (I got an old one with Adrena with Changabang)? Separately, I did get useful advice from Stan Honey, which I plan to research over the next few days. Everything starts adding up. Lately I have not been watching the wind forecasts daily as I used to; by this time I would be somewhere in the middle of the South Atlantic and, in fact, I should start watching for lows spinning off the East Cost of South America.
Low blows
Chugging along
All the while Changabang continues her journey towards her new home. And I’m still trying to find a new job.
It looks like Changabang’s carrier is en route for Cristobal, Panama. I suspect I’ll be checking that AIS web site a little too often!
According to this, I do not need to register with the state of CA if Changabang is a foreign vessel. So I think we’ll go for the Belgian flag after doing the donation to me. Progress!
Changabang was loaded on the cargo ship MV STAR LIMA today. Departure is imminent, or something like that. It looks like she’s not alone; there seems to be a catamaran too.
Changabang on the deck of MV STAR LIMA, pending a bit of tidy up and more lashing.
Obstructions galore
All along this project, every step of the way, things are not smooth. I had planned to get a slip at the Redwood Landing Marina, close to where I live. They had requested liability insurance, which Boat US declined (technically, they declined insurance as they don’t do liability only) but Progressive approved. Now, the management office at the marina is declining the slip because the owner is not a US resident. I’ve learned to sail there, I’ve been an instructor there, for seven years.
On another front I’m trying to understand what procedures I will need to follow when Changabang arrives in San Diego. I’ve tried to reach out to the CBP office of San Diego without success. Nobody answers and I’ve left several voice mails, which are not returned. Apparently, that’s how they operate.
Who owns this boat?
I’m still trying to figure out how to transfer Changabang to me in a way that will be legal. My understanding is that a boat must be documented to a country. I can’t US Document the boat since I’m not a US citizen. Registering the boat in California is not going to work as explained here and there (I did contact the writer of that second article, who confirmed this and indicated a $400/hr fee with a retainer of $3,000 to assist!).
Even with a CA license/title, the boat would not be considered documented as I’m not a US citizen. The boat would then assume my citizenship, i.e. Belgian, and I would require a cruising permit, which is fine. But then Changabang would effectively not be documented with Belgium. Plenty of foreigners do just that (title with CA) and do not realize that they do not have permission to move in the US.
If I document the boat with Belgium, then, on the other hand, California State still requires that I register the boat with them with 120 days of taking ownership, as a US resident. It’s all a nice catch 22 situation.
Thursday morning, a truck showed up in Frossay to pick up Changabang’s cradle. The cradle had to be partly dismounted to meet height and width requirements for road transport.
Loading the cradle.
The cradle arrived in the port of Antwerp on Friday. Another hired skipper and his partner then moved Changabang from the Willemdok marina to the quay where the cargo ship will load her. She was then picked out of the water and dropped back in her cradle. My contact in Antwerp took a bunch of pictures so I grouped them together in the slideshow below. It looks like Changabang still looks great. The next step will be loading and securing her on the cargo ship, which should happen in a few days. The cargo ship is now passing the West corner of Spain.
Unrelated news
As far as updates are concerned I must share that Thursday morning, as part of a large operation at 8×8, Inc, I was laid off (it took 5 minutes at best). I’m still processing that; it’s never fun to feel so disposable. Maybe, I’ll leave in fall 2020 after all. This is exactly what happened the last time I had offshore sailing plans with Clipper and then the Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race.
Fabrication
Before Changabang can leave for a circumnavigation there are some key fabrication jobs that I need to consider, primarily adding hydro-generators brackets and an emergency rudder. Yesterday I discussed these jobs with a boatyard in Berkeley. Some of these jobs will take some creative thinking as the stern of Changabang is fairly busy as it is! Ideas and suggestions (based on practical experience) are welcome.
The latest update as of this morning is that Changabang is safely tied in Antwerp. Getting into the marina was delayed yesterday evening due to a lock being out of service. The delivery went really well; they sailed with 3 reefs in the main and one reef in the J1. The keys were transferred to the next skipper who will deliver the boat to the loading dock Friday.
After a short stop in Breskens Team Delivery motored their way upriver to Antwerp.
I have received feedback from the delivery skipper about Changabang. So there are some good news: the boat is solid and not slow. And there are some not so good news: the aft ballast scoop is leaking; all on deck plastic needs replacing (sunlight does no good to plastic); the boat will need a serious cleaning inside (moldy) and outside (moldy too); the J1 needs some good maintenance work; some deck hardware needs adjustment. And that’s for the little that the skipper saw during his delivery. I feel like I’m in for a bunch of surprises when I’ll finally get quality time with Changabang.
Changabang in Antwerp
Things are progressing well. And as usual cost items are showing up where none was expected, and budgeted items are more expensive than anticipated. Hopefully, in a week or so, the boat has been loaded and she’s on her way to her new home. It will soon be time to prepare for the San Diego landing.
It was not easy but we’re finally on our way to Antwerp. Similarly, the ship, which will carry Changabang to California, is making her way across the Atlantic. Now, the focus is on the transfer in Antwerp. If you know someone nearby Antwerp who could move the boat from the Willemdok marina to the cargo ship, please let me know 🙂
From marinetraffic.com, use AIS “Destination Evian”MV Star Lima.
