Do you want one more email in your inbox with the title COVID-19? I thought not… So I’m sending a VOW update! Seeing how most of you are stuck at home and have lots of time to hear what is going on with the crew on Banyan, you are in for a nice long update. …
They say cruising is merely boat maintenance in exotic locations. There is definitely some truth to that. I’ve wallowed away many a beautiful evening at anchorage contorted into an advanced level yoga pose to reach the back of a loose connection. The girls are now helping with this as well, while I become less pliable …
Turns out all of our solar panels are blown, the charger needed replacing (or did it...), our engine starter battery is done, the dinghy is in need of some patching and there are about 50 other little things that need doing .
For the last several weeks, since we arrived in La Cruz, Mexico, we have been all about getting ready. Getting ready for what you ask? In essence, we are preparing for self-reliance. But, there is also a community element to our preparations and passage making. Tell me about this community. So, one doesn’t just …
Well, as we expected, things did not go as expected. We were supposed to have been put in the water on April 1st, but as we ran around the decks, preparing the boat, we listened with falling hearts to the engine of the travel lift not turning over… It turns out, the starter motor died …
Banyan is heading south! It’s just getting a little chilly for us up here in the sea… I know… all of you knee deep in snow are just groaning and rolling your eyes but – really, we are getting cold. When you have to wear a wet suit to get in the water it’s just …
First off let me say just how happy we are with our boat. When I explain to people all the things that we are upgrading, changing or fixing on the boat they furrow their brow and say “So do you think you made the right choice on the boat you bought?” YES YES YES. We …
It seems fitting that I should give a bit of information about communication. We receive a lot of questions on this subject from friends and family. We are about to head out of Morro Bay. It’s been absolutely lovely here. We have become fans and supporters of the local community radio station, recharged our refrigeration …
Life Jackets – We went to Emeryville for a few days, mainly to have a free and voluntary safety check from the US Coast Guard. The main thing that they instigated was a search for safer life jackets for the girls. The jackets that we have are legal, but for offshore we would like a …
Well, we did it! We cut the dock lines as they say in cruising circles. At 9 am on Monday morning a huge box full of donuts along with coffee and hot chocolate arrived (Thank you Sterling from the beautiful motor yacht “Molly”!), which fueled our departure. We pushed off from the dock at high …