On Jan 25, 10:13 am, "Ellen MacArthur"
wrote:
We should have a big celebration. This is the first time Katy's ever been right
about anything. ;-)
But you got my curiosity up. How come you aren't sailing to the South Pacific
with your husband? Are you afraid of a long trip like that? Or, is it all just because
somebody has to drive the van back? If I were you I'd pay somebody to drive it
back. I wouldn't miss a long voyage across the South Pacific for nothing.... They
money you spent on a plane ticket you could pay somebody to drive your van back
and probably have some left over. You could get some Mexican dude to drive it
back. He could fill it with drugs and a bunch of illegal aliens and charge them for
the ride. You could get rich...

Cheers,
Ellen

Good question Neal....err....I mean Ellen.

There are many reasons why I choose not to go on this passage.

First of all we have this little dog on board who is too fastidious to
pee or poop on the boat. He will wait up to three days before he lets
loose. The other thing about our little Buddy is that there are some
places we intend to visit where he is just not welcome so, he must go
home to Oregon to be taken care of by our good friend Buck who is also
taking care of our house.

On the way north I will have the time to stop and visit with my mom who
is well into her eighties and won't be around much longer. I also
want to spend time with my sister, brother, daughter and grandkids
before I take off for who knows how long.

As far as missing out on the longest passage from point A to point B on
the planet earth? Well, guess I'm just going to have to miss it.
This is Mike's big adventure and I want him to have it but I just
can't wrap my head around a month out on the open sea with three men
and me. Phew!

The fact is, I have truly enjoyed the short passages (three or four
days) with just us two. The navigation, the sail tweaking, the watches
and especially the land fall. It always feels good to get where
you're going and especially sweet when it's just us.

I know that the air fare is expensive and the logistics of the whole
thing are not quite clear but, I'm sure it will all work out.

Now, with all that said. The subject has come up recently that this is
an El Nino year and the possibility of not going this season at all is
very real. I'll keep you posted.

So, there you have it Ne... Ellen. Hope I answered all your questions.

Fare Winds and Following Seas,

Lady Sailor
s/v Arabella
www.sailinglinks.com