Marquesas Passage: Ready Or Not?

Map is pilfered from Tania, who just completed their circumnavigation via sailboat.
We're about to embark on the same passage they depict here.

"We just needed a swift kick in the butt," Wayne admitted.  We left Ilsa Contadora, Panama reluctantly.  After 2 months with the fun-to-suck ratio way off (too much  boat prep and rough passages) we finally relaxed on Contadora's lovely beach, and were reluctant to leave.  Leaving there and going to Galapagos would be our longest passage to date.  We were feeling anxious about it, dragging our feet a bit.

To our delight, the nearly 10 day, ~1,000 mile passage from Las Perlas Panama to Galapagos was the most pleasant long passage yet.

If we stick to plan, tomorrow we follow in Tania's footsteps, sailing the ~3,000 mile passage from Galapagos to Marquesas.  That's 3 times the distance we just sailed a little over a week ago to get where we are right now in Ilsa Isabela, Galapagos, Ecuador.  From my perspective, it's best just to assume it will take us a month to get to French Polynesia's Marquesas, though we expect to arrive sooner.

There's still a few odds and ends to do before we take off, the most notable is the need for me to play mast monkey again to re-attach our mizzen mast halyard.  The last few rainy, rolly days in the anchorage encouraged our procrastination, but it needs to happen before we go.  Otherwise our mizzen mast will be useless on this huge upcoming passage as it's far easier to fix in a rolly anchorage than at sea.

Galapagos blue-footed boobie.  More coming up on catch-up blogs
after arriving in French Polynesia when we return to "regular" internet.

Other than our usual passage prep -- getting our last-minute weather report, securing the dinghy onto our davits, setting up our jacklines and other safety equipment, charting our course, making sure the cabin's secure -- we're mostly ready.  After all, in many ways, we've planned for this passage for the last three years.

Thanks to Trisha Dunn's assistance and some features in our satellite's limited WiFi hotspot, there will be brief periodic posts of our progress during the passage.

Click here if you're curious about the South Pacific passage and where we're headed and here to learn more about the informal crossing of boats on the same track this year as part of the South Pacific Puddle Jump.

There are also several blog posts pre-scheduled to run while on passage, though a lot more "catch up ones" are on their way from our time on the Galapagos.

Wish us luck and don't forget about us while we sail the big blue ocean.  We're not dropping off the face of the earth, it will just seem like it for a little while.

Meanwhile, time to get some shut-eye before we begin our long passage to the lovely French Polynesias.