After our last trip ended in Bali I had 24 hours to fuel the boat, fix a half dozen urgent mechanical issues, check out of the country, and find some crew. Sunita and Bobby were tied up in Bali and Jody needed to be in Singapore to arrange travel visas. I had no desire to sail 1500 miles across the equator by myself through the busiest shipping route in the world.
I begged and pleaded with everyone I knew, regardless of their experience. But no one could commit. As ... Read Full Story
The skipper goes big
Nearly a week passed between our last jaunt in Sumba and this one. In that time Jody returned from Bali after a successful visa run complaining of feeling sick. On the morning the trip was scheduled to begin we thought there was a decent chance she had malaria so I took her to the nearest hospital. 3rd world hospitals are never on anyone's hit list of safe things to be doing with your time, but in this case we had no other choice. The hospital was chaotic and we attr... Read Full Story
The reason we returned to Sumba
This Epic was supposed to start and end in Sumbawa but I just couldn't leave Sumba yet. I sent out an email more or less refusing to bring the boat to where it was supposed to be for the start of this trip. The owners coming in would certainly have some cause for concern with the somewhat hasty itinerary change, but I thought once they got a taste for Sumba they would agree with the decision. The concern would no doubt stem from the simple fact that Sumba i... Read Full Story
An evening of flying in France
After a month paragliding in Europe I thought I was sufficiently recovered from our long season in Micronesia to hit the ground running back in Bali to prep for our next round of trips. Several major projects (new mainsail and genoa, new cockpit cushions, engine spares, parts shipments, finding a chef, etc.) had kept me busy banging away on the computer and on the phone between flights and while I knew things were going to be tight to get it all done, I was... Read Full Story
