Time to wrap-up the Baja Bash updates as we safely arrived at the Ventura Harbor Boat Yard dock at 1230hrs on Friday March 7th.

"Why would THIRD DAY be tied to the docks of a boat yard", you would ask?

Well, I guess you could say it seemed appropriate that we have come full circle since leaving the boat yard dock prior to our trip south with the Baja Ha ha Cruisers rally last year. But a better reason would be to deal with one of the most important issues for a happy diesel engine, clean fuel! I reported that we had water/gunk in our main fuel tank that resulted in having to drain water from the engine and fuel system 5 times during the trip. As much as I enjoyed those events, I want to make sure there isn't a 6th. I also wanted to convert one of my 3-50Gal water tanks to a fuel tank prior to casting off. So now after completing the 1101nm trip from La Paz to Ventura, California, THIRD DAY is awaiting replacement of her original 30 year old steel fuel tank and conversion of her port water tank to diesel.

I would rate the success of the overall trip as a 9 out of 10. As with any boat trip, there were a few issues: failed raw water pump, helm pulley issue, over-flowing head, self-deploying anchor during 15ft seas, immigration issue, and lack of lee cloths limiting our sleeping arrangements. However, if someone would have told me that we would have only had 36hrs of rough weather with the remainder being ideal motorsailing conditions, I wouldn't have believed them, but that is exactly what we had.

With the return of THIRD DAY to the States, we now begin the final phase in move aboard and Cruise preparation. The "to-do-list" is indeed long but I think manageable as we work towards our goal of moving on the boat July 4th and leaving Port San Luis October 1st. Looking at the '07 Baja Ha ha and the '08 Baja Bash as an extended shakedown cruise really gave us a great feel for what works, what doesn't and what the boat needs prior to cast off. Sharing the trips with experienced crew also gave us the opportunity to learn from others and get their opinions on boat systems. We really appreciate the assistance of: Rick, Sean, Jim, Candice, TJ, and Pete. With their diverse backgrounds, they were all great crew and gave us suggestions and perspectives that we would have otherwise missed.

Once I get the "updated to-do-list" together, I'll post it to give people an idea of what it takes to get a 30yr old boat ready for Cruising. It sounds so romantic to buy a boat, fix her up and then just sail away into the sunset, but the reality is much different, as anyone who has actually sailed away into that sunset will tell you.

Editors note: a few posts that were made via HF Radio didn't find there way to the blog, so I reposted them in order.

Relations of the Heart (2/25/08)

Sunrise at Sea, and an Overflowing Head (2/27/08)