Ignacio Gonzales, Ericson 35-II, sent this message as an email to friends.
Bon voyage!
https://share.delorme.com/IgnacioGonzalez
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Attributed to Mark Twain
By now, you all have heard me ramble on in varying degrees about this solo trip to Hawai’i. And on the eve of my departure, here I sit here at the dock in Los Angeles, my home town, ready to cast off the dock lines tomorrow morning, with about 2,200 miles, or about 20 days, to sail alone in front of me before returning to the San Francisco Bay Area shortly thereafter (also alone).
That quote sure sounds good, don’t you think? What the quote doesn’t capture is the actual experience of preparing, literally, to sail away. It doesn’t quantify in any way the number of cuts and bruises and headaches one gets from becoming an “expert” in fiberglass, mixing epoxy, running electrical cabling, plumbing, sewing, and a long list of other knowledge the self-sufficient sailor must develop. I don’t think Mark Twain (or whoever wrote that) ever had to squeeze into a small fiberglass locker and hold a yoga-like position to run a new piece of hose. Nor does it describe in any way the many other challenges of making a trip like this alone, nor that I would meet so many kind people generous with their time to offer advice, assistance, and other help.
What I can say with certainty is that the trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles I completed last year somehow felt insufficient, a tease, and that each day that I’ve been sailing since then in these benign and seductive Southern California waters, I’ve wondered (ok, more than wondered) about the experience further offshore. And since I have to return to San Francisco anyway, why not take the scenic route back north, making a stop in Hawai’i?
You can follow my progress here. With any luck, I should be in Hawai’i sometime in the next 3 weeks, and with even more luck, my boat and I will make it in one piece.
https://share.delorme.com/IgnacioGonzalez
Best,
Ignacio
Bon voyage!
https://share.delorme.com/IgnacioGonzalez
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Attributed to Mark Twain
By now, you all have heard me ramble on in varying degrees about this solo trip to Hawai’i. And on the eve of my departure, here I sit here at the dock in Los Angeles, my home town, ready to cast off the dock lines tomorrow morning, with about 2,200 miles, or about 20 days, to sail alone in front of me before returning to the San Francisco Bay Area shortly thereafter (also alone).
That quote sure sounds good, don’t you think? What the quote doesn’t capture is the actual experience of preparing, literally, to sail away. It doesn’t quantify in any way the number of cuts and bruises and headaches one gets from becoming an “expert” in fiberglass, mixing epoxy, running electrical cabling, plumbing, sewing, and a long list of other knowledge the self-sufficient sailor must develop. I don’t think Mark Twain (or whoever wrote that) ever had to squeeze into a small fiberglass locker and hold a yoga-like position to run a new piece of hose. Nor does it describe in any way the many other challenges of making a trip like this alone, nor that I would meet so many kind people generous with their time to offer advice, assistance, and other help.
What I can say with certainty is that the trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles I completed last year somehow felt insufficient, a tease, and that each day that I’ve been sailing since then in these benign and seductive Southern California waters, I’ve wondered (ok, more than wondered) about the experience further offshore. And since I have to return to San Francisco anyway, why not take the scenic route back north, making a stop in Hawai’i?
You can follow my progress here. With any luck, I should be in Hawai’i sometime in the next 3 weeks, and with even more luck, my boat and I will make it in one piece.
https://share.delorme.com/IgnacioGonzalez
Best,
Ignacio
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