swapping the 9-5 for boat work
Florida, USA
It’s been just over a week since we touched down in Miami and started complaining about how unbearably warm it is. Boat work in 30°C heat and 85% humidity is not exactly my idea of a holiday.
Of course, this wasn’t the original plan. We were going to transit through Miami to Belize or Costa Rica or wherever Argonaut happened to be en route to Antarctica. But she’s still in the yard. So, it was time to get our hands dirty.
So, what’s new onboard? Replaced teak decks (which, you may recall, started breaking off in clumps during the Caribbean 600 race), fridge (goodbye to food sliding out whilst heeled over… this one is a drawer fridge!), new oven, electrical wiring, and new batteries (hello lithium!). Refurbished engine, steering, autopilot, hatches, and of course the toerail (which we broke in a squall on the first night of the Caribbean 600 - you might notice a theme here). Additions: heating, generator, ice marker, and a scuba diving compressor.
Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, we have been faced with the sad reality that we will not be sailing to Antarctica. Not because the boat isn’t up to it, or because the crew aren’t prepared enough, but because insurers no longer have an appetite to insure boats like Argonaut to sail there. Either she would need to be re-registered to another country where we know it is possible to still get insurance (e.g., France, America) or we need a bigger boat (£5+ million)! Both options are above my pay grade.
So then we had to ask ourselves: do we still go to Patagonia? For me, this was one of the elements of the trip which I was most excited about: taking in the awe-inspiring scenery, hiking up mountains, sailing through the breathtaking fjords. But Patagonia is 7,000 nautical miles away. That’s about 1,000 hours of non-stop sailing, i.e. 42 days and 42 nights. It’s a long way for one stop. And we might still go there another year. And what could we be spending that time doing instead? So the decision was made not to go.
Accepting that we are not going to either Antarctica or Patagonia has been a tough pill to swallow, especially since that is what we put our lives on hold for. But, how can we complain? We will be spending the coming months on a yacht, exploring Central America, and diving in some of the most incredible waters in the world. Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, The Galapagos? They’re all in the mix. We just need to decide where to go next.