Off to the ABCs!

Sophia is off on her next adventure! On Tuesday (Jan. 30) she left St. Lucia with Phil, Jeffrey, and Bernie (the newest Sophianaut) en route for Bonaire.

Jeffrey, Phil, and Bernie
Ready to head from St. Lucia to Panama

The time in St. Lucia was rejuvenating for the crew -- settled sleep, showers, mornings at the cafe, afternoons at the beach, ziplining through the trees, and rum tastings. Ah, the life!  This time also allowed for mending of the main sail, welding of the windvane, and a few other repairs after a lumpy Atlantic crossing. She was shipshape in no time thanks to a diligent and knowledgeable crew.

Joan and Christine have both headed for home, leaving the guys to take Sophia to Panama. They will certainly be missing Christine's amazing cooking!

As of this writing (Friday, Feb. 3), they have just arrived in Bonaire. They plan to make a few other stops along the way, possibly in Aruba, Santa Marta, San Blas Islands, and finally Colon, Panama. You can watch their progress via the "Current Sailing Track" link on the left.

A Hearty Welcome to Sophia

Sophia is our Hans Christian 38 cutter entrusted with the task of carrying us to Norway from the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As Phil remarked, "She is a woman of substance," as we know all the good ones are. Sophia is wisdom. She is mother of all gods. She is a vessel with most precious cargo.

This blog will chronicle our adventure down the coast of Central America, across the Caribbean, across the Atlantic, and finally across the North Sea to safe harbor in Oslo.

And the adventure has already begun! Phil, Andreas, and Dan sailed Sophia from La Paz, Mexico (east coast of the Baja Penisula) to Mazatlan, then Puerto Vallerta, and now to Manzanillo (where a very special surprise awaits -- shhhhh!). Dan has returned to Seattle for the moment to finish up his work and will rejoin Sophia in Panama (as will Karl's Uncle Jeff). Karl and I (Rachel) will join Sophia and her intrepid crew, Phil and Andreas, in Zihuatanejo on April 7th.

Adventure abounds! As our friend Brad is wont to say, "Adventure is our bread, excitement is our butter, and from the wavering edge of risk the sweet honey of life drips, drips, drips."

There will be many stories to tell. I hear the whispers now of an adventure story about to unfold...