Departure of the OceanGybe expedition!
by Ryan
30 two sixters of booze, 44 2l bottles of water, 33 Cans of chickpeas, 10 cans kidney beans, 10 cans black beans, 10 cans refried beans and chorizo, 11 cans corn, 8 can mushrooms, 14 cans mushroom soup, 22 cans spinach, 2 cans turkey, 11 cans salmon, 26 cans spinach, 6 large can fruit cocktail, 15 cans tuna, dried fruit, real fruit, laundry detergent, seasick tabs, 20 loaves bread, 25 packs Mr. noodles, 40 packets soup, 60 cans of tomatoes, 30 bags tostadas, 10 dozen eggs, 25 packages chorizo… and this is just the very, very beginning.
While Bryson was saying goodbye to Jess (it was fantastic having you down here, Jess!), Hugh and I began the task of provisioning Khulula. In the heat of the day (105 degrees), we headed for the air-conditioned haven of “CCC”, the largest grocery store in La Paz, to try and purchase enough food to survive for what could turn into 30+ days at sea. Try and imagine what you were doing 30 days ago, and then imagine that you had not been able to go near running water, a store, a coffee shop or even dry land! This will give you a small idea of the lists upon lists of things you need to buy to go offshore, and the humour has not escaped up that this leg, the very first of the OceanGybe expedition will be the longest of the entire 3-year trip…
The previous evening over a “super burrito” from the local restaurant (with the ingenious and inventive name “Super Burrito”) we had come up with estimations of how much food we would need. The conversation went something like this: “OK, we should probably take some cans of tuna”, “Yeah, for sure, how much do you think we will need?”, “Well, let’s say that we eat 2 cans between the three of us every day, that equals um…. 60 cans”, “Flip, that’s a lot”, “You aren’t joking! Maybe we should take less?” etc! In the end we figured it out, and after hearing about how expensive food is in the Marquesas (our next stop), we figured more cans is better that less cans. After all, we are going to eat them all sometime right? Right? Oh yeah, although getting through a total of 100 cans of beans with 2 other guys on a small boat is something that we are all secretly a little nervous about… how well vented is the boat while underway? So back to the shop: After 3 hours, Hugh and I each had a large grocery cart piled to the top and bulging at the seams. We took bets about how much it would cost, I mean we had 30 26’s of alcohol! I bet at least $800, Hugh coming in slightly higher at $850, with Price-is-right rules applying. Turns out that food is way cheaper than we estimated with the entire grocery bill coming in equivalent to what just the booze would have cost in Canada! It is also pertinent to note that we have done two more such trips to the store since then…
Back at the boat, this was just the beginning of the fun. How on earth do you fit a HUGE PILE of food into all the nooks and crannies of a sailboat, and even come close to remembering where you packed everything? This heralded the birth of the X-treme Can and Food Stowage Matrix (X.C.F.S.M.). Do you really want to know where everything went? Click here, and don’t sell this list to any pirates! This is the fastest and simplest method we could think of to log what went where when you are trying to find it three weeks or months down the road! Next task – take the labels off three hundred cans and write the contents on the outside with a permanent marker. Why would be subject ourselves to such an annoying and arduous task you may ask, just take a minute to imagine a scenario where every single can in the boat gets wet (and it happens!), and every label removes itself from every can and collects in the bilge. Now you have 300 cans with no labels and a self-imposed future of Russian roulette style meals: “Boys, we are having canned peaches, salmon and refried beans for dinner!” It would be fun for a while, but would get old pretty fast, especially after anchovy’s and peach halves for brekkie! Hugh and I figured it would be a way better idea to plant a few decoys on the boat – Tuna labeled chicken, baked beans with ham labeled peach halves etc! The lucky recipient of this treat not only gets the disappointment of having to eat baked beans when he was expecting peach halves, but under the new boat rules, has to do a shot of cheap Mexican tequila!
Long, long story short, Khulula is now fully provisioned and sitting a good 6 inches lower in the water. There is a buzz developing on the dock after each boat in the Marina learns of our plans to leave tomorrow morning (2 July). Everyone is full of smiles, and wishing us well. One old timer in particular came to congratulate us on finally taking Khulula (formerly Free Run) on an adventure. Apparently she has been in and around the La Paz area for 17 years, hardly the life for a speedy beauty such as herself – he knew the boat well, and confirmed that she is a strong and loyal vessel that will carry us wherever we want to go. These words were fantastic to hear in these final days, and help to calm the inevitable butterflies in the stomach that arise when you are facing not seeing land for a month. Are we nervous? Definitely. Excited and keen to get started on our ocean pollution study? Absolutely.
We find ourselves putting together the final items on our list: For example – two car tires that are used as “drogues” in the event of heavy weather. When running from large winds and waves, the boat becomes uncontrollable and your only hope is to slow it down…. By dragging two full sized tires and 300ft of line behind the boat. Today we ticked this item off the list. Walking through the Baja bush back to the car after spotting the tire from the highway, I was struck by the though of the change in lifestyle this tire is about to experience. After an almost certain destiny adjacent to a hot and dusty Mexican highway, a small change in fate has dictated that in three years it could quite possibly be one of the most well traveled tires in the whole world, and hopefully will never get wet. At a time like this, why am I talking about a tire? This is the state of mind we find ourselves in – seeing everything in a very different light, and very conscious of the fact that we are not going to see trees, earth, cars, buildings or anything like them for many, many days.
It really and truly doesn’t feel like the departure is finally here. After all the years of planning and preparation, tomorrow at 9 am we will motor out of the harbour, hoist the sails and begin a journey that will take us around the entire globe. None of us have ever been to the South Pacific, we just know which direction it is in, the weather obstacles that are en route, and that 5000+ watery kilometers lie between us and an island chain whose largest single island is only a few square miles.
You may be wondering what is to become of Wilfred, the fearless truck that has taken on the Baja!? She will be returning to Vancouver under the guidance of Chris Martin (who helped us put together this site) and his girlfriend Cristy – have a great trip back, guys. Brys and Chris spend the afternoon doing an oil change and working on the brakes – seems to be a common theme? And with that, we’d like to propose a toast to adventure! We will be updating our blog as often as possible, through the kind help of Thea and Jess (sister). We have radio based email aboard, and will be able to send text based emails to these two lovely ladies who have undertaken to update the website blog and the google earth track. Watch this space for adventures aboard, and accounts of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Take care and Happy Canada Day !