219: PASSAGE ABORTED - WHY A SHAKEDOWN CRUISE IS ESSENTIAL

We completed long term boat work the day before our passage to Utila and due to an error, we had to turn back, losing the cost of fees to clear out/check in a country, our weather window and crew. NEVER do boat work without a shake down cruise. NEVER do boat work (if you can help it) the day before you leave on a passsage. Thankfully, we were able to find the issue the next day (two wires that were not connected in our Lynx Shunt) and less than a week later, another weather window opened up. This time we staged half way down the Rio at Cayo Comodo and took off the next morning, leaving the Rio after 5.5 months! It felt so good and so strange. After half a year of total protection and rarely considering the weather, we were now at the mercy of storms and seas. It was a bit daunting, but thankfully we had a relatively benign passage other than half a dozen squalls. Arriving in Utila was momentous for us as it was the start of our journey towards the Panama Canal and a new sailing season in unfamiliar territory. #sailing #GUATEMLA #RIODULCE #yanmar NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia. So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too! As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures! HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? If you wish to support our video efforts, all we ask is that you SUBSCRIBE, give a THUMBS UP, SHARE our videos with your friends, AND COMMENT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET TO KNOW US MORE DEEPLY? It would be an honor and pleasure to deepen our relationship with you as a Patron. Please click on the following link to see how: https://www.patreon.com/sailingblownaway WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY? https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/6040796987916288 WHERE CAN YOU FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram - @sailingblownaway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SailingBlownAway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eileen.dietrich/ YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sailingblownaway