Journeying North

When the kids and I hugged Nico goodbye and stepped onto a plane in Puerto Vallarta on May 1st, we expected to see him again in four weeks' time, give or take. In reality, it took twice that long. While our journey north was quick and smooth (we arrived in Winnipeg the same day we left Puerto Vallarta), Nico's turned out to be complex, grueling, and a true test of his sailing skill, perseverance, and sheer determination.

In this picture, taken the night before our departure, we had no idea of everything that would occur before we'd be reunited on Mohini again!

Nico departed Puerto Vallarta on May 2nd with 2 crew members on board. His plan was to take what's known as the Clipper Route and end up in Victoria, BC approximately four weeks later. Because prevailing winds and currents make sailing up North America's Pacific coastline challenging, many vessels instead choose to make a wide arc, going several hundred miles offshore, sometimes even all the way to Hawaii, in order to streamline the voyage. Ultimately, more nautical miles are covered by taking this route, but the journey is typically faster and smoother. Nico's plan was not to make landfall at all until he reached Canada.

The journey started well enough. All the crew members got along, the weather was mostly cooperative, and Mohini was making good progress as planned. Then on May 22nd, with no apparent cause, the mid-mast shroud, part of her essential rigging, suddenly failed. This is an extremely rare and serious event which could not have been foreseen (the rigging wasn't old and had recently undergone a thorough survey). The incident left Nico and his crew roughly 800 miles off the coast of California with no way to sail safely and not enough fuel to make the week-long voyage to shore.

Fortunately, Nico keeps a calm head in an emergency and immediately secured the broken rigging, ensured the safety of his crew, and contacted the coast guard for assistance. After ascertaining that there were no ships in the area that could spare fuel, the decision was made to air-drop enough diesel to allow Mohini to make it to San Francisco. Nico set out eastward using Mohini's remaining fuel reserves and, on May 24th, the 131st Rescue Squadron (131 RQS) air-dropped 150 gallons of diesel fuel directly to him.

Here are 2 videos of the operation captured by Mohini's crew and members of the 131st Rescue Squadron:

On May 29th, Nico sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge and arrived at Svendsen's Bay Marine Boatyard where he was given a warm welcome. Throughout his two-week stay in San Francisco, the entire team at Svendsen's went above and beyond for him--not only prioritizing work on Mohini but even taking Nico along on grocery runs and making him feel like family. It was a beautiful reminder that, even under tough circumstances, human kindness goes a long way. We were both touched by the experience.

Replacing Mohini's standing rigging was not an expense we had anticipated, but it had to be done and Nico put in long days helping the rigger and also earning income through his remote bookkeeping business. He bid an amicable goodbye to both of his crew members and, on June 13th, set off again with another new crew member who flew all the way from the U.K. to be part of the journey.

Mohini getting her mast put back on

Unfortunately, the universe wasn't done with Nico yet and, on June 16th, he sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge for a second time, having been turned back yet again, this time by bad weather thwarting his second attempt to sail northwards. At this point, he needed a good weather window and some luck finding another crew member, as the British fellow wasn't eager to make a second go of it.

We were now two weeks past the date when we had planned to reunite in Victoria. Nico was discouraged and exhausted, physically and emotionally, I was juggling remote work and single parenting (albeit with incredible support from family), and we weren't sure how much longer we could handle being apart. We agonized on the phone together, wondering what the universe had in store for us next and whether we should just give up and head back south. But that option didn't sit well in our hearts and we decided that Nico should give it one last go. This time he would stay as close to possible to shore, not worrying about streamlining the voyage, and simply hope to slowly and steadily progress towards Canada.

Miraculously, Nico was able to find yet another crew member, this time from Reno, who was available on short notice and willing to tackle the adventure. Together, they braved strong headwinds and rough seas all the way up the California coast, once again being waylaid by bad weather near Cape Mendocino and spending a couple of nights anchored in the tiny community of Shelter Cove, before finally passing into Oregon, then Washington state. On Canada Day weekend (June 29th, to be exact), Mohini finally made it to Victoria! We couldn't believe it.

Nico caught a flight to Winnipeg to spend a couple of days visiting family and we planned to return to Victoria on July 6th all together, but the universe still wasn't finished with us. WestJet, the airline we were flying, went on strike and, frustratingly, our flights were pushed backed one day, two days, and then three--with an unexpected overnight and day spent in Calgary along the way.

On the night of July 8th, our flight touched down at the Victoria airport and we took a taxi to Wharf Marina, where Mohini was temporarily moored. We'd been through a great deal more than we had expected, but the kids had enjoyed plentiful time with cousins, family, and friends, Nico and I had supported each other through what turned out to be a very challenging two months apart, and we were home.

To learn about the beginning of Mohini's adventures in British Columbia, read our post called: Adventures in British Columbia Part 1!