Where are we now?

Bocas del Toro, Panama! Back to our normal routine of homeschooling, trading, jiujitsu, snorkeling, diving, sailing…

Exodus crossed the Atlantic end of November 2017, 18 days of big blue to deep purple seas, 2114 nautical miles from Ilha de Fogo (Cabo Verde) to Martinique.

We stayed in Martinique until mid January, visited the ‘nature island’ Dominica for two weeks, where the effects of hurricane Maria were still very noticeable on human settlements and nature alike…

Exodus got stuck for several weeks in English Harbour, Antigua, dealing with gearbox problems and urging us to alter our travel plan. But as you will read on the ‘Life Onboard’ blog, there are worse places to get stuck…

We hopped on to the Dominican Republic, adding another 458 nautical miles to our teller. Our crew was complete for the Easter holidays.

Exodus! Movement of da people… said the Health officer before handing us a clear health certificate and after sealing our toilets. We are signed into lush and sweltering Jamaica. After 450 seamiles with a very interesting last 24h where Arthur MacGyver had to perform several tricks.

We arrived in Bocas del Toro (Panama) on the 5th of June 2018, with a total of 7550 sea miles on our teller since we left Malta. Especially the last leg of our trip was very interesting. The first days, Exodus tried to break her own record daily cruising speed. After a quick stop at Providencia we made good speed until Exodus got hit by a serious squall, ripping out the genoa’s clew. Hoisting the main sail, Exodus hopped from squall to squall. Meanwhile, the autopilot became capricious, the alternator regulator gave up and was rebuilt in the middle of the night, the wind meter died, and the head got blocked…

Exodus took an extended break in Bocas del Toro, Panama to work down our ever-growing list of repairs and get familiar with the area. Beginning of May 2019, we sailed from Bocas to Portobelo, where we visited all the different forts and prepared our hop to Cartagena.

After last years heavy rains in July and August in Bocas, we thought it wiser to spend time in drier climates. Exodus enjoyed the sights in the big and beautiful city of Cartagena, Columbia! We spent most of our 4 months in the ‘Parque Nacional los Corales del Rosarios y San Bernardo’.

 

Exit EU (April – October 2017)

From April to October 2017 we explored the Mediterranean Sea and got acquainted with the Atlantic Ocean.

Exodus started in Malta, hopping over Lampedusa to Tunisia. In Monastir she was hauled out, all the paint was scrubbed off her hull and copper coat was applied.

From there we sailed on to SardiniaMenorca, Mallorca, IbizaSpain, Gibraltar, and  Portugal. A 3 day crossing brought us to Madeira. Exodus visited the unique Selvagem Islands and continued to the Canaries (La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria). An 8 day crossing brought us to the amazing Cabo Verde, where we visited the islands Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Maio, Santiago and Ilha de Fogo.

Cross Atlantic & Caribbean (November 2017 – End 2018)

End of November 2017 we crossed the Atlantic from Cabo Verde to Martinique, 18 days for 2114 sea miles. We explored various Caribbean islands, yet visa requirements for Arthur have made us adjust our original cruising route for the Caribbean.

Exodus celebrated Christmas and New Year in Martinique and moved on to hurricane swept Dominica. The journey continued to Antigua. As we got stuck with gear box problems we did not visit Saint Kitts & Nevis and the British Virgin Islands as planned. By end of March 2018 we had to be in Dominican Republic. Due to Visa issue Exodus had to give Bonaire & Curacao a slip, resigning Cartagena (Colombia), and the San Blas Islands to a later stage.

We will use Panama, which lies outside of the hurricane belt, as a base to discover old and new civilisations in Central and South America, to explore part of the Amazon, and various must-sees.

 

Pacific & Indian Ocean

After a break in Panama, Exodus intends to visit the Galapagos. From there we will cross the Pacific via French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji. Hopping from island to island until we reach the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Exodus will move via Micronesia to the Indian Ocean on to Madagascar and South Africa.

 

Read more…

>> Exodus Crew
>> Route – Where are we now?
>> The plan
>> The philosophy
>> Learning the ropes
>> Setting sails
>> From land to water
>> Warning
>> Contact