Ok... So if you haven't noticed there's been talk of a trailer. We left Splendid Isolation behind in Guaymas Mexico back in May. Purchasing a 1983 Volvo and road-tripping across country to our home town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Where we worked nonstop for 7 months saving every single dollar, so that we could head back out into the world of travel.
current location of Splendid Isolation.
Safe from this summer's heavy Pacific Hurricane season.
Everyone, I mean, every single person asks us "what are you plans? where are you going next?"
and truthfully... we do not know. we set goals and base our plans around that. we can only go in baby steps and plan things out day to day. we realized that if we plan out too far it changes with-in a few days and that is frustrating.
so what is our goal?
- to end up in the Caribbean.
why not keep sailing and go through panama?
- that was our original plan. we changed that plan while we were stuck in Cabo Frailes. We realized that we enjoy cruising more at the slow pace we go, rather than stressful long distance sails and rushing to beat weather windows. After calculating the amount of time and money it would take us to get down to Panama, get through the canal, then coming out on to the east and crossing the vast Caribbean Sea. We're choosing to purchase a trailer and move the boat by land. Sure we're missing out on some gorgeous Pacific coastline, but we own our own home, and we can take it wherever we like, however we like!
150 miles = 2 or 3 HOURS in a car = 2 or 3 DAYS on our sail boat.
So we're taking a short cut by land from one Sea to another.
We have not decided exactly where we want to launch Splendid Isolation. We are currently discussing Southern Atlantic side of Florida, but no definite location as of now.
No, we are not pulling the boat with our 1983 Volvo.
Our good friends Marc and Colleen have been professionally trucking for the past year now. They are previous fellow cruisers. The deal was if we acquired a trailer then they will set aside time for us late February 2014. When they will come down to Guaymas with their truck. We will then depart together as a caravan to our newly decided location.
We left North Carolina on the hunt for a sail boat trailer. We weren't sure if we would get one used or new. Craigslist, Classifieds, Word of Mouth, or Custom built? Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas? We left with an open mind. My Grandfather has a friend/client that owns a Marina in Florida. He called him to ask what he knew about sail boat trailers. He then recommended us to call George at B & G trailers. DeLand being only 30 minutes from my Grandparent's we were there the next day, wandering the yard, and learning a lot about trailers. Doing my home-work, I called the top two trailer dealers in each Gulf state, none of them coming within $1,500 of George's asking price. With-in a week, we had him configure a custom rig to fit the dimensions of Splendid Isolation.
there she is
The trailer itself empty weighs 980 pounds. Quite the load for La Sancha to haul. But we've made it to Lafayette, Louisiana so far no problems! The trailer can hold 8200 pounds. It is a Tandem Axle trailer with heavy duty 6 lug tires (instead of your usual 5 lug). This means the axle is able to take on more. She has hydraulic disc brakes. LED lighting. Florida tags.
We are currently on the road en route to Guaymas. We are hoping to pull into the boat yard by the New Year!
