A ”small” change of plans

When we left Norway we had a straightforward plan: fly to Trinidad and get Stella Polaris ready for adventure. From there we would sail to Panama, go through the Panama Canal and then sail south stopping on Easter Island, before heading to Patagonia, Antarctica, etc. We’ve made a “slight” adjustment, let’s call it a reality check!

Stella Polaris is a fantastic boat, but the month in Trinidad told us that we need more time to get to know her properly, so that we’re comfortable taking her to the high latitudes. We also need more time to learn how everything works onboard, how to sail her properly and we need to upgrade, fix and modify her to make her perfect for us.

We also figured that it would be a shame to rush things, so while we rushed to begin with, we slowed it right down when we got to Panama. We’ve been here since July and have enjoyed our time here cruising around San Blas, having friends visiting us from Norway. We even took 6 weeks off and went home to Norway to visit friends and family, and work for a few weeks to fill up the cruising kitty a bit.

The change of plan is that we’re postponing circumnavigating South America and instead we’re going through the Panama Canal in January, sailing to Galapagos in February, planning to be in French Polynesia around April 1st, when the typhoon season is over. From there we’ll do slow and enjoyable sailing through the islands of the South Pacific, with the aim of making landfall in New Zealand (or Australia) in November. As you can tell our plan is wide open, but that’s the way sailing should be: we’re ready to seize the day and go where the winds and our fancy takes us. This is the only way to experience a true adventure!