We interrupt this program for a live message (for those of you old enough to remember when they said that on TV).  Matt and I are starting a long passage across the Pacific Ocean. We will suspend our normal, narrative blogs while we live blog.  We will resume the narrative blogs around mid-April.

Our journey will start today, from Valdivia, Chile.

It will take us 4-5 days to make it to Robinson Crusoe island.  We hope to see how the original Robinson Crusoe (Alexander Selkirk) entertained himself for four years on a deserted island.

After a day or two of rest, we will head to Easter island, also known as Isla Pasqua and Rapa Nui.  This passage should take us 2-2.5 weeks.

Hopefully we will get 3-4 days to recover and explore the Moai before setting sail for Pitcarin Island.  We may or may not stop here, depends on the weather and protection of the anchorage.  This passage should take us 8-9 days.

After Pitcarin, we will make our way to Mangareva, Gambier (first archipelago of French Polynesia).  We hope to arrive here by mid-April.

The map shows Santiago.  Valdivia is south by 500nm miles.  You will then see Robinson Crusoe and Rapa Nui.  The other islands are off the charts.

Robinson Crusoe and Easter Island

The Pacific is a huge ocean and can be both beautiful and inspiring while also fraught with danger.  We hold a great deal of respect for the Pacific and will take all pre-cautionary measures to ensure our safety and the safety of the boat.

The “live blogs” use a satellite service, so we are not actually online.  We won’t be able to see any comments until we get back to wifi.  However, our blog will automatically post to the Sugar Shack Facebook Page so be sure to follow that to get updates. (Christine’s personal FB page will not be updated)

If you want to track our progress across the Pacific, you can click on “Current Location” tab on our blog svSugarShack.com.