2022 Is In The Rearview Mirror As We Offer A Warm Welcome To 2023

From our floating home to whatever home you occupy, here on Ticket to Ride we send wishes for a very blessed 2023.

For us, 2022 was certainly filled with many sailing miles. We began the year on the west coast of the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and since then we have traveled across the Pacific Ocean, past the Equator and into the archipelagos of French Polynesia.

We had the pleasure of hosting a few friends and family on TTR this year and we are incredibly grateful they were willing to make the trip.

Frank and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the Sea of Cortez again at the beginning of 2022. However, the plan has long been to sail to French Polynesia and we are very happy to have achieved that dream after a two year COVID delay.

In all of our travels, this is the most remote we have been. It’s a little strange to look at a map and see that we are pretty “out there.” In fact, before we decided to sail to French Polynesia, I probably couldn’t have found it on a map.

As we live our daily lives, it feels “normal” to be moving from one atoll to another. It feels normal to think a population of 700 on an atoll as a “big” place! We love meeting the locals and learning to work within the remote systems for everything we need.

The everyday conveniences we were accustomed to no longer exist. We have learned to place orders for food and wait two weeks to receive them. We are learning to be organized about what we need. We are becoming more creative by using what we have on board or can find here to cook or repair things. And we are definitely becoming more patient and no longer expect instant access to needed or wanted items.

However, I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that there are also days when I feel terribly far from home; even though I don’t have a home other than TTR anymore. I miss my children dearly. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss the ease of land life. When I zoom out on the chart and think about how far away we are, it can make me sad.

However, I am not ready to give up this adventure and Frank is definitely not ready to return to land. When asked, we have always said we will continue to sail “as long as it is fun.” For now, the fun and adventure continue to hold us captive. We want to continue to meet the genuinely kind people of these islands and enjoy the beauty of the marine life here.

We have the option to remain in French Polynesia until May 2024. After two years, we have to leave the country or import Ticket to Ride, which we do not plan on doing. Once we leave French Polynesia, weather will force us to move much more quickly to insure we find a safe place for cyclone season which is generally November through March in the southern Pacific. 

I have always committed to sailing to Australia and New Zealand, but I’m not certain I want to sail beyond there. I think I would prefer to return to the waters closer to the U.S. But that is years from now and we have plenty of time to contemplate those decisions.

Today, we received supplies we ordered from Tahiti: our first vegetables in 3 weeks were delivered via airplane! A weather window has opened for this coming weekend and we will sail about 800 miles east and south of here to the Gambiers. 

The Gambiers is a less commonly visited archipelago within French Polynesia that has a partial atoll surrounding it as well as mountainous islands within the atoll. This atoll has only 2g cellular/wifi connection, so I am not sure if I will be able to post blogs or upload to social media. Thankfully, we should be able to communicate via text or email with family!!!

So, for us, 2023 will begin with a passage to an even more remote part of the Pacific Ocean. We will have the opportunity to explore another unique part of French Polynesia and experience the lifestyle of the inhabitants of this remote archipelago.

Know that Frank and I hope all of you experience a very blessed, healthy and adventurous year in 2023. We will communicate as best we can while visiting The Gambiers and we expect to have full communications again when we are back the Tuamotus or the Society Islands in April 2023.

Thanks so much for stopping by to read our blog. We hope you enjoy sharing our journey through these blog posts. We are not certain what sort of communication we will have for the next few months, but we will do our best to share our experiences with you. As always, we wish you good health and fun adventures.