For the Moment, a Family Affair

I'm Mark Ridley, Paul's dad, and it's my turn to be Guest Blogger, while Paul continues readying Liv for her great adventure.

Paul's step-mom, Nadine, and I arrived on the first ferry from Tenerife yesterday morning (Sunday), traveling with Liz Tomic, one of Paul and Joy's closest childhood friends. Joy and Paul met us at the dock (actually, Liv is practically at the dock herself, still mounted on her shipping pallet). We dropped off our baggage at our hotel, and then set to work.

Paul has spent most of the last several days in Liv's tiny aft cabin, working on wiring, drilling holes and then caulking them up, and shouting orders to his crew (while he's got us). For the moment, this expedition has become very much a family affair. But soon enough it will become an intensely solitary enterprise.

The wind has been blowing steadily here in La Gomera ever since our arrival. The gales have been strong enough to keep all but the largest boats in the marina, and it doesn't appear that anyone will be leaving port until Wednesday at the earliest. We're told that the roughest part of Paul's row may actually be the departure from the Canary Islands, because the winds and currents here make leaving the harbor and rounding the other islands quite a challenge.

The electronics are now up and running, for the most part, so efforts have turned to packing - principally the puzzle of how to get 90-days' supply of food into a space the size of a large foot-locker. Packages of freeze-dried food and Ramen noodles have been scattered about the docks here as food is sorted, packaged and crammed into every available cranny.

It's hard to believe that still, somehow, by Friday or Saturday, everything will have come together and the next phase of the expedition will begin.

It's a priviledge to be part of this adventure, if only in a small, supporting role. Thanks, Paul and Joy, for inviting us to help!