kaivai,
It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to get the existing
boat to you in the
PNW, but do your
necessary by now necessary re-fit in Cebu...
Cebu to Australia is do-able. re-rig here, or buy and have shipped to Cebu all the wire, new fittings etc. shipped to Cebu and do it with
DIY mechanical swages: Sta-Loks, or Sea Rig, both good, both ship, see which would be a better deal for you.
When the
boat is ready for a long ocean trip, sail to FP via NZ, to HI, over the Pacific High and voila`, to the
PNW. Then when the season is right, go to
Mexico, leave from wherever in
Mexico you pick and sail to the
Galapagos (if they are on your wish list), and from there to the
Marquesas, Tuamotus, and Societies, and from there, NZ or Oz. You'll be needing a re-fit again, and NZ or Oz will do.
Or, there's the equatorial
route, but then you'd have to do all your refitting from the
Philippines first, and that may be a problem, unless there's someone you trust there who can collate your shipments for you. If you're fluent in Spanish, you could get the boat to Mexico and join it there. There are also boats shipped out of
Brisbane, Qld., to
Canada or Mexico. So many options, such great expense, and so little time.
Depending on your other commitments, you might want to do it in stages. IMO, Oz and NZ are okay places to leave a boat. FP is okay, better if you speak or write French well, and has cyclone
danger. In both Oz and NZ there are safe places to leave the boat for cyclone season.
Or, if the boat is
seaworthy for a long voyage, you could go via
South Africa to Panama to wherever it is on the
west coast of the US you want to take the boat. I personally am not familiar with that
route, but keeping the roaring 40's on your quarter is not a bad deal. Otherwise you're off to the
Indian Ocean, and then go via Good Hope or the
Canal, through the
Med, and off to Panama. The thing is it's a long way whichever way you do it.
If it were myself, I would NOT want to leave the
Philippines without a new rig. And my background is that my husband, Jim did rig our boat with Sta-Loks before we left the US many years ago. So I learned long ago to help put them together, and to trust them. The thing is that your boat may be in terrible nick for undertaking a long voyage. We don't know about the on board comfort conditions:
Are the
water tanks full of bacteria and or algae?
Is the upholstery and foam all shot?
Is it all moldy?
Do the fridge and
heater work right?
Have rats got aboard and it needs a complete
electrical re-fit after you de-rat it?
So from the
safety of my
saloon this blustery late spring day, it looks like a heck of a lot of potential
work to get the boat ready for sea. It is not just the wire, it is the chainplates, tangs, turnbuckles, cotter pins: all of it needs thoughtful
inspection & replace if necessary (I didn't like being dismasted at sea). These are just a few issues I'd anticipate. I'm sure you can have foam cut and covered there (someone will be a seamster or seamstress). Probably the refrig. Maybe the electrics. I'd think if you sailed out, you'd be willing to wait till you got to the States for an electronic re-fit.
It is the long time unattended and without
maintenance when lots of *stuff* can happen. Are the
sails okay? The sail covers? The
engine?
Ymmv.
Hope this helps with your pondering the issues.
Ann