Changing plans

That we have to plan with the weather in mind, that’s something we are used to by now. That we sometimes have to go to a specific marina to be able to get specific parts, too.

But right now we are dealing with a situation with our insurance company that causes us to reroute a part of our trip. That is new.

In short: before our departure in May we discussed our plans and itinerary with our insurance company, informing them that we wished to go from the Cape Verdes to the Gambia, and from there cross the Atlantic to Surinam. From that point on to the Caribbean and come next hurricane season, head south to get out of the hurricane belt to the ABC islands.

But by talking to a fellow cruiser recently and following communication we had with our insurer, we learned that the Gambia was not (any longer) covered.

The ABC islands, too, weren’t covered any longer, a change in policy after hurricane Irma hit St Martin.

So we were faced with a couple of choices. Change our plans? Or change insurance company?

After calling around to other insurers we learned that the Gambia wasn’t covered by others as well.

The ABC islands, luckily, were.

So, conclusion (for now….): we are NOT going to the Gambia, but will spend longer in the Cape Verdes and will cross the Atlantic from there to Surinam.

Silver lining: that crossing is shorter than leaving from the Gambia.

And we are switching to a different insurer, to make sure we have coverage for the ABC islands.

This was the news, on to the weather.

The aftermath from tropical storm Leslie has passed and everything is back to calm. This weekend we still have a rental car, so we’re going to do some shopping/provisioning and get the boat ready to leave. On Monday we are leaving the marina, probably to Los Lobos or Fuerteventura.