Nataraja Says Goodbye . . . Again

Eric Willbur and Emmy Newbould are no strangers to the South Pacific. The couple left their slip at Brickyard Cove in Pt. Richmond in September, 2007, on their second cruise to the Marquesas via Mexico. But when the engine on their Flying Dutchman 37 Nataraja made it clear its demise was imminent, Eric and Emmy, as so often happens with cruisers, changed their plans. They returned to the Bay last fall — after exploring Hawaii for several weeks on the return trip — and got to work saving up for and installing a new engine.

Last week, Eric and Emmy finally got their cruise restarted, sailing under the Golden Gate on a planned non-stop to Nuka Hiva. Unfortunately, their new engine had other plans. They had to hole up in Half Moon Bay for a few days to repair a bent alternator shaft pulley, but now that that’s done, they’re outta here.

Before they left Richardson Bay, though, we couldn’t resist dropping off a bundle of Latitudes and a Puddle Jump burgee. "Since we’re ‘jumping’ non-stop from California," Emmy said, "we missed out on all the parties and didn’t get a burgee." They promise to distribute copies of the April issue to all the Puddle Jumpers they can find. Keep an eye on future Changes for updates from Nataraja.