Well this is it! Craig Musseau and I are off to Hilo Hawaii on Ladybug tomorrow morning. We filled a taxi with groceries yesterday and somehow shoehorned them into Ladybug's lockers, rubbermaid containers, and Craig's suitcase. We replaced the batteries on the boat because they were not holding a good charge and I will go up the mast tomorrow to do a final rigging check.
Don Anderson, a cruiser and weather forecaster based in San Diego has advised us to sail south to Isla Socorro because that is where we will find the trade winds. The Pacific high is quite far south now and there is no wind to be found in a direct line from here out towards Hawaii for 1500 miles. This will add some time to our crossing but is a lot better than sitting around waiting for wind up here.
We hope to be in Hilo in about 4 weeks, but the crossing may take a bit longer. We have a good supply of books and movies on board as well as a few games, so hopefully boredom will not be an issue. We have 70 gallons of water, so will be strictly rationing it to 6 liters a day for at least the first half of the trip.
Rani is now back in Duncan staying with her cousin Rick and his wife, Am. She has been busy visiting friends and arranging hikes and pharmacy shifts. Rani may upload some videos from our Mexican travels but my next update will hopefully be from Hawaii...
