On the eve of departure

This is what we’ve been waiting for: sailing away. Since sailors are NEVER supposed to say or write that you are sailing “to” a place, we will be sailing “toward” Rikitea on the island of Mangareva in Iles Gambiers, French Polynesia. 
We’ve been watching the weather forecast for the Sea of Cortez. Tomorrow there will be a nice breeze from the NNW, perfect to push us southward.

This blog will not lie dormant. My cousin Phyllis will receive a daily GPS location by satellite phone and will post it to the blog along with distance traveled and miles to go. If you would like to know exactly where we are, you can enter our latitude and longitude coordinates at http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html - just scroll down to the lower right part of the page.

Know that we are as prepared as possible. We are carrying 150 gallons of water (about 7 weeks worth), two full propane tanks, and so much food - certainly plenty of oatmeal.

How long will it take us? Last year, it took Dick Darren & Haruka 22 days on Cool Cat to get to the Marquesas.  Our navigation program calculates a 16-day passage for this month of the year, but we’ll see. Speed is not our goal, rather getting there safely and comfortably. In other words, don’t worry! Really, do not worry. If you don’t see a daily blog post, don’t panic, it doesn’t mean something horrible has happened. Like the sat phone fell overboard or a lightening strike zapped our electronics.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Stay tuned.