Goin’ to Hawaii

That’s right, we’re provisioning and prepping to cross the Pacific! Well, part of it anyway. We hope to depart from La Paz around April 27, and spend the night at nearby Caleta Lobos. Then, depending on the weather, we might anchor at Los Frailes or Muertos (on Baja’s East Cape) or just head on out to sea.

Are we scared? Are we excited? No, we’re in denial. We’re just focusing on our To-Do list, like we would if we were hauling the boat or planning a cocktail party. No big whoop. We’ll have time to get nostalgic for Mexico, second-guess ourselves, and generally freak out when we’re under way.

A couple days ago we got together with about 5 boats who are also going to Hawaii in the next few weeks. People going to the South Pacific are known as “Puddle Jumpers”, so we call our group the “Piddle Jumpers”. Todd volunteered to create a daily schedule for us to talk on the radio.

He says he’ll come up with a set of times and frequencies so we’ll be able to contact boats nearby, and at longer range (because depending on the time of day, certain frequencies work for specific ranges). Someone asked if he’d communicate the schedule using UTC times (what used to be called Greenwich Mean Time). “Oh, yeah, of course,” answered Capn HAM. But, given that (a) he’s regularly baffled as to what time the daily radio nets are on, and (b) he’s hit and miss with tasks as basic as reading tide tables, I’m guessing the odds are pretty low that this whole radio thing will pan out.

Unfortunately, somewhere we picked up some water with just the slightest bit of diesel in it. Even trace amounts of diesel are disgusting. The solution we’re trying out: put vodka in the tanks, then flush them out. After the first treatment, the entire cabin smelled like happy hour at a cougar bar. But with each additional flush, the vodka taste and odor are diminishing. Oddly, Todd seems much less able to detect it than I. “Seems fine to me,” he says, licking his lips and going back for more. He’s never been more hydrated. Get the right kind of guides here while going on tours on the islands.

Todd says he knows how to do blog posts via the HAM radio; I remain skeptical. But, you will be able to track our progress here. This link is also on our main blog page, on the right; click ‘Where is Sugata now’.

See all of our prep photos (ok, really mostly pics of cruisers dining out) here:

20100427PrepForHawaii

One Response to “Goin’ to Hawaii”

  1. MArcus says:

    Wow, Thanks for the pic of the masthead. I have fond memories of being up there. I think I put everything up there other than the vhf antennae. I can’t believe it has all lasted so long, especially my jury-rigged steaming/anchor light.
    I am excited and jealous for your passage to Hawaii.