We've been so busy making preprations for the Pacific Puddle Jump (crossing the Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas and from there to Polynesia) that we haven't had much time to post to the blog. The last 2 weeks feel like the final weeks before our departure from San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas.

There are a ton of upgrades that we're doing to our boat to prepare it and us.

First on the list was obtaining a spinnaker for our trip. We'll be needing it a lot, since we'll be relying on the wind to get us there, and it's a reach or downwind all the way. We've got a rigger here in Puerto Vallarta (PV) working on that.

Second is replacing three of our 5 deep cycle house batteries, which were showing signs of age and not really holding a charge.

Third was getting our watermaker working after being mothballed the last year. It turns out watermakers don't like to be mothballed (pickled), so we had to change out some parts.

Fourth was getting a rigging inspection and following up on the rigger's recommendations. The gooseneck was showing some wear, so we're overhauling that critical part.

We're also having a new bimini made to replace the one that was falling apart at the seams.

We're carrying a complete, redundant autopilot. Ditto for a redundant, spare VHF radio and emergency antenna. Ditto for a spare chartplotter and spare navigation memory chip. And we already have two GPS systems on board. When our trip is over, we'll just sell whatever spares we didn't use on E-Bay.

Oh, and we got some toys too, including a very high quality hypalon inflatable kayak at a swap meet, which will be great when we get to the islands.

The list goes on and on.... it's a 24 hour/day job up until our planned departure point around the end of February, IF we're ready. We would reather postpone our departure than leave without being ready.

Psychologically, we're all psyched. Well, at least the adults are. Antoine is excited too. Francois would rather be skiing, but we thing he's looking forward to it as well. Both boys look forward to meeting up in the Marquesas with our buddy boat, Phambili.