Hurray! We are finally underway to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas, and "All is well on board." That is what we report (assuming its true) when we check in with the Pacific Puddle Jump high frequency radio net every evening at 0200 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time - which is used because it makes no difference what local time zone you might be in). But just what does it mean that "all is well on board?" Well, it certainly does mean that everything is perfect; but it does mean there are no medical or other emergencies, or even gear failures, that could ruin your entire day!

The weather, for example, has not been perfect. All you landlubbers out there might take issue with that - there have been a few clouds around, but the sun has been out all day, every day, and the moon and a few bazillion stars are out at night, there has been no rain and daytime temperatures have been in the mid-80's and in the 60's at night. But sailors think of weather in terms of wind and sea state - which has so far been a mixed bag. Our first night was so calm that we did motor a few hours to get past the Tres Marietas Islands at the entrance to Banderas Bay and to get away from land where we hoped to find some breeze. We did find some wind around midnight, so we turned off the "iron main" and it has not been on since; on a 2700 nautical mile voyage with limited fuel on board - in our case, 180 gallons - you must be fairly judicious on the use of fuel, and we are saving ours primarily to power through the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone - or Doldrums - if necessary.

And the sea state has also been less than ideal - very lumpy, with a large swell running from a cold front up near California. But that has settled down now, so moving around is a bit easier, and the queasiness - not seasickness, mind you, just a queasy feeling, mostly below decks - is staring to go away (it usually does after about three days at sea).

We left La Cuz just before noon on Wednesday, 4/11, and went over to Nuevo Vallarta to clear out of Mexico. After about 2 ½ hours of dealing with the Port Captain, Customs and Immigration officials (most of that time was waiting for Customs and Immigration to come over from the airport in Puerto Vallarta - which certainly beat the alternative!), we collected our Zarpe (clearance papers) and made straight for the open sea. There were lots of tankers and cargo ships to dodge as we moved the first 100 miles offshore, but we have not seen one, even on AIS, now for over 24 hours, and we have not seen another small boat since leaving Banderas Bay.

It is hard to describe the vastness and solitude of being out on the ocean in a small boat - there is nothing but blue, blue and more blue; and, of course, while we are still "near" land, the ubiquitous boobies (a type of sea bird, about the size of a sea gull). We used to love to watch them swoop around the boat - until last evening, that is - when first one, then the entire flock (about twelve in all) decided to land and "hitch a ride" on the bow pulpit and lifelines leading aft. Now, it's not that we mind giving them a ride - it's just their white wash on the deck that we take issue with! And getting them to leave is not all that easy - you have to go up to the bow and in some cases physically help them off - and then you have to stand there as a deterrent, or they will simply circle around and land again. After about half an hour of "deterring" they finally got the message and flew off.

The boat and all its systems are performing well - so far, that is (we expect something to break - it is a boat!). The Monitor wind vane (self-steering) is truly amazing, and when there is enough wind (around 10 knots or more) and the sails are set and balanced properly, the Monitor works flawlessly and steers a course as well or better than we can hand steer! And thank goodness we do not have to hand steer often - we did the entire first night when the winds we so light, and for hours on end it was tiring, to say the least!

The solar panels we installed in La Cruz are also working very well, and so far have keep up every day with our energy consumption. The biggest draw is at night, when we transmit (some) on the single side band radio, run refrigeration, freezer, and radar - although we have been using a timed transmit "sentry" function on the radar to cut down on electrical use; the radar comes on every 25 minutes, runs for 5 minutes (and sets off an alarm if anything is detected in the "guard zone" we set - in our case, 16 miles) and then it goes back into standby mode. During the day, when the solar panels are producing, they "top off" the batteries, and keep up with the day time power usage, as well. More fuel savings in not having to run the generator so often - maybe only to make water, if ther solar panels keep up the good work!

And Linda has been turning out some great meals, too - there is nothing quite like sitting in the cockpit out on the ocean at sun up, drinking hot coffee with a plate of fresh eggs, hash browns and bacon!

Tonight, as we come to the close of our third full day at sea, we are at 17 57.030' N latitude, 109 49.625' W longitude, steering a course of 210?M and making 5.6 - 6.1 knots in 17 knots of breeze out of the NW - and we are a mere 2355 nautical miles from landfall on Hiva Oa - are we there yet?

Well, that about it for now. More to come when I get around to it! Thanks for checking in with us.