The crew of the good ship Wetnose has her nearly ready to drop the dock lines and head due east! We're looking for a weather window to get us started on the right tack, so to speak. We'll try to keep this blog as up to date as we can, but don't expect to hear anything for the first 2 weeks after we leave. Our first destination is Raivavae in the Austral Islands. To get there we'll sail about 2000 miles along 36 degrees south, trying to find a happy medium between the roaring 40s and the adverse winds of the southeast trade winds. Aboard will be Don Eigler, co-owner of Wetnose and Director, Fellow and leader of the ruling council of the Wetnose Institute for Advanced Pelagic Studies, Pat Whiting, First Mate extraordinaire, our dear friend and world cruiser Judith Turrell, and me, your humble captain Jim.