Nancy & I have been planning to go sailing for years. We are not ready to retire but decided to take this trip before we get to old. Sailing takes a lot of energy and commitment so we didn’t want to wait until we can’t physically handle the trip. [...] We have saved our money and have some investments so we decided to go! Our plan is somewhat open, the way cruising should be. But our basic plan is to leave San Diego on October 27th with a race/rally called the Baja Ha Ha. The rally consists of around 180 boats and we take two weeks with two stopovers to get to Cabo San Lucus. Being included in a large group is a good way to get started and meet other sailors heading our way. Two of our friends, Cheryl & David, are joining us for this first leg. The Baja Ha Ha requires a lot of over night sailing so it really helps to have more help to stand watch through the nights. We really appreciate the help. They will be flying home once we reach Cabo. Then Nancy & I are on our own. We are going to cross the Sea of Cortez and head to Puerto Vallarta. Then we are going to head down the Mexican Rivera stopping to surf, dive, and hike. The anchorages are close enough to each other to limit long stretches of sailing. How long we stay in each place will be determined by how much fun we are having. A big challenge we face on the Pacific side is the Gulf of Tehuantepec, which has strong off-shore winds that can blow you way out to sea with heavy waves. We must wait for a good weather window and sail very close to shore. This passage is between Mexico and Guatemala and a safe passage will be an important milestone. After exploring Costa Rica we are going to go through the Panama Canal. We are planning to visit a group of Islands called the San Blas and Bocas Del Toro Islands. These Islands maybe the highlight of our voyage. We are going to explore the Caribbean side of Central America and head North to Cancun. From there we are going to embark on our longest sailing stretch to the West Coast of Florida. Once we reach Venice Florida, we are going to have the boat put on the land (storage) safely during hurricane season (June 2009 – November 2009). During this time we are going to stay with Nancy’s parents and both get jobs. The plan is to re-float Four Points in November 2009 and head off again South to the Caribbean Islands. We are going to cruise until the next hurricane season exploring down to Trinidad. What happens next? At this time we just don’t know and can’t wait to find out.