Yipee! The boat chores are wrapped and Liberte and crew are ready for passage south. We plan to cast off dock lines tomorrow pre-dawn for Ensenada.

Rebecca and Dave flew in from Coeur d'Alene with Samantha the boat dog comfortably under our seats on Southwest Air. Scottie had the boat looking great after her month after Harbor Island West. He's been a busy guy and accomplished a lot to get us on our way.

We've quickly adjusted to boat time, with some hottubbing at the marina pool, walks with the dog along the harbor seawall, and excursions to the marine chandlery and chart store. On Scottie's watch, or "Scout" as he is known for sussing things out, our dinghy program got a major upgrade when we welcomed "Liberteeny," our gently used AquaPro 9-foot RIB with aluminum floor. She's powered by a 2-stroke 8 horse Merc, with which Scott reports he was keeping up with the 30-mph traffic on Harbor Island Drive. Sweet!

We've also installed the "Scoutimini," our new bimini sun awning, custom-designed by Scott.

We were happy to take Rebecca, the California Girl, to In-and-Out Burger for lunch, and send her for a well-deserved massage. We're headed for the airport to pick up my buddy from Kenya days, Rick Hintz, who's just coming back from a trip doing good deeds in India. Pretty fun it worked out to see him for our Bon Voyage.

Recommended stops in San Diego: Cabrillo Lighthouse with amazing views of the harbor, Sailing Supply, Seabreeze Nautical Books, and Hector's for burritos. Harbor Island West has been a great place to stash the boat for the month, and now we're eager to be on our way.

We have reservations at Marina Coral in Ensenada, which gets great recommendations and has full services to make our stay pleasant. Scout's friend Ginjer, a Montana hardcore sailor girl, will join us there. Ginjer is handy on the boat, is fun to hang with and speaks rippin' good Spanish - in all, a fine addition to the crew.

See you down the road.