We made it! It feels amazing to have arrived in Hilo. The crossing was everything we thought it would be and more. It was hard at times, it was easy at times, but it was everything we were promised. The weather was perfect - the trades blew all the way across, we hit not a single gale, and we had less than 48 hours of calm during the 29 day passage. We broke a few minor things on the boat: chafed through a few lines, broke a few electrical items but it was nothing we couldn't fix or deal without.

We both kept personal records of our thoughts and updates on our progress throughout the trip. We thought we would share some excerpts of these entries with you.

Day 0, Apr 21 (Monday after Easter)

7:30a - motored from La Cruz to Paradise Village Marina

9:15a - We're assigned slip A-12. Its big enough for at least a 40 footer. Makes Crazy Love look really small.

10am - Take water taxi to other side to see check out with the Port Captain.

1pm - Customs, Immigration, and Port Captain come to the boat to complete exit papers

1:15:pm - We've got our exit papers (zarpe).

Day 1, Apr 22

The wind is good enough to give us 4 up to 6 knots, but we're close hauled and hitting the waves on the nose. It makes for a bumpy ride. Dave fights sea sickness a bit and I really don't feel all that well either... BUT this should only be for a week or so and even if not we signed up for it.......Around midnight Dave woke me and we saw the Southern Cross

Day 2, Apr 23

Our AIS got a workout, 3 large boat crossings within 1 mile of us. I feel its like playing chicken... where is the boat, how fast, do we move, do we hail them but in the end we just stood our course and they passed a decent distance away.

Rough night last night. Got sick twice and couldn't eat. Steep waves make for slow progress. 2709 miles to go.

Day 3, Apr 24

I feel terrible that I am not nearly as diligent as Dave at sail trim, working the windvane, and overall sailing the boat. I honestly hope I make up the difference in other areas.

Lots of big ships. At dawn the wind picked up. Double reefed main with jib rolled up 2/3 of the way. 2653 miles to go. Later in the afternoon, we got so much wind we lashed the main to the boom and sailed under reefed jib. Very uncomfortable.

First breakage of the trip: the cleats I installed in La Cruz broke off the tiller. Easy fix. Reinstall with longer screws. Done!

Day 4, Apr 25

Not much wind last night. We hove to for a little rest. Lost only 2 miles during the night.

I could tell he was getting a bit frustrated with our progress. I put a good spread together for breakfast, we got the boat going about 2-3 knots southwest... best we can do and he was still a bit down. We'd been told the first couple days are hard and they are. Dave felt much better when 17:30 UTC time came around and we still had radio contact w/ Ichiban and Seaquel.

We saw dolphins today, a few just swam over to the boat and under... just a quick hello.

This afternoon, the wind seems to be turning more north (rather than NW) allowing us to point the bow right at Hilo. Hopefully that keeps up. 2573 miles to go.

Day 5, Apr 26

2495 miles remaining. Rosie said, "All I wanted was to take a weekend sailing class." Seems she got a little more than she asked for. Spent a bunch of time this afternoon talking about our families and reminiscing about times past.

Having a great sail right now. Bouncy, wet ride, but making 4.5-5.5kts at Hilo under double reefed main & thong bikini version of a rolled up jib. We are flying down waves and taking lots of water in the process. Working to weather is wet business.

Day 6, Apr 27

80 mile run dawn to dawn. Cloudy skies. Wind still from the NW. The windvane remote control keeps slipping. The boat is really pounding into the waves. Seems like she's really made for these conditions. We're starting to get an idea what "blue water boat" means.

Did I mention the boat is wet? Its a very leaky boat. The waves coming over the top and the rail dipping in the water has all the deck hardware fasteners, windows, and hatches leaking.

Afternoon of day 6 - Things are turning in our favor. The wind has shifted more to the N and we're now close reaching rather than close hauled. The waves are still breaking over the deck, but now only every 5 minutes instead of every 30 seconds.

Day 7, Apr 28

2325 miles to go.

This morning we talked about possibilities after Hawaii: Marshalls, Tuvalu, Phillipines, Japan. Wow, can't believe we're considering this when we still have 2k miles to go to get to Hawaii. This is the biggest jump though.

Very bumpy, fast ride this morning and early afternoon. Rosie discovered many of our fresh veggies have started to rot so there was a little work sorting through them and cleaning. Luckily all the apples are okay!

What a day. The waves continue to hit us on the beam making for a continued rodeo ride. Its getting a tad old for me. I'm just tired of the effort it takes to go the bathroom, to haul yourself out of the bunk to check the windvane, to fix anything to eat even if it is just to grab an apple out of the closet. Dave suggested a nap. Thanks Dave ( It might just work... but my bed is wet!) Since the books on my shelf and my hats have absorbed all the water they can, its dripping onto my bed. One week down, how many to go?

Day 8, Apr 29

2222 miles to go. 103 mile run dawn yesterday to dawn today

What a nice restful day after the day we had yesterday. Surrounded by blue water on all sides. Its pretty fantastic.

Brushed my teeth for the first time today. That thought disgusts me, but the boat was too bouncy to do it before. I feel much better now. Maybe this will become habit.

Still cloudy out. Haven't had blue skies in three days. Panels still seem to get the batteries to 12.8v, so it seems like we're keeping up without having to conserve. We've even been using the stereo a few hours every day.

Bashing, bashing always. I thought this was supposed to be a downwind sail. Looking over our last forecast, the N winds should start around 120 degrees W and E winds a little after that. Maybe later this week.

Position: 5:18p 19°03.16'N, 116°45.99W

Day 9, Apr 30

2155 miles to go.

We've passed the longitude of San Diego. Crazy how long that took.

Day 10, May 1

At sunrise, 2075 miles to go. 1/4 of mileage complete. Hoping this doesn't take 40 days. Don't think it will especially if wind shifts as its supposed to.

Position: 7:53a 18°30.60'N, 118°30.80W

The waves seem to be turning more N/S rather than NW/SE. This is a good sign. Looked over the pilot chart for May - N & NE winds account for almost 90% (force 4) in this area. Hopefully we start to see some of those winds soon otherwise I'm starting to think the El Nino is in full effect.

Day 12, May 3

We both slept well last night - read...didn't wake up to check things so we didn't make as much progress as we could have. After dawn, took reef out of main and unrolled full jib.

After lunch: still killing it. 5-6kts under full sail. Rosie and I talked about budgets and schedules for our stay in Hawaii and preparing for a possible next adventure.

What a great day. Our speed has picked up and we're on a beam reach. I used up the carrots today in our soup for dinner. The biscuits were a good change from tortillas.

Sunset - 1847 miles to go. 60 miles today. Wow!

Day 13, May 4

Lucky 13 or not so lucky. After a great sail yesterday the winds died right after bed and we've been floating ever since. I think the 1 knot current might be floating us in the right direction. In the positive, I got a shower. Yes! I can't tell you how great it feels to have clean hair after 12 days at sea. I hauled the sun shower ( which has been laying on the deck secured to the side shrouds) up to the first mast step, so I could sit below.

Day 14, May 5

We spent some time soaking up the morning sun and just enjoying the fact that the boat is actually moving again. I planned dinner around my craving for comfort in mashed potatoes. It really wasn't supposed to be so complex. But with being thrown around a bit more than anticipated and using less than ideal potatoes I quickly became frustrated. Which results in Dave saying I told you I'd eat PB & J and me being quite upset in general. I must continue to tell myself, patience!

After lunch - Crushing the miles. 1755 miles to go. Calculated average so far: 3.2kts. Wind built to 15-20. Reefed main and jib. Beam reaching at 5-6kts with the sails well eased.

Position 3:54p 18°56.78'N, 124°21.39W

Day 15, May 6

1670 miles to go at dawn. That's 120 miles made good between dawn yesterday and dawn today. One of our best days ever.

Very gray and cloudy today. Quite a contrast from the almost royal blue water and skies yesterday.

Still killing this afternoon. Stayed in bed w/ the lee cloth while the conductor [wind vane] did all the work. Made 65 miles between sunrise and sunset - a really good run.

Finished Webb Chiles' Open Boat Chronicle. Started Melville's Typee while napping between chapters. Hope Will doesn't run into cannibals on Nuku Hiva.

Day 16, May 7

Gray, rainy day... but with speed.

The wind is howling, but with reefed main and jib we seem to be in control - well at least the WindPilot is in control. Occasionally we surf down the back of a wave and GPS reads 8 or even 9kts for a few seconds.

Position 4:27p 18°51.24'N, 128°42.92W

Day 17, May 8

At 2am we lashed the main to the boom. Didn't slow us down much.

Half way! We're going quite well and though big, the waves seem to be behind us. Not the smoothest or driest of rides but we're getting there. We checked the bilge and engine compartment, it is not filled with water but a bit wet. Considering you can squeeze the water out of my mattress, not surprising.

Concerned about battery voltage and wetness. Can't do much about the latter, but we'll charge in the morning with engine to address former. Need to build a simple box to keep water off the battery monitor shunt - I believe that's why the battery voltage keeps jumping around. If not, it will at least keep the corrosion to a minimum.

Position 7:04p 18°44.79'N, 131°06.31W

Sunset - 1365 miles to go. Played Settlers on the iPad. I've won 7 games in a row so far on the crossing.

Noticed stitching on foot of jib coming off. To address in Hilo.

Day 18, May 9

...then we heard a boom like sound and realized the jib furling line had chafed through. This we thought might be repaired by a knot or two. However, in the process the line went over, as in over into the great depths of the ocean, oops. We found a replacement not quite long enough but lengthened by another line will get us along just fine.

The waves are huge. Dave and I tried to capture how they look towering over us as they carry us along. The camera just doesn't show the impact as we see it in person.

We had a good day.

Ran engine for a while to charge batteries. It started fine. The battery monitor read 14+v then back to 12 even though the alternator was putting in 4+ amps. Further evidence that there's something stealing voltage somewhere in the battery monitor circuit. Tested the batteries with multimeter, reading 12.58v. Better result than the 2.5v from the battery monitor. We really need to keep the shunt dry.

Day 19, May 10

1194 miles to go.

A great sailing day. The sun came out for a bit and it was just lovely watching the waves push us toward Hilo while we soaked up some much needed sunshine.

Late this afternoon we we shook out the second reef. We're doing 5-6kts and surfing down waves at 7-8kts. This is the trade wind sailing we were looking for. This is why I came this way.

Position 4:15p 19°02.27'N, 135°04.90W

The miles are going to come off in a hurry now. I've predicted we'll arrive in Hilo on the 21st of May. That'll be day 29 of the trip. Rosie says we're going to arrive on the 22nd. Either day we want to arrive before Memorial Day Weekend so we don't have to pay extra fees to check in with the government.

The battery monitor now reads less than 1v. Houston, we have a problem - a minor one that can wait, but somethin' just ain't right.

Daily runs of 115, 125, 119 the last three days. Those are miles made good not actually traveled. Maybe we could do 140 miles in 24 hours when we count the distance we've actually gone.

Day 20, May 11

Sitting outside and just breathing in the sea air is so amazing, my favorite to do in the midafternoon. I get excited when I look at the navigation apps to see how far we've come. I was telling Dave just yesterday I haven't really experienced fear yet out here. We've been lucky so far and I hope it holds. I was anxious while Dave was on the bow moving about working the jib pole today, but not frightened. We've seen no other boats in 2 weeks, no other debris. And aside from flying fish and yes the occasional bird no other wildlife. We really are our own little floating island.

9:18p - Less than 1000 miles to go! Looks funny on the GPS after seeing only 4 digit numbers for 3 weeks.

Day 21, May 12

The wet seats and bed are talking their toll on my behind. Other than that all is great.

Its amazing how fast the days go with food prep, reading, gaming, and well just staying on the boat. It was a beautiful sunset tonight. I do hope this means sun tomorrow.

Day 22, May 13

Finished 2000 miles this afternoon. It has taken us 21.5 days to do those miles which gives us an average speed of 3.88kts. This is all in VMG so our boat speed is a little better but unknown.

Position 3:40p 19°21.51'N, 141°09.07W

Back under full main with the jib still on the pole - that's >24hrs since we put it out w/o touching it. Moving along well at 4.5-5.5 kts. Little to no rolling.

The battery monitor seems to be getting worse - it now resets every so often. That means the corrosion or wiring issue is just about complete. Good news is that the batteries read 12.6v with the multimeter, so the panels and the rest of the electrical system are hanging in there.

768 miles to go. The nearly full moon - full tomorrow night - peaked out from behind the clouds for a few minutes after sunset. Wow! Its big. Speaking of big, the setting sun is the biggest we've ever seen. We're hoping to get clear skies in the next few nights to enjoy the moon and stars before we get to Hilo.

We're looking to get into Hilo on Tuesday afternoon before sunset. Then check in on Wednesday morning. Maybe we can even make it to the Wednesday Farmer's Market in Hilo?

Day 23, May 14

Best day yet! We slowed down a bit in the morning, so we played with the spinnaker. It really didn't do much, so we poled out the jib and got back up to a 4 knot speed. The waves are much flatter today and the sun shone with very few clouds. This to me meant another shower day. Dave did as well. I think the boat smells 10x better. Many things are drying out as well. It was really great to hear from the Lilo today. They are making their way in CA and our buddy Will has made it to the South Pacific.

Day 24, May 15

The moon is very bright, full.... amazing.

Position 7:51p 19°49.90'N, 145°22.59W

Day 26, May 17

393 miles to go at sunrise. 112 miles completed dawn to dawn.

We are getting down to it. Looking at only 3 or 4 more days. I can't believe it. Not much really happened today. Oh wait, well the red bucket did commit suicide at sea. Rather sad to just see the handle out there.

Wonder what it will feel like when we get there and anchor safely. Will it be relief? Will we feel we've accomplished something significant? Or will we be glad its over? I'm thinking it'll be something similar to finishing Avalon - Holy crap, I can't believe I just ran 50 miles (sailed 2800 miles)!

The battery monitor kept starting/stopping last night (there's a blue light that comes on when it starts) so I disconnected it.

Good news: we can hear the weather forecasts from Honolulu on the VHF.

Day 27, May 18

Busy, busy day. It started as normal... but with us making a bit to much North we decided a jibe was in order. This meant moving the poled out jib to the other side and switching tacks (not that it matters since we haven't seen another boat in weeks.) Simple enough you would think, but the roller furling, pole, toping lift got hung up and stuck. Dave on the bow with rolly waves and me at the helm trying to keep our course made for an exciting post breakfast mini-adventure and in the midst of it all we hear a sick sounding motor turning on, is that the bilge pump? and it wouldn't turn off. We abandon the pole and jib and try to get the little motor to stop before it burns something up. Dave goes into the cabin to deteremine why. He cut the power going to the battery... yet the sound continued. It finally stopped but well he had cut the wrong wire and had to rewire his mistake. We now have no auto bilge pump. Good thing we can manually pump out. We did get back to that jib and sorted it all out. Also, Dave caught a fish! In time for dinner no less.

Day 28, May 19

8p - This could be our last night. It's hard to believe we've come almost 2700 miles. We've had some minor issues - nothing we weren't able to fix or work around - but its been a really good passage. Just a few calm patches, but otherwise we've moved along really well. I think it'll take a few days/weeks of reflection to fully get our heads around what we've accomplished.

90.7 miles to go.

Position 8:12p 19°39.27'N, 153°28.49W

Day 29, May 20

10:30a - Spotted land for the first time. We're moving slowly under full sail with a tiny breeze. Still hoping to anchor in Radio Bay this evening.

Dave is excited we made it to Hilo in <30 days! I'm just happy we made it. The last 20 miles took as long as any long road trip of your youth... we were so ready to be in Hawaii. We passed a cruise ship as it was leaving the harbor. Many people waved to us from their balconies like we were celebrities, but really we were today! We crossed the Pacific, 2789 nautical miles + 2 and that is really VMG-- we did more, a lot more. We made it. We feel accomplished and we're celebrating. Take it from me 29 days without alcohol make a rum drink that much more potent. Cheers! May the check in with harbor, customs, and immigration go well tomorrow!

Follow our progress here

Dave and I are in final preparations for departure to Hawaii. It looks like a weather window has opened for Tuesday of next week for us to get off the coast and into the trades. We are really, extremely excited!!

Dave installed the fans, the new VHF and wired in our GPS. We have armed and secured our new-to-us life raft. I have loaded the boat down with food with exception of fresh items such as carrots, cabbage, eggs, etc. The boat is fueled up. The waterline is sinking due to the added weight of our secured 50 gallons of potable water. Our final load of laundry is being cleaned as we write this post. The boat is ready. The crew is ready. We can't wait to go!

We have set up the inReach so you can track our progress. Our intention is to at least track our position daily and every so often leave a message on the map. (See the big red text at the top of this post for a link to the map). BUT just because we haven't checked in, doesn't mean we're lost... it could mean a number of things such as dead batteries, forgetfulness of the crew, error with the technology, etc, etc. Remember we have multiple ways to hail help if we need it. Please don't worry about us.

We plan to check out of Mexico on Monday. This will be our last blog post until Radio Bay, Hilo, Hawaii.

Adios Mexico. It was a great time and we hope to return soon.

We left the San Blas marina without incident by keeping the green bouys (next to the fuel dock) on our right. That kept us in the deep water - or at least deep enough for Crazy Love to pass. It was low tide so the area we'd run aground on was exposed.

After reaching the end of the breakwater, and passing the oft breaking waves, we set the full main, and unrolled the jib. It was 11am and there was already a moderate breeze. The destination in our GPS was the anchorage at Punta Mita - about 48 miles. We moved quickly until 6pm when the wind died. Before we left San Blas, we decided that we'd sail through the night even if we were just floating. At 1am the breeze picked up just enough to get the boat going again, but it was slow going all night. We got some nice sleep because the seas were flat calm. It was like sleeping on a waterbed - no rolling, just the gentle motion of the boat.

In the morning, we had 10 or 12 miles to go to Banderas Bay. By 11am, the sea breeze started blowing which doubled our boat speed to 4 knots. We arrived in the anchorage at lunch time and spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for a trip to San Diego that would happen after we returned to La Cruz. We stayed the night at Punta Mita for a little rest before the day sail to Yelapa the following day.

The next morning the sea breeze again started blowing after breakfast. We set the main and pulled up the anchor at the same time and safely sailed out of the anchorage. I like not having to use the diesel to exit an anchorage. Its so much quieter without. We broad reached (occasionally running) towards Yelapa at 4 knots. When we got closer, we noticed the water was a brownish color and there were thousands of jellyfish. We're not biologists, but we assumed it was the red tide. When we got to within 4 miles, the wind died so we ruined our zen for the day by turning on the engine. As soon as we got the sails down, a panga approached. The driver (panguero) offered us a mooring ball. We accepted and paid 400 pesos for our two nights.

We were told there are a few places to anchor in the little cove that is Yelapa, but that those spots are very close to shore due to a deep channel in the middle of the cove. Our mooring ball was less than 200 feet from shore, but the water was still more than 100 feet deep. That's much different than every other beach we've experienced in Banderas Bay. Most of them are only 30 or 50 feet deep within a few miles of shore.

After we tied up and paid, we pumped up Peeps. It was the last time we'll use him aboard Crazy Love. Our plan was to replace him and that's exactly what we did - we now have a smaller, lighter 2-person inflatable kayak.

We rowed ashore, successfully landed on the insanely steep beach in light surf, and had ourselves a few cold Pacificos at a palapa restaurant. Turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.

When the restaurant closed we walked over to the other side of town. I suppose I should stop to explain "town." There are two sides to Yelapa - the beach and town. The beach is the center of activity until 5pm and then everything moves to town. The restaurants, music, nightlife, and several hotels are in town. We grabbed a bite for dinner in a place with a view of the water (I can never get enough of that view) and then went back to the boat.

In the morning, we hiked to one of the two waterfalls outside of town. On the two hour hike we got to see where the locals live and plenty of roosters.

After the hike we stayed on the beach for some lunch in one of the palapa restaurants on the beach.

Back on the boat mid-afternoon, it was already time to prepare for the trip back to La Cruz.

The 16 mile sail back to La Cruz was the best day sail ever. Crazy Love was broad reaching at 6 to 7 knots in 15 knots of breeze with gusts to 20.

Now we prepare for the crossing to Hawaii. Extremely excited is an understatement.

When are you departing for Hawaii?

We have a little work to do on the boat in the next week or so. Then we load up with fuel, water, and food. After that we get our exit papers and wait for good weather. Once we get a good weather window, we make tracks. We're hoping to get underway by April 25.

How far is the sail from Banderas Bay to Hawaii?

About 2900 nautical miles.

What is the route?

Due west (270 on the compass) until we run into land.

How long will it take?

30 to 40 days is our estimate. Getting off the coast is the hardest part. Once we're 500 miles (or so) off the coast we'll find the trade winds which throughout history have been great sailing and could get us 120 to 140 miles a day.

How much fuel?

Our engine is a 1 cylinder, 9.9hp Yanmar inboard diesel. Our fuel tank holds 15 gallons and we carry an extra 5 gallon container in the cockpit locker. Burning all this fuel would get us less than 500 miles. With a trip this long, the engine is only marginally important - the sails and the windvane are doing all the work.

How do you keep the batteries charged?

We have two 50 watt solar panels that, under the tropical sun, make more power than we use on Crazy Love. We can run the engine and have the alternator charge the batteries, but we wouldn't be able to do that for long because we carry limited fuel. Fortunately we have a battery monitor which tells us when the batteries have been fully charged by the sun and when/if we need to run the engine for the alternator.

How much water?

45 to 50 gallons. 1 gal/day provisioned - half a gallon per person per day. Salt water for cleaning and cooking. Less strict as we find the trade winds and on a fast course to Hawaii. Our tank holds about 25 gallons and we'll stash the other 25 in bottles throughout lockers, the cockpit, and the cabin.

Do you have a watermaker?

No. We thought about buying a handpowered desalinator, but they're wicked expensive, complicated, and I don't know how to fix it after it breaks.

What will you eat?

Lots of good stuff. We provision fresh, dry, and canned foods that are stored throughout the boat in our "pantry", "cooler" (which we don't even provision with ice), and closet. Sausages, salami and other cured meats last for quite some time without refrigeration. Milk is often sold shelf stable here in Mexico and eggs are stored at room temperature. Vegetables like cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes are quite hardy and we'll definitely stow a lot of apples. Dried beans, pasta, rice, dried mushrooms and veggies, and canned items make up the bulk.

What will you drink?

We like rum - Appleton Estate is yummy and inexpensive in Mexico. If we don't drink it straight, we mix it with some sort of fruit juice - like mango. At room temperature it is rather pleasant. Mexican beer just doesn't taste as good at room temperature. Before you judge, please see above under water. The rum will be used in dire emergencies only.

Do you have a refrigerator?

No. They're expensive, take lots of power, and I'm not ready to learn how to repair one.

What safety gear do you have on board?

Most important is a healthy, capable crew. We also have a life raft, EPIRB, Delorme inReach (2-way satellite messaging), and VHF with AIS to negotiate with passing ships. We also have all the required Coast Guard specified gear such as life jackets, flares, fog horn, etc.

What do you do all day to occupy yourself?

Keeping the boat moving occupies much of our time day and night, but there's plenty of time in between checking the course, trimming the sails, cooking meals, and scanning the horizon for other boats. For entertainment - books, books and more books, a few movies, and games (Settlers & Carcassone on the iPad).

Do you stop at night to sleep?

No. We will sail 24 hours a day for a month straight. When we're going fast we're going about six miles an hour. That means we can do 144 miles (6x24) in a day. A 2900 mile trip at that speed would be about 21 days. That's an outlandishly optimistic estimate. We may have a few 144 mile days, but early in the trip, before we find the trades we might only make 40 or 60 miles a day.

Long story short, if we stop at night, it takes longer to get there. The longer it takes to get there, the higher our risk of running out of water.

Is there someone always on watch?

Yes, we try. We used to trade off watch every two hours through the night. At some point during our journey we determined staring across the dark ocean in the middle of the night trying to stay awake for two hours straight wasn't any more risky than one of us scanning the horizon every 15-20 minutes and checking our course. We each have a wristwatch. At sunset we set a timer to go off every 40 minutes on the watches. The watches are offset by 20 minutes. If my watch goes off now, Dave's will go off in 20 minutes. That arrangement works well until about 3am when we both start ignoring the beeping wrist watches. In theory the boat will wake us up if it needs attention. And now we'll have knowledge of other large boats in the area and their course. At sunrise, I usually get up and sail for a few hours while Dave rests then I sleep later in the afternoon. This is all assuming the tiller pilot or the windvane is doing all the steering. Otherwise we are trading off who is at the helm (most likely every 2 hours).

How long in Hawaii?

If we make it, we're hoping to cruise Hawaii for 3-5 months. Then we'd like to get a slip on Oahu, an apartment on the same island, and a job working remotely. If we can find jobs in Hawaii, we'll work for a year, maybe two, and then continue west. I'm looking at the Republic of the Marshall Islands as the next stop.

What if something goes wrong?

We'll do what we can with the resources we have. Please don't worry about us. We hatched the plan and took the risk so we're prepared to face the consequences.

The 40 mile course from Isla Isabela to San Blas is just south of east. I never saw anything deeper than 125 feet on the depth sounder, so I thought there might be some good fishing. I threw the handline over the side and two hours later, in 80 feet of water, we caught a 25 inch skipjack tuna. We've heard other fishermen throw skipjacks back. We didn't. It was good eating.

The sailing was slow except for a nice breeze in the mid afternoon when we were able to do 5 knots. At sunset, we still had 12 miles to go, so we decided to go into the large anchorage south of San Blas called Matanchén. We arrived there at about 10pm.

In the morning we raised the sails, pulled up the anchor and blasted our way three miles up the coast to the entrance to the estuary leading to the marina. On our final turn before the marina I failed to notice the green cans floating next to the fuel dock. Green navigation bouys should be left to port, but we left them to starboard. From the fuel dock, the workers were waving at us like they were trying to get our business. We waved them off and then the boat stopped and we felt an unfamiliar bump. Hmm. We'd run aground. Turns out the nice guys on the fuel dock were trying to tell us that we were approaching a shoal and would soon run out of water.

The nice thing about having a small, slow boat with a full keel is that groundings aren't fatal. Neither the rudder or prop are exposed to danger because the boat sits very nicely on the full length keel. That keeps the rudder and prop off the ground and out of danger. A nice side effect of having the rudder and prop off the ground is that we can still use them. With Carolyn at the tiller and the engine in reverse I went to the shrouds and swung off the side of the boat to get it to heel a little. After three swings we were off the shoal and floating in 5 feet of water again.

Try that on a big boat! Hah.

It was only another 200 yards into the marina where we had help from two amused marina workers. My theory is that making fools of ourselves and keeping our cool earned us a bit of respect because everyone seemed to remember us for the three days we spent there.

After checking in and paying the bill (only 395 pesos for 3 nights!), our first order of business was a shower. All the snorkeling at Isla Isabela left us with some salty hair so a rinse off before lunch felt civilized. We had a great lunch in the town square about a mile walk from the marina.

The conventional wisdom in San Blas is that the bugs (jejenes and mosquitos) are unbearable around sunrise and sunset. That gave us the perfect time to try our mosquito netting donated to Crazy Love by our cruising friends Carter and Anita. It worked beautifully. We each had one bite during our whole visit - less than any other city we've visited in Mexico.

All three nights in San Blas we stopped at the San Blas Social Club. Its the gringo hangout in the town square. The bugs, or the threat of them, have scared away many. The gringos we did meet were very friendly and welcoming. We visited at the end of the season, meaning most have gone north to Canada or the States.

On our first full day we took a jungle tour by panga. We saw mangroves, crocodiles, turtles, and lots of birds.

On our second day, walking in the same direction as the jungle tour, we walked up a short hill to the long dilapidated church and fort. Interesting bits of history.

That night we stopped for a drink at the social club, had a hot dog from a street vendor and then some tacos from a little store down the street. It was a quiet final evening in San Blas spent people watching in the town square.

Maybe we got lucky with the bugs, but Carolyn and I really enjoyed our stay in San Blas. We would recommend the stop to any other cruisers and urge them to "Use the bug nets Luke!"

After leaving San Blas the plan is to head down to Punta Mita and then to Yelapa. Our time in Mexico is quickly coming to a close. Hurricane season is approaching and cruisers are making themselves scarse. We will do the same after a few more stops.