11/14/2010 - Hasta luego, amigos

My internet access runs out at about 9:00 tonight so this is the last you'll hear from me until we reach Ensenada.

Check-out time here at Dana Point is noon so we'll be gone by then but probably not a whole lot before. I've plotted a route that takes us in a pretty straight line from here to San Diego, although we have no plans to stop there. From there, we'll go between the mainland and Las Islas de Los Coronados to Ensenada. The trip is only about 115 nautical miles. At an average speed of 4.5 knots, that would take us 25.6 hours if we can travel in a straight line. The winds look favorable for following the rhumb line so it's mostly a question of boat speed. If we can only average 3 knots, it'll take us 38 hours. So we could be there as early as noon on Tuesday or it could take us until Wednesday or Thursday, who knows? We're all provisioned, the water tank is full, and the batteries are topped off.

But, starting tomorrow, we are no longer on a schedule. We're going to sail, dammit! If it takes 3 days to make a one-day passage, so be it. We'll just have to learn to sail better.

So, don't hold your breath waiting for the next blog entry. Once we get to Ensenada, I'll get a Banda Ancha card from Telcel that will give me internet access via cell towers. Also, you can erase our phone numbers because, once we get to Mexico, out TracFone's won't work anymore. We'll get some pay-as-you-go Mexican cell phones but we may have to break down and Skype to be able to make affordable calls. We'll see.

So, until later...

(Oh! I can't believe it! We're almost to Mexico. Northern Mexico, yes, but Mexico nevertheless. I'm so excited!)