Skipping Town By MichaelLA PAZ, MEXICO

The girls snorkeling on the northwestern
side of Isla Angel de la Guarda just
days before this summer's hurricane.

We plan to cross part of the Pacific Ocean this year. We’re gonna sail from the tip of Mexico’s Baja peninsula and not stop until we reach Hiva Oa, Marquesas in French Polynesia. It sounds exotic to my ear and it’s exciting simply to type it, but thousands of other cruising boats have sailed to the South Pacific islands over the years and nearly as many have written about it.

At this point, a couple months before departure, we’re simply learning about what we need to know, finally addressing some deferred boat maintenance items, and making sure we have what we need. Though we’re not leaving from one of the big departure hubs (Panama and Puerto Vallarta) where there are seminars and parties this time of year for the outbound yachts, we feel sated by the amount of information we’ve found online.

I’m eager for the long sail. The lengthiest passage Windy and I have made to date is 8 days, aboard the previous Del Viento, from Columbia to Cuba. Aboard this Del Viento and with the girls, I don’t think we’ve gone longer than 3 nights/4 days. But from Mexico to French Polynesia, we’ll be at sea, underway at the speed of a jogger, day and night, for about three weeks. That will be an experience like few others.

I’m eager to cross the equator. I’ve spent my entire life in the northern hemisphere and though it’s only a difference in degrees of latitude, I’ve become familiar with the northern night sky over these past few years of cruising. It will be interesting to look up on a warm, tropical night and see something new.

I’m eager for more and more snorkeling. This past summer in the Sea of Cortez was snorkeling heaven, but the Sea is cold again and I miss jumping in and being amazed.

I’m eager to begin learning French (though I can’t be that eager because I’ve not started). I think I did okay in Paris a few years ago and feel I have an aptitude. I want to go deeper.

So that’s where I’m at. We plan to leave sometime around the beginning of April. Stay tuned.

--MR

This is a shrine or monument like we see on many of
the deserted Baja island beaches where fishermen
set up camp. Often they'll feature a Virgin de
Guadalupe figurine (same as the Virgin Mary).

This is a close-up of a portion of the same rock pile above.
I'll note that Windy relocated the small cross from a dark
rock to the light-colored shell for the picture.