To the South Pacific We left Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on March 22, 2006 for the passage across 2700 miles of ocean to the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. We arrived on April 17, after 27 days at sea. It was a real test of endurance. We were so happy to arrive. The passage was long and tiring, marked by the changing weather. We had days of no wind and days with lots of wind, as well as many squalls once we crossed the equator. Near the equator we had some beautiful sailing days, with flat seas which were rare on the rest of the trip. I will never forget the feeling of out-thereness I had out there on such a little boat, knowing there was only ocean for thousands of miles around. We broke our boom in half on day 13. What a shock. Luckily, with so much downwind sailing we did ok with just the headsail.

We slowly made our way west through French Polynesia, stopping in each island group. Every one was beautiful. We are now in Papeete, Tahiti, where we have been for about a month finishing repairs and maintenance. We are getting ready to move on. We have decided to make our way to Australia. We have about 2 months to get there before cyclone season. Not a lot of time, but we should still be able to see a bit along the way. Our current plan is to stop in Suvarov (Cook Islands), Samoa, Fiji and New Caledonia on the way to Australia.