Well, I’ve finally made it back to New York. I’m at my Mom’s place out on Long Island. Tomorrow I get to go see Cirque du Soleil with my fabulous sister. I’ll be in the New York Area until May 30th, when I fly to Boulder, CO for Craig’s and Lysandra’s wedding.

The passage from Mazatlan to Hilo was definately a good experience. There weren’t any interesting disasters, so the sailing itself was just nice. The weather didn’t quite cooperate, with the Pacific High taking a vacation (and squelching the breeze) just when we were about to latch on to the easterly tradewinds, but you can’t have everything. A week later it came back and we were cooking along nicely for the last week into Hilo. We did have some minor trouble with the wind vane self-steering gear in terms of chafe, but really, who doesn’t? All in all, I was VERY impressed with the Sailomat and would buy one for my cruising boat, if I had such a boat. The food was great and Ken is an exceptionally talented cook. The six bottles of wine we shared along the way didn’t hurt either. We did catch one fish, a small tuna, on Day 2 when we were both seasick. Ken cleaned it up and we tossed it in the freezer to be eaten later. One highlight of the trip was trading limericks with the family on Swallow (one of the boats who joined the impromptu 5H Net - the Hilo Hoppers Happy Half Hour). Once we got to Hawai’i, we caught up with John and Mary from Irish Rose. They joined Ken and myself in exploring Mauna Kea (where all the way-cool observatories are) and Kilauea (the active volcano).