Provisioning-Sunday June 7, 2009

Today we picked up Gautam, our fifth crew member, at the airport. His flight arrived on time--ahead of schedule even--but his luggage wasn't so fortunate. It will arrive tomorrow at 11:00. This will postpone our planned departure by a couple of hours, but we can use the time to finish up some last-minute to-dos.



Today we bought the groceries we'll need for our time at sea. It was quite a spree. Finding a place for everything and taking inventory of it all took longer than the shopping itself. Space is tight, so everything has its place--usually behind, on top of, or underneath something else. Getting anything out or putting it away usually involves the getting out or putting away of several other things that were in front of or on top of the thing you wanted.

We'll be going North for the first few days to slingshot ourselves around the Pacific High, a clockwise-spinning area of high pressure that sits over the ocean between Hawaii and San Francisco. A staight-line course would lead us into the center of The High where there is no wind. Instead we go North--nearly to the latitude of San Francisco--and then turn east to ride the wind that forms on the edge of The High.

-Jared