Ken,

Recognizing we are discussing plans ‘2 years’ away… I like the idea of San Francisco because it is a reasonable distance from where we would conclude the Alaska trip in the late summer 2008, a great city, and I could safely leave the Pearl from Sept/Oct 2008 until the Pacific departure in the spring of 2009.

Braun

Grey Pearl N6208

 

 

All:

 

Last week I sent out an update saying that a group of us were considering cruising directly from Alaska to Hawaii, in August 2009.

 

I wouldn’t say this option has been ruled out completely, but after a week of research, the idea has lost its appeal. We are back to focusing on a Spring 2009 departure.

 

There are two topics currently being discussed:

 

1. I have been lobbying the group to consider Hawaii as the first destination, rather than the original plan of going to the Galapagos, and then on to the Marquesas, primarily for selfish reasons. We will have our dog, Shelby on board, and have discovered that we can get her into Hawaii, with a minimum of hassle. By spending a season in Hawaii before entering French Polynesia, our odds of getting Shelby into the islands and onto shore raise dramatically.
   
   Aside from our personal issues, I believe there are some good reasons the group might want to consider Hawaii as a first destination: The South Pacific can be a fairly difficult environment. We will find marine technicians, great restaurants, decent shopping, good marinas, etc in Hawaii, whereas once we enter French Polynesia, we’ll be, as Dorothy once said “not in Kansas anymore.” Hawaii gives us a way to smooth the transition into the South Pacific.
2. If we go to Hawaii first, where is the best point to leave from? I haven’t studied the weather patterns enough to have the answer to this. It has been suggested that San Francisco would be a great point from which to start. All opinions are appreciated.

 

My apologies for all of the confusion. I recognize that it would be far simpler for everyone to do their planning if we could just say: “On March 2, 2009, we will be leaving from X, going to Y, departing at Z pm, at a speed of A knots, on a heading of B degrees.” I do think we will get to that point, but given that we have two years before departure, it seems fine that we all talk through all the possible options before locking in on any one plan. Also: it is very possible that the final plan might include more than one group of boats, departing or arriving from different points according to the differing needs and desires of the various groups and captains.

 

-Ken Williams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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