It's finally time again!

In my mind, there's always one thing that separates weekend and coastal cruisers from the serious adventurer: The life raft. I just bought a new 4 person offshore life raft, and that only means one thing aboard Bella Marina: Offshore Adventure!

After 5 years as a landlubber in San Francisco, I'm finally taking Bella Marina for another serious adventure before the boat or its crew get too old.  Last time, it was Mexico.  This time, it's crossing to Hawaii!  Thanks to friends, I've had the opportunity to do some small cruising trips in between.  S/V Delos was kind enough to have us onboard in the South Pacific and our friends Lee and Serena had me help them take their S/V Solent from Jamaica through the Bahamas to Florida.  That's already two years ago and I'm itching for the open sea.

So here I am, with only one goal in mind, buying gear left and right and getting myself upside down head first in the bilge and other hard-to reach places in order to get Bella Marina ready for her trip to Hawaii in October.

Keep checking back for updates to the work and preparation I'm doing on Bella Marina and for the countdown to my departure for the Pacific Ocean.

Captain Petter blogging from S/V Bella Marina