BEOWULF is sitting low in the water (840 gallons of diesel will tend to do that) and we’ve got our outward-bound clearance. The fridge is stocked, the freezer has its share of goodies, and the mizzen is hoisted.

The logic of this passage is not as clear-cut as we would like. There are lots of compromises on the weather side. For one, this is definitely going to be an early year for E. Pacific hurricanes – witness the first of the season kicking up off central Mexico at this moment, and June is barely here. Waters off Central America and Mexico were warmer than usual at the end of May. So, we need to watch things carefully.

The normal approach is to wait for the passage of a tropical wave, and then make tracks as fast as possible. We’ve got one due to pass tomorrow. As we have a potential hurricane hole about 350 miles out, in Golfito, Costa Rica, we’re going to get a jump on the next wave. When we are off Southern Costa Rica tomorrow we’ll re-evaluate the situation. If it looks clear for another three days, we’ll proceed, as Puerto Madero at the bottom of Mexico could provide another stop if required (but we’d hate to share that harbor with hundreds of fishing boats unless it was an absolute necessity).

From there it is 450 miles or so to Acapulco. And then there are a couple of more spots we could pull in if necessary.

Our preference, however, is to make a straight shot to San Diego, if that is possible, as the sooner we are out of these waters, the better.

Until today the weather has been quite pleasant. Not excessively hot. There has been enough of a breeze that we always felt cool. Last night the breeze died for a while and we were forced to resort to the fans. But by early morning it had come back. Now, with the approach of the tropical wave, the wind has essentially shut off. That’s fine for motoring – but it does make us wish for air conditioning!

Provisioning in Panama is, as usual, very cost-efficient. We bought a ton of fresh fruits and veggies, meats, and fruit juices – more than enough for three or four weeks – and the total bill, including our cab, was $287 – about 1/3 of what it would cost in the Carribean!

There’s a new marina and shopping center complex being built at the end of Flamenco Island, at the entrance to the Canal area. Nice facilities, lots of restauarants, travel-lift, and diesel fuel, in bulk, at $1 gallon. Marina Flamenco is a vast improvement on the old Panama Canal Yacht Club.

We’ve had a number of questions about transiting the canal. We’ll write about those details when we get caught up on some chores in a few days.