3 August 2004 - Departure from Hawaii

We're planning on heading out tomorrow (4th August) from Hilo Hawaii, and head southward to the Marquesas.  Hurricane Darby's remnants have dissipated over Hawaii last night (lots of rain and some good gusts) and there isn't really anything too scary in the forecast for our run across the equator.  That should be a neat experience - we'll check the water swirling down the drain before, during, and after crossing and let you know if the direction changes :-)  This segment is a hair over 2000 nautical miles, and we expect it to take a good three weeks (at least we hope they are good!).