So the date is set, March 17th…I’m making my maiden voyage across the channel to the island of Santa Catalina! Ok…its a 26 mile trip…lol and it should be a piece of cake but when I say it like that it sounds like its a huge adventure. I’m going with my sailing buddy KJ who has been sailing for 30+ years and sold me Cuajota so not only is he experienced, but he also knows the boat well. Last week we did some navigation tests to prepare for the trip. I got familiar with the navigation software that I am going to use, Motion X GPS HD for the iPad. I use the iPhone version for my tracking and I like it, so I grabbed the iPad version and began playing with it…PRETTY AMAZING. I have my waypoints set for every possible location between here and Catalina and along the coastline just in case we change course based on weather or anything. KJ also gave me some old school paper charts just in case. I have power setup for the iPad so I don’t have to worry about battery issues. I think I’ll make sure my old Tillermaster 1000 is working as well so it will give use a way to set course easily….I may bite the bullet and get a new autopilot…but thats another story and another post! The next step is to get the oil changed and change the oil filter and fuel filters. Thats going to get done this week.