Mike and Tricia,
My wife and I are in that process right now. We'll be putting the house
on the market in 2-3 weeks and are desperately selling/giving
away/throwing away most of what we own. Start this task early.

As for leaving, the first of November is the end of the hurricane season
and when most people leave. If you've never done any cruising, you
might want to consider joining the Baja HaHa for the leg of the trip
from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas http://www.baja-haha.com/ We did this
the first time we sailed down to Baja in '99. It will give you a jump
start on the social scene and a chance to get to know a lot of the boats
that will be down there that year. This time though, we are going to
forego the HaHa as we will be taking it a lot slower than the group goes.

Don't speed your way through Mexico too fast. Take it slow. Spend some
time up in the Sea Of Cortez. It's got some of the best snorkeling in
the world. In fact, a lot of cruisers seem to get "stuck" there they
like it so much. On our last trip, we spent 6 weeks in the Sea and it
was waaaaaaay too short. This time, we're planing a year and a half in
Mexico, splitting the time between Baja and the mainland. The cruising
life in Baja is idealic, especially in the fall. Great weather, warm
water, quiet anchorages a day sail apart, tons of fish,... you get the
picture.

As winter progresses, the weather cools off a little (our log shows that
last time, the night of Dec. 6 was the first time in over a month that I
had put on a pair of long pants). The water cools off even more. Early
Nov. in Cabo, the water was bathtub warm. By the last time we went
swimming, on Dec. 11 about half way up at Pt. Pulpito, I was wearing a
full wet suit. This time, our plan is to work our way north until the
water cools off too much, then turn around and head south and across to
the mainland to spend the winter. We'll return to Baja in the spring
when its' waters warm up again.

In your shopping for a boat, think about accessible storage. Drawers,
shelves and cupboards. Our last boat had a few large storage volumes
and it was a pain in the kazoo. Whatever you wanted, whether it be a
can of motor oil or another thing of lemonade mix, it seemed that you
first had to tear part of the boat apart (a settee, someone's berth,
etc.) then had to dig through to the bottom of a large pile to find what
you were looking for. We're really looking forward to living on our
Tayana (see a link to a photo, below).

Hope this helped - Dan

Mike & Tricia Kennedy wrote:

My wife and I have just made the decision to tie up our loose ends,
purchase a boat in about 1 year and head south to Mexico in 4 years
(From the Los Angeles area). We have both sailed since childhood but
would appreciate any feedback and advice from anyone who has done a
similar thing. Stopping points, best times to head south (December -
March we're guessing), sailing routes from southen Mexico thru the
canal, into the Gulf of Mexico and onto the Bahamas, etc. Our
ultimate goal is to sail around to the Bahamas and hang our there for
a while. . .maybe heading deeper south after that.

We are planning on having a cruising kitty of around $20,000 and then
do odd jobs as needed. What are some things we should consider before
setting sail?

Mike and Tricia Kennedy

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG