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A few more fast facts

ByJohn B. Pinto

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OSN Practice Management Section Editor John B. Pinto has launched "Voyage to EHR," a new project sponsored by Compulink Business Systems and Ocular Surgery News. This project will culminate in John's month-long solo sail from San Diego to Honolulu aboard the 24-foot Aurelia starting May 6. John's practice management blogs will resume in July. John's voyage is meant to raise awareness of the similar "expedition" surgeons undertake when converting to electronic health records and will also support the work of the Hawaiian Eye Foundation. To learn more about the foundation's work and to make a donation supporting its eye care and surgical training services throughout the Pacific, please go to www.hawaiianeyefoundation.org.

• Weather-wise, May is one of the most settled months for crossing this stretch of ocean. Before this time frame, winter storms can intrude, and as summer wears on, the threat of being overrun by a Mexican hurricane grows.
• The May 6 launch date allows me to start and finish the voyage under a full moon. Not only is this more romantic, but it makes for safer night sailing.
• It's not possible to sail directly in a straight line from San Diego to Hawaii because there is a large zone of calm air (the "Pacific High") right in the middle of the ocean. Instead, one sails south from San Diego paralleling the Baja California coast for about 800 miles and then takes a slow right turn to Oahu.
• Navigation is 100% GPS these days, with no sextant, except as a backup. As a practical matter, when you're halfway to Hawaii, all you really need to do is follow the jet contrails from North America.
• The most difficult aspect of the voyage has nothing to do with navigation or seamanship - it's all about sleep hygiene. As a solo sailor, I have to keep a watch on the horizon at all times for shipping traffic. Night and day. The longest allowed rest periods are 20- to 25-minute naps (about the time it takes a freighter to come over the horizon). But this all balances out. Because there's no one else aboard, nobody else has to be subjected to the solo sailor's sleep-deprived, notoriously cranky personality.