We struggled for a couple of weeks to get north, experiencing itcz-like weather. Finally, at about 35 degrees, we got north of the light stuff and into some decent sailing wind. The wind direction and forecast said we could, so at that point, we pointed the bow towards SF and started turning 130-140nm days all the way to just a few miles outside the Gate. We wound up with about 45 gallons of diesel still aboard when we arrived, but for awhile there, I was worried that we'd have to start just sitting and waiting for the wind instead of motoring through it. Believe it or not, I used my whisker pole more on the Hawaii to SF leg than we did between Baja & Polynesia. Who woulda thunk it?