Man Plans and God Laughs!

   We came SO very close to leaving for Georgetown this weekend, but missed our weather window by just a couple days!    Saturday would've been ideal for motoring across the Gulf Stream, but we just weren't ready yet!  Now the wind's blowing straight out of the east, which is where we need to go for over 200 miles to Nassau before we turn south.  The difference in speed could be 2 knots compared to 6, so last night, we decided Daren should go back to work earlier than planned and come home for a longer stretch of days off next time he gets home, June 17th. 

   We are very disappointed, of course, but Daren just had too many projects to complete when he got home last Tuesday.   On the bright side, we now have a working wind generator and brand new auto-pilot and a literal boat-load of food!  : )

    Meredith and her husband Brian had their baby on May 13th at their home in London.  All went well, and my sister Barb is visiting them now.  Lina Bird is the first grand-baby/great niece in our family, so this is a big event!

      Last night, I spoke with my sister Judy in Pensacola, and am hoping she'll come visit Libby and me while we're waiting for Daren to get back.  That'd be great fun!   We had such a nice visit with Mary!   

     We are SO anxious to get to the Bahamas and we know we will...eventually!!  As Daren says, "We're a long time leaving, but we'll be a long time gone!"

      

3 Days on the Hard!

      I'm so happy to report that we finally got the boat hauled and bottom painted while Daren was home last time!   Out Monday morning and back in the water last Thursday, May 1st.  Thanks to diver Bobby the Viking scrubbing the bottom regularly,  it was remarkably clean, and we were pleasantly surprised to see the bottom in such great shape!   No blisters or barnacles, and minimal damage to the fin keel, which Daren fixed with carbon fiber.  It was a very dog-friendly yard, on the bay side, Keys Boat Works.  We were able to stay on the boat at night, and Libby went up in a bosun's chair Monday night, but was unwilling to come down the next morning!   The yard manager brought a forklift and pallet over to provide an elevator for her!   I wish I'd had the camera!  It was pretty funny and I was impressed with his kindness!   Once we found her life vest, she was fine being hoisted up and down.   There was even another German Shorthaired Pointer to keep her company,  Captain Snoop.
      We had to raise the waterline 5 inches, because we keep putting things on the boat!  Sue and Al are waiting for us in Georgetown, (for nearly 2 months!) and need their mainsail repaired, so I packed my sewing machine.  Daren's found all kinds of canned food online, like grass-fed meat, cheddar cheese, and best of all, New Zealand butter, for all those lobsters!  Yum!
      Saturday was my birthday, and although I was hoping we'd be in the Bahamas by now, we had a great visit from long-time boat friends, Tom and Jodie, who drove down from Stuart!   Tom's birthday's just a week before mine, so we had a great celebration!
      The big family news is that niece Meredith and husband Brian are expecting a baby any day now.  My sister Barb is flying out to London tomorrow for a couple weeks.  We don't know the baby's name yet, but will very soon!
        Daren's decided to commute from Georgetown for a month or so, then on to Dominican Republic, and we think we'll finally leave when he gets home May 20th.  We shall see...