Thanksgiving in Beaufort

This is our Thanksgiving family picture aboard the Caribbean Soul. In the picture are Gladys Weaver (my kids other grandmother), Jean Ferguson (my mom), Finley (my son), John and me.
The grandmothers' combined age is 180! Wow! These ladies can really get around! We had a nice sail down Taylors Creek and back. Now the boat is really ready to head south to warmer weather.

Part of our final preparations was to hoist John up the mast to untangle a flag halyard. We needed to wait until Finley got here because I'm not strong enough to crank the winch. My job was to "tail" the line while Finley cranked. John's trip up the mast was so successful, we hoisted him again with the camera. Here Fin and I are hanging out on the deck while John's aloft.


And, take a look at this thirty year old boat! Yea! Caribbean Soul! She's a good ol' boat! Look sharp and you can see John's tennis shoes on the left.

Still Getting Ready to Go!

So John is changing the oil--yuck! When I took this picture I instantly rolled up the oriental rug. It's just a cheapo thing, but oil is oil. Most of the preparation is messy business.

So, while John changes the oil, I try to pack up all the supplies. Wow-what a job. But if you don't stow all this stuff, you have no place to sit or sleep.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. We will celebrate with family and then probably head out on Monday or Tuesday. Hope the boat still floats after all this provisioning!

November 11, 2008

So here's how it's going. John is hooking up the satellite stuff and I'm making things pretty--painting the boat name on the ring buoy and sanding/varnishing lots of teak. We've ordered a new 2008 cruising guide for the Bahamas and a third GPS just in case something happens to the first two. Guess it's important to know where you are and where you are going!
--Installing in small places.

My art work on buoy.

Teak!

Teak!

Satellite in nav. table.

Caribbean Soul before she gets loaded up for the trip to the Bahamas.

Me and the propane grill--hope to catch some good grillin' fish.

Caribbean Soul waiting patiently in Taylors Creek.


Here are some pics of the interior before we load it up with stuff.

Navigation station--from which we hope to post blogs for you. We're still planning on leaving Beaufort in the first good weather window after Thanksgiving. Our route to Florida isn't set yet--it will depend on the weather. It will probably be a combination of "outside" ocean sailing and "inside" intercoastal waterway motoring. Then from Florida, we'll wait for good weather in January to sail over to the Bahamas.