Hot Off the Press Update

As of Friday, March 4 we had a lot to celebrate.  First, our youngest daughter had a nice birthday.  Second, we now have a good insurance policy.  We can now wander farther afield with better coverage amounts.  Next time we have to haul out of the water we'll have another survey and try to increase our coverage to more closely match our real worth.  For now, we're satisfied.  We found our policy through Lloyd's of London.  Their application covered quite a bit including our actual on-the-water experience.  It's  one thing to say you've got so many years experience on a boat but another to have to answer how many times crossing at night, sailing over 8 hours at a stretch, etc.  They also took into account other factors such as recent receipts for upgrades and photos.  Anyway, we're happy and hope to never actually use them.

We thought St. Jude, patron saint of hopeless causes, did well for us finding great insurance. Now we can
get this trip on to the next leg!

Yesterday was a little less celebratory.  We slogged our way by bicycle straight into 25 kt (30 mph) winds the 5+ miles to Mass.  It was quite another story heading back home.  That same wind had us doing 15 mph on the bikes with not much effort.  A real hoot, until.... David made a sudden and complete stop with no warning and I slammed into him.  We had had a scare with an inattentive driver a few minutes earlier and when he saw another car approaching the intersection we were headed for he stopped not realizing I was right behind him.  Fortunately no damage to the bikes and only scrapes and bruises for me.  The driver was a bit startled as my bike and I filled the intersection but he kindly stuck around until we had me standing again and waved him on.  We did make it back and lots of painkillers (tablets, not the drink) later I'm doing OK.  In a few more days, I should be feeling no effects.

I may be getting another year older but still have the knees of a 5 year old!

We now can start planning to actually move on to the next leg of our journey.  The winds have been "beastly" for the past 3-4 days and limiting our trips ashore.  Even in these sheltered waters, the waves have been enough to make for wet dingy rides and obviously bike rides can be treacherous.  We've had a few sessions of getting to the Bahamas on the boat for other folks looking to make the trip.  It's been a while since we've been there but we have been so can at least share what we know.  Right now, it looks like we'll motor up to Rodriguez Key on Friday or Saturday then cross the Bimini from there.  That is still a long way out for weather but we hope it holds out.  Marathon is OK but we've been here 3 weeks longer than we thought we would be here.  It's time to move on.