departure tomorrow...

...we hope.  However, the weather could change those plans in a hurry.  If there is any wind out of the North, NE/NW, we will stay tucked in at Banana Bay.  Momma has no desire to get seasick, and slamming into waves in the Gulfstream in the dead of night does not sound like the adventure I signed up for!   If we were to leave at 3pm Sunday, we should arrive before noon on Monday.  We have reservations at Bimini Sands Resort and Marina for Monday evening.  We can clear Customs there.  If you want to check out where our first stop is in Bimini, click on this link: www.biminisands.com  It looks like a nice place to grab a shower, sit by the pool and get some R & R before the next 80 mile crossing to Chub Cay.  I hope to have a WiFi connection when we stop at marinas or go into town somewhere.  Do not worry if you don't hear from us for awhile...no news is good news....that means we're just having way too much fun!  We have filed our sailplan with Customs and Immigration, and the EPIRB is registered.  Y'all know how anal I can be, trust me, no stone has been left unturned in the safety department :)  You love me anyhow,  lol.

We were up and at 'em early this morning to get to
Big Pine Key flea market.  Donnie got himself a
pair of crocs :)  He has a knack for blowing out
his flipflops (without stepping on a pop top).

I enjoyed picking up the last provisions- fresh fruits
and veggies :)  I had a heckuva time finding green
tomatoes that were just starting to turn.  I wrapped them
in newspaper and stowed them away for later in the trip.

My fruit hammock is stuffed to the brim with apples, oranges, lemons,
tangerines, and a bunch of bananas that were green just this morning. I also
bought fresh spinach, broccoli, snow peas, a sack of onions, potatoes,
carrots, celery, green and red peppers.  I'm ready to start cooking!

I swear, Willis is a dog in cat's clothing.  He comes
running out of the 'garden' (or mangroves) to greet
us when he hears the car pull in the lot.  Cracks me up!

We filled the Jeep, the dinghy gas cans, and topped off the deisel jerry can on our way back to Marathon.  We savored our last McDouble, fries and sweet tea for awhile, too.  There were just a couple of things left to get at the grocery; chicken gizzards (for bait, not to eat!) and Cuban bread, and then we each set about our own chores when we got back to the boat.

Donnie pulled the dinghy and gave it a thorough scrubbin'. It needed it.

I unloaded and packed two more cases of water onto the boat.  That makes 9 cases of bottled water, 6 gallon jugs of water (to wash my hair with, lol), 100 gallons in the three tanks on board, and another 20 gallons in 4 five gallon jerry jugs on the deck.  I will wash dishes in salt water, and rinse them in fresh water to conserve.  Water is a premium over in the Bahamas, it some places, as much as $1.00/gallon.  I'm not taking any chances :)  I've got five flavors of Mio syrups, too, when plain water simply won't do :)  My students would be shocked to know that there is not one diet Mt. Dew anywhere on board, lol.

I also rearranged and repacked the car, delivering the extra cat food and litter to Kenny and Fran.  They are coming to Banana Bay at about 11am tomorrow.  Hopefully, our work will all essentially be done, and we can relax a bit by the pool.  They will be taking Willis T back to their condo for the first two weeks of the trip, then they will leave him with Dan & Biddi the last two weeks of the trip.

Willis' world is about to flip upside down.  You can see he's getting ready :)

I gave the boat a final scrubbing inside, cleaned the head, all the counters, swept the floors and such.  I sorted through Willis' toys and treats, and his favorite- the brush- (that dern cat goes crazy over getting brushed :) and scrubbed his cat carrier.  I then 'built' a box of sorts, on the port side of the salon behind the settee so I can take my herb garden with me.  I love to cook, and I especially love to cook heart healthy, so I had to figure a way to bring them with me.  (I realize the contradiction to the McDouble and fries we had earlier in the day...it was a weak moment for both of us, what can I say.) I will load my garden onto the boat in the morning. I am giving Biddi my tomato plant and flowers to enjoy while we're gone.

Donnie met with Larry, the dockmaster, and signed our contract for next year.  It's exciting to know we get to come back to the place we love so much for another sailing season.  It just motivates us to go home and work like h**l, so we have the privilege to do it all again come late December 2012.  That is only nine months away :)  After that, he did a repair to our roller furling on the jibsail.  It's been giving us fits in furling it.  The line seems to jam up about halfway, unless you go forward to release the halyard just a bit.  If we need to reduce sail in a hurry, I don't want either of us out on deck jacking around with the dang thing.  I fed it into the furler while Cap'n pulled the halyard up.  Once the jib was raised, the wind picked up (naturally), making an awful ruckus until it all was safely rolled in.  The good news is it rolled in without a hitch, so it seems to be better.  Danny then helped Donnie and I to load the dinghy onto the bow deck.  The dinghy will ride up front only until we cross the Gulfstream.  Once we get to Bimini Sands Marina, we'll take it down, and tow it behind Marquesa.  We've never had it flip on us while towing it, but we didn't want to take any chances crossing the Gulfstream (safety first!). 

Donnie then dove under Marquesa and scraped along the waterline one last time.  I wonder why we're riding so low in the water?  The next time we bottom paint Marquesa, we have to raise the waterline by at least an inch, if not a little more.  We are loaded for bear, no doubt.  I only hope Plan Sea (Matt & Karie's boat) is equally loaded down.  We don't want them to sail off and leave us :/  While Cap'n was in the water, he swam around Danny's boat one last time for a look see and to clean his intakes.

Once I was done cleaning and 'nesting' down below, I went to town
to get the "Number Two Toe".  I got lime green gel(ly) toes, lol- for Elle.

We went to Biddi and the Beast to watch the NCAA Final Four game.
Dan and Biddi are from Louisville, but are rabid UK Wildcat fans.

It was a nail biter when Louisville tied it up with about three minutes
to go...it drove Danny to drink!

We met some new friends, Jeff and Misty, who stay on their 37' sailboat
 in Boot Key Harbor.  They are also from Louisville, and were rooting for
Louisville to win.  The Wildcats pulled out the victory. 

Jeff did turn us on to a weather router website, that will chart your course for you and steer you clear of bad weather.  I looked them up tonight, and plan to call in the morning to see what their fee is.  Right now, it's looking as if the wind could be turning out of the north by midnight tomorrow night- and that puts us directly into the Gulfstream.  If that's the case, we'll table our departure until the weather improves.  We'll know more in the morning, for now, it's time to call it a night.  G'nite, y'all!