I came across this photo of Ed's trusty Evinrude outboard that he had carried with him his whole life until it bit the dust in our first year cruising. We strapped it on the rails and carried it for a year before parting ways with it. The bicycle is one we bought at Walmart in Charleston while preparing to leave in 2011. It was a Godsend but after a year of lugging it around, we gave it away. The funny story is we left it at the Newport, RI docks with a "Free" sign on it. That afternoon we met some cruiser friends we met our first year out and just as we greeted them on the docks, a couple they hadn't seen in a long time came running up to them with enthusiastic gesturing and after saying hello, they said, "Look at our new bike!" And there she was, our giveaway orphan with its brand new owners. I am posting this photo because these past few days in Yarmouth we've been diligent about parting ways with items we haven't used or no longer need. As we get Skylark ready for another cruising season, it feels good to lighten her load in any way possible. It goes without saying that as soon as we set sail we'll start looking for everything we got rid of. "What ever happened to....?" will be our common language for months to come. I tried to sneak a pair of leg weights onto the boat the other day but they got discovered by the grumpy Captain yesterday. They got tossed off the boat and I suppose that's ok.

Ed and I are just about ready to rock n' roll. His project wiring the new radar and AIS system (we'll now be able to transmit an identification signal and not just receive, which means boats will be able to see us and know our direction, boat length, speed over ground and destination) went well and is complete. The new headsail is rigged as is the mainsail, the exhaust system is working well and the PSI is way down from our first test of Big Red. The levels are now acceptable and that's good news. The cockpit is organized, as are the decks both fore and aft. The V-berth has been organized, the boat is mostly cleaned (in terms of deep cleaning), the rugs are down, pillows in place, cupboards and bilges fully provisioned, curtains back up, errands run, supplies in stock, and beds put back together. We drove back to Bethel yesterday where we'll leave our trusty car in Mom's garage. Monday morning we'll hitch a ride with her back to the coast and when the tide comes in later in the day we hope to be seen sailing down the Royal River. Unless of course, we don't. In which case, there is Plan B, which if you'll recall, is constantly hanging around like a pesty friend waiting to be useful. Hopefully Plan A will be in effect but we'll let you know.

I'll do another post about Yankee Marina and include a current photo before we head out.