Madcap is sitting pretty on her mooring at Fernandina Beach City Marina. We spent Sunday evening at anchor in the little channel that winds up through the marshes behind the mooring field, but because we planned to be away from the boat for several nights, we took a ball just as soon as one became available on Monday morning, and stayed for a week. ($15 per day or $90 for a week) That is a lovely little anchorage with space for a number of boats and not all that much further away from the dinghy dock at the marina.

Sandi, Steve, Jim and I had lunch last week with Marilyn and Vic (Whisper). We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at 29 South with Mike and Jennifer Harrison, and Steve and Sandi. Mike is an electrical engineer and was the trouble shooter guy who spent many hours on Madcap in the spring, trying to figure out the problem with the electrical system. Last Friday, Jim and I went off to St. Simon's and Jekyll Islands for a day trip with Steve and Sandi - so pretty to explore around - and then were slow to get to the boat yard on Saturday because we stopped to run some errands on the way. When we got there, we found a note from Jeannie saying they'd been there twice! Nancy and Bruce (Seabird) and Jeannie and Jim (Estelle) were anchored in the marshes I mentioned earlier, and it was a treat to have a little visiting time with them. We met for dinner and caught up on all the news and travel plans (back at 29 South - so delicious - southern food with a classy twist: fried green tomatoes ... pulled pork in spring rolls and in a Cobb salad that is sublime... crispy fried catfish with an oyster etouffe ... grilled mahi mahi on a bed of lima bean and fresh corn succotash ... mmmm.) What a delight to see all these old friends. (Nancy sent this pic) Despite the way it looks, we really have been working more than playing!

The exterior teak is pretty much all done (except for the hand rails which need a lot of work and will have to wait for another time) and we finally cleared and cleaned the cabin sole and applied the long awaited coats of Ultimate Sole. We bought that product in 2007 at the Annapolis boat show, intending to get it on that year. Here we are 3 years later, and while the floor deteriorated some over that time - dings and scrapes and areas where the finish was pretty well worn off - it looks pretty darned good now. It has a nice glossy finish that somehow also manages to be non skid. The product isn't available any more so I'm glad we have another can tucked away for the future. I also put some little area rugs down to help protect the sole, and got big towels to cover the settee seats in the salon and perhaps keep the salt out of the upholstery. Oh - another recommendation - the folks at Topstitch replaced the zipper in one of the cushions. Same day service with a smile!

We've provisioned and provisioned - and once again are supremely thankful for the storage capacity of the Bayfield 36's. Each year I get so overwhelmed with the mounds of bags and boxes, and yet each year it all finds a place. Mind you, I could still use another 6 feet on this boat. Every nook and cranny is stuffed full and because we put things wherever they will fit, there is sometimes not a lot of order and reason to what is where. The Bayfield bathtub is full again and not with bubbles! Anyone planning to take a shower will have a fair bit of shifting to do before there is room for a body in there! The aft cabin/aka garage is crammed to the ceiling. We bought a new Viking valise life raft this year, and that sucker takes up a whole lot of room. It won't fit in either of the cockpit lockers, so it will live in the aft cabin most of the time and be hauled up to the cockpit for passages. It is one of those things that we hope never to use, and it bugs me to have it taking up so much space. Ahhh well - good insurance I hope.

Another boat show purchase was a new 9.5 ft AB dinghy with a fiberglass bottom, and we are delighted with it so far. It sits higher in the water so perhaps we won't get as wet; it is lighter than the old Brig which means hauling it up on the beach and up on the davits will be easier; aaand, one more plus, it will be better able to handle last year's purchase - the Yanmar 15 hp outboard motor. Oh the places we'll go!!