Time for a quick update. I am back in Nashua, NH, working. It seems weird to be back here when Tom and Osprey are so far away - I miss them both..... and the sun and the palm trees. What is it about palm trees? The sight of a lovely palm tree evokes such feelings of joy - to be in such a place, where they grow in the sun and where the sea is so clear and beautiful.

I have been able to speak to Tom most days.... Skype is such a wonderful thing and Tom has the GSM unlocked phone at his end (we really need another computer I think). Apparently, there has been some stormy weather, high winds and rain, since I left so I am not missing anything. He has been busy on Osprey doing some varnishing. Also, we have finally got an AIS unit (I had it delivered to me here in NH), so Tom has been putting in the wiring for that so we can just plug it in when I get back. Tom had also ordered a new fuel pump through the Marsh Harbor Boat Yard. That was supposed to come in last week, which would have been great so he could get it installed before I got back. Sadly, the pump did not come in when it should have so we are hoping it will arrive sometime this week. Tom thinks the pump on the engine has a leaky diaphragm and may fail soon. So, the new pump is a preventative measure. I have also ordered a unit to receive satellite weather. This will hook up to our chartplotter and is a means of getting weather information without internet access. As we hope to do some longer offshore legs up the East Coast the AIS and satellite weather receiver will add to our safety.

We still haven't really come up with a plan for the summer yet. We may go as far as the Chesapeake and cruise there for the summer. The downside of that is that it gets very hot and there is not much wind there in July and August. So, we may push on to RI and regroup in our old stomping grounds there. One thing that has happened is that I have accepted a six month Locum post in Maine for next winter! We were thinking of looking for some long term work to replenish the cruising kitty and this opportunity kind of fell into my lap. Of course this means that we will not get to the Bahamas next year which makes us sad but we do know it will all be there the year after. Our thinking right now is that this will set us up nicely for cruising Maine for the summer of '09 and hopefully getting up to Nova Scotia which will be a great new cruising ground for us. It is great to have such amazing choices - what a life!