Last Week of January:
Once Bob and Leslie had departed, we brought Smart Move back to Puerto Rico after a stop at Nanny Key Marina on Tortola. Quino (the rigger), still had some fine tuning to do on the standing rigging.




We also took our new asymmetrical spinnaker out for a ride (sea trial).

The sail is a bit intimidating because it is really, really freaking big! Quino was literally using his entire body weight to lift it and was swinging on the line. Getting it down was fairly easy as it has a sock like thing that comes down from the top to capture/furl it.

Last Weekend in January:
Mary and Reza joined us for a weekend sail to the island of Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands.





Reza was attempting to demonstrate how to tie a self-rescue bowline knot - it looked more like Smart Move discipline via bondage!


On the downwind sail back to Fajardo we got a beautiful wing-on-wing set to the sails.

Arriving back at the dock in Fajardo, everything was going great until Smart Move didn't go into reverse going into her slip at Sunbay Marina.







Ouch! How embarrassing! At least no one was on the dock to witness the debacle.


Smart Move is off to the boat yard again. I think the rainbow is a good omen!


Everything is looking as good as new. Smart Move splashed back into the water in mid-February.

February 16-18:
We have new grandbabies on the way!

I flew home for Kristen's baby shower and got to spend time with all of my girls!

End of February:

Our new cockpit cushions have finally arrived! What a difference a cushion can make - ohh ... my tailbone is a very happy camper. Life aboard has gotten lots better!

First Week of March:

Lilly has adjusted well and is rarely seasick anymore.


Chloe is determined to squish herself into the smallest space possible.

Second Week of March:
Finally Leilani is here! And she brought Chris and Louise too, what a bonus! We stayed in the Marbella condos in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico. What a beautiful place, we had a fourth floor condo right on the beach.







Chris is the best coconut picker we know!




Pool time was great too. We were very close to buying a condo there, but we really want to sail first. We believe we could eventually settle in Puerto Rico - what a beautiful island and wonderful people.

Last Two Weeks of March:
We are finally on our way! We won't talk about how I broke two ribs and delayed our departure three days.

This is just one of the many beautiful anchorages we stayed in while we visited the USVI and the Spanish Virgin Islands.

Along the way we discovered we had a hitchhiker.

Can you spot the little crab amongst the barnacles? The picture is taken from Smart Move's stern at the waterline, which is under water. Damn that is going to be a maintenance issue!

Of course we still had boat projects to finish up.

We had to empty out the starboard lazarette to complete the installation of the VHF mike.


Lilly is not really invested in getting the boat projects done, but she wants to be a part of all of the activity.


Chloe is invested in getting the boat projects done, supervising Dad during the installation of the new solar panel controller (after the first one died) makes sure it gets done.

We were able to complete nearly all of the boat projects we had planned. We got 100% of the boat projects we didn't plan completed! Of the four projects that we have left, the AIS (automated identification system), the sonar, and the chartplotter only need the head end units installed (everything else is in place already). The final project, the installation of the SSB radio (single side band) is a biggie - probably ranking right up there with the watermaker! I'll let you know how it goes. We have also decided we should install some kind of lightening protection system - we are not sure what that is yet, but I guess we will figure it out.




Sunset - on land or over the water, priceless!


Sailing back to Puerto Rico in the rain and wind - brrr, ugh, brrr! Smart Move was hauled out of the water at Puerto del Rey on April 2nd and we flew home April 3rd.