The holidays are nearly over and we have time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new one. As of today, it is exactly six months since we left the slip at South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee. In many ways the time has flown by. Lake Michigan, Beaver Island, the North Channel seem so far away. But we've brought them closer through holiday message exchanges from the friends we've made through our sailing adventures.

Looking back, there are some highlights we'll remember for a long long time:
*Transiting Collins Inlet under sail with Uproar (Russ and Lisa) thanks to the great west winds we enjoyed in the North Channel

*Meeting up with not one, but two, sets of long time sailing friends at Britt (White Star and Mutual Attraction)

*Building the mast cradle at Wye Heritage, Midland, on the hottest day of the summer (thanks, Jim, for all your help)

*All 45 locks of the Trent Severn Canal system, plus a few more on the Oswego and Erie. We are now locking experts!

*Sailing past the Statue of Liberty on Whisper before taking our mooring off Upper West Manhattan

*The teardown party after the Annapolis Boat Show (not to include misplacing Whisper in the maze of moored boats at midnight)

*Oysterfest extraordinaire at La Trappe Creek (five dozen oysters and one pearl) with oysters we picked and shucked ourselves

*Meandering the Dismal Swamp and the many faces of the ICW through Virginia, the Carolinas and even Georgia

*Thanksgiving weekend in Savannah with Debbie and Paul and our introduction to fantastic southern food specialties

*Christmas Eve and New Years Eve dinners with Brian and Maria in Ft Lauderdale with Whisper safely docked at their condo marina

We are currently working on the project list prior to taking off for the Bahamas. Our new bimini with solar panels should be installed by the end of the week. We'll start monitoring Chris Parker's weather report to look for a favorable day to cross to begin our Island lifestyle. We plan to stay in the Bahamas for several months, then look for a spot in Georgia to put the boat so we can return to Milwaukee for the summer.