Now that the boat is safely tucked away in Florida and Wayne's safely tucked away in Ontario, and we're getting used to living together again, it's time to reflect on the past year and what each of us learned.

Here are some ideas that we hope you might find useful.

Wayne's comments:

• Think of yourself more as a "cruiser" and less as a "sailor" and you'll enjoy the trip more
• Realize that getting to Florida is a "motor" trip interspersed with short opportunities to sail
• The canals & ICW are beautiful, scenic and the farthest thing from "a boring ditch"
• Don't wait until the last minute to leave. If your schedules permits leave in late July or early August. Take your time, you'll be glad you did
• Build in lots of time to stop along the way and take in the sights. Layover days can be refreshing and entertaining
• If you have a smaller boat, don't let that discourage you from going. As long as your boat is seaworthy and well-maintained that's all you'll need. There's no need to wait until you can afford the bigger boat. You'll be surprised at the range of boats you'll see out there. In some ways a smaller boat can be an advantage.
• Time & money spent on making sure all your boat systems work prior to leaving will add a lot of enjoyment to your trip
• Invest in good ground tackle and learn to live at anchor. If you rely on marinas & docks you'll quickly blow your budget
• Don't take the guide books/cruising guide descriptions too seriously. If you read too much into them you'll never leave the dock.

Cindy's comments:

• Don't depend on your "man" to do all the sailing and navigating. Learn how to operate the boat, read charts, etc. before you go. You'll enjoy it more if you feel like you're part of the adventure.
• We have traditional "pink jobs" and "blue jobs" on the boat, but we equally contribute to cooking, shopping, sailing, navigating and many of the boat maintenance jobs.
• Don't try to take all the comforts of home with you - there simply isn't enough room on the boat.
• Explore at every opportunity. There are so many interesting places and people everywhere you go. You may only see these places once and you don't want to miss what they might have to offer.
• Have confidence in yourself and your mate. There are times when it will get tense and you need to be able to work together to get through it.
• Don't sweat the small stuff.
• If you really don't feel like cooking dinner, crackers and wine is good enough (or so that's my philosophy). (Editor's Note: And, sometimes she thinks just the wine is fine)
• There is no such thing as a perfect boat. Make your boat comfortable for you.
• Enjoy. This is an incredible opportunity to experience new sights, sounds, places and people.

And, a comment we both want to impress upon you is:

• Don't wait until everything is perfect to do it. Likely perfect will never happen so do it now. You'll need your health and strength to truly enjoy this trip so don't wait too long to do it. Look at us, our situation is far from ideal but we both had an incredible year.

Fair winds and we hope to see you out there.