And so begins another series of 'Barracuda's Blog'. To our regular readers - welcome back. If this is the first time you have followed Barracuda's adventures then we hope you enjoy travelling vicariously with us.

Our plan for the year ahead is to head west through Panama and then on into the Pacific, to enjoy many new delights along the way. We will avoid declaring a destination at this point but just take it that there are many months of sailing ahead of us, and many thousands of miles to cross if things go to plan.

But first we need to get back on the water. This is our first time re-commissioning the boat in the tropics - not something we would want to do too often - but we are getting there slowly. Top jobs: anti fouling, sails on, medical kit updated, new anchor, replacing a few worn-out bits, a life raft service, stowing an immense supply of spares and a long list of other major and minor items, all in 30 humid dusty degrees. But we know from experience that you just work slowly through the list and empty your wallet a bit, and eventually the boat is on the water and ready to sail away. Fingers crossed.

Today's picture shows our boat yard at Spice Island Marine, Grenada, filled to capacity during the non-sailing (hurricane) season.

More to follow. It's good to be back!

G&Kx