Bill and Isobel reinstall the bolts (not cotter pins) in the rigging screws) after we retuned the rig with the help of our dutch friends from another boat.

We are in paradise, environmentally... and that is really wonderful... but it is not the best thing about being here. What we really enjoy is the community that occurs out here. Most communities have a physical location, but there is a cruising community that is based in the hearts of those out here.

As you might have in some small town, neighbors help each other. Here, If a boat is next door, even if they just arrive yesterday, they are your neighbor and in minutes, your friend. Yesterday my project was to tune the rigging. We have not been happy with the sailing performance of the boat since it was rigged by a "professional" a year ago. So, I loosened everything and was prepared to retune it. We have spent some time with a dutch couple off a beautiful aluminum boat. He loves all the engineering aspects of sailing and is a wiz with the math, calculations and formulas that relate to everything aboard (Isobel will have lots of algebra and calculous to learn!). So, together, we spend the afternoon calculating the proper loading for our different shrouds (the wires holding the mast up).

Most people want to skip this paragraph: (For those of you who like problem solving: If the boat was designed for 8 mm shrouds to have 15% prestress put on them, them how many pounds of tension do you put on the 10 mm shrouds. And how do you measure that?)

Another boat was having problems with their radio, so we made a reservation for them at a marina on our radio. Another boat needs water, so we are using our new water maker to make them 5 gallons, since we have surplus power, it is easy for us. From others we are learning new recipes, we have borrowed a movie... the point is that, now clear of the busy US ports we are amongst instant friends and help with any project is nearby.