We had the boat hauled, bottom painted, new zincs installed and hull compounded and waxed in April.

Tim Sales is joining Sally-Christine, Kent-Harris and me for the passage over to New England via Bermuda. Just in time for some of the Louis Vuitton races to select a challenger to the Golden Gate Yacht club Oracle holder of the America's Cup.

Tim and Karon (Tim's support team, sailing mate and wife) arrived at the boat May 1 and have completed a lot of maintenance items: replacing brushes on our Seafari Escape HRO Water Maker which has served us very well for many years, had the sun damaged sail cover repaired, replaced the hydraulic pump for our primary autopilot, replaced the worn out water circulation pump for the hot water system, installed a battery combiner for the engine battery, replaced the engine temperature sensor, cleaned the Whispergen sterling engine DC generator, adjusted the alternator belts, tightened up bolts on the autopilot drive arms, cleaned the propane locker, checked the dinghy and motor and cleaned the fresh water system.

Lots to do before this ocean passage! And the boat was in pretty good condition when we put her away last fall after our passage to Lanzarote. SC arrived May 10 and has been provisioning and cooking gourmet meals for our estimated two week passage to Bermuda. I arrived the 12th and did battle with software for the MacBook to interface our new Iridium Go sat phone/internet hot spot for email, text, blog posts, and phone access. Kent-Harris arrived the 14th after final exams at George Washington U and is helping Tim with various projects.

We plan on heading out May 17th for an estimated two week passage. We plan on visiting Bermuda for a week or so then sail to Newport and Marion.