Happy St. Patty's Day ya'll
(Pic of Dutchess' new solar panel location over the dingy davits)
One would think that I would learn not to update the blog in the blog as it does not save anything when you accidentally change the page. ::sigh::

Nevertheless, it has been sometime since I updated the blog as noted in the prior update. We were not sure when we were leaving and if we were. We landed up leaving Dutchess in the capable hands of Kevin Dumolin. We keep him busy and employed with working on the boat.

He tried to figure out why our solar panels were not charging up fully. Come to find out that the boom was shading two of the three panels frequently in the prevailing wind, so while we went back to Houston for my double knee surgery and to see Jettie's family for the holidays, Kevin moved (did I say I wanted them over the dingy in the first place?) the solar panels over the dingy davits at the back of the boat.

I was concerned that there was not enough room to walk around on the bimini (top cover on the boat) if it was rough. I figured we would put a foot through the $400 glass covered solar panel. See how little room there was?




So while we did Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and that crazy Mardi Gras in Galveston, Kevin worked on and kept an eye on our girl. If you need a good repair person in Red Hook, Kevin is your guy. Ask me and I'll have him contact you.

So, now the plans are to leave here mid April and sail to the Turks and Caicos Islands with Gloria and Neal and Joel. We'll drop off Gloria and Neal and then sail on to the Bahamas and then take a left into the Gulf of Mexico. We will get back to Texas by the end of May if we stop and smell the roses frequently or sooner if we tire of where we are and continue to sail.

I have been posting some comments on other people's sailblogs trying to get info about the trip from people that have already made it. I looked on the map and there was not ONE boat in Turks and Caicos, but tons in the Bahamas.

Well, I think this is enough for today. I'll be back with updates on the trip. Anyone who has made the St Thomas to Florida or even to Texas or close by, is welcome to contact us. Thanks for reading the blog!