Today is the day.

We are jumping off on our first passage on Leander. We've finished our boat projects, NOT. We've done what is necessary and have shelved those that need not be finished urgently to be completed along the way, in Bermuda and later.

But we do have our wind generator installed and working, our new batteries in place, our 22" LCD flat screen tv mounted, and most importantly we have all our pictures and paintings up on our walls.

Paul and Chris spent some time last night mounting our liferaft and EPIRB (electronic position indicating radio beacon) on the aft arch, putting our jacklines in place so that we can clip on our harnesses and not have to unclip while on deck. They also pulled up Dingleberry, our inflatable dinghy, on deck and lashed her in place. I ran last minute errands and visited walmart, kmart and all the other all-american conveniences for the last time. I also did lots of loads of laundry so that all our clothes and sheets and towels are clean and fresh as we embark on our journey.

Our satellite phone and single-side-band radio are both functional and we can get weatherfaxes on our computer through the radio. Paul printed the weather maps for the next couple of days on our route, which all look nice and calm. We've filed a float plan with our families, and faxed to Bermuda all our boat information that they require from incoming boats.

So all that's left to do now is to get the boat back in order as it is a pig pen. The trip should take us anywhere from 5 to 7 days. As you may have gathered from my above mention of Chris, he is coming with us to Bermuda, which is very comforting. Paul will stand watch on his own and I will keep watches with Chris but pretend like he were not around. That way I'll learn to be on my own at night without really being on my own.

I don't know how much we will be able to update this site while underway, so you might not hear from us for a while. I will however, be keeping track of our days during the passage and will post an entry upon our safe arrival in Bermuda.