As we approach 'beer thirty' today, (sometimes referred to it as 'cocktail hour'), we will also be crossing the 500 nautical miles left till we get to Virgin Gorda. We are currently motor-sailing as the wind has died. Our anticipated arrival will be sometime late this Sunday. That will give us a few days to clean and ready Moonbeam for the Admiral's approval and the arriving throngs for Thanksgiving.

When we were in the Canaries, and doing our final provisioning, Bob purchased a basil plant (unfortunately, he forgot the mozzarella and tomatoes). This is something that Lil and I have talked about doing on our various trips, but have never gotten around to actually doing. We have seen many a cruiser with a flourishing garden aboard. With Lee's careful nurturing and watering, the plant has survived and provided much wonderful flavoring to the many fine dishes provided by our two excellent chefs, Bob and Jens.

The two best parts of this leg of the journey have been the great crew, and the extraordinary amount of real sailing we have done. Special thanks to the crew, Bob, Jens, Lee and Rob. Lil and I spent six months in the Med this summer, and if I said we had two or three days of real sailing, I would be accused of over exaggerating. So far on this leg, we have had almost 3,000 miles of real sailing. It has been great.

On the down side, I have to report that the fish are still winning. Lots of lost lures, and no more fish caught. OH WELL!