We're glad we didn't leave the fleece in Wisconsin!

Let's see, the last detailed blog post had us working on the transmission after the St Pete boat show. The new pump arrived and was installed with the new hoses, thankfully without excitement. Running the transmission with the new pump turned the red transmission fluid a murky black. I guess that's the transmission flush the quickie lube guys always talk about! I drained the contaminated fluid, then sucked out the last bit below the drain plug with a suction hose. After filling the transmission back up with clean fluid, I tested it, made an adjustment to the shift cable, and after further testing, crossed the project off the list.

Linda spent this time working on the projects for Frank & Debby on Denali, which turned out very nicely. It was a connector piece between the dodger and the bimini to offer weather and shade protection. The space was very narrow, and proved to be her most challenging sewing project to date.

Since the next appropriate weather window looked like it would be on Christmas Eve, we decided to pass and instead spend the holiday with my sister Lindy in Wellington. Upon our return, we found several small windows for sailing south, but each was quickly followed by nasty weather that we would rather encounter here in the marina than at anchor somewhere. The latest is the pair of arctic blasts we're in right now. As I type, sleet is falling on the boat. We're glad that the reverse cycle in the air conditioning works well, keeping the boat toasty.

The car is sold! None of the numerous Craig's List inquiries panned out, so it went to a used car dealer. I'm sure they will bondo and repaint the few rust spots, put in new spark plugs and list it for three times what I sold it for, but I got it sold in the rather short timeframe I wanted. On their test drive around the block, the dealer blew out a brake hose so that clinched the deal - kind of hard to drive it away after that. Our friend Michel picked us up, drove us on some final errands, then he and Thanda fed us a great home cooked meal and brought us back to the boat. We've been walking since then.

Chris is published in Southwinds Magazine in the January issue. It seems the editor was very interested in how we worked on our teak cockpit. You can read his article on page 53 (check out the editor's comments on page 6, too) at: Southwinds Magazine

We've got to get going soon, as it appears the marina has a new long-term resident that they would like to rent our slip to - as much as we would like to get moving. The next weather window is coming up in four days, it should be about twenty degrees warmer then and we'll be on our way south.

We're looking forward to a year filled with new discoveries and experiences. Happy New Year to all our friends and blog followers!