Goodbye Georgia, Hello Newfoundland (we mean Florida!!)

Well , thanks to Gary at Shoreline Marine, Yamaha Parts Department and UPS, "Charlotte-Ann" is once again was a twin-engined catamaran!! With both engines up and running we were able to enjoy our final night at Jekyll Harbour Marina.Despite the cool temps ,everyone gathered up by the pool for a potluck dinner. This was a great way for Lisa and the kids to say goodbye to all the friends they have made over the past 5 weeks. Frank and Lynne, Randy and Diana, Angie, the Shlumps and the crew of Gromit, as well as a few other transcient boaters, all braved the cool temps for food, drinks and a fire.

Frank made some of the best fresh cut fries any of us have ever eaten!! Not bad for a stink-potter, just hurry up and buy that Lagoon!!!

I am happy to report that, despite some strange looks from the locals, I have managed to stick to my plan of not wearing long pants until I have to fly back to Newfoundland in February.

Saturday morning saw us leave Jekyll Island under cold, grey skies. The best part was the warm send-off we got from all the other boaters. Here we have Delaney and Mitchell surrounded by a bunch of other "Boat Kids" (and Charlie) . All these kids are currently living aboard, representing Toronto (Gromit), Colorado (Amazing Grace 2), and California (Las Sirenas).

It's really great seeing how quickly the kids bond , the excitement they show when they hear other kids are arriving. Must have something to do with their parents dragging them away from "normal life", sticking them on a boat and constantly moving them around. Geez, that doesn't sound very good, but really, they all seem to love the "Crusing Life". And if they don't, well, that's why deep bilges were designed ;-).

So about 7 hours after leaving Georgia we arrived in sunny Florida!!!!!

Actually, we arrived to rain, 11 degrees Celcius and the aroma of a pulp mill!! Not exactly postcard Florida. Add to that the fact you can drive to Florida from Port Colborne in about 24 hours. We were just arriving after leaving home at the end of June!!!!

We tucked into a small creek, set the anchor, had a nice dinner and watched "A Christmas Story" (You''ll shoot your eye out!!!).

Today we woke to thick fog, but the wind had shifted to the southwest to temps had risen about 15C. It slowly burned off, and by 09oohrs we were underway.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times you pass an inlet, it is possible to travel 8 hours continuously going against the current!! We are shooting for 50- mile days, but only managed 40. The trade-off was a warm and sunny day, capped off with a picturesque anchorage.

So things are going great. We are all having a terrific time, meeting great people and treasuring our time together as a family.

We don't want to jinx ourselves, but with a little luck we will be in position by next weekend to cross to the Bahamas.

Take care,

The Crew of "Why does the port bilge keep filling with freshwater!?!?!?"

M, L, D and M