Shambala Sails: Almost Cruising Again!!

Time seems to be flying by here in Marathon, FL. The kids are out of school and they can’t wait to start homeschooling again. A lot has happened since the last blog post so here it is in a nutshell.

We are getting closer to cruising again. Yea!!!!

The month of January flew by, and we have a lot to show for it.

The deck boxes are done and installed and they look like we bought them from the store. Paul is an amazing builder. He can dream up plans in his head, get out a tape measure and create the most wonderful and use full things.

Aren't they pretty!

The genoa (front sail) is repaired and back up with a new blue sacrificial cover. I think it adds a nice accent to the boat (don’t ya think?)

We have more storage space with the cupboards in place. We bought so much food this time that we have overflowed the capacity of all our lockers and new cupboards. The minivan rode so low on the way back from Miami I was afraid we would have to call a tow truck. Now our boat has all the provisions and is riding extremely low on the water line. (especially the side with all the canned goods)

Meanwhile as with all boats there is daily maintenance and repairs. Our refrigerator required new parts to keep running and we are so grateful to still be in a place where parts are easy to find and own a car to get us there and back.

Our dinghy motor has been giving Paul a few problems with water in oil. He has taken it apart and put it back together at least 5 times in the past month with new parts almost each time. He ran it hard yesterday and today, the repair work is holding up.

Paul painted the inside of the dinghy so it looks almost new again and made a place for a bow light to attach, very handy.

Among all of his other chores Paul still found time to do the dishes on a daily basis while I was still a working girl.

As of Friday the 13th I am no longer a working girl, I am now officially the homeschool Mama and will start school after I take a mini vacation myself. Whew!

I’m keeping in shape with the neighbors at a 7 AM Insanity Workout session Monday through Friday. It is just 30 minutes but I have to say, I feel the soreness all week long.

The dodger is next on the list. It was tough to see through our previous dodger. The plastic glass was so fogged over we couldn’t see a thing. This time we plan to clean it regularly to keep it looking as good as new. (maybe our two little swabbies can help)

Also next on the list is selling the minivan. The weather doesn’t look good to cross for a few more days so we will keep it as long as we can to haul goods back and forth until we leave.

We will be testing the water maker, testing the repaired sail, and getting back out into the open water very soon.

We continue to enjoy time with friends we have met here in the harbor including MadSam, Orenda, Thin Line, Venus, Huntress, and Salsa.

My plan is to post one more time before we cross over then it will be fun in the Bahamas after that. Yippee!!!