Hello friends!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe in these very trying times. Today is my birthday (April 15) and I feel so blessed that thus far, our family has not been seriously impacted by the COVID -19 virus. I say "seriously impacted" a little tongue in cheek as we have many family members, in both the UK and USA that work in the healthcare field, and are dealing daily with patients and the very worrying risk of bringing something home. My hat goes off to all healthcare workers that are continuing on a daily basis to take care of sick patients and help us through this time.
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| SV Shenanigans anchored in Tarkiln Bay |
Janet and I are at our home on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. I cannot think of a better place to self isolate - our county is reporting very low number of infections.....but who knows how many they are testing! Outdoor activities (which includes recreational boating) is still considered an "essential activity" in both Alabama and Florida. For the
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| Exploring Tarkiln Bayou by Dinghy |
most part, I have seen most boaters (especially sailboats) being very compliant and sensible with maintaining social distancing. But lets face it, if you anchor, you are typically more than 100 ft from your neighbor, and most people don't travel with over 10 people on the boat - heck 3 can be a crowd!.....So we have been exploring some little known/little frequented local anchorages. Yes, we have seen power boaters on the beaches in larger groups......and I am not profiling "powerboaters", it just is what it is; and in Florida, FWC has been breaking up such groups.
So, we have been spending a few days on the boat, then returning home to replenish supplies, then we head out again. The weather for the most part has been exceptionally good, with daytime temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s and 60s at night.
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| Salty takes a "Sand Bath" |
We were happy to be joined for a few days by our friend and long-time crew-member Patrick. He is a dentist and obviously his practice is currently closed - so he joinud us for some much needed outdoor recreation.
Solar Project
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| Framing and two 315 Watt Rigid Panels |
Larry and Patrick also helped me finish off my solar addition project on Midnight Sun III. I have added another 630 watts of solar giving a total of around 1kW. And this seems to be working great. A big thanks to Ron Bray for helping with the fabrications needed for the framing, and also to Gary Peaden for getting some of the fittings for me! It took a lot more effort than I anticipated, but its done - and thank you to everyone that helped
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| solar controllers and wiring - almost complete! |
So, in these uncertain times we don't know what the future will bring. I do know that our plans for a Bahamas trip and a cruise up the NE coast of the USA are on hold. To steal a phrase from our President,
"We'll see what happens!", but i think our cruising will be limited to local trips for the remainder of 2020. Stay safe my friends! and keep in touch...
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| SV Tracy rafts to Midnight Sun III in our slip to ride out a Cold Front (boats not occupied!) |
