Ready or not, we're crossing in the morning

This has been a long time coming. We're crossing the Gulf Stream Tue morning, bound for the Abacos Bahamas for about 3 months. This has been a big part of our plans for a very long time. We skipped going last winter as we ran out of time.

I think we're ready!
Topped up diesel in the main tank and all 4 extra jugs.
Filled 2 gasoline jugs plus the dinghy tank.
Filled both water tanks, plus every water container and jug we have. That includes 4 brand new 5 gallon jugs and we discovered 2 have leaks!
Made yet another trip to the grocery store. We keep going back and buying more and finding we have more space left. Here are some of the provisions:
8 NY strip steaks
18 chicken breasts
3 pork tenderloins
14 hamburgers
6 veggie burger packs
8 bags cheese
24 cans diced tomatoes
12 cans tomato sauce
12 cans olives
12 cans chicken
10 boxes tofu
6 cans black beans
20 cans various vegatables
12 bags coffee
5 jars pepper rings
12 bottles soda syrup
120 soda co2 cartridges
34 rice mix boxes
6 large rolled oats packages
16 bags pretzels
4 chex mix
5 bags corn chips
9 boxes crackers
2 goldfish
5 cases beer
2 cases water
10 bottles wine
3 boxes wine
12 rolls paper towels
12 rolls toulet paper
8 boxes kleenex

And a lot more odds and ends!

I did some upgrades to the insulation and weather seal on the freezer and it seems to have helped. Our wind and solar seem to be doing better at keeping up. Plus the engine drive freezer compressor kicks some serious BTUs. It's a good thing too. Our Honda generator quit putting out 110 volts yesterday. It runs just fine, but no juice! We're pressing on anyway. We have multiple systems and so this is a relatively minor setback. I hope to diagnose the problem once we get to the Abacos. I may have to have a part brought in from USA. Shipping alone will run around $100. Parts in the Bahamas will likely run double the price. We'll see how it goes...

The weather reports are for south winds. That should be good for us. Anything north sets up nasty, rough seas against the north flowing gulf stream.

We'll need 3 days to cross the gulf and go along the empty north side of Grand Bahamas island to Green Turtle Cay where we'll check in with customs & immigration. Then 3 months of clear blue water, sandy beaches, lobster spearing, fishing, sailing and who knows what else!!

We will post to this blog when we have wifi available.