We took advantage of a quiet day, and everything already being apart to run speaker wire for two new speakers. We have had them since we got this boat but never put up them up. Next, we removed the stereo system and locker shelves so that the fuel tank inspection ports could be reached. On January 2, we finished running the speaker wire and ran the wire for a cooling fan for our soda system. We were thrilled to see that we can now leave our soda system on all the time! No more flat sodas! On January 3, we headed to Rybovich Spencer to get hauled. Actually, we did that twice! The first time, we were all set to head in when the Jen, the dockmaster, requested that we stand off while they performed some last minute adjustments to the synchrolift cradle. We were staying relatively stationary when Mike pointed out a barge headed in our direction. So, we headed back to the turning basin. We headed back up to Rybovich and into the synchrolift. Six hours later, they finally had us hauled. We found out that new arms had just been installed and they were sticking. This made for a long day! Periodically, we would climb back onboard in order to get simple things like our wallets! Finally the boat was settled in around 5:00 PM.

January 3-24, 2001 -- The Boat is Hauled On January 3, the boat was hauled. On January 24, the boat was relaunched. Over the past three weeks, while the yard has been working on the boat, we have also been working on the boat. We have been working to outfit and provision the boat with everything that we expect we will need between here and Trinidad. We have been ordering spares and stocking up on provisions that we know that we will eat on the trip down. There are certain things that we know that we can't get out island such as bisquick. It has been long and hard work, but we think that we are ready. We have also taken a fatalistic approach to supplying. If we don't have everything, then we will do without until we can find it again. It has been a tiring three weeks, but now we are nearing the end of our yard period and work!

The last three days at the dock were interesting. We were able to complete the work we needed to do, and Rybovich was able to complete the work they needed to do. However, there were a few remaining things that we decided to hold off on since Rybovich was running behind. On January 26, we had Dave and Maria Russell (We know them from Capital Yacht Club and Maria run's Woman Aboard ) and Scott and Shirley Williams from Sur La Mer over for cocktails. We had a great evening! On January 27, the paint guys pulled the tape off the side of the boat, and we headed out to anchor. Once there, we had a small list of things to accomplish and then spent the rest of the day relaxing. Sandra has proven to be a welcome addition and has helped in many ways.

We left this morning, bright and early at 1150 GMT bound for Little San Salvadore. The winds were relatively light, less than 10 knots, with a North East swell. It started out fun! At 1320 GMT, we talked with the M/V Sante Fe to verify their intentions. They are headed on a course of 181. We took appropriate action to make sure we wouldn't hit them. As running into a containter ship is not a good idea. At 1327 GMT, we were hailed by the USNS Saturn. They were headed on a course of 000. They wanted to verify our intentions. We informed them that by our perceptions, we were actually passed them. They double checked and agreed with us. At 1417, we hooked a fish! Unfortunately, it got away. Along the way, we discovered a few problems with our systems that needed to be taken care of, so when the wind made an unexpected shift, we decided to head for Old Bahama Bay in West End. We arrived there shortly before 2200 GMT. In short order, we had cleared customs and were enjoying a nice dinner aboard the boat.

Today we focused on fixing the problems we discovered underway yesterday. I focused on installing the shunts for monitoring the alternators and the new battery bank joiner, while Michael focused on the problems with our starboard winch, our port tack and why our port alternator wasn't charging. While I steadily plugged away with wires and connections, Mike practically tore through his list. As it turns out, the starboard winch fuse had worked loose, so it only required tightening. Next he crawled into the engine room and inspected our alternator. A wire had been knocked loose while the fuel tanks were being cleaned and he reconnected it. After I finished hooking up the alternator monitors, we test fired the engines. Both alternators were charging and both tacks were working! We celebrated by relaxing the rest of the day.

Today, we decided to accomplish two things. We would do all of the outstanding laundry, and we would bike into town. Since the washers were in use, we headed to the marina office and got three bikes. On the way into town, we stopped twice, once because Sandra had a mechanical problem (the chain came off), and once to admire the view. There is nothing prettier than looking out over the Little Bahama Banks! The water is just amazing. We continued peddling, and our next stop, coincidentally, was across the street from an Ice Cream shop (Michael picked this rest spot). Unfortunately, the Ice Cream shop was closed so we continued peddling on further. We finally turned around and stopped at the bakery to get something to drink. Everyone was very friendly, and greeted us with a smile and a wave or a "good morning." After we got back, the washers were no longer in use, but the person who had 'reserved' them still had not put their laundry in. Finally, at 2:00 PM EST, we hauled our laundry over there. The person had put there laundry in, but had not started the washers. She appeared a few minutes later. Jokingly, I told her that she must have beat us by a minute or two. She made a rather curt reply. Sandra went into command mode and let her know that since the washers would be done in thirty minutes, we would most certainly be back at that time to do our laundry. Forty five minutes later, we returned and started our laundry. We spent the rest of the day recovering from our morning bike ride and reading.