After motor sailing for 2 days now, we have wind in the forecast. We unfurled the genoa, shook all the reefs out and went to a full main in anticipation of a little help from Mother Nature. Our excitement yesterday was spotting the Norwegian Gem cruise ship, passing within 2 miles of our location. We contacted them to verify courses to ensure safe crossing, resisting the temptation to request a six pack and bag of ice.
For the folks back home, we are doing quite well. Have had some issues with gremlins in our electronics systems. During our troubleshooting, we took down the Caribbean 1500 tracking device to see if the location might be causing some interference. We have yet to get the Spot tracker up and running, so that put us in the stealth mode. Hopefully we didn't cause any angst back home as we may have missed a transmission period.
We're taking advantage of the relative calm to catch up on housekeeping details. We were able to refuel from the jerry cans on the rail, bringing our available fuel levels back up. We would like to stretch the fuel supply by shutting off the engine and relying strictly on the sails soon, to ensure we'll have an ample supply when it's time to maneuver in close quarters for docking at our destination.
We never let an opportunity for a celebration get by us. Tuesday was our Rock Star's birthday. Since it was rough, he had to settle for a card and serenade that day. Yesterday we did a birthday breakfast and today we have a freshly baked brownie cake complete with candles. We're introducing him to our family tradition of celebrating birthday month…what's not to like?!