Bill made a new friend....

A few weeks ago Mary Alice was cat sitting Winston, who is the most beautiful, mild tempered little kitty. He was smitten with Bill....

Wow

Check out this video of hurricane Bill as seen from the International Space Station. Truly amazing!!!

And I like this article from The State (from South Carolina) titled "Don't Mess With Bill."

yum!

Whoever said that you can't cook on a boat has never tasted our homemade lasagna! Here is the latest culinary creation from sv Mary Elizabeth which we enjoyed earlier this week.

The irony....

So apparently there are two storms that are forming and one -- ironically enough -- is named BILL. Since this is our first time in the "hurricane zone" we are, of course, paying particular attention to any tropical storms etc.

"Strengthening is indicated and Bill is expected to become a hurricane in three to four days," it said, adding forecasts showed this would take place when the storm was very near the Northern Leeward Islands. The five-day forecast track showed it could threaten Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

Check out the full news article from Reuters.

Sarasota Slam

This weekend there was a fishing tournament here at Marina Jacks called the Sarasota Slam. About thirty big fishing boats stayed on our otherwise very quiet dock. Saturday Bill and I watched the weigh ins. The biggest fish caught was a 172 pound swordfish (above). Other fish caught were tuna, trout, grouper, and dolphin. Many of the boats donated the fish to a charity (either to a soup kitchen or to restaurants that donated the money earned from selling the fish as part of their "specials" that night).

More Boat updates.....

Since being struck by lightning just about two months ago, the repairs on the boat are coming along nicely. The guys have done such a great job of working quickly and coordinating all of the repairs. The DONE list is a lot longer than the IN PROGRESS list. We are hopeful that we will be able to make a trip to St. Pete in the boat soon.

DONE - The windex and lightning deflector have been added to the top of the mast

DONE - The freezer is now fixed (so both fridge and freezer are operational)

DONE - The DVD player and stereo have been replaced

DONE - Masthead foredeck lights are working

DONE - The bow thruster has been fixed

DONE - The air conditioning in the aft cabin is working (yeah!)

DONE - Water maker is all fixed

DONE - LED lights on the bilge pump and windlass are working

DONE - LED lights on the main control panel

DONE - VHF

DONE - Radar

DONE - AIS system

DONE - Tacometer / engine instruments

Really the only things we are waiting on are the single side band radio (which we won't need until we go to the Bahamas anyway) and the final connections for the instruments (GPS, depth finder, wind gauge, etc.) They now think that both units were affected so they are going to send the unit that is topside out to be repaired next week. Hard to imagine all that has been fixed in only 2 months!

Trip to Boston

I just got back from eight days visiting family and friends in Boston. It was a lot of fun, great to see everyone, and a nice reprieve from the hot weather. Some "highlights" of the trip include; going to the Yankee Homecoming Road Race in Newburyport where I got to see my family (including my Godson Colin [below]), going to Hampton Beach with my parents and Andrea, staying at Amy's new apartment, seeing Andrea's new place, having lobsters at my parents house, going to Walloston Beach with Mel and Andrea, having dinner at my grandparents in New Hampshire. It was a nice time. I got back on Tuesday and Bill, Mary Alice and I went to both of the Red Sox vs. Rays games Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Unfortunately the Sox lost both games... but we still had fun. It is nice to be back on Mary Elizabeth!

Yankee Homecoming Road Race

Here are some pictures of the 2009 Yankee Homecoming Road Race in Newburyport.