to be continued....

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Gust O'Wind is back on the hard for the summer. That is hard for us to deal with - winterizing the boat has been a routine in September for the first 8 years - this is the first experience of summerizing her.

Since our last report we returned to Cayo Costa for 5 really good days to wind up our season. The fishing was successful - finally! - thanks to some good advice from a fellow cruiser from Lion's Head (just north of Wiarton)

After a rough (30 knots) crossing to the canal system leading to our hauling yard we spent 3 full days prepping for the summer..... foil covering the hatches and ports to deflect the heat .. screening stuffed into all the through hulls and vents to keep out the mud wasps.. fresh water & treatment flushed through the engine to get out the salt... major cleaning of the stainless to get the salt off... a power dehumidifier to combat the major problem - mould! etc,etc... we like the yard and the staff and the fact that the yard is well inland - away from the worst effects of storm surge - so we'll hopefully rest easily this summer when the "H" words roll in.

1876 miles covered so far... at 5 / 6 mph no wonder it took us 5 months.

Since Christmas we spent 60 nights at anchor and 28 in marinas - a better ratio than the first leg and a reflection of the much better weather

We'll be back in November to continue the adventure....

Cheers!

Ian & Marlene &
Gust O'Wind

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Photos

fresh fish
sea trout and black grouper

fish fingers
coated with Uncle Buck's mix - this was a memorable meal!

clean up
three full days taken to clean up and prepare for storage

new crew
Brian & Lydia McGhee helped us move GOW to the boatyard

haul out
after 5 months GOW comes out of the water

hitch hiker
there were a number of strange things growing on the bottom - bot this was the most bizarre!

summer home
on the hard at Port Charlotte for the summer