Seasons Greetings loved ones,
I'm going to skip the apologies for not posting more. I am who I am. So, on with the update.
Second Star is currently out of the water in Progreso MX. We are doing a paint job on another boat (Ganymede) at the same time as doing Second Star's refit (repairing damage to the hull, servicing running gear, painting and new decking). There is a great deal of work to be done and I think we'll be here well into the New Year.
In this past year:
We renewed our temporary Mexican residents visas. These are good for three years. Then, if we want, we can get permanent residency.
We made three trips to FL on Second Star. (February, May/June and end of August through early October). And I went to VA for family "beach week".
Our visitors include Russ, Bob and Janet.
We also got to meet the great-grands, Mason 4 and Bellamy 2, on the latest trip to FL.
When Russ was visiting, in April, we made a road trip to Campeche. It was our first time there and we loved it enough that we're working on moving there for a while. It's a beautiful, historic town. The old walled city is a World Heritage site. There is lots of culture and a great sense of community. On that trip we also went to Uxmal which is one of the bigger Mayan restoration sites south of Merida. It's a very impressive site and pyramid climbing is always good exercise.
Our second trip to FL included my 50th birthday. Johne and our fabulous friends in Ft Myers put on a wonderful party and made me feel well celebrated.
For Bob's visit at the end of June, we did another road trip. We drove down to lake Bacalar, a beautiful area near Chetumal. Then west through the Reserva de la Biósfera Calakmul. And back for a second visit to Campeche. We enjoyed it just as much as our first visit and were able to get more information on a possible dock for Second Star there.
In mid July, our friend Janet, who had lived aboard Second Star for a while at the end of '14, came for an open ended stay following her fathers passing. Janet is a wonderful "wife", helping with cooking and cleaning and it was great having her bubbling personality back in our space. She stayed with us through the trip to FL at the end of August. She's good crew and it was fun having her aboard for the passage. After a bit more time with us in FL it was time for her to move on. She had other places to go, people to see and things to do. We'll look forward to the next time her life brings her to us.
My family time was a bit chaotic as usual, but it's always wonderful to spend time with my people. They are a part of me and I miss them.
While we were still in FL, Ganymede's owner got in touch with Johne and asked if he would do this paint job. Johne was hesitant to say yes because we were planning to do Second Star's refit and hadn't planned to take on other jobs. But...after much discussion, we decided to do it. As soon as Johne took that job several other things Ganymede needed got added (teak deck repairs, etc...) so when we got back to Isla Mujeres in October Johne hit the ground running. Getting her rigging squared away, making sure the engine was ready to go, wrapping up the interior work that had been ongoing. He got a hold of yards here in Progreso and found we could save a few thousand dollars doing the work here instead of in Isla.
So in mid November, with a great Capt and a couple of crew on Ganymede, and Johne and myself aboard Second Star, we moved both boats around to the north west side of the Yucatan peninsula. After a stressful afternoon trying to determine if Ganymede would clear under the high tension power lines above the channel into Progreso (see Captains log for more details) on the 21st of November both boats were lifted and blocked in the yard. And here we will be until the work is completed.
I hope all is well with everyone this reaches.
Happy Holidays and keep living your dreams...
