Almost Ready

Periwinkle was launched for the season on May third. Since then she has been scrubbed and polished, her mast has been put up, and her new refrigeration has been installed. Next Periwinkle gets her new solar panel to help charge the batteries. We are waiting for the stainless steel tubing we'll use for the panel support to arrive.  Another task to master is learning how to use the new chartplotter. It's a Raymarine C80. We now have all the charts for the Great Loop and are experimenting with the plotter on short local trips. We really are impressed with the C80's features especially the radar overlay. Boys and their toys!

In our attempt to get loose ends taken care of before we go, we've been to our optometrist, our dentist, and our family doctor. Our physicals with the family doctor and trip to the dentist went well but not so with the optometrist. He discovered that I have a cataract in my left eye and Gill has the beginnings of glaucoma. Fortunately, we have appointments with a specialist in Orangeville on June 18. We are very optimistic that we are still a go to leave as scheduled the first week of August. 

Our friends, Paul and Sue Butcher have decided to come with us. We are very excited about this. We have known they were coming for a while now but I'm just getting around to mentioning it. This will be their first big cruise. The Butcher's sail a 33 foot Prout catamaran called Twice 's Nice.