Getting Ready. STILL!

I really don't have much to report. Last week was spent continuing to work on the boat projects. They are winding down to the point where we have started loading the provisions. Provisioning involves stocking up from the land of plenty for the land of not so plenty. A lot of things in the Bahamas, depending on where you are, are either cost prohibitive or not available at all, and a trip to the store always involves a dinghy ride, a backpack and calm weather. Besides that, we like to be relatively self sufficient. We also plan meals differently than we would if we were at home because both water consumption and garbage disposal are issues when on a boat. And we have limited refrigeration, no freezer and not a lot of storage space. Basically we mostly eat peanuts and drink wine out of a box. Not a bad life really.
We have also started to pay attention to the weather forecasts in earnest now. By that i mean the WIND forecasts. It will take two days for us to get to West Palm Beach from here and then 10 - 12 hours to cross the gulf stream to West End, Grand Bahamas. For that we need to be confident in the three day forecast. The Gulf Stream is the real issue. Without getting into too much detail, we need the wind to be no more than 15 knots with a direction of anywhere between south and west. The prevailing winds are easterly, with south and west winds occurring just before a cold front when the winds shift to the north and the Gulf Stream becomes VERY unpleasant. Been there. Done that. Not doing it again. For this reason I consult no fewer than six weather sources - passage weather, sail-flow, windfinder, barometer bob, weather underground and NOAA (buoy data, synopsis and forecast). Join me if you'd like! Just kidding. As of this morning the forecast for the rest of the week is east winds 15-20 knots. Of course it could change but for now we are staying put, and I will stay busy watching the weather.