The primary reason we stop in St. Augustine Florida each winter is for boat work. And this year that has been thwarted by my car accident. Being hit by a car pretty much took me out of commission for our entire stay. Luckily I was able to rebed the hatches before the accident or I’d be recovering in a leaky boat as well.

The change in plans is certainly going to complicate 2024. We’re going to have to move north without our upgraded autopilot, we’re going to need to deal with other problems that were supposed to be fixed. And come summer we’re going to need to find a way to get a new bimni onto the boat while in an area where mail can be an adventure and where we’ll need to do the work on a mooring instead of on a dock.

Still the biggest challenge has been the unproductive nature of our time here. It’s often said that “Cruising is boat repair in exotic locations” and that is indeed quite a bit of it. As such I don’t feel as though I’ve been cruising at all this winter.