Friends,

Over the past month and a half, we have been floored by the number of people who have asked after the fate of our boat. We didn’t realize so many of you were actually reading this blog! Thank you for validating all the time we pour into it. And don’t forget that you can get new blog posts delivered right to your inbox by subscribing (just click on the Follow button to the right).

We have made you wait long enough for news of the boat. So here is a quick Q&A to answer the most frequently asked questions from the past month.

Question 1: Did the boat survive hurricane Irma?

YES! Our boat was right in the eye of the storm, but thanks to the amazing work of the crew at the boat yard and a bit of luck, she seems to have survived the onslaught of September’s back-to-back hurricanes. Now more than ever, we are convinced we have picked the right vessel for this year’s adventure.

Question 2: What happens now? Are you still going to the Caribbean?

In less than 24 hours, we will be in the Caribbean to start getting the boat ready for launch sometime in November. Our original flights to St. Maarten were cancelled after Irma, so we are now flying to Antigua, then getting another flight a couple of days later to St. Maarten. Should be fun with the 200 lbs of gear we’ll be needing for the next 10 months.

Question 3: I thought you were still in Europe!

Technically not a question, but we’ll go with it. We are a bit behind on the blog posts. Sorry about that. It takes a while to go through the thousands of photos and pick the best ones to upload and post. By our count, we still have Italy parts 4, 5 and 6, Sailing in Greece, Cyprus, and Athens to post. It may be a while, as we’ll be busy over the next couple of weeks getting the boat ready so we can start sailing already!!

Question 4: Will you have Internet while you are sailing?

The short answer is no. Since we will be relying on wifi connections when we are in port, posts will be sporadic. We also have a satellite phone on the boat, but its use will be limited to emergency situations (the envy-inspiring Instagram posts will have to wait until we are back in a wifi zone).

Question 5: Shouldn’t you be packing?

Definitely. But Mel is an excellent procrastinator. We are leaving tomorrow, and there is lots to do before then. We are pretty much packed and have more luggage than we have ever taken on a plane before. Now it’s time to pack up the rest of the house and give it a good clean before we hand it back over to the AirBnb gods.

And now, back to panicking!

Stay tuned for news from down south!!

P.S. We’re packing towels this time.