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Hello to all our family, friends and MTOA members,

So begins another voyage of Francesca. This time we are returning to Central America with the eventual intention of making it to Panama. We have heard so many wonderful things about Panama from folks who have traveled extensively throughout CA that the trip has become a must do.

We left North Myrtle Beach November 7 and proceeded down the waterway. The weather was clear, rainy, cold and warm. A typical November transit. The trip was uneventful until reaching a point just a mile or two north of Daytona Beach. There, we spotted a body floating on the edge of the waterway. After calling the Coast Guard, it took nearly an hour for police boats to show up. Later, our daughter Andrea found an article on the internet from a Daytona newspaper that indicated the man was a murder victim. Yikes! Time to move on.

The next most interesting moment was when we transited Boca Raton, Florida. We were one of a half dozen boats in a line southbound. Well, having spent 15 years living near Los Angeles, I thought we had seen it all. Not quite! An 18 foot open boat, heading approximately northbound (weaving about strangely), had a young couple in it who were totally naked and doing the X rated. Next thing you know, all of the southbound boats were weaving about strangely too.

For the next several days, the windy, squally weather seemed determined to grind us down. Then, in south Miami, we were to pick up some large storage batteries for friends who are now in the Rio Dulce (Guatemala). The batteries were to be delivered to a marina, but it took 8 e-mails to coordinate the pickup. Each of the batteries weighs 80+ pounds and after struggling to get them aboard, we struggled further to get them distributed about the boat and well secured for the Gulf crossing.

At last we arrived in the Keys and made our way to Boot Key Harbor. With many last minute shopping details and the need for some welding to be done on the davit system, we decided to go to Dockside Marina. We located some friends from the lower latitudes last year. Stacy and David on "Soggy Paws" are anchored in the harbor. They are planning to stay a year to upgrade their boat for a Pacific crossing. Yesterday, we got together, talked about their experiences in Panama and had one of the Keys great pizzas