Sorry to not be more communicative these days. I have to say that I have had difficulty in coming up with ideas for posts while I am home. When we are underway I find inspiration nearly every day when I see something that I just have to write about. When I look out of the window here in Essex at the grey sky it’s harder.
Well, I am back with yet another titillating post . It’s Friday morning and about ten days until we return to Pandora. The weather here in Essex has certainly been different than what we should expect to enjoy in the Bahamas with a few inches of snow on Christmas day and overnight temperatures in the 20s. Just for fun, and too torture myself, I checked the weather for Georgetown today and it’s currently 75 verses the 25 here in Essex. Hmm… All’s not lost as it’s supposed to go up to 38 later today, an increase of OVER TEN DEGREES. George Town will only go up by a mere five. ” Stop whining. Soon, Bob, you’ll be warm soon.”
Our “vacation” here in Essex has been great fun, setting aside the “cool” weather, (yes, a big thing to set aside I realize) with a whirlwind of visits with family and friends. Of particular note, yesterday we had our friends Chris and Pat over for lunch and had a great time. Chris has been a great friend since high school and was the one that introduced me to sailing. He also was the one that gave me the idea of going south as he did the same trip over ten years ago when he Pat and their then small children headed south for a year aboard.
It was fun to catch up and exchange experiences. I have to say that I am still amazed that we are doing this and am very excited about heading back down to Pandora to begin the second half of “Bob and Brenda’s most excellent adventure”.
“Santa”, with a little help from my parents, brought me a really great waterproof case to hold my i-phone so that I can take videos and pictures underwater. I, no make that Santa, spied a press release about it in one of the sailing magazines last month. The case is made by a company “Watershot” and is the newest addition to their line of camera cases. 
The case, which fits over my phone, is waterproof to 130′ (a depth that I don’t plan to test personally) which is certainly going to be plenty deep for my snorkeling exploits. After years of sailing in Maine, being in water that is actually warm will be just so great. I can’t wait. There’s a certain symmetry to getting this from my parents as this blog is perhaps more about them “coming along” with us on this trip than anything else.
I also now have a copy of Chris Parker’s book on basic weather for the southeast US, Bahamas and Caribbean. 
Chris is our weather router and a great resource for helping to keep us happy and safe. We listen to Chris on the SSB radio when we are aboard and via a webcast here in Essex. He has a very helpful website with many resources for clients. His broadcasts begin at 06:oo every day except Sunday and run for about 3.5 hours with segments devoted to weather for different regions including the Caribbean, Bahamas, Gulf Stream and Atlantic. Chris’s routine is to cover area weather for a particular region and then take calls from customers or what he calls “sponsoring vessels” so that he can give them a personalized forecast for their area and travel plans. The book is an excellent companion piece designed to help his clients better understand what he is talking about it. It’s written in a very conversational style so you can nearly hear Chris speaking while you read it. As this is the first book I have ever read about weather, it’s a great primer.
Before I break I should include a video of a wreck of a landing craft that I dove on when I was in Nassau last May to help bring back The Abby.
I tried to take a video myself when I was there but wasn’t able as the battery in my recorder wasn’t properly charged. Next time I will be sure to have my battery fully charged, for sure.
We will be in the Bahamas in about a month. I am just sooo excited. Checking again. The temperature here in Essex? It’s still 25 degrees. Bahamas? Warmer…