Happy birthday wishes to our cousins Michelle and Mike.  Mike-we're sorry, we don't have a picture of you!

Other blogs...

If you have a chance to check out the other blogs we are following we have linked them on the right hand side of our blog.  My sister Michelle has a blog about peace and justice which she has been working on, and our friend Max has put together a site together in effort to raise money for his trip to Everest in 2010 along with breast cancer.  

Only a few days to go...

We have been hard at work preparing all week.  After a phone call this morning with commander weather we have learned that we should be able to take off Saturday morning.  By leaving Saturday morning we should be able to avoid a low pressure system in the gulf stream and at the same time miss a hurricane that is coming from the south. 

We have stocked up with enough groceries and canned goods to last us at least a year.  Every nook and cranny of our boat is filled with food, spices, tabasco, and Chanel liquid black eyeliner.  

Happy Columbus Day!

We apologize for our slow update since our engine failed us.  Monday morning after the incident a mechanic was on our boat first thing and we were back in action within the hour.  Simply a small screw wasn't on tight enough after the tune up.  

Since our last blog we've been in NYC for a few final Doctors visits, goodbyes to our friends, and upstate New York saying goodbye to our families.  

Saturday afternoon we returned to the boat to finalize the preparations for our first leg of the adventure.  Since then we have been working non-stop.  Today we had a bit of a forced rest thanks to Columbus Day,  however, tomorrow we will pick up in full swing. 

You will now find the latest addition to our blog-the iBoat track at the top right hand corner of the page.  Once we leave our position and speed will be updated every 4 hours so you can follow our adventure.  

Happy Columbus Day! (and Canadian Thanksgiving)

Happy anniversary to the Palladinos!!!

Happy 1 year anniversary to Chesiree and George!!

1st day off the dock...

This morning we woke up to a gorgeous sunny day with a great breeze.  Our boat has been back in the water for a few weeks now, but as of this morning, had yet to leave the dock.  We decided that today would be the perfect day for a test sail.  At 9:30 we were on our way out of the marina, and by 11 we were cruising 8 knots under the Newport Bridge.  Not long after the wind died down.  We mutually assessed the situation and together decided to head back.  

At this point we were very hungry and both looking forward to the fajitas we would enjoy upon our return.  45 minutes to fajita time and the wind completely died.  (Luckily for us we also enjoy less Eco-friendly forms of energy.)  So we fired up the motor and pummelled onward to our fajitas.  

30 minutes to fajita time and our conversation was interrupted by a high pitched alarm. We shut down our newly tuned engine and investigated the situation to find that our engine was smoking and coolant had spilled out.  We called our boat yard and we were told help was on the way.  In the mean time we put our sails up to avoid drifting into land.  After not too long we were rescued and safely returned to our slip at New England Boatworks to enjoy our fajitas.   Now, Saturday afternoon, with a great weekend forecast, we are stuck on our slip awaiting the fate of our engine which will be determined first thing Monday morning...but at least we got our fajitas!

Preparations

As you all know we have busy bees getting ready for our November 1st departure date. Now the boat is ready (and we think we are too!) we want you to fill you in on some of the other things we have done in preparing:

-Visa requirements/entry to other countries by private vessel-this website was great and the staff is very friendly and helpful. http://www.traveldocs.com.
-Vaccinations-administered at the Cornell Medical Centers International Health Care Service on the upper east side of Manhattan. We were given vaccinations for: yellow fever, polio, tetanus, Influenza, and Hepatitis A. We were given 4 pills, to be taken every other day for typhoid and have pills for malaria as well. Choosing the malaria vaccination was difficult-we had 3 options. Option 1 is known to be very affective, however, causes nightmares. Option 2 is also known to be very affective but will counteract the birth control pill. Option 3 wasn't really an option because a side effect is extreme sensitivity to sunlight. Please keep reading out blog to find out what we decided on. Additionally recommended was the rabies vaccination and encephalitis, however, due to a shortage they are not being administered unless the individual is infected-they were not available for preventative at this time.
-We had to be sure to stock up on all of our medications for at least a year. We found it is very easy to get a years worth of prescriptions and pharmacies were very cooperative, however, our insurance company was not. Our insurance will only cover the first refill of a 12 refill prescription if purchases all at once.
-Eyes and teeth-Walids eye doctor in New York, Dr. Harris, has been kind enough to put together an eye kit-in the event of any injuries or infections when we are out to see and can not be immediately treated. My Dad, the worlds best dentist, has put together a kit for us so we stay cavity free! The kit included fluoride, special mouth wash, floss, and a few real dental tools (which I am not disclosing because I don't want to make you too jealous.) Next week he will also be giving us a lesson in suture-so we can sew each other up.
-General health care-we are preparing our own first aid kit with the help of our physician which will include antibiotics and painkillers. Our first aid kit will include treatments for jock itch and other foul maladies. (also Tylenol, antiseptic cream, band aids, etc.)

We hope you are all of fantastic and will be in touch soon.

oxox

Colleen and Walid