Ready for an ADVENTURE!

Our catamaran, Sunshine, is docked at Brunswick Landing Marina, just across the Florida border in Georgia.

We're within a few miles of Jekyll, St. Simon's and Cumberland Islands, all "out islands" of Georgia's Atlantic coast, each with lots of history and beautiful beaches.

This is the land of plantations, shrimp and grits and low country boil.

There are about 150 boats docked at Brunswick Landing. About a quarter of them are occupied and more owners are returning every week.

Many people leave their boats here for the summer, then return in the fall and head to the Bahamas, South America, the Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, etc., etc.

It's a very social place. Every evening at 6:00 p.m., people from all over our marina gather on Dock 10 for cocktails.

Don't ask me why the party is always on Dock 10, instead of Dock 2 or 4 or 7. The people whose boats are on Dock 10 will tell you it's because they are the cool people. That might be. Those Dock 10 folks are definitely very cool. But there are cool people on the other docks, too.

Sunshine is on Dock 2. Val and Harold on La Buena Vida are on Dock 8. Doug and Marlene on Cop Out are on Dock 3. Our friend Dave Robbins is on Dock 7. We are all pretty cool, but we still gather at 6:00 o'clock on Dock 10 because that's where the party is.

The other evening at Dock 10's nightly gathering, Dave Robbins mentioned that he had been hired to captain a big, beautiful sail boat from this marina to the Virgin Islands in December. He asked if any of us knew someone who might be interested in going along as cook for the crew.

I immediately thought of a close friend of mine from Greenwood. I knew her job would allow her to take a few weeks off and I thought she might be interested in an adventure. I sent her an e-mail and she answered immediately: "You're really serious, aren't you? YES, I'M INTERESTED!"

I put her in touch with Dave and the two of them have had several phone conversations. I also invited her to come visit us for a few days so she could get acquainted with Dave and the boat. (The boat is a 56-foot Oyster sailboat, reputed to be worth more than $2-million.) My friend will be arriving in Brunswick next Thursday for a long weekend with us. We are looking forward to her visit.

If all goes well and she and Dave think they can work together, she'll be looking forward to a great paid vacation for the month of December, on a beautiful boat sailing to an exotic location.

Georgia is beginning to cool off. We've had a few beautiful days with high's in the mid-80's, dropping into the 60's at night. Perfect weather for boat projects.

Phil has changed the oil in both engines and replaced the fuel filters. He removed the motor from our 9-foot dinghy (no small feat), then hoisted the dinghy onto the dock so I can fashion some "chaps" for our dinghy, using my new Sailrite sewing machine. The Sunbrella material has been delivered and I'm working on a pattern. The chaps will cover the dinghy, protecting it from the destructive UV rays and also protecting the passengers from the dreaded "dingy butt."

This morning, I used my Sailrite and screening material called Phifertex to fashion a screen door for our companionway, allowing the breeze to pass through but keeping the bugs out.

We are in the middle of "love bug" season here in Southern Georgia. In the heat of the afternoon, thousands of bugs that look like small lightening bugs appear in the air looking for mates. They hook up and fly around, connected, driving people into fits of love-bug-swatting. We are hoping our new screen door will keep the love bugs out of the boat.

Life is good here at Brunswick Landing Marina. We are completing projects and getting organized for a winter adventure in the Bahamas.

We hope to have time for some exploration north of here in the Carolinas during October and early November. During that time, we'll have the boat hauled out for a bottom-painting. Then we'll head south to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother Allen and his wife Dorie in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Then...we'll cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

Margaret