TIME FOR A NEW ADVENTURE

If you're new to our blog, welcome!  We are Phil and Margaret McGovern from Greenwood, Indiana.  In 2007, we purchased a PDQ 36 sailing catamaran.  It was our first boat and we didn't know how to sail.  In fact, other than taking a few boating courses in a classroom, we didn't know much about boating at all.  Most people thought we were nuts.

Slowly, with lots of practice, reading and research, and assistance from many cruising friends, we have learned what we needed to know to travel safely, anchor securely, read a chart and plan a trip.  We haven't sunk the boat or damaged another boat (okay, maybe I once put a tiny little scratch on a fancy power boat...but I don't count that).  Most important, we've never lost anyone overboard. 

We have had many wonderful adventures.  Some were scary.  But when we look back, we wouldn't change a thing.

We are about to begin our fourth season of cruising.

Indiana Summer has turned into Fall and it's time for us to go back to the boat.  We'll load the car and head out on Sunday morning, hoping to reach Snead Island Boat Works near Tampa early enough on Monday to get Sunshine splashed and move on board.

It's been a fine summer.  We spent time with our kids, grandkids and siblings.  The grandkids gave the pool a good workout and had some fun sleep-overs.  (What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's.)  Phil completely rehabbed two of our rental homes.  We put them on the market, but they didn't sell.  We were able to rent both of them, which is the next best thing.  I pretended to sell commercial real estate, but buyers were scarce. 

With snow flurries predicted this week, we are eager to head South.

Our plan this winter is to stretch our wings a little and have a new adventure.  During the last three winters, we have explored the Bahamas, the Keys, and the east and west coasts of Florida.  It's time for something new and Mexico will be this year's destination.

We will spend a month working our way south from Tampa down to Key West, where our son, Andy, and his girlfriend, Jill, will fly in from Seattle.  If the weather gods smile on us and we get favorable winds while Andy and Jill are visiting, they will join us on a three-day sail to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, a small island just five miles from Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Stay tuned as we begin Cruising Season Four.

--Margaret