Many things are completed. Not everything, but, many things.

Here's the painted hull.

The board on the top of the starboard-side winch coaming has been replaced by the carpenter.

The picture shows the dodger is still laying across the front of the cockpit.

We're waiting for the canvas folks to get out from under the insane volume of work they've been faced with.

We're also finalizing all the odd legalistic details of having a "home base" in North Carolina instead of using Saint Brendan's Isle mail service.

We've gotten driver's licenses.

We've changed our address from 411 Walnut Street on credit cards and bank accounts. Really important is the various places from which we order things. West Marine. Defender. iBoats.com. e-rigging.com. Go2Marine. Rigrite.com. Rope.com Lots of places to fix our shipping and billing address.

Then there's some further considerations.

Wills.

We had wills with a lawyer from back when we lived in New York. We left New York in 2008, more-or-less. It's time to get them rewritten with North Carolina addresses. (No other changes, to speak of.)

We don't own any real property. Only a boat and a truck. Everything else has "Payable on Death" with beneficiaries that make a will a kind of empty formality.

The lawyering should be done in a few weeks.

Armchair Sailing

Until the lawyering is done, I'm looking at Skipper Bob's Cruising the Gulf Coast.

I'm also going to consider Waterway Guide, Southern. This book only covers part of the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

We're interested in the entire stretch from the Keys to South Padre Island. This means we'll also need Waterway Guide, Western Gulf Coast so we can understand the western part of the area.

We've been warned that the Apalachicola (The Forgotten Coast) isn't really very cruiser-friendly. Not too many marinas. No Boot Key Harbor No St. Augustine Municipal Marina

We're not too put off by lack of amenties.

There are not too many amenities in the Dry Tortugas, either. And we loved visiting there. (See Phase V, Day 2, Dry Tortugas and Phase V, Day 3, Dry Tortugas.)

We'll see what Hurrican Ian aftermath imposes on us. What's open? What's still wrecked?

Another possibility is scooting down to Marathon, up the keys to Key Biscayne and making a run for the Bahamas for a few weeks.

From Port Charlotte in day-sailing jumps. This is preliminary.

1. Port Charlotte to Fort Meyers.
2. Fort Meyers to Marco Island -- if we can figure the inlet. It may be blocked.
3. Marco Island to the Bullard Bank on the way to the 7 mile bridge and Boot Key.
4. Bullard Bank to Boot Key.
5. Boot Key up to Lower Matecumbe Key.
6. Lower Matecumbe Key to Rodriguez Key.
7. Rodriguez Key to the Angelfish Cut a Pumpkin Key.
8. Pumpkin Key to Key Biscayne. Fuel. Water. Provision. Wait for weather.

(I need to refine this list into a more detailed plan with distance and fuel consumption.)

We can cross to Bimini when the weather is fair. We did this years ago, leaving at 04:00. See Week 21: St. Augustine To Key Biscayne and Beyond. Back then, we didn't clear in at Bimini, this time I'd like to anchor at Bimini and wait for weather to cross the Bahamas Bank.

The return involves a tricky passage from Bimini back to Florida.

It's hard to find sailing directions that give details on what time of day to leave Bimini and what course to sail. It seems imprudent to leave Bimini pre-dawn: I'm not confident sailing around in unfamiliar waters.

Waiting for dawn means (possibly) arriving at the port of Miami Government Cut at dusk if things don't go well. It's only about 8 hours, and going from east to west means a following wind, and more consistent speed.

Maybe, the reason there aren't many long essays on the nuances of return are two-fold.

1. You can't miss Florida.
2. The wind is likely at your back.