Hi everyone,

Well, it’s time to move on again. We have had a great time here in Annapolis, meeting with old friends, making new ones and spending “dollarettes”. The boat show was great but wet. It rained Thurs, Fri and Sat. The sun finally came out yesterday for them and today looks sunny as well, but cool.

We have purchased a used Air Marine wind generator and Murray has installed it on the arch using a PVC pipe as a support. We have been quite protected from the wind here, so have not had much chance to see how it will perform. But, last night, we lost less battery power than usual overnight. The wind was blowing quite strongly and we were charging. Murray hopes to reduce the need for charging batteries by engine driven alternater.

Jeremy has set up a web page for Windswept news. Hopefully, in the future, there will be pictures. The address is http://www.magma.ca/~jrand/windswept. Anyone who would rather get the updates from the website, just drop me a line and I will take you off of the cc list.

Today we will leave Annapolis and head down to the Rhodes River to anchor overnight. The plan is to be in the ICW by early next week. And then, we want to move fairly quickly to warmer weather. We have had sweatshirts on! And even long pants!! This is not good – it is time to head south.

Vertigo I , from Port Stanley, is here now and has had many adventures in their first trip offshore. But the family seems to be having fun and looking forward to warmer weather as well. They may travel with us for a few days. The rest of the Port Stanley contingent, Dromenon and Thursday’s Child, left yesterday for the Solomon Islands. We did not find the other Windswept, which is also in the harbour. But, we will all meet up along the way. Tundra has flown out west for their son’s wedding and will be bringing up the rear.

Yesterday, we celebrated Thankgiving with a turkey breast, baked squash, potatoes and several glasses of wine. We decided we were thankful for each other, our health, our friends and family, and the ability to cruise as we are. It has been a lovely year + and hopefully a great winter to come.

I hope all at home enjoyed a great Thanksgiving as well. Our best wishes to everyone and we will be in touch.

Heather
Heather & Murray Rand
aboard Windswept IV
Ham Radio VE3 ZUA