Let's try this again

Hi All,
It's been a bit since I updated the blog so I thought I'd take a few minutes to let you know the latest. The owner of My Liberty did accept our offer so we have the survey scheduled for Sunday the 28th with the haul out and last part of the survey to be done on Monday the 29th.

Over the last week all the stuff we bought at the St Petersburg Boat Show showed up in the mail. We've bought a satellite phone and a data device to hook up to it, it'll act like a modem so we can connect a computer or a router to it if we need emergency internet or email access. We went with GlobalStar which does not have coverage everywhere in the world but does cover all around the US and Caribbean. We haven't signed up for the service yet as you buy a number of minutes per month or year, no need to start that yet.

We also bought two self inflating life jackets and PLB's. The life jackets are very light and comfortable to wear so you WILL wear them and if you end up in the water, they will automatically inflate. They also have a stainless steel D ring built into them in order to connect a jackline. Jackline: think of a tether that you hook from you to a line that runs from one end of the boat to the other. You can now move from the front of the boat to the back of the boat and can't fall overboard. At least when you're up on deck by yourself at night or in bad weather the life jacket and jackline will always be used. There may be other times as well. Then there is the PLB or Personal Locator Beacon. PLB's, when activated, send a distress signal through a satellite, to NOAA and then the Coast Guard. The ones we bought also have GPS so they will transmit the location of the personal that has activated it. Turn it on and help is on the way. Not to be overly dramatic but if someone falls overboard while everyone else is below deck, finding that person may be very difficult. Knowing that the coast guard is coming and they know exactly where that PLB is will keep the level of panic down. Some, anyway.

We're a week away from the survey and sea trial and I'm very anxious for the week to pass. I think we're going to end up with this boat and I'm excited to get it done.

Nothing more to add for now and I probably won't post again until we're in Kemah. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. As someone famous once said, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."

Brian