Logbook Entry

Date: 3/20/09 (Friday)
Location: Gaeta, Italy

Happy Vernal (Spring) Equinox! Today we’re actually hunkered down in the cabin of Gyatso riding out a gale in the safety of the marina. After more than a week of mostly wonderful, sunny weather, a low pressure system developed over Sardinia yesterday and moved easterly toward mainland Italy. Just after midnight last night, the front began moving through with hail, lightening, heavy rain and high winds. Winds of 25-30 knots, with higher gusts, continue today, making it difficult to get off the boat and onto the dock. Luckily, we had left-overs from our St. Patrick’s Day dinner the other night which became sandwiches for dinner last night and soup for lunch today. At least we are getting a much-needed break from varnishing exterior brightwork — still hoping to apply one or two more coats before removing the blue masking tape.

Date: 3/10/09 (Tuesday)

It is definitely feeling more spring-like these past few days with beautiful, sunny days and chilly evenings — perfect weather for working on our long list of annual maintenance projects, including: brightwork; cleaning and repairing the canvas bimini, dodger and sail cover; polishing stainless steel, etc. It’s also perfect weather for walking on nearby Serapo Beach and watching the moon rise once the work day is complete (see photo above). At this time last year, we were already underway for the cruising season. This year, we’ll wait until at least April to set sail again.