FELIZ NAVIDAD!

We wish all our friends and family a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season. We're enjoying our stay here...work aboard is progressing as we wait for the fabrication of the new mounting bracket for the alternator. Michael has completed the wiring and says it's ready to pass inspection. We've also replaced our starboard upper shroud chainplate (due to crevice corrosion cracks in the old one), and begun to put things away and straighten out the boat. I happened to have my camera when I noticed the Tall Ship Cuauhtemoc go directly past Infini. She's in active service as a sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy.

Dec. 20, 2009 Bluey

We found a squatter on our hipped dinghy when we went to use it to reinstall our starboard upper shroud chainplate. The blue footed booby (sulu nebouxii) was using it as a perch to fish from. I was thrilled to get an up close and personal visit. He didn't move when we launched the dinghy, moved it around to the starboard side and started working...until he saw a fish to dive after. One of the joys of cruising for me is to be so close to nature and I've always held a special fondness for our aviary friends. Those webbed feet are an unusual blue, and each talon, or toe has a hooked nail on the end of it. They can dive from a sitting position on the water surface, or plunge from 80 feet in the air. Their wing span can be nearly 5ft (1.5m). What a sight...they're so much more streamlined and skilled then the pelicans I'm used to seeing. Their thick necks, streamlined bodies, long strong beak and webbed feet make them great sea hunters.

Progress......Dec. 11, 2009

There's a nice big mess aboard Infini...Michael is deep in the project of rewiring and simplifying our electrical system to better reflect our full time live aboard demands. I made a quick trip to Florida to pick up a new large capacity Balmar alternator,
(a 94-165-12-IG Dual Delta Stator model), Balmar MC-612-H regulator and various other stuff. This trip coincided with the expiration of my Panama 90 day tourist visa, and to top it off I had a chance to visit with kids and grand kids! I also drove up to visit my sister in Georgia...no moss growing under these shoes! (sandals). We make progress every day, but the scope of revamping is huge, and we're both looking forward to sea trials in the near future. The evenings have been pleasantly cool, and there's been no significant rain to talk of.