Go for launch!

[Kevin's Post] Solstice is officially ready to splash tomorrow. If they can get the travelift to the boat without getting stuck in the mud. That's a big "if". We awoke this morning to the sound of thunder and pouring rain and knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant day in the yard. Driving to the boatyard the roads were so bad I was wondering if we were going to end up as one of those half submerged disabled vehicles we always see on the local news in AZ during monsoon season. With every puddle I'm thinking, "I wonder how deep that is?" The water pressure in the storm drains was enough that we saw at least one manhole cover that had come off and others had geysers coming through them shooting several feet in the air. There were plenty of Puerto Ricans out driving though so I figured it was safe enough, and we did make it to the yard just fine. We are very motivated to get this boat in the water. If it rains much more, the water will come to the boat and we won't need the lift.

We spent the rainy day finishing a few odd chores and organizing the interior of the boat. There has hardly been room to walk around for the past several days as every square inch of floor space was covered with stuff we hauled in from Phoenix. So we made the best of the rainy weather by focusing on interior chores. We also needed to make room for provisions. Before we head out for any length of time, we try to stock up on as much non-perishable and frozen food as we can fit on the boat. Every place we go generally has small markets, but the choices are limited and prices are high. In Puerto Rico, the grocery stores are excellent, other islands not so much. They even have Sam's Club here. It's not quite like your Sam's club, they sell stuff like whole pigs and septic tanks in addition to the regular fare. We made one trip to Sam's Club today to get the unrefrigerated items and spent almost $700. We'll go again for cold/frozen items either tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm still looking for someplace I can store a pig on the boat.

If all goes as planned, tomorrow we will be sleeping on the boat in a slip at the marina. Keep your fingers crossed.