Post by Larry McCullough

It has almost been a year now since Jamie and I untied the lines and left Jupiter, Florida on our adventure. In the classic movie Groundhog Day, the ever-lovable Bill Murray wakes up every morning to the same thing happening every day, that day being Groundhog Day. Subconsciously, I think that was what I wanted to escape, tomorrow being like yesterday. Over the last year I must say we have accomplished that.

Not that I/we did not know what we were getting into, but for lack of a better way of expressing it, maybe we did not know the extremes of what we were getting into. From pulling away from the dock last April until I really felt comfortable handling the boat, all 88,000 pounds. There were many tense moments until Jamie, and I became a very good team at the many aspects of cruising. “Many” is the key word! When docking we wear our “marriage savers” (headsets that we wear to communicate via, so we don’t have to yell) to cruising at night and everything in between. Jamie is the perfect mate for cruising (and life). At night when I am dead tired Jamie is ready to handle all aspects, diligently captaining Independence so that I can relax and get some much-needed sleep during her watch.

Now after going somewhere around 7,000 miles we are back to Groundhog Day in Roatan, Honduras. Believe me, we can’t complain. During the “State of Emergency” here on the Island we are locked down at Barefoot Cay Resort, it could be much worse. When we were in Belize there were no marinas that we could get the boat into, so we headed to Roatan. Now instead of being anchored out we have an electrical hookup, clean fresh water, a swimming pool steps away, internet, a palapa at the end of a dock to a great snorkeling area, and did I mention the air-conditioning on the boat! But we’re back to Groundhog Day, get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, watch the stock market as my heart rate sores, do push ups and ride the stationary bike getting my heart rate up the good way, watch the stock market some more getting my heart rate up the bad way, do maintenance and chores on the boat, maybe go for a snorkel, then enjoy our “Quarantini’s”. Yes, things could be worse.