• The boat is in Ft. Lauderdale at a dock where we can not spend the night on the boat.
• We would like to move the boat to a marina where we can work on the boat and stay on the boat to prepare to move it closer to home in the Mobile Bay area.
• Problem is, we don't know how to move the boat!! Not that we can't learn, but going from a 22 foot boat to a 40 foot boat is a big step, and the next bullet point explains why the first step is the hardest...
• The boat is on the New River which has crazy currents/tides, lots of draw bridges, and is lined with multi-million dollar boats. Boats don't stand still to wait for a bridge to open, and with the crazy currents, we certainly don't want to have a run in with a boat such as Johnny Depp's which is one of the hundreds of high-end boats we will have to pass.
• There are no affordable marinas in Ft. Lauderdale. So after we get off the New River, we need to sail two days north to Fort Pierce. 

So the plan - we contacted this great couple we found on Youtube  - yes, we actually asked strangers that we found on the internet to spend two days and nights with us on the boat.  We had been watching all their episodes on youtube about refitting their cruising boat, so we felt like we knew them.  They do lots of volunteer work in Haiti, where she is from, and want to use their architectural degrees to serve underprivileged areas they travel to by boat. So we felt they were pretty safe. Well it so happened, that Dan and Kika were flying in to Fort Lauderdale on December 29, and needed a ride back to Fort Pierce.  We were wanting to move our boat to Fort Pierce on December 30.  How's that for timing.? So rather than a 2 hour bus ride, we picked them up from the airport and gave Dan and Kika a two-day lift via boat. Win Win!

Be sure to check out their youtube videos - Sailing Uma

 My sweet sister-in-law gave us this mug - couldn't love it more!


 On the right, Emily's favorite hang out spot! At home she is always sad there are no trees to climb.
This is where the boat is docked.  It is so beautiful, and at night everything is romantically lit.  Too bad we can't stay here!