The last two weeks of October were spent in a flurry of activity preparing the boat and ourselves to go offshore. One of the tasks that Larry took on was to suit up and dive on the bottom of the boat to scrape off growing weeds, barnacles, and replace zincs. The weather was chilly, in the 50s, so a hot shower here at the boatyard was a welcome end to the job.

We also had provisions to buy, last-minute purchases at West Marine and Boater's World, and everything on the boat had to be stowed and secured for any weather. The list of small tasks that needed to be done seemed enormous, but finally we got it all done.