On Monday, July 9, we finally got all the necessary people together and details taken care of to get our marine survey. This involved what is known as a "short haul", taking the boat out of the water for an hour or two, while the surveyor takes measurements of the hull. We used a great surveyor in Puerto Rico, named Ciro Malatresi. We can recommend his services to anyone needing a surveyor on the island. He was thorough, really knew boats, and efficient. The boat got a good report card, with only cosmetic recommendations. The hull is sound, and now we can take the survey to other insurers and try to get insurance "in the box" (in the hurricane zone). Every insurance agency wants a current survey, and our current insurers are waiting to see one also. Some insurance companies want boat owners to have a hurricane plan; ours will probably involve staying on one island for the hurricane season, with a contract to haul the boat out of the water, block it, strap it down to cement screws, take the mast and all canvas off, and then head inland. If you look carefully at the hurricane data from the last 150 years, South Carolina actually gets hit more often than any of the individual islands, yet we could find insurance for South Carolina and are having trouble for the islands. Go figure.