We are almost done with getting the boat ready. At the last minute, I traced a problem in our fresh water system down to a corroded pickup tube. Tomorrow we have to go on a hunt for some material to make a replacement. We still have to wire in our experimental water towed generator and while IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m doing that IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m going to finally wire in our solar panel now that we are happy with its location. Then weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll have to finish off the to-do list, but each day we get closer.

The weather still isnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t cooperating yet. Since Hurricane Lane weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve seen: Tropical Storm (TS) Miriam, Tropical Depression (TD) 2-C, TD 3-C, TS Norman, TS Olivia, TD 4-C and now TS Paul. Paul is expected to build into a hurricane and is currently predicted to make landfall about 100 miles from us. If youÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re comparing this to my earlier prediction, youÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll see that I was off by a few storms since Hurricane Lane. WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ll just have to watch the weather, and our next destination is a good hurricane hideout. If youÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re curious about Pacific Hurricanes, IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve found a good summary on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Pacific_hurricane_season

Anyway, part of our philosophy of life is to leave a place better than you found it. It could be anything from picking up plastic debris from the water, to volunteering time to build/teach/help do something. Here in Mazatlan weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve spent a lot of time trapping cats that have either been dumped here or born in the wild. In total weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve helped about 20 of the 30 cats weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve caught (in a humane trap of course) find happy homes for them to live in. Some of the others were sterilized and released. We have 2 more 6 week-old kittens to catch (theyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re really tough!) which will bring our total to 30. The marina, some businesses and the cruisers have been helping us to recover our costs for getting the animals sterilized and adopted out. The first cat we tried to rescue this summer ended up joining the Sarana crew!

HereÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s a picture of Jordan. She was six months old and pregnant when she found us. Now sheÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s about a year old and at least double in size.

WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re really looking forward to the peace and tranquility of hanging on the hook.