We've been lucky to have great friends and family aboard nearly constantly since last March, but I find it tough to sit and write at those times.  It's occurred to me that there have been some great moments unreported as we sailed from Key West to Panama with Ben and Rachel, and then spent the past several months in Bocas del Toro.  I will randomly post a few as I get internet access, which has been some frustrating here.   Here's the first:

Act III was on the same mooring in Key West for a couple of months and at least four of us swam around the boat every day, so I was greatly surprised that it took six weeks for me to spot a  15 hp. Johnson outboard sitting on the bottom only a few yards from the boat.  I dove down to make sure the motor was relatively complete and when it didn't look too bad--and against my better judgement--I pointed it out to Ben and Bill.  Silly me thought they would dismiss it as being too far gone, but in fact, the rest of the day was spent hauling it aboard, draining out the sand and salt water, and dismantling.  The two men stood side by side at the push pit, one working diligently on the lower unit, the other on the upper; tools came out of the garage; the compressor was unearthed (20 moves), and as each part was cleaned and examined,  the dang thing indeed appeared salvagable.  After several hours, Ben noted a key part missing, dang.  They reassembled their Johnson(s), and we took it to the "free" place near the dinghy dock, where it was snapped up before they could even set it down.  One less piece of garbage in the ocean, and several beers earned for the salvagers.  Happy ending.