36.46.833N 14.32.741E

It's that time of year again when we realise the blog hasn't been updated for ages and we are on the move again.

We had another winter in Marina di Ragusa (MdR). Boat jobs and some travelling kept us busy.

We finally got round to re-visiting Etna and hiking to one of the higher craters. It was hard work but a memorable trip. Especially when Etna burped, there was a very loud rumble and a venting of gas just as we stood at the edge of the crater, very scary.

Etna burping.  We had all been given hard hats which we had all been carrying, after the burp everyone was wearing the hat.

Boat jobs also kept us busy. Although most of the work was repairs. Water pumps failing , re wiring , re making curtains after washing them and they shrank - oops, replacing the hydraulic ram ( automatic steering bit, you may remember the problems we had with Arthur and James not letting go from previous blogs).

The new hydraulic ram. Now on show through Perspex. (the wood that was there was bending badly and almost interfering with the steering, so we changed it for stiffer Perspex). Apparently the consensus is we now need to install back lights for effect!

We went to California to visit Anne's family. It was great to see everyone again. We also visited the UK to see Stephens family.

There were the usual social events, Halloween, Thanks-giving, Sinta Claus (Dutch evening), and various concerts both on boats and on land.

Concert on the deck of NAOB. The boat was full and people overflowed onto the pontoon.

We thought we were just about ready to leave and we found out our alternator and batteries were faulty. So we were delayed for a few weeks waiting for parts to arrive and then fitting them. We now have nice new alternator and batteries along with new battery control system.