We kind of got to, we also did focus a lot on the gear before we left, but we realized that we were happy for all the gear we didn't invest in before we left.

It's a lot of things you think you need, but once you're out there you realize you don't need them.

So I think maybe a better strategy is just get the real basics that have in our cases so with kids really good self-steering. If you

have an engine it should be working and you should feel safe with the rigging and

the cells but the rest you could actually you know fix along the way and just go.

It's been a stormy, windy few days here in St. Croix. I'm recording this from the cabin of East Bjorn on anchor in Gallows Bay.

There's white caps in the anchorage and the flag halliards are slapping the mast.

It reminds me of my childhood on board sojourner in the Bahamas back in the early

90s. I'll never tire of that sound. Anyhow, Mia and I have a few weeks off before setting off

across the Atlantic, so we're hiding out in Christianstead, a former Danish settlement, and one of the

prettiest towns in the Caribbean. We've got a few minor boat projects to attend to, but for the

most part, East

Bjorn is ship's shape and ready for the high seas. This is episode number 188. As usual,

On the Wind is presented by Weems and Plath. Weims and Plath is hosting our next celestial

navigation workshop in Annapolis in October, and CEO Peter Trogden will be there to present one of his favorite lectures on the history of navigation.

For details, go to 59-north.com slash celestial.

While we're on the topic, I've been reading a book called Sextent by David Barry that recalls the history of that crucial navigational device that literally

enabled the explorers of the 1700s to map the world's oceans.

It's a wonderful companion book to another great navigational history called Longitude

by Dava Sobel.

Incidentally, our next passage on Eastburn will be entirely on celestial.

That's right, no GPS, no electronics, just

...