January 3, 2009 - Singapore

As great as it was to visit everyone back in the States, it is really nice to be back on the boat. Over the past two years she has become our home, and it always a comfort to come home again. Sten tucked right into various projects, installing bits and pieces that we carted back with us from the States. Sten spent the day tearing down and rebuilding the boom end fitting to install our new outhaul system.

New outhaul system - failing outhaul car removed and replaced with North Sails spectra strap and wire outhaul replaced with high-tech line (line from Defender, thimble from Rigging Only, splice by Sten)

Meanwhile, I ran around Singapore stocking up on those items that we won't likely see again until we reach South Africa. You can get anything and everything that you might want in Singapore, but it is very expensive compared to Malaysia, Langkawi and Thailand, so I'll wait until we are further up the track to stock up on necessities like potato chips, chocolate, beer and tonic water.

While I filled my grocery cart with walnuts and pecans and bottled lime juice (a necessity for making ceviche and cocktails weeks after the last lime has turned brown), I scanned the grocery store shelves trying to jog my memory about what it is that we eat when we are on passage or far from grocery stores. I've become so used to having easy marketing these past few months (ever since we arrived in Bali at the end of August), that I'm struggling to think back to what we used to eat when we were far from fresh provisions and cheap takeout. As I scanned the shelves and made notes about items to make sure we have onboard before we leave Thailand, I wished that I was one of those hyper-organized types with with provisioning lists that are cross referenced to their storage compartments.