EIGHT YEARS

We left the dock in St. Petersburg, Florida on February 9, 2009. Today in New Zealand, we celebrate eight years of full time cruising and living aboard SV Astarte. We have had the pleasure of visiting 31 countries (several multiple times). More than 120 islands within those countries where we have met amazing people on land and on other boats. We have made some lifelong friends from around the globe. It has been an amazing time for the two of us.

There are times it feels like only a short time ago that we left the US and at other times it feels like decades. Some days are filled with great memories and others are ones we want to forget. But there have been definitely more of the good times in our years afloat.

Now we have to pay the price of those eight years of full time cruising. Like anything that gets well used, you have to do repairs. We have been great about taking care of our boat with regular maintenance and upgrades. But this year we've had some really major ones! We've had to replace the head sail roller furler in June. We now have a new transmission that Michael installed in November. There is a new refrigerator/freezer box with all new insulation and upgraded systems. This also meant new counter tops and a refurbished galley area. Now we are in the boatyard doing a major bottom job and interior varnishing. So this will be a big year for Astarte as we enter year nine of cruising.

The great news is we have been healthy, happy and still enjoy this lifestyle. We are grateful to the many family and friends we have who have helped us in big and small ways. We can never fully express how much your help means to us. Thanks also to everyone who stays in touch through the time and distance.

We are grateful to have had eight great years of cruising aboard Astarte together. How many more? Who knows!
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At 1/28/2017 7:04 PM (utc) S/V Astarte was located at 35°44.37'S 174°20.32'E

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