We have been in Annapolis for close to 6 weeks now, a lot longer than anticipated. Our initial plans were to arrive a few days before the sailboat show, attend the show, visit with friends and get a few jobs completed on Saltair. 
Unfortunately, this fun anticipated time was replaced with a lot of stress and sadness as my father, Jean Michel passed away unexpectedly on October 20th. For those who knew him, he was an exceptionally creative and loving man. He was an  amazing father, husband, father-in-law and grandfather. My step-mother Emmanuelle, my brother Jean Matthieu, my sister Eleonore, our families  and I are devastated and struggling to come to grips with the loss he leaves in our lives.

He was diagnosed with an aggressive non Hodgkins lymphoma in July.  I am grateful to have been able to go to France a few times this summer to help support him and be at his side.  When you do not have a home marina and are a transient cruiser, leaving the boat can be challenging but Adam made sure that I was able to travel and spend the time needed to be with my dad. Seth stepped up to the plate and quickly mastered my normal tasks during anchoring and docking making it possible for me to be away. I also had amazing support from close friends. 

In the midst of supporting my father, I was also struggling with health concerns and had to figure out how to get care while traveling. After initial tests in Mount Desert Island and further tests and procedures in NYC, I flew to  California for surgery and ultimately received a Stage 1 cancer diagnosis.  I am happy to report that I have no further treatments and am clear to continue our sailing adventure.

I am still recovering physically (and emotionally) but as we prepare Saltair to sail south to the Carribean and onward to the Pacific with the World Arc 2025, we are excited for the places and experiences ahead.  We look forward to sharing more upbeat updates in the future.  

The challenges of the past two months have interrupted our regular blogging.  We'll be posting a series of blogs shortly catching up to where we are today.