preperation for England trip

We are beginning preperations for our Atlantic crossing. We should leave Deltaville Marina here in Virginia on April 30th about 2:00PM. We need to catch a high tide as the boat draws seven feet. Nick arrived from England on March 30th and has been working on the hull repairing blisters and painting since he arrived. The mast has yet to be stepped as the boat yard is really busy at this time of year. Two other men will arrive from England on the 28th of April. We are in the process of provisioning at this time. Pat and I will go to Sam's Club this Tuesday to see if we can purchase some of the items in bulk. There will be no gourmet food on this trip. We are trying to eat healthily and to maybe lose a pound or two. We do plan on dragging a fishing line, and should be able to catch fish, hopefully some Mahi-mahi. I think that we will catch plenty. Nick has a unique way of killing a thrashing fish before bringing it aboard. He swears that a small amount of vodka poured directly on the gills will kill any fish on contact. We will head from here to the Azores which I have been told is about 24 days. From there it should be 10 more days to Falmouth, England. We may have to bypass the Azores if we fall behind because one of the other travellers has to be back to work in about 28 days. My hope is that we make good enough time to be able to see the Azores for a day or two. I spent a pretty good amount of money on foul weather gear last Friday and ordered a mid weight fleece jacket from REI, and some sailing boots from West Marine. Nick helped me pick out the foul weather gear, and I am glad that he did as I was going to purchase much lighter weight stuff than I actually needed. I am really starting to get excited about this trip. I also feel a little apprehensive as a lot could go wrong. The keel was reset this winter, and it looks like the yard did a good job however if the keel falls off everything is over quickly as the boat would immediately lay on it's side. The guy who did the keel work has an excellant reputation so I feel confident that everything will be okay with that. Pat's son and his family are coming for Easter and have been invited aboard for a good look. I am anxious for them to see the inside of a big sailboat. Communications should be really good. There is a single side band radio on board and we can send and receive email every day. My neighbor is a ham radio operator and we will talk to he and my wife daily at a prescribed time. We should be able to talk to him all of the way across as a single side band is a powerful radio. We plan on using GMT time so that there will be no confusion as to when to call. There will be a brand new 4 man life raft with us as well as the latest model EPIRB. I am eager to get under way.
The Ol' Curmudgeon