We are starting to get the boat ready to hold seven people! My husband and I are taking our four kids as well as our neice on their first trip to the BahamasKeegan is 23, Abi is 19, Rachel is 17, Tanner is 16 and Hannah is 14.

We hauled out the boat two weeks ago and sanded and painted the bottomThe rails are currently getting sanded and several coats of varnish have to be appliedMost of the things left are cosmetic but theres nothing like a beautiful boat!! Ray has combed over every system millions of times and we have as many spare parts as we can cram into the storage compartments.

On our first trip to the Bahamas, our steering cable ripped and we had to be towed across the Bahamas banks and into Cat Key..not fun!!! Sooo this time we have an emergency tillerYou can never be too prepared.

My contribution to all the preparations is the food provisioning!! With four teenagers and a 23 year old, were going to need a LOT of foodI have a vaccum sealer for all of our meats which helps it fit better in the freezer.

Theres only two of us on board who eat seafood so Im packing a good bit of peanut butter and jelly..haha The hardest part of getting ready for the trip was finding someone to take care of our catShe is NOT a sailor kitty!! I think between four and five different friends, we've finally got her covered!! .