Happy New Year from the Keys

Hope everyone has survived the hustle & bustle of the Christmas season. Even on Conch Republic (Key West) time I found myself in a pinch the last day or two trying to get some goodies baked. I forgot to take into account that my counter space is all but non existent and my oven only holds one mini cookie sheet at a time. Oh well, it took me two days to do what would normally take an afternoon but I guess all that matters is that I got it done. Christmas day was busy as Dirk and I spent the morning and early afternoon at my cousins home on the next Island up. It was nice to finally meet some of my extended family and to see my cousins whom I haven't seen in a very long time. A nice breakfast buffet was laid out and as usual we ate too much followed by play time on the kids new toys. Wow, some of these toys they make, where were they when I was young enough to play and not injure myself too bad? But, if you know us you know we had to give them a shot and now we have the bruises to show for it.

At 2:00 our marina was having a pot luck Christmas dinner for everyone. They provided the hams and turkeys while everyone else provided the other goodies. Needless to say we were about an hour late but still managed to get our fill. Have to say I was still full from the late breakfast we had just two hours previously. We hung around a bit then slowly filtered away to our boats to process the huge amounts of calories that had been consumed. A bit later I meandered down the dock and ended up having some wine and conversation with Page & Dottie, a couple of boaters that took us under their wing when we arrived to show us the ropes. It was an early evening as both Dirk & I were pooped from playing with the kids earlier so we went back to the boat and piddled a bit before calling it an evening.

On other news the solar panels finally came in and got installed. We were beginning to wonder if they were gonna make it before we left. We ended up mounting them on the bimini top where they would be out of the way and out of sight.

At first we weren't sure if the top would be sturdy enough, but in the end we added a couple more support poles, two leading down from the sides attached to the toe rail and two added from the back to the back rail. Seems like they are pretty sturdy and I'm happy that we didn't have to go with the other option of having to mount them on the sides close to the bow of the boat from the front railing to flip up. The jury is still out on the new power production but I think we will have good news on that end. I also finally finished my cover for the cooler that we have on the front deck. When we bought it, the intention was to have a ready area to throw any catch in that we might be so lucky to get, with the ulterior motive of having an extra storage space. I wanted to make a cover for it as I know the UV rays can take years off of any item stored on deck. I have had the pattern cut and pinned for a while but had trouble with the sewing machine and gave up on the project out of frustration. Well today I found someone who was gracious enough to whip it through their machine and after making a few cut outs for tie down straps we are in business. Thanks Michelle.

Were still not one hundred percent happy with our refrigeration as it seems like it still runs a lot even after adding the other insulation. Were wondering if in fact we might have a problem with our thermostat and are looking at perhaps replacing it with a different kind. More reading needs to be done on this before we make any kind of decision. This week was a good week and what made it better was to finally meet someone who has been an inspiration to both Dirk and I for so long. Even before we purchased Tybee Time we began reading Bill's blog aboard s/v Galena and all the adventures he had made us want to become cruisers even more. We follow him still and realized he would be coming to the marina we are currently in and in fact he ended up just across the dock and down a couple slips. Dirk & I showed him to the local watering hole where we ended up chatting it up over several beers. Have to say its been very nice getting to know him and hearing all his stories he has to share. I do hope we find our paths cross again in the future. There are a couple other blogs we follow and we are looking forward to meeting these folks in the very near future.

Well here it is only a few days before the new year so its doubtful that I will be posting again until then. Here's to hoping that everyone has a safe and wonderful New Years celebration and may we all find the strength to stick to the resolutions that we make. Cheers & Happy New Year from Dirk, myself and Butters.

Merry Christmas from the Keys

It's hard to believe that Christmas is knocking on the door with baby New Year right on it's heels. Time has flown by since we have been here and it doesn't seem as if we have gotten anything accomplished. We have actually only been downtown to do the tourist thing once. Still wanna do that, but something tells me we will be back here one day to stay for a little longer. Well maybe a lot longer, who knows…..

Let’s see, when I last wrote we were waiting on our solar panels to arrive. Well, we are still waiting….we hear they should arrive this next week sometime so we will just wait and see. Dirk finally figured out how he wanted to mount them so he went and bought the stainless steel poles and all the doo dads to attach it over the bimini top. I will keep you posted on that one. Another project we have been meaning to do is to add extra insulation to the interior of the refrigerator. The previous owner put spray foam everywhere on the exterior hollow spots he could get to but we still felt as if it could be improved a bit more as it seems the fridge is a big source of our power usage. Since being down here in the Keys has afforded us the luxury of having a vehicle every once in a while as I have family here, we took the opportunity to go by Home Depot and buy a big sheet of the insulation. It was only ½ inch thick but in some places we doubled it up such as the side that faces the oven and the bottom which is by far too deep anyway. I usually end up doing a hand stand in the fridge to retrieve any item that has managed to find its way down there. So we got that done and I have to say I lost very little fridge space and we figure any improvement we gave it has to be good. Dirk still has not come back with the numbers to tell us how much but if I remember I will let you know when he does. Below is a photo of the fridge before, followed by the photo of the final product.

Dirk has been enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having by dividing his time between fishing and lobstering. He has seen so many lobster but since we are towards the end of the season they have all been too small. He took me with him one day and we see all the lobster sitting on the wall laughing at us as they are the size of a very large shrimp and know that they have time on their side, unless of course the two large new buddies Dirk spotted, Moray & Eel decide to have them for lunch. We went out again the other day and Dirk takes off snorkeling as I am relaxing in the dinghy working on my tan lines when he comes back with a big grin on his face. Yep, he got him a legal lobster, finally!!!! Only got one, but saw several more so he will return to that spot at a later date. We brought the catch back to the boat and in about 15 minutes we had our first taste testing to do.

Ready for the grill

It wasn't huge, but it was a nice tasty morsel. I want to try a few different ways of cooking them. My aunt gave me a few ideas that I will have to give a try.

Well, Christmas is in a few short days and then we find ourselves ushering in the New Year. Dirk and I will celebrate the New Year downtown in Key West. I hear there is much fun to be had, so we have gotten us a room within walking distance to Duval Street. Can't wait, but then on the other hand New Years also signals us that it is time to move on. Before we know it we will begin our journey north to Marathon where we will do some of our final provisioning, then we wait for a good weather window to make the jump to the Bahamas.

Dirk, myself, and Butters want to wish all our family, friends, and readers a wonderful Christmas, and we hope for a safe and happy New Year to all. Till next time.....Cheers!

Still in the Keys

Fear not readers, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet. We have begun getting into the grove of doing everything and nothing. Everything as far as meeting and hanging out with new people , exploring by land and water our new surroundings, and in general just doing only what we want for the day. The nothing is just what it means, nothing......Unfortunately that nothing includes boat work and projects yet to be tackled. But alas, we are in paradise so what are we to do.....


I may have said this before but the only thing we can find fault in this marina is the fact that you are a bit far from anything. This marina does offer a great laundry facility, a nice bar and grill so there is food and drinks to be found but for any provisioning or entertainment one must go off base which is about a 2 mile walk up to the gate to catch a city bus that runs on a not so frequent schedule. On the two occasions we attempted the walk we were picked up by folks that recognized us from the marina. So we decided that in order to get around without having to beg, borrow, or steal a vehicle was to purchase some bikes. So a couple days ago we set out looking for some affordable fold up bicycles. We did go to the local marine store (not mentioning any names) and test drove two different fold ables they had. I guess if you wanted only to go a short hop here or there they would be fine, but for the amount we would need to ride them they were just far too uncomfortable. We also looked online at a few fold ables and any that had what we thought was needed were far too expensive. After tossing the ideas around for a day we decided to go ahead and purchase two bikes we saw at the local K-Mart that were on sale with a great price, and a name brand. At least now we can head into town anytime we want which is what we did yesterday. It takes about 45 minutes to make the ride,we can park the bikes for free and walk all over Key West with no worries. So now we have more reasons not to stay on the boat and do what needs to be done.
Here Dirk is enjoying another day in paradise

One big project we are doing while here in the marina is to install two more solar panels. They have been ordered but now we have the task of finding the best place to mount them and how. We found that when we were on the hook or on a mooring ball during our time getting down here that we were running the engine or the portable generator far too often to keep the batteries charged. Not that we are energy hogs but between our refrigeration and our freezer we use a lot of amp hours. With the price of diesel and gas we figure the panels will pay for themselves pretty quick. Not to mention hours on the engine and oil changes. So I guess we will actually have to take the time to do this before we move on.

Tybee Time got her tree put up along with a few lights to give it the festive glow. I know that our northern friends and family and even our friends in north Florida have been griping about the cold but we have been experiencing temps in the 80's so its hard to believe its Christmas time. The calendar however, assures us that it is.

Before we know it, it will be the new year and time to move on to Marathon and then to the Bahamas. Surely you will hear again from me before the new year, there is only so much nothing you can do in a day.

Now in the Keys, but 1st Marco Island

We left Fort Myers on Saturday after Thanksgiving pulling away from the ball about 8am and having I think a seven hour motor sail down to Marco Island. As we pulled out of the pass we were right on time to be right behind Dave from New Horizon to sail together. He was in our marina in Panama city and was due to leave before us but didn't. He too was headed for Marco Island for a day of rest before heading further south. Several people told us about a place to anchor in factory bay so that's where we headed once we got through the channel. Dirk and I were in the lead and we got to the anchoring spot where it showed 11 feet, then it showed 4. We draw 4' 11" we had run aground. Dave's boat draws more so Dirk tries to motion for him to go back but he keeps chugging on as he doesn't hear us yelling for him to go back. We reverse and are out with no problem but we see Dave churning up the sand trying to get free. Finally he breaks away and heads back the way we came. Later we find out that that particular anchorage has a sand bank running the width of it. No duh.....Lucky for us it was soft sand. So we found another spot outside the channel not too far away and set the hook. Dave is single handing it so we decided to invite him over for a home cooked meal and some conversation. Steaks and potatoes on the grill and he brought over some homemade mulberry wine that was awesome. Next morning he was headed south by the time we awoke but we decided to stay and check things out. Michael and his wife Christi live close by so they brought their boat out to ours and took us on a tour. Wow, the waterways are endless as are the small islands dotting the landscape. We stopped at one island called Cape Romano where the famous Dome home is located. Apparently hurricane Wilma decided to claim the home and the builder is trying to rebuild but running into road blocks. Pretty cool house but looks like a little too much work to me.
The guys decided to do a little fishing and I sat back just soaking in the warm temps and relaxed. Before long it was time to head back to our boat as it would soon be dark. The next morning we started preparing the boat for the 20 hour crossing to the Keys. The winds were suppose to be light and the seas calm so we decided just to put the dinghy on the davits as neither one of us felt like hauling it up to the front of the boat. We were trying to time it so that we would be getting to the Key West channel at sunrise so about 3pm would have been a good time to leave, but we were anxious to get a move on. At noon we were about to pull anchor when we were approached by the Sheriffs dept. boat. Oh great we thought, we have heard and read horror stories about this particular place in the past and realize that it isn't a very sail boater friendly area. We were pleasantly surprised as this guy was just making sure our papers were in order, he answered questions we had for him and was in general very pleasant. No problems here.....So once again we set about pulling anchor and heading out. Once outside the pass we set the sails and plotted our course so that we would go out about 20 miles offshore and then turn south hoping to avoid too many crab pots. A few times there were so many white buoys that I'm sure from the air it looked as if someone dumped a giant size bean bag into the water. At first it wasn't too bad as the water was calm enough that the strings of pots could be seen on the radar. Once the waves picked up a bit that didn't work any longer. We were finally able to turn off the motor and actually do a little sailing and lucky for us that we were sailing because while trying to avoid one crab pot I snagged another. I took her into the wind and was hoping once the boat stopped that the float would cause the pot to release then we would just push it away. No such luck.....Dirk tried taking the boat hook and pulling on the line as we could see the line under the boat but it was apparently hooked on something. One thing left to do, so Dirk tied a line to himself and jumped in diving under the boat to release the pot. Simple enough and we continued on. Sunset was coming quickly and we didn't seem to be any closer to getting out of the pots, at one point we were close to 40 miles offshore and we were still having them to contend with. The way we usually do the longer crossings is one person at the helm watching and the other rest or sleeps if they can. This time we didn't have the leisure of rest as one person had to be on the bow with a spot light reporting back to the helmsman. I knew those marriage saver headsets would come in handy one day. I couldn't imagine doing it without them. At one point at about 2am we both were so tired we decided to put the boat on auto pilot, main sail up and set the radar alarm for anything coming within 3 miles of us. I don't think either one slept but we both were able to lay in the cockpit and close our eyes and rest for about 2 hours. The wind was so light that we were only making about 2 knots. It actually worked out well as we reached the channel about 25 minutes before sunrise. Below is the sun rising over Key West.
Finally we made it through the channel and around and up to the Boca Chica naval air station marina. Wow, what a great place. We were going to stay one night in a slip and then move out to a mooring ball for a month but we were able to get a slip for the whole month which is great. I have shore power to do some of my sewing projects and easy access to land so we can get stuff done. But judging by the looks of things we may not get too much done. Like I said this place is beautiful, wonderful marina with many great folks. Great facilities, a little beach right next to the bar and grill with tiki huts and grills.
Our only problem is that it is a ways to get anywhere. I think we will look into getting two fold up bicycles as they will be very handy here and we can take them with us when we go. So here we will reside for a month, get into the slow pace of the cruising life and just take some time for us. A perfect ending to a perfect 1st day here was a beautiful Key West sunset.

I will keep updating while here as Im sure I will have much to report on and many photos to show. So keep checking back...

Thanksgiving in Fort Myers

Hi all, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family. Dirk and I spent ours sitting on a mooring ball here in Estero Bay in Fort Myers. Well we actually did find a nice restaurant called the Gulfshore Grill that was serving Thanksgiving dinner. We walked in about 11:30 and they told us they were closed for the rest of the day unless we had a reservation for dinner starting at 12:30. Since we didn't have a reservation we were told we could sit at the bar and they could get us a meal there. We agreed to come back and decided to spend some time walking the beach. When we returned we were still a bit early but as the bar was open we went ahead and grabbed two stools ordered a couple cocktails and gabbed with the bartenders. We were approached a few moments later by a hostess who said that they had set up a table for us if we wanted to be seated in the dining area. Now that was a nice surprise and of course we graciously accepted. We had the option of a Shrimp, salmon, prime rib, rosemary lamb or traditional turkey with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving is all about the turkey for me so we elected for the traditional and have to say we were not disappointed. What a great spread this restaurant put on and well it was nice to be treated so nicely.


Above Dirk and I are enjoying our Turkey meal and below our bartender that we called Sara due to her resemblance to Mrs. Palin.

I think last time I wrote we were in Boca Grande and only spent one evening there as we are anxious to get south. It was a beautiful area with many small islands screaming to be explored, but it would have to be some other time. On Tuesday we pulled anchor and cruised down the ICW putting up the sails to very little winds. Once in Sanibel area we went through the area that some cruisers call the miserable mile. We had no problem but I can see where it could be. When you are cruising down the ICW and you look over and see someone shin deep in water very close to your boat you get a little white knuckled especially when you know that you need at least 5 feet under your boat not to hit bottom. When you look at the charts in many areas it shows a depth of 1 to 2 feet so you dont let your boat stray. It took us about five and a half hours to make the trip and like I said we ended up in a mooring field in Estero Bay. The Matanzas Inn runs the field and at 13 bucks a day its not bad for this area. Pretty empty too as they put us in the back forty as I say. But that's fine, was a bit of a dinghy ride to the dingy dock but they had nice laundry facility's there and it makes for an easy walk to the beaches a couple blocks away. Tomorrow we shall head out bright and early to make the 7 hour sail down to Marco Island where we will spend a day then we are looking at another long sail of 20 hours down to Boca Chica in the Keys. We both are looking forward to getting there as we will spend some time and relax a bit taking time to soak up some sun and fun. We have been moving so much that it will be nice to breath for a while.

Just a quick update from Boca Grande

I'm writing this from the cockpit anchored in front of Punta Biance Island which is behind Cayo Costa ( Lacosta Island) here in Boca Grande. We Left Bradenton on Sunday at 9am sharp and traveled five hours down the ICW (Inner Coastal Waterway) till we ended up in Venice. There we stayed at the city dock which is next to the Venice Yacht Club which is another story. Dirk walked over to see if he could purchase some diesel from them for the cans only to be told that they could not sell him any because he was not a member. Guess our money is different then theirs. So we ended up walking the jugs down to the Crows Nest Marina where they thought our money was perfectly acceptable. Anyway the dock allows you to stay 18 hours free in any given 10 days, we just took it all at once.
This morning we woke early to a foggy morning and ended up going out the Venice pass and traveled another five hours to end up here. Can I tell you the crab pots are everywhere, below is a photo of our radar showing how many there were around to avoid.


It was like playing frogger and was pretty nerve racking till we got further out and I could keep them to the left. Every once in a while a straggler would pop up and test you. Once we got here we set the hook and took the dinghy down and motored about to check out the islands. Its so pretty as you can hear all the sounds of nature. The dolphins seem abundant and I spotted my first manatee today. Here Dirk is walking the island checking out the scenery
Tomorrow or the next we should be headed for the Ft. Meyers area. Once we sit for more then a day then I will catch up.

Made it to Bradenton

Well here it is Tuesday and I am finally bringing everyone up to speed on our where abouts. My brain was fried for a couple days after staying awake so much during the 36 hour crossing to get here from Carrabelle. Friday we pulled away from the marina and motor sailed for an hour to get to Dog Island where we planned on staging our getaway from. We set anchor about 1pm and I set about getting things ready below as Dirk was doing the same up on deck. I baked a pan of muffins and made a big pot of gumbo so the cooking would be done and all it would take was a quick heat up to eat. We had two routes planned this time. One was for seas and winds that would cooperate and the other was in case we ran into the same type of mess we got into on our last attempt. The weather reports were calling for anywhere between 5 to 15 knot winds and seas 1 to 3 feet. About 6pm we tried to settle in trying to prep our brains for an early night to bed as we were to be up early. 1:30am the alarm went off and we were up and ready to go in 30 minutes. Of course it felt as if neither of us got any sleep as we were both anxious to get a move on. We pulled anchor in pitch darkness and headed to the pass circling around a couple of the buoys a couple times as we completely lost our bearings. It was quiet unsettling seeing lights all around and yet not quiet knowing where we were. It seemed so straight forward during the daylight hours. Finally we made it out the pass and set our sails and autopilot. I have to say, I really don't know how people make long crossings without one. I cant imagine having to hand steer for any length of time. Well the winds and seas were exactly what they called for, somehow we didn't really trust them but they were. We ended up doing the wing on wing with the sails as the wind was coming from right behind us. We motor sailed at about 5.5 knots the entire morning till a little after sunrise when we decided to give Max our trusty westerbeke a rest. It was a quiet slow moving ride for the next six hours till Dirk did the math and realized if we were gonna get through the Egmont channel during the daylight hours we would need to get a move on. Dirk fired up Max once again and we headed off with seas being a pleasant 1 to 3 feet. Butters was very catered to on this trip as he has finally realized the best place to be is in the cockpit with us. I tried taking him down a couple times to use his litter box but he made a bee line up top once again. So momma or daddy would go down, retrieve the litter box every once in a while, bring it up top, drop the cat into it and wait. With Dirk and I taking turns on the helm the other person would doze or rest with the cat happily plastered between our legs covered with a blanket. This is how he feels the safest and that's how he stayed after dark. During the day we could just cover him with a blanket and he was content. We call him our tunneler as I have never known a cat that loved being buried under blankets like him. Any time you cant find him usually go to the bed and look for the lump. Anyway, the first day came and went and as it was turning into night on the second day I wondered if it would end. I felt like the little train that could, I think I can, I think I can. We had nice breaks when the dolphins would come and play in the wake of the boat. We would go to the bow and hang over the front watching them.

As many times as I see them it never gets old. The only scare we had was during the night on Saturday when I am dozing and Dirk says there is a ship out there over 150 feet showing up on the radar coming right at us. We watched it as it kept heading for us in the pitch darkness. Finally we decided to change our course as he wasn't doing anything. Dirk tried hailing the vessel to no avail and we figure they just had the auto pilot set and were all asleep. Whew! I'm awake.....Daylight broke on the second morning and we were in the home stretch. Yes....I was never so happy to see the sun rise. About 11am we hit the Egmont channel and were greeted by a very large pod of dolphins being our welcome committee. I was at the helm and suddenly I felt like a very small boat on big waters as these huge container ships were headed in and out of Tampa Bay. Wow those suckers can move some water and go fast. Once I saw the sunshine skyway bridge I knew it was only a matter of time before we could say we did it.
The longest leg of our journey was over and it was 36 hours after we had begun.Dirk saw all these boats trolling so he threw his line out and it was only a matter of time before we got a hit.We were hoping for a grouper but we ended up with a king mackerel. That would do.....I got the fish whiskey out and Dirk gaffed the fish and raised it up for me to spray the Jim Beam into its gills. I have read that if you spray alcohol down the fishes gills it sedates them and they wont thrash as much. Ha....I think he didn't like Jim too much and he thrashed away sending blood spaying around everywhere. Finally he succumbed to the drunk and went beddy bye. It was either the whiskey or the fact that Dirk gaffed him through a major artery and he bled out. Hummm..... So now I need to see the best way to cook King Mackerel, any ideas?

We are docked right now in a good place on the inter coastal waterway in Bradenton. A place called the seafood shack marina whose rates are the best we found in the area if you go for the weekly rate. They have a marina lounge with washer/dryer and shower/bathroom facilities. To boot we are docked right in front of the restaurant which we have eaten at a couple times and the food it good. Below is where we are docked with Tybee Time on the left.

On the blog position map it shows us several docks down where we were when we first got here. We have since moved on down a ways as we wanted a little more protection. Right across the bridge is Anna Maria Island with many shops and a beautiful beach. These parts are some of my old stomping grounds as I lived here many years ago for a couple years. We will stay here a week, relax and visit with family and friends that are down this way. Our next stop will probably be down in the Naples area somewhere. It feels so good though to be on our way. Dirk and I both have to keep saying that this is real, this is happening, finally.......

Still in Carrabelle waiting for weather

So here we sit still waiting for weather still in Carrabelle at C Quarters marina.The above photo is the view from the cockpit. Nice place like I said before and great people, so if you find yourselves in this neck of the woods check them out. Ida came and went without too much problem here. We set our alarm every two hours and did line checks as these are fixed docks and the water was lapping over the tops of them. Marina crew was out and about every couple hours checking on things but all went well. Now Dirk and I are checking and rechecking weather looking for our next possible weather window which looks like it will be Friday or early Saturday for taking off. We will probably leave here and stage ourselves behind Dog Island as the river here has a fairly strong current and we will wait till slack tide to get outta here. Once we are sure the weather will work out we will take off and head for the Tampa area semi hugging the coastline just in case we have a repeat of our last offshore trip. We also added a new feature to the blog. If you notice at the top left of the blog there is a section for our current position. We have integrated the spot messenger that we got for our anniversary into the blog so that you readers could follow our progress. It shows you a map or you can choose to see the satellite image if you want. It seems to be really accurate as right now it actually shows the slip we are sitting in. So hopefully the next post you will see will be coming at you from parts further south.

Headed to Tampa, at least that was our intention....

In the days leading up to our departure time seemed to fly by. We had sold our truck 2 weeks earlier and were using the motorcycle to get around. On the 29th of Oct. we rented a car and I was able to do the last of the bulk laundry and some provisioning. Friday Dirk drove his bike and I drove the car up to Enterprise to put it in storage. Last minute items got booted from the boat and taken to storage. While we were there we decided to pay our poker league buddies one last visit. So Friday evening we headed to Oscars and said our farewells. Dirk ended up winning the tournament so he was happy. We did however stay another day and returned on Saturday night, Had to get the last fix in. Sunday we visited other friends and ended up having lunch with my Uncle to get our farewells exchanged then it was back to the boat where we piled the last of the provisions we had gotten over the weekend onto it.

Monday was spent doing last minute errands. All the items topside were double checked, I made a big pot of soup for the crossing, items down below were tied down, lee clothes picked up from CB Sails and installed,

and a dozen other things that I'm forgetting at this moment. We had several dock neighbors and friends that wanted say their goodbyes so we all went out to dinner. I hated that we didn't have more time with them but we had to go. Just know you guys that you will all be missed and thought about. In between all this we had been checking and rechecking weather,

calculating times and rechecking everything. From here I will let Dirk put in his guest appearance as he requested to do so and I wasn't going to say no. Dirk, you have the floor.......

Well, today is the day that Nancy and I had been dreaming about for so long. The day that we have worked for since we bought the boat back in 2007.You all know what I am talking about. Today we cut the dock lines and leave everything behind. November 2nd was our official start date. We had been checking the weather for a week now, and according to NOAA the winds were going to be around 15 knots out of the NE with waves around 3-5 feet. That would be a good wind speed and a perfect direction. That being said, we figured it would take us around 40-48 hours to make it to Tampa, depending on our speed along the way. Since we wanted to arrive in Tampa in the morning, we figured a take off time of noon would suffice. After a very restless night we got up early in the morning to do the last minute stuff like saying goodbyes and making final checks on the boat. Came noon we were more than ready. We backed out of the slip and headed out. The CD player was blasting Southern Cross, by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. A few tears of joy and a big sigh…what a feeling. We made it out of the Pass and into the Gulf with no problems. Once in the Gulf we decided to appease the Gods of the sea with a shot of Metaxa. It would have been rude to make them drink alone, so we joined them for a little glass.

Right after that we had a Dolphin swimming next to us, which is a good sign. The weather was just as predicted if not even better. Now this is how sailing is supposed to be. We shut of Max, our trusty Westerbeke engine, and sailed at about 5-6 knots. Everything went as planned. As the sun set it got a little chilly and the wind and waves started to pick up. Even though it got a bit rougher, it was still not a bad sail. By now we had turned a little more to the east and the waves, which now reached 4-6 feet, hit us from the port. We were both pleasantly surprised on how well the boat took the waves. Nancy and I were feeling a little queasy, but other than that we were okay. Butters on the other hand was not too happy with us or anything at this point. He had already blessed every rug with puke and was lying under the bed. We had given him some paste that was supposed to help him relax, but I am not sure it worked too good. The wind now had reached 20 knots, gusting to 25, so we furled in the Jib and reefed down the main sail. Up to this point I always wondered why sailors say that they reef down for the night. I decided to reef the main after the weather got worse. Not a great idea. Nancy took me into the wind; I lowered the main, then tethered in and went forward to attach the main tack to the mast. Hmmmm, did I mention that I had nothing prepared for that. I took a rope from a bumper and used that to tie of the reef point to the mast. Then I tied down the excess sail. Hmmm, I guess having ties for that would have helped. I found another line of a bumper and used it. Now back to the cockpit to tighten up the main halyard. Hey, I had one of those. So after about 20 minutes being thrown back and forth and a few choice words, the reefing was done. Only 30+ hours to go, piece of cake! Nancy and I took 2 hour turns behind the autopilot. Of course in these kind of conditions neither one of us could sleep. So the two hour shifts were out. What it came down to is that we switched out more frequent and stayed behind the helm until we got tired. We kept checking the weather on our C-80, which was a life saver. The forecast had not changed. Still calling for 15-20 knots and 3-5 feet waves. That right there should have given us a clue. When NOAA reports 3-5 feet, just add 3+5 together and use that. That is what we are going to do from now on. By now we were in 20-25 knots and at least 8-10 foot waves. This all was a little scary, but not too bad as long as the engine holds up. My vacuum gage on the fuel filter was going towards the red line, and there was no way in hell that I could have gone down below in these conditions to change a filter. Luckily the engine held out just fine and never missed a beat. Thank you Max! The rest of the night was pretty event less, just very, very bumpy. At times I tried to turn more into the wind to limit our motion to the up and down vs. the up and down and all around. When I turned into the waves, we made about 2 knots over the ground. At that speed we would get there a little past never. Staying on course at least gave us 4-5 knots. The only good thing about the night was that we had a full moon which gave us plenty of light, even though sometimes I think it would have been better not to see what was about to hit us. When the sun came up in the morning we once again checked the forecast and yup, you guessed it, it changed. Now they are forecasting 15-20 knots, becoming 20-25 at night, with 4-6, building to 6-8 at night. My ass I was saying, we had 8-10 now with 25, gusting to 30. After we looked at the charts, we found that the closest shoreline was not only 30 miles away, but also 30 miles almost behind us. So we turned towards Government Cut, which would lead us into Apalachicola Bay. To make a long story a little shorter, we did just that, and after about 30 hours we ended up, totally pooped, in a nice little place called Scipio Creek Marina. If we would have gone there from Panama City, it would have taken us only 10 hours. Oh well. This was by far the roughest weather we have seen so far and we hope this will be the only time that we have to endure it. Never the less it did give us confidence in the boat’s handling capabilities and our sailing skills. I am going to close with a few lessons learned, and then Nancy is going to take back over and finish off.
1. The SR-50 Sirius Wx for the Raymarine was a lifesaver.
2. Reefing the Mainsail before the weather gets bad is a must.
3. If you plan on long trips, and you have the space, I would recommend installing a dual fuel filter system that will let you switch filters without having to shut down. I think I will get one of those too.
4. Hope for the best weather and conditions, but prepare for the worse.
5. The Gods don’t like Metaxa, so use something else.
6. Last but not least Nancy I love you!

I think Dirk summed everything up nicely. Like he said we stayed at the Scipio Marina in Apalachicola. Nice little place in a very small creek with a nice restaurant overlooking our boat. Price was 1.50 per ft. and helpful staff. Since the seafood festival was going on that weekend we had to move down to Carrabelle about a 5 hour motor sail down the inter coastal. We experienced our first ever bridge to go under. I can see why people say its nerve racking as it looks like your mast is gonna hit it even though it says 65 foot clearance. We have a 57 foot mast so with the antenna on top it looks close. We saw the oyster boats out collecting the days haul and a huge number of dolphins. We even saw a bald eagle,my first out of captivity sitting on a channel marker. On the way into the river here Dirk spotted a manatee, I missed it. So we are sitting in a marina called C Quarters. The price was right at 1.00 per ft. water and elec included. If you stay a week you might even get a deal. Clean restrooms and showers, laundry at 1.50 per wash and 1.50 dry. There is a grocery store within walking distance, haven't gone but see others doing it. Seems like a nice quaint town, where fishing seems to be a big part of life. Very nice folks here that seem to think that beer makes a good breakfast drink. So we hangout here till the weather decides to play nice. With Ida out there and the fronts on the move we will try to pick our time wisely. For now we are enjoying the lazy days. We will get to Tampa as soon as mother nature says we can. By the way, one nice book we got before we left that has been helpful has been the cruising guide from Maptech of Florida and the Bahamas edition 3. Lots of good information thus far.

Time to go

I'm writing this wedged in between food stuffs that need to be stowed on the settee. Lots of last minute prepping to be done. Laundry is in the wash, a big pot of soup is being cooked so we have something nice and warm to keep us nice and warm. Last minute items stowed, fuel topped off, and the list goes on and on. Keeping this short as we have so much to do and time is short. Our plan is to leave the marina sometime early by 7am tomorrow. We are looking at about 48 hours give or take to get to the Tampa area. The weather should be near perfect for crossing so we should be getting to our destination sometime early Thursday morning. As soon as we get on the other side and settled I will update and let you all know how it went. Planning on giving an offering to the wind and water gods for safe passage as we leave so perhaps they will be nice to us. Till we reach the other side......

Getting down to the wire

Here we are staring at the end of October right upon us. Dirks ideal time for us to make the gulf crossing over to the Tampa area is the next full moon give or take a few days. Weather permitting of course. It will take us about 40 hours with an overnighter to get there and if we can have some moon light lighting our way why not. The thing is, the next full moon is November the 2nd. Yikes! that's 12 days away. So we are putting life into over drive as we try and get last minute details done. We knew and know now that our list would never get done, but everything just about that needs to be done is done or there abouts. We said goodbye to our truck last week as we sold her back to the dealership. Boy that was hard to do but it was the best thing as we don't know how long we will be gone for and frankly the thought of putting her in storage didn't appeal to us. Isn't it amazing how hard it is to say goodbye to possessions, first our house, then the truck. So we are down to the Harley for transportation and we have found its interesting buying just enough groceries to fit in the bags. Next week we take the motorcycle and put it into storage along with our other "stuff".

Dirk and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary this month and decided to get safety equipment as our gifts. First thing we got was the "SPOT", the satellite messenger.

For those of you not familiar with it,.. using the GPS satellite system to determine our location and communications satellites to transmit information to chosen recipients we can send with a touch of a button our location out that will include a web link to view our location on Google Maps. Our friends used this last year while they were in the Bahamas and it was nice to get a message and see where they were at. It also has a 911 button that you can push for an emergency. We both got new self inflatable life vest that will work nicely with the harness system we have.

I think the only other thing I need is some foul weather pants. I got myself a nice jacket a couple months back but am having a hard time finding pants. I need to get on it as I think I'm gonna need them for the gulf crossing if for nothing else to help keep me warm.

We stand back and look at the boat and realize she is quickly looking like a cruising vessel. Extra gear is getting lashed on top,wood planks are being installed to lash the extra gas, diesel, and water cans to, and the water line is slowly getting smaller. We also completed a few more projects that we wanted done before leaving. Dirk and I are both vertically challenged people and for us to see over our navigation pod it takes us kneeling or standing on the seat. After even a little while it takes its toll so we decided to install a step for us to stand on. Dirk used marine lumber/starboard, stainless steel legs and rubber feet to make the below step.

Its attached to the propane locker so it doesn't move. Have to say we are loving it and have no problems seeing now. Dirk also installed a new florescent light fixture in the salon as he hates how dark it is when he needs task lighting. Have to say, it does light things up. He also installed me new LED task lighting above the stove area.

With my cutting board on top I use this area the most in the galley and its the darkest spot. The lights swivel 360 and tilt forward and back putting light wherever I need it. I also completed a screen door project I wanted to do. Since we have our cat I hate to close up the companionway hatches when we are at anchor and away from the boat. We do have a full screen for the companionway but to be effective you must be inside of the boat to fully install it. Usually we put it in as good as we can and put the two hatches in leaving only the sliding top open. I am always worrying that he will get out so I figured I could make a sliding screen hatch. Below is a photo.
Now it wont keep all the bugs out as there is a small gap up top but it will do what I wanted it to. This way I can pull the top and slide in the hatch and its seems pretty secure. Guess that's the over protective mama coming out in me.

Well I guess its all over but the crying so to speak. Many years of dreaming, Two years of learning to sail and getting the boat outfitted for cruising and here we are. In about two weeks we will be cutting the dock lines, saying farewell to our dock neighbors and heading south for warmer climates and days full of adventures. I think were both looking forward to meeting the folks that I have made contact with through the Internet and both excited about the life that is ahead of us. Here's hoping you will continue to read our blog and hope that I can keep you intrigued and awed as so many have done for us.

Some completed projects

So we have been home here on the boat for a couple weeks now recouping from all our travels. We saw so many incredible places, ate so much wonderful food and visited with so many great friends and family, but it is now time to get with the program. Here we are in the second week of October and we are feeling the crunch of time upon us. A few things that are now completed worthy I guess of mentioning are a few canvas projects that got completed. Before we take off we decided that we wanted to have a sun shade made for the boat that would keep the direct rays of the sun off the deck in hopes that the boat would stay a little cooler. So we had CB Sails come by and design a sun awning for us that we would work but would still allow us the ability to walk the side decks and have access under it. In the past we have taken a tarp and draped it over the boom and tied it down to the toe rail. Other then looking like a gypsy it works pretty well but doesn't afford you the opportunity to sit under it. Below is a photo of what we had made. I can take my port a seat up there and sit under it, I can walk under it which is a plus with no ropes to weave and trip over.
I think the only thing I think both Dirk and I wish that we had done differently was to extend it forward to the bow. Oh well, its made now....We may order some sunbrella to match and make it ourselves one day as we need to make some sort of covers for the water and fuel jugs we will be carrying. Also looking at this photo you can see our yellow generator sitting up front where we normally keep it tied down. I decided to make a cover for it as most boaters realize that anything left out in the suns UV rays will slowly begin to break down and become brittle.

Now it is at least protected from the elements. Not too shabby as I had no pattern to go by.

Another sewing project I got into one day was replacing the life sling holder. The life sling is a throw able life ring that is attached to a long section on nylon rope which is in turn attached to the back rail of the boat. In the event of someone falling overboard the bag is opened and the life sling thrown to them. Then it is just a matter of pulling the man over board back on board. Well the bag was probably as old as the boat and was looking a little worse for wear as the photo below shows.

So I decided to put my still working on sewing skills to a test and make a new one that would match the canvas on our boat. Below is the final product which I was very proud of I have to say.

The final canvas job was done by CB Sails and was something that I guess we could have done without but we are happy with the job they did even though it took a huge bite out of our cruising kitty. Our salon cushions were the original foam that the previous owner had recovered. It was all well and good if you didn't have to spend too much time on them but for sleeping or lounging about and watching TV they weren't the most comfortable. So Dirk and I had the bright idea of adding more foam to them for a little more comfort. Well when we tried to over stuff the cushions we busted the seams in several places. There was a couple options we had but we of course decided to go with the most expensive and get brand new cushions made. The living room suite we had in our home cost less then these to make, but we are talking about a boat. Everything cost more, why is that? I guess because it can. Well we decided on a nice sunbrella that would be about the same colors as our cat. Geeeze the things we do.....I wanted to be able to hide his hair as much as possible and I have to say it is working. Just don't sit down with anything dark on, I cant see where to vacuum it up anymore. The first photo shows the full salon with the filler put in that makes up into a bed. The second photo shows the filler removed The lighter material really makes the salon look brighter and more airy. So I'm thinking that this is the final big money project. Ha! don't we always think that....We have been doing a few things here and there and when I get a list I will report. But here we are like I said almost mid October and time is flying by. We are like two horses at the gate bucking to get into the race. We are so ready to start our migration south and to begin our new adventures. Please keep tuned in as we make our final preparations for our first leg of our journey to begin.

Land & Air Travel, Germany Part II

Well we did make it to London and we did make up some ground but not enough. As soon as we landed we figured that we could just scurry through the airport and catch our plane in the Nick of time. How wrong were we? As we are running down the corridor we realize that there is a line and someone checking each passengers ticket to direct them to the next cattle gate. We were directed to a line that was for a shuttle to the other airport terminal. Uuuuughh...So we hop on the bus and ride over to the other terminal and get corraled into an area for passengers missing their flights. Yadda yadda yadda long story short we finally made it to Hamburg Germany and hit the baggage claim. There's one, two, three, three, three, and of course it was mine. Why is it I cannot fly into Europe without my bags showing up when I do. So we do the usual claim and we will wait till they deliver it in the evening. Dirk's mom is waiting for us with the usual roses in tow for us. Of course first things first, we have to have our doner and beer for our first meal.

As the evening progressed it was obvious that my luggage would not arrive till the next day. Dirk was set as everything of his had arrived. I had absolutely nothing except what I was wearing on my back. Digging through his stuff I found something to wear to bed. Yadda, yadda, yadda again and finally after 4 days my luggage had been found. Wonder what strange lands it had been to. We must have called the airport a million times and they must have recognized Dirks voice and thought oh no, not again. Lucky for me his mom called a neighbor who was about the same size as me and she was kind enough to loan me some clothes. Our first week was spent spending time with Dirk's mom eating out at some wonderful restaurants and visiting family members. Here is Dirk and his mother toasting to seeing each other once again.

And here I am with Dirk's Oma. This woman amazes me, she is 101 and still going strong.

So our first week passed so quickly and we planned on doing a little touring for our second week there. I had been to Germany a couple of times but had never left the city of Hamburg and surrounding areas. So on Monday we took off with our sights set on Berlin. His mom was kind enough to let us borrow her car and of course we had to do the test drive right away on the autobahn. As his moms words of warning" don't drive fast" were ringing in our ears all we could do was watch in amazement as the trees and cars zipped by us and the speedometer kept climbing. 140 mph was the point where we felt like enough was enough. It was fun, been there, done that but now it was time to travel at a safer speed so we kept it around 80 to 100 which was good cruising speed.

Above is our little video we took to show his mom how well her car flew.

We planned on staying 2 days in Berlin as it is a huge city and we felt like it would take us that long to see. We actually did the tourist thing one day and booked a bus tour of the city and it was great. Get on where you want, get off at points you want to see. Take your time and within 15 minutes there was always another tour bus there to take you to the next stop. We enjoyed Berlin but we both felt it was a bit too touristy for our taste. We saw the usual spots, Berlin wall, checkpoint charlie, plenty of churches and a palace that had beautiful grounds to walk.

Two photos of the Berlin wall. Top one shows pretty much the condition of the remaining wall. People have done their share to chip a piece off and now it is fenced in to preserve what is left. The bottom shows some roses left by someone that I thought was a nice. In Sept. of 1989 the wall began coming down and Dirk was there to partake in gaining his piece of the rock. Kinda cool taking part in history and having video and photos to show for it along with a nice chunk of the wall.

Tuesday evening we headed to the small town of Potsdam to have dinner with an old classmate of Dirks. Beautiful old town with cobblestone streets and such the look of the old Germany I was looking for. Wednesday found us heading to Dresden. Most of the city had been destroyed during the war but they are still rebuilding it and it is beautiful. We decided to head into town that same evening and selected the old section. Well for two days that was all we saw. Breathtaking views every corner you turned and just when you thought it couldn't get any better it did. Both Dirk and I were very camera happy and ended up with over 200 photos most days.

Here is Dirk enjoying one of our favorite German beers, Warsteiner

After leaving Dresden we headed for a day in Rothenburg. A quaint city surrounded by a wall and largely left intact from the war. Cobblestone streets and old charm is what I loved about this city. We thought about staying here overnight in a little B&B but the rain finally came and it didn't seem it was going anywhere. So we decided to head on to our next destination which was Wiesbaden. This is the city that Dirk was living in when we first met. He was actually stationed at the military base there. So we managed to find the American Arms hotel and got a room there for 2 days. Geeze I felt like I was back in the states, this is the first time in 2 weeks I was hearing English spoken. Well, besides my husband speaking to me. Here we actually hung out and relaxed a bit from all our travels and one day we took a beautiful drive up the Rhein Valley. Here you will see one town after another dotted along the Rhein River. Shear cliffs behind and many castles overlooking the water. We did hike up to several, one of which was open to the public that we were able to view.

Here is the castle that we hiked up to and toured.

So here it was I think Sunday so we decided to head back to Hamburg as we had one week left till returning home. Our final week in Hamburg consisted of more of the same from the first week. Visiting old friends and family of Dirks filling everyone in on our plans of the future. Our final week flew by so very fast and before we knew it we were back on a plane headed for Tampa. We left Hamburg and had to fly back via London again. This time not only did we have to change terminals but we had to change airports. We landed at Heathrow and had to take an hour long bus ride to another one. Once on the plane however we were flying right into Tampa so no more stops or layovers. Just almost 9 straight hours of flying. I did get in 3 movies that had not seen before. Nice airplane, every seat had its own television and about 40 on demand movies, television shows and music to listen to and watch. Once back in Tampa my sister picked us up at the airport and shuttled us back to her house where we had our kitty waiting. He had been staying with her family and two other cats for 6 weeks now. But we were reacquainted and he didn't seem too angry with us. Two days recouping then we headed the 7 hours back to the boat here. Wow, its been a while and we were here to stay. We were a bit traveled out and glad to be back. So since we have been back it has been business as usual of course with a few days here and there to take off for the island and enjoy some R&R. I will be posting some of the Germany photos for anyone wanting to take a look under my albums which is top left of the blog. Give me some time to post them, I will make a notation when I do. Also keep checking back as we have accomplished lots of projects in preparation of us taking off for points further south here shortly. I will try to post that post this next week.