Will you be my First Mate?!

2.18.10

Brad proposed!!!

First trip out with the Pets!

2.15.10

Today was a beautiful day for sailing! We decided to take the pets out for their first sail. Moo stayed below decks and Koa stayed in the cockpit with us. He seemed to be happy basking in the sun.
The wind was a bit more than we were prepared to handle so we reefed the sails once we made it to the St. Johns River. We decided to stay in the river since the wind was so strong, so we headed for the Dames Point Bridge. Unfortunately the wind had other ideas - it was coming over our bow and we couldn't make any progress. Imagine, if you will, buoy #27 on the left side of the channel and a fishing boat with two guys towards the right/center of the other side of the channel. (I've attached a "picture" to this posting so you can have a visual - do NOT judge my art skills!! The dotted line shows our path.) Since the wind and the tide were against us, no matter how hard we tried we couldn't get past that darn buoy!!! It became our arch nemesis and we became the fisherman's main source of entertainment.
After many tries, we decided to lift the main sail completely and try to push past the buoy. As soon as we hoisted the sails, the wind kicked up to 23knots and our boat immediately heeled, putting the rail completely under water and throwing Koa and I to the side of the boat!! As Brad was struggling to loosen the sails, I was trying to steer into the wind to put us back upright. It was quite the surprise and didn't even get us any closer to overtaking Buoy #27!!
We headed back as the sun was setting - a frustrating day, but a successful first trip out with the pets. Moo seemed stressed, but was comfortably hiding under the covers on the bed. Koa, besides the one scare, had seemed mostly unfazed by the moving, rocking and heeling of the boat. They are going to be expert sailors in no time!

We're coming for you Buoy #27!!!