12.31.10
Well, we are all provisioned up and ready to roll but are still waiting on a window! It is very frustrating to get everything ready and then sit and wait. I think especially so when you have been waiting for 3 weeks. But, this is the week to go. Winds have been steadily from the East/Southeast and are going to continue to be that for the next few days. We are leaving sometime between today and Sunday and heading a bit further North up the Keys so that when the right window opens, we are closer and able to just make a dash for it. The problem is that the jump-off island is vulnerable to the East - directly where the currently 20knot winds are blowing. We would be in for quite a rough few days at anchor if we left too soon!
We have said all of our goodbyes, only to realize we would rather spend New Year's Eve here in the harbor with people we know. So, Happy New Year's to everyone and stay tuned as we wait to cross the Stream.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Big Crossing
12.28.2010
Well, weather permitting, we are finally about to make the big trek across the Gulf Stream. We are a bit nervous, but confident in our boat. We have gleaned all the knowledge we can from the sailors around here, who have been more than helpful and insured that we will not cross unprepared. We are "buddy boating" with a couple from Canada and hope to reach the islands by the end of the week. It will be 130 miles from Marathon to Alicetown, Bimini and we hope to do it in one and a bit days.
The weather has turned cold again and we are not looking forward to sailing overnight in this bitter wind, but are hoping once we get there it will all be worth it!! We are racing against the clock right now to complete the last few repairs/enhancements before we go. We have opted to go without our radar as many sailors have told us they do not have radar and the ships are all lit as they cross the Stream. Our anemometer works...sometimes. But we are able to read the wind with our wind vane and can at this point make a relatively accurate guess as to the wind speed ourselves. Our depth sounder seems to be working better everyday (the only good thing in the electrical department) and we finally wired our cockpit VHF correctly so we don't have to run downstairs every time we want to communicate with another boat. We still have to fix two lights today that are vital to our travel, but otherwise, she is ready to sail!
Once we get to the Bahamas, we will not be able to keep in contact with anyone via phone or text messaging. So, if you want to keep in touch with us, please email us or, to those of you that have it, facebook works too! We love getting emails from everyone keeping us updated with your lives - that way we don't feel so out of the loop! And we will respond as soon as we come across internet service.
Thank you all for your continued support and continue to follow our blog as we start this newest and most exciting part of our journey!!
Well, weather permitting, we are finally about to make the big trek across the Gulf Stream. We are a bit nervous, but confident in our boat. We have gleaned all the knowledge we can from the sailors around here, who have been more than helpful and insured that we will not cross unprepared. We are "buddy boating" with a couple from Canada and hope to reach the islands by the end of the week. It will be 130 miles from Marathon to Alicetown, Bimini and we hope to do it in one and a bit days.
The weather has turned cold again and we are not looking forward to sailing overnight in this bitter wind, but are hoping once we get there it will all be worth it!! We are racing against the clock right now to complete the last few repairs/enhancements before we go. We have opted to go without our radar as many sailors have told us they do not have radar and the ships are all lit as they cross the Stream. Our anemometer works...sometimes. But we are able to read the wind with our wind vane and can at this point make a relatively accurate guess as to the wind speed ourselves. Our depth sounder seems to be working better everyday (the only good thing in the electrical department) and we finally wired our cockpit VHF correctly so we don't have to run downstairs every time we want to communicate with another boat. We still have to fix two lights today that are vital to our travel, but otherwise, she is ready to sail!
Once we get to the Bahamas, we will not be able to keep in contact with anyone via phone or text messaging. So, if you want to keep in touch with us, please email us or, to those of you that have it, facebook works too! We love getting emails from everyone keeping us updated with your lives - that way we don't feel so out of the loop! And we will respond as soon as we come across internet service.
Thank you all for your continued support and continue to follow our blog as we start this newest and most exciting part of our journey!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
12.24.2010
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! Here we sit in Marathon, which turned out to not be so bad afterall. We have been continuously surrounded by generous and friendly people since we got here and Christmas has been no exception. We went up to the local tiki hut tonight for a Christmas Sing Along. And then came back and made smores and drank hot chocolate while listening to "The Night Before Christmas" on the VHF - definitely a first for us!
Well, we listened until we heard a call over the radio from someone whose dinghy was floating away - and then Brad rushed out and saved the day!
My parents were the Christmas heroes this year and sent us a care package with a mini Christmas tree and lights to decorate our boat. Otherwise, it was hard for us to get in the Christmas spirit with no decorations. Tomorrow we will join the rest of the marina folks for a feast in the main hall. It is sure to be the biggest feast on Marathon with over 200 people attending!
The winds seem to be letting up a bit and clocking around so we are hoping to have a 3 day travel window on Wednesday to cross over to the Bahamas. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Hope everyone is safe and warm on this special eve and enjoying time with their family and friends. Although we are far from all of ours, you are all in our thoughts! Thank you for your continued love and support and remember the true meaning of the Holiday!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! Here we sit in Marathon, which turned out to not be so bad afterall. We have been continuously surrounded by generous and friendly people since we got here and Christmas has been no exception. We went up to the local tiki hut tonight for a Christmas Sing Along. And then came back and made smores and drank hot chocolate while listening to "The Night Before Christmas" on the VHF - definitely a first for us!
Well, we listened until we heard a call over the radio from someone whose dinghy was floating away - and then Brad rushed out and saved the day!
My parents were the Christmas heroes this year and sent us a care package with a mini Christmas tree and lights to decorate our boat. Otherwise, it was hard for us to get in the Christmas spirit with no decorations. Tomorrow we will join the rest of the marina folks for a feast in the main hall. It is sure to be the biggest feast on Marathon with over 200 people attending!
The winds seem to be letting up a bit and clocking around so we are hoping to have a 3 day travel window on Wednesday to cross over to the Bahamas. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Hope everyone is safe and warm on this special eve and enjoying time with their family and friends. Although we are far from all of ours, you are all in our thoughts! Thank you for your continued love and support and remember the true meaning of the Holiday!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Making Money on the Go
12.18.10
Well, it appears that we are getting weathered in here in Marathon, FL. The winds are predominantly from the North, which means that we will not be crossing the Gulf Stream anytime in the near future. So, unfortunately, our trip is on hold for the time being. And, even more unfortunately, it seems that the winds seldom turn around to the South until January or February. Everyone cross your fingers and hope the conditions change so that we can continue on with our journey!
We are trying to make the best of the warm weather, meeting new friends and getting the boat in tip-top shape. The atmosphere here is great and everyone is very helpful and friendly. We will even be partaking in the Christmas dinner that the marina is hosting for all of us here!
In other news, we are trying to make money while living aboard. So far, we don't have any bright entrepreneurial ideas, but we did stumble across Google AdSense. So, whenever you visit our site, PLEASE PLEASE PLESE click on all or some of the ads that are listed on the blog page. We get a small amount of profit every time a visitor clicks on the site. You don't have to buy anything and can immediately close the site after opening it, but every little bit helps us out!
We appreciate everyone following our travels and hopefully we will resume our trip sooner rather than later.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!!
Well, it appears that we are getting weathered in here in Marathon, FL. The winds are predominantly from the North, which means that we will not be crossing the Gulf Stream anytime in the near future. So, unfortunately, our trip is on hold for the time being. And, even more unfortunately, it seems that the winds seldom turn around to the South until January or February. Everyone cross your fingers and hope the conditions change so that we can continue on with our journey!
We are trying to make the best of the warm weather, meeting new friends and getting the boat in tip-top shape. The atmosphere here is great and everyone is very helpful and friendly. We will even be partaking in the Christmas dinner that the marina is hosting for all of us here!
In other news, we are trying to make money while living aboard. So far, we don't have any bright entrepreneurial ideas, but we did stumble across Google AdSense. So, whenever you visit our site, PLEASE PLEASE PLESE click on all or some of the ads that are listed on the blog page. We get a small amount of profit every time a visitor clicks on the site. You don't have to buy anything and can immediately close the site after opening it, but every little bit helps us out!
We appreciate everyone following our travels and hopefully we will resume our trip sooner rather than later.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Biding Our Time
12.16.10
We have officially been in Marathon for a week now and are finally getting some warm weather. We also finally had a weather window where we could sail on over to the Bahamas. However, as it is with boat ownership, we are having major technical problems and don't want to risk going over without fixing them (radar, autopilot, anemometer, depth sounder, just to name a few). So, here we sit. Watching the perfect opportunity vanish day by day. Very depressing.
At least we are meeting lots of new people and getting help with fixing things on our boat. Although, I would really like to be meeting people in the Bahamas...
Looks like we may be here through Christmas and have already been invited to the marina Christmas dinner. Although we hoped to be celebrating a Bahamian Christmas this year, we are trying to make the best of it. We are getting everything fixed and in working order so that when the next window comes around, WE WILL BE READY!
We have officially been in Marathon for a week now and are finally getting some warm weather. We also finally had a weather window where we could sail on over to the Bahamas. However, as it is with boat ownership, we are having major technical problems and don't want to risk going over without fixing them (radar, autopilot, anemometer, depth sounder, just to name a few). So, here we sit. Watching the perfect opportunity vanish day by day. Very depressing.
At least we are meeting lots of new people and getting help with fixing things on our boat. Although, I would really like to be meeting people in the Bahamas...
Looks like we may be here through Christmas and have already been invited to the marina Christmas dinner. Although we hoped to be celebrating a Bahamian Christmas this year, we are trying to make the best of it. We are getting everything fixed and in working order so that when the next window comes around, WE WILL BE READY!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Murphy's Law
Murphy must be following closely on our heels this trip, since it would seem that every leg of this journey has been riddled with bad luck and bad weather. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come!
We left Marco Island Wednesday mid-morning and enjoyed a great day with little to no waves (nice to have after our last sail attempt!) Although the sun was shining and we were enjoying shedding some of our layers of clothing the wind was nil so we spent the majority of the day motoring. We were all set to take our time and anchor right after sunset and then pick up again early in the morning. Winds for the next 3 days were predicted to be 5-15 knots and the weather relatively calm. Luckily, around 4pm the wind picked up enough to turn off the motor and by 5, we were moving at a steady 4knots under sail alone. We decided not to look a gift wind in the mouth and opted not to anchor, but to sail overnight and take advantage of the calm seas and great wind.
It was cold, but not unbearable. We had strong winds coming from the North and so we were on a run and moving about 4-5knots, which is a great speed while on a run! It also made the cold more tolerable as we were going with the wind so it didn't seem so cold. We took shifts of 2-3 hours, one sleeping below and warming up while the other manned the helm and belted out Christmas Carols along with the XM radio.
Things went very well until about 3am. The winds suddenly picked up by about 10 knots and started to clock around to the East/SouthEast. The wind was about 15 knots with gusts up to 20knots. That is a lot for our little boat so we decided to put a reef in the main sail. Brad stayed up with me in the cockpit while I was at the helm since the wind seemed to be increasing steadily.
By 4 am, with me at the helm, we were slicing through the water at 8 knots. The top speed of our boat is supposedly 7 knots, so this was the fastest we had ever gone in her. I was starting to get a little nervous as she was getting harder to control at that speed and we were, after all, speeding forward into pitch black darkness. The wind had picked up to about 20-25 knots and the waves were quickly building to 3-5ft seas. All of that combined helped us come to the conclusion to pull in the head sail. With the head sail in, we continued on at a brisk 5 knots for another 45minutes until it started to lightening. Rain had been in the forecast for the early morning and we knew that we didn't want to be in it. We were relatively close to the entrance to the channel to reach Marathon and didn't want to travel that at night anyway since the markers weren't lit. So we decided to anchor where we were, about 3 miles off Cape Sable in the Florida Bay.
And that is where things started to get bad. We turned into the wind to take down the sail and were suddenly blasted with 25knot gusts, making it near impossible to take down and fold up the sail. We were quickly being pushed with the waves and current to who knows where, so Brad left me to try to fold up the sail while he ran up to the bow to drop the anchor. The weather had suddenly turned ugly - rain, high winds and 5ft seas were tossing us all over the place. Brad nearly lost a finger in the anchor chain as he let it out because the wind and the waves ripped it out of his hand. He ran up to help me finish with the sails and then we packed up everything that could blow away and went downstairs.
We were cold and wet and there would be no generator this morning since it was windy and raining - so, no heat. We could tell by the GPS that we were dragging, but we held our breath and hoped that the anchor would dig in soon with the force of the wind. The good news was we were miles from anything so we couldn't run into anything! We crawled up in bed with the pets and endured the same horrendous bouncing around that we had endured in Sarasota just days before. The winds were howling at 30knots, the dinghy was repeatedly banging into our stern and the boat was barely hanging on by the anchor.
Finally, around 5:30 am, the anchor caught and held. The winds didn't die down, so we tried to get some shut eye while we waited to see if the wind would subside. 5-15knots my ass - where did all of this wind suddenly come from?! Don't these meteorologists know anything?!
At 10am, we were sick of being cooped up downstairs and starting the feel sick so we decided to set out despite the weather. The waves had calmed down somewhat and the wind had dropped to a blustery 20knots. We lifted the anchor and off we went.
Well, we thought we were right at the mouth of the channel, but with the wind and dragging anchor we had ended up about 7miles away. So we motored through the drizzle and the wind and the pounding waves for another 5 hours until we made it to the 7mile bridge. We limped into Marathon harbor and picked up a mooring ball where we will stay to thaw out and make some last minute preparation for the big trip.
We couldn't be more ready to get over to the Caribbean and get some sun and favorable tradewinds! If only this North wind would die down...
We left Marco Island Wednesday mid-morning and enjoyed a great day with little to no waves (nice to have after our last sail attempt!) Although the sun was shining and we were enjoying shedding some of our layers of clothing the wind was nil so we spent the majority of the day motoring. We were all set to take our time and anchor right after sunset and then pick up again early in the morning. Winds for the next 3 days were predicted to be 5-15 knots and the weather relatively calm. Luckily, around 4pm the wind picked up enough to turn off the motor and by 5, we were moving at a steady 4knots under sail alone. We decided not to look a gift wind in the mouth and opted not to anchor, but to sail overnight and take advantage of the calm seas and great wind.
It was cold, but not unbearable. We had strong winds coming from the North and so we were on a run and moving about 4-5knots, which is a great speed while on a run! It also made the cold more tolerable as we were going with the wind so it didn't seem so cold. We took shifts of 2-3 hours, one sleeping below and warming up while the other manned the helm and belted out Christmas Carols along with the XM radio.
Things went very well until about 3am. The winds suddenly picked up by about 10 knots and started to clock around to the East/SouthEast. The wind was about 15 knots with gusts up to 20knots. That is a lot for our little boat so we decided to put a reef in the main sail. Brad stayed up with me in the cockpit while I was at the helm since the wind seemed to be increasing steadily.
By 4 am, with me at the helm, we were slicing through the water at 8 knots. The top speed of our boat is supposedly 7 knots, so this was the fastest we had ever gone in her. I was starting to get a little nervous as she was getting harder to control at that speed and we were, after all, speeding forward into pitch black darkness. The wind had picked up to about 20-25 knots and the waves were quickly building to 3-5ft seas. All of that combined helped us come to the conclusion to pull in the head sail. With the head sail in, we continued on at a brisk 5 knots for another 45minutes until it started to lightening. Rain had been in the forecast for the early morning and we knew that we didn't want to be in it. We were relatively close to the entrance to the channel to reach Marathon and didn't want to travel that at night anyway since the markers weren't lit. So we decided to anchor where we were, about 3 miles off Cape Sable in the Florida Bay.
And that is where things started to get bad. We turned into the wind to take down the sail and were suddenly blasted with 25knot gusts, making it near impossible to take down and fold up the sail. We were quickly being pushed with the waves and current to who knows where, so Brad left me to try to fold up the sail while he ran up to the bow to drop the anchor. The weather had suddenly turned ugly - rain, high winds and 5ft seas were tossing us all over the place. Brad nearly lost a finger in the anchor chain as he let it out because the wind and the waves ripped it out of his hand. He ran up to help me finish with the sails and then we packed up everything that could blow away and went downstairs.
We were cold and wet and there would be no generator this morning since it was windy and raining - so, no heat. We could tell by the GPS that we were dragging, but we held our breath and hoped that the anchor would dig in soon with the force of the wind. The good news was we were miles from anything so we couldn't run into anything! We crawled up in bed with the pets and endured the same horrendous bouncing around that we had endured in Sarasota just days before. The winds were howling at 30knots, the dinghy was repeatedly banging into our stern and the boat was barely hanging on by the anchor.
Finally, around 5:30 am, the anchor caught and held. The winds didn't die down, so we tried to get some shut eye while we waited to see if the wind would subside. 5-15knots my ass - where did all of this wind suddenly come from?! Don't these meteorologists know anything?!
At 10am, we were sick of being cooped up downstairs and starting the feel sick so we decided to set out despite the weather. The waves had calmed down somewhat and the wind had dropped to a blustery 20knots. We lifted the anchor and off we went.
Well, we thought we were right at the mouth of the channel, but with the wind and dragging anchor we had ended up about 7miles away. So we motored through the drizzle and the wind and the pounding waves for another 5 hours until we made it to the 7mile bridge. We limped into Marathon harbor and picked up a mooring ball where we will stay to thaw out and make some last minute preparation for the big trip.
We couldn't be more ready to get over to the Caribbean and get some sun and favorable tradewinds! If only this North wind would die down...
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Change of Plans
12.7.10
We slept in yesterday morning until 8am and got a bit of a later start, not leaving the mooring ball until 9:30. It was already starting to warm up and yet the temperature was still only 50 degrees and very windy. We were, once again, dressed in practically every piece of clothing that we owned and trying to stay in the sun to absorb as much of the day's warmth as possible.
There were not many boats out on the water on that cold and windy Monday so we had the channel to ourselves. We motored down the mile long channel to Gordon's Pass - the entrance to the Gulf. As we were coming upon the entrance, we saw two of the boats that had passed us earlier heading back towards us. We assumed it was too cold and windy and they had decided to turn around and call it a day. Well, we were half right.
When we rounded the last bend and saw the Pass, we debated doing the same thing. The water in the inlet was churning, with wave crests reaching as high as 6 feet. I thought we had it rough coming out of the Gasparilla Inlet, but that was easy peazy compared to this! The Pass is much narrower, being only about 50 feet wide, with a rock wall jetty on one side and shallow 2 foot shoals on the other. We watched a few fishing boats go out ahead of us and though they were being tossed around, they made it out ok. So we decided to press on and hope that it was better once we got through the inlet into the Gulf.
We were about a quarter of the way through the inlet when it hit me, as I was behind the helm, how dangerous the situation actually was. The waves were hitting us on our starboard side bow (our 3 o'clock) and we were quickly being pushed off-course and into the rock jetty beside us. To make any headway, I had to turn the boat directly into the waves at full throttle. The rock jetty was now behind us, but we seemed to be making enough headway that we weren't going to be pushed into it. However, our little 35 hp Diesel was chugging for all she was worth and we were barely moving. We were very slowly going sideways through the channel.
About halfway out, the wave action picked up and we were facing 6-8ft waves head on. We would crest over one wave and slam back down the backside of it and be immediately lifted up onto the next. When we thought things couldn't get worse, the waves came closer together. Soon, as we were cresting down the back of one wave, we were immediately assaulted with the next. Our bow was dipping head on into the wave and water was washing up our bow and over the boat. We cut one wave right in half and the water crashed all the way into our cockpit!
To say we were a bit scared would have been an understatement. Cold and now wet, I was singing "The sun will come out tomorrow" under my breath just to keep my cool.
We finally made it past the first channel marker and away from the rock jetty, but we had another 100feet to go before we made it past the second channel marker and into the Gulf. Suddenly we heard our boat being hailed on the VHF. There was a very large 100ft powerboat sitting at the mouth of the channel behind us, wanting to let us know he was coming out and was going to pass us on our starboard side. Brad responded and said we were almost clear of the channel and then we would be out of his way - hint, hint just wait until we are out and then you won't have to worry about running us over.
Well, he decided to come out anyway. It was pretty comical watching that huge boat get tossed around by the waves. I can only imagine what we had looked like going through there just moments before! But, as I watched him approaching, I knew we were going to have a problem. As I said before, I was turned straight into the waves and being pushed sideways, which meant I was taking up the entire channel just to maneuver. How did this guy think he was going to pass by us?!
We were nearing the last channel markers when Brad said, "Turn to starboard, NOW!" The huge boat had quickly caught up with us and was bearing down on our left side in a hurry. My 35hp motor was no match for his 500hp engines. By the time the mothership had responded to my turning the wheel, the larger boat was annoyed that I wasn't out of his way and was pulling around the other side of me. So Brad said, "Turn to port, NOW!" Again, the same thing happened. I finally picked a side, my starboard, and tried to stay as close to the green marker as I could get without being slammed into it. The boat passed within 50feet of us on our port, leaving us to battle his 3foot wake slamming into the already existing 6ft waves.
HOW RUDE!
Once we got out of the channel, we were dismayed to see that the waves were no less potent out in the Gulf. They were still 6feet high, choppy, messy and crashing into us in irregular intervals. There was no way one of us was going halfway out onto the bow to get the sail ready to raise, so we continued to motor. After about 45 minutes of the crazy swells, we were both ready to call it a day. Luckily, there was one last place that we could pull in and anchor about 5 miles further south - Marco Island. This was the last stop before the point of no return, so we opted to pull in there for a few days and let the cold weather and winds pass us by.
We anchored by 2pm, thankful that we had made it through the experience with everyone and everything intact, albeit a little battered and bruised (including the mothership!). We were perfectly happy to stay in our little cove for a few days and do some minor repairs until the water was calm again.
It was a good experience for us, as these were the biggest waves we had conquered yet. And we now knew that the saying "If you can handle it, your boat can handle it" was very true. Although we were ready to call it quits, our little boat handled it like a champ! We have learned we are not the crazy sailors who like to push everything to the limit. Our whole life is in this boat and we are perfectly content to wait out the weather and have calm seas and a happy crew!
We slept in yesterday morning until 8am and got a bit of a later start, not leaving the mooring ball until 9:30. It was already starting to warm up and yet the temperature was still only 50 degrees and very windy. We were, once again, dressed in practically every piece of clothing that we owned and trying to stay in the sun to absorb as much of the day's warmth as possible.
There were not many boats out on the water on that cold and windy Monday so we had the channel to ourselves. We motored down the mile long channel to Gordon's Pass - the entrance to the Gulf. As we were coming upon the entrance, we saw two of the boats that had passed us earlier heading back towards us. We assumed it was too cold and windy and they had decided to turn around and call it a day. Well, we were half right.
When we rounded the last bend and saw the Pass, we debated doing the same thing. The water in the inlet was churning, with wave crests reaching as high as 6 feet. I thought we had it rough coming out of the Gasparilla Inlet, but that was easy peazy compared to this! The Pass is much narrower, being only about 50 feet wide, with a rock wall jetty on one side and shallow 2 foot shoals on the other. We watched a few fishing boats go out ahead of us and though they were being tossed around, they made it out ok. So we decided to press on and hope that it was better once we got through the inlet into the Gulf.
We were about a quarter of the way through the inlet when it hit me, as I was behind the helm, how dangerous the situation actually was. The waves were hitting us on our starboard side bow (our 3 o'clock) and we were quickly being pushed off-course and into the rock jetty beside us. To make any headway, I had to turn the boat directly into the waves at full throttle. The rock jetty was now behind us, but we seemed to be making enough headway that we weren't going to be pushed into it. However, our little 35 hp Diesel was chugging for all she was worth and we were barely moving. We were very slowly going sideways through the channel.
About halfway out, the wave action picked up and we were facing 6-8ft waves head on. We would crest over one wave and slam back down the backside of it and be immediately lifted up onto the next. When we thought things couldn't get worse, the waves came closer together. Soon, as we were cresting down the back of one wave, we were immediately assaulted with the next. Our bow was dipping head on into the wave and water was washing up our bow and over the boat. We cut one wave right in half and the water crashed all the way into our cockpit!
To say we were a bit scared would have been an understatement. Cold and now wet, I was singing "The sun will come out tomorrow" under my breath just to keep my cool.
We finally made it past the first channel marker and away from the rock jetty, but we had another 100feet to go before we made it past the second channel marker and into the Gulf. Suddenly we heard our boat being hailed on the VHF. There was a very large 100ft powerboat sitting at the mouth of the channel behind us, wanting to let us know he was coming out and was going to pass us on our starboard side. Brad responded and said we were almost clear of the channel and then we would be out of his way - hint, hint just wait until we are out and then you won't have to worry about running us over.
Well, he decided to come out anyway. It was pretty comical watching that huge boat get tossed around by the waves. I can only imagine what we had looked like going through there just moments before! But, as I watched him approaching, I knew we were going to have a problem. As I said before, I was turned straight into the waves and being pushed sideways, which meant I was taking up the entire channel just to maneuver. How did this guy think he was going to pass by us?!
We were nearing the last channel markers when Brad said, "Turn to starboard, NOW!" The huge boat had quickly caught up with us and was bearing down on our left side in a hurry. My 35hp motor was no match for his 500hp engines. By the time the mothership had responded to my turning the wheel, the larger boat was annoyed that I wasn't out of his way and was pulling around the other side of me. So Brad said, "Turn to port, NOW!" Again, the same thing happened. I finally picked a side, my starboard, and tried to stay as close to the green marker as I could get without being slammed into it. The boat passed within 50feet of us on our port, leaving us to battle his 3foot wake slamming into the already existing 6ft waves.
HOW RUDE!
Once we got out of the channel, we were dismayed to see that the waves were no less potent out in the Gulf. They were still 6feet high, choppy, messy and crashing into us in irregular intervals. There was no way one of us was going halfway out onto the bow to get the sail ready to raise, so we continued to motor. After about 45 minutes of the crazy swells, we were both ready to call it a day. Luckily, there was one last place that we could pull in and anchor about 5 miles further south - Marco Island. This was the last stop before the point of no return, so we opted to pull in there for a few days and let the cold weather and winds pass us by.
We anchored by 2pm, thankful that we had made it through the experience with everyone and everything intact, albeit a little battered and bruised (including the mothership!). We were perfectly happy to stay in our little cove for a few days and do some minor repairs until the water was calm again.
It was a good experience for us, as these were the biggest waves we had conquered yet. And we now knew that the saying "If you can handle it, your boat can handle it" was very true. Although we were ready to call it quits, our little boat handled it like a champ! We have learned we are not the crazy sailors who like to push everything to the limit. Our whole life is in this boat and we are perfectly content to wait out the weather and have calm seas and a happy crew!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Football Fanatics
12.5.10
I guess you can take the sailor out of the football, but you can't take the football out of the sailor. True to form, we planned our sailing to coincide with a mooring where we knew there would be somewhere nearby to watch football for the weekend.
We went to the only sportsbar within range for the ACC Championship last night - GO HOKIES!!!! and will be going back tonight to watch the Ravens/Steelers game; hopefully the birds can pull off another win!
We are getting things done around the boat today and then heading out tomorrow for a long 3 days of sailing. The trek from Naples down to the Keys is filled with a whole lot water, not a lot of cities and nowhere to anchor/dock. The shoals/shallow water going around the tip of Florida comes anywhere from 2-5 miles offshore, so we will be anchoring on the edge of the shoal...3 miles offshore! It is going to be a bit dicey and I doubt we will sleep well. But, we should be able to have a good 3 day sail and reach Bahia Honda by Thursday.
If you haven't heard from us by Saturday...alert the media.
I guess you can take the sailor out of the football, but you can't take the football out of the sailor. True to form, we planned our sailing to coincide with a mooring where we knew there would be somewhere nearby to watch football for the weekend.
We went to the only sportsbar within range for the ACC Championship last night - GO HOKIES!!!! and will be going back tonight to watch the Ravens/Steelers game; hopefully the birds can pull off another win!
We are getting things done around the boat today and then heading out tomorrow for a long 3 days of sailing. The trek from Naples down to the Keys is filled with a whole lot water, not a lot of cities and nowhere to anchor/dock. The shoals/shallow water going around the tip of Florida comes anywhere from 2-5 miles offshore, so we will be anchoring on the edge of the shoal...3 miles offshore! It is going to be a bit dicey and I doubt we will sleep well. But, we should be able to have a good 3 day sail and reach Bahia Honda by Thursday.
If you haven't heard from us by Saturday...alert the media.
CO poisoning?!
12.4.10
Friday we left Cape Haze and motored out past Gasparilla Island to Gasparilla Pass. We had decided the wind was supposed to be in our favor at a reasonable 10 knots and we were ready to sail! So, excited and freezing cold, we headed out the pass. Only we were met with turbulent waters that tossed us around like we were a toy boat. We were bounced everywhere but where we wanted to go. We forego putting up the sail for the time being and just focused on trying to stay in the channel and not fall overboard - yes, it was that rough!
We were both starting to get uneasy about our sail for the day and debated turning around; unfortunately at that point in my mind, we were already past the point of no return. The water had calmed down to a heavy chop minus the possibility of being thrown overboard, and there was nothing Brad could say to make me turn ship and go through that pass again!
Lucky for us, the Gulf was calmer once we got about 2 miles offshore (as is usually the case when going through a Pass). And, despite a rough beginning, we were able to have a nice, albeit freezing cold, sail down to Fort Meyers Beach.
We anchored in the bay off Fort Meyers Beach to a light 6knot wind just before sundown. We were actually not too worn out to watch some computer TV before we turned in for the night. We had to run the generator to power the computer and were happy as clams once we got the heater on! Brad had set the generator in the cockpit with the exhaust facing the stern and everything was hunky dory....until our carbon monoxide alarm went off! (thank you Liz and Benny for the alarm) Brad ran outside to cut the generator while I opened every window on the boat; and just when we had gotten warm for the first time in 3 days! So, windows open, wearing layer upon layer of clothes, with two comforters on and the pets for added warmth we finally fell asleep.
We were right at the mouth of the Gulf, so we were able to be up with the sun and out early without the worry of having to stay in a channel and follow markers. The sail down to Naples was an easy 30mile journey. Although we had to motor sail the whole way due to lack of wind, the day was gorgeous and even warmed up to 62 degrees.
We were able to make it into Naples without a problem and were welcomed back to our favorite mooring field by the ladies at the City Dock who actually remembered us from our previous stay! You know you are part of the sailing community when people start remembering you from your previous journeys - how exciting!!
Friday we left Cape Haze and motored out past Gasparilla Island to Gasparilla Pass. We had decided the wind was supposed to be in our favor at a reasonable 10 knots and we were ready to sail! So, excited and freezing cold, we headed out the pass. Only we were met with turbulent waters that tossed us around like we were a toy boat. We were bounced everywhere but where we wanted to go. We forego putting up the sail for the time being and just focused on trying to stay in the channel and not fall overboard - yes, it was that rough!
We were both starting to get uneasy about our sail for the day and debated turning around; unfortunately at that point in my mind, we were already past the point of no return. The water had calmed down to a heavy chop minus the possibility of being thrown overboard, and there was nothing Brad could say to make me turn ship and go through that pass again!
Lucky for us, the Gulf was calmer once we got about 2 miles offshore (as is usually the case when going through a Pass). And, despite a rough beginning, we were able to have a nice, albeit freezing cold, sail down to Fort Meyers Beach.
We anchored in the bay off Fort Meyers Beach to a light 6knot wind just before sundown. We were actually not too worn out to watch some computer TV before we turned in for the night. We had to run the generator to power the computer and were happy as clams once we got the heater on! Brad had set the generator in the cockpit with the exhaust facing the stern and everything was hunky dory....until our carbon monoxide alarm went off! (thank you Liz and Benny for the alarm) Brad ran outside to cut the generator while I opened every window on the boat; and just when we had gotten warm for the first time in 3 days! So, windows open, wearing layer upon layer of clothes, with two comforters on and the pets for added warmth we finally fell asleep.
We were right at the mouth of the Gulf, so we were able to be up with the sun and out early without the worry of having to stay in a channel and follow markers. The sail down to Naples was an easy 30mile journey. Although we had to motor sail the whole way due to lack of wind, the day was gorgeous and even warmed up to 62 degrees.
We were able to make it into Naples without a problem and were welcomed back to our favorite mooring field by the ladies at the City Dock who actually remembered us from our previous stay! You know you are part of the sailing community when people start remembering you from your previous journeys - how exciting!!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Stuck?!
12.2.10
This morning we woke up to freezing cold weather and 20 knot winds. It seemed our friendly wind from yesterday had swung down and brought the nasty Northern weather with it. So with the wind at our back and every stitch of clothing on that we could find, we set off.
We had decided to sail that day, rather than motor the ICW, but as we approached the mouth of Sarasota Pass out into the Gulf, the waters were raging and the depth sounder was saying we were in shallow water. So, rather than chance getting stuck in the middle, we decided to play it safe and motor.
The day was uneventful, and might I add much warmer on the inside than it would have been had we gone out in the Gulf! We were only 5 miles from our anchorage site when suddenly we ran right into a pile of mud. We were stuck tight. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHANNEL!! WHAT THE HECK?!
We tried and tried to get out of the mud, but to no avail. As we were trying to unstuck ourselves, the current actually pushed us out of the channel and over the side and into shallower mudbanks - the whole time without letting us out of the mud. Spectacular.
After 45 minutes of fighting a losing battle, we called TowBoat US - thank goodness we renewed our coverage! - and had someone come and tow us 20 feet off the mud bank. He told us that due to the strong North winds for the past few days, the water has been lower and that particular spot has been silting in for the last few months anyway. He said that he has had numerous calls for that exact same spot in the last month. Although that did make us feel a little better, we still felt dumb. Who gets stuck in the middle of the channel?!!
But, problem solved, we pressed on to be anchored by sundown. We picked a very quiet little area called Cape Haze and had the most peaceful nights sleep we have had in a few days!!
This morning we woke up to freezing cold weather and 20 knot winds. It seemed our friendly wind from yesterday had swung down and brought the nasty Northern weather with it. So with the wind at our back and every stitch of clothing on that we could find, we set off.
We had decided to sail that day, rather than motor the ICW, but as we approached the mouth of Sarasota Pass out into the Gulf, the waters were raging and the depth sounder was saying we were in shallow water. So, rather than chance getting stuck in the middle, we decided to play it safe and motor.
The day was uneventful, and might I add much warmer on the inside than it would have been had we gone out in the Gulf! We were only 5 miles from our anchorage site when suddenly we ran right into a pile of mud. We were stuck tight. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHANNEL!! WHAT THE HECK?!
We tried and tried to get out of the mud, but to no avail. As we were trying to unstuck ourselves, the current actually pushed us out of the channel and over the side and into shallower mudbanks - the whole time without letting us out of the mud. Spectacular.
After 45 minutes of fighting a losing battle, we called TowBoat US - thank goodness we renewed our coverage! - and had someone come and tow us 20 feet off the mud bank. He told us that due to the strong North winds for the past few days, the water has been lower and that particular spot has been silting in for the last few months anyway. He said that he has had numerous calls for that exact same spot in the last month. Although that did make us feel a little better, we still felt dumb. Who gets stuck in the middle of the channel?!!
But, problem solved, we pressed on to be anchored by sundown. We picked a very quiet little area called Cape Haze and had the most peaceful nights sleep we have had in a few days!!
Blow Me Away
12.1.10
So we decided to spend yesterday in Sarasota to get some things done around town and on the boat since the wind was in a SE direction (directly where we wanted to go!) We had planned on leaving this morning and sailing down to Gasparilla since winds were predicted to be 15-20 in our favor.
Well, as always with sailing, something went wrong. We were woken up at 3:30am by howling winds and a very rocky boat. We both jumped up and looked outside right as the winds switched direction. We were shoved from a NE to a SW direction in a matter of seconds. Things were falling all over the place in the boat and the pets were both thrown off their feet. The winds, as it turned out, had piped up to 35knots and were coming in from the only direction where we were unprotected - fabulous.
We quickly grabbed everything off the deck that could possibly blow away and shoved it down below and closed up all the hatches just as the pounding rain started. The worse thing about this whole situation was that we weren't sure our anchor would hold in such strong winds. Although we have had great luck with our Bruce Anchor, we have been told in high winds it is unreliable. Well, we were about to test that theory! The worst part about the rain was that we couldn't see outside to tell whether we were dragging anchor or not.
So with visibility down to nil and not much else that we could do at this point, we crawled back into bed with the GPS in hand and tracked our movements on there, making sure we weren't moving from our anchor spot.
As morning broke, the winds had yet to die down but the rain had stopped. We were able to see that we had not drug anchor and everything was safely as we had left it. We looked out and saw that other boats were rocking and bumping around just as much as us and that everyone was holed up on their boats - no one was going anywhere in this mess.
So, we hunkered down for the day, reading, watching movies - always with the GPS nearby - and waited out the wind. 15 hours later, the wind finally lulled to a relaxing 25knots. (haha - still very rocky!)
We put everything back in its place and got everything ready to set sail bright and early the next morning, only a day behind our predicted schedule.
So we decided to spend yesterday in Sarasota to get some things done around town and on the boat since the wind was in a SE direction (directly where we wanted to go!) We had planned on leaving this morning and sailing down to Gasparilla since winds were predicted to be 15-20 in our favor.
Well, as always with sailing, something went wrong. We were woken up at 3:30am by howling winds and a very rocky boat. We both jumped up and looked outside right as the winds switched direction. We were shoved from a NE to a SW direction in a matter of seconds. Things were falling all over the place in the boat and the pets were both thrown off their feet. The winds, as it turned out, had piped up to 35knots and were coming in from the only direction where we were unprotected - fabulous.
We quickly grabbed everything off the deck that could possibly blow away and shoved it down below and closed up all the hatches just as the pounding rain started. The worse thing about this whole situation was that we weren't sure our anchor would hold in such strong winds. Although we have had great luck with our Bruce Anchor, we have been told in high winds it is unreliable. Well, we were about to test that theory! The worst part about the rain was that we couldn't see outside to tell whether we were dragging anchor or not.
So with visibility down to nil and not much else that we could do at this point, we crawled back into bed with the GPS in hand and tracked our movements on there, making sure we weren't moving from our anchor spot.
As morning broke, the winds had yet to die down but the rain had stopped. We were able to see that we had not drug anchor and everything was safely as we had left it. We looked out and saw that other boats were rocking and bumping around just as much as us and that everyone was holed up on their boats - no one was going anywhere in this mess.
So, we hunkered down for the day, reading, watching movies - always with the GPS nearby - and waited out the wind. 15 hours later, the wind finally lulled to a relaxing 25knots. (haha - still very rocky!)
We put everything back in its place and got everything ready to set sail bright and early the next morning, only a day behind our predicted schedule.
Friday, December 3, 2010
And we're off!
11.29.10
We left early this morning to make sure we had the tide on our side. We motored through the thin part of the channel and once it opened up into the Tampa Bay, up went out sails! It was beautiful day for a sail, too. The weather was a perfect "welcome back" after our long hiatus from the sea. We made excellent time getting down to the Skyway bridge and decided we could make it all the way to Sarasota by sundown.
We took the ICW from Tampa for the remaining short jaunt down and made it to our anchorage right before sunset. To celebrate, we had steaks and wine for dinner as we watched the lights twinkle on in our favorite city to anchor off thus far. The winds were supposed to be against us the following day, so we planning on staying in Sarasota to get a few things accomplished and then set out on Wednesday.
We left early this morning to make sure we had the tide on our side. We motored through the thin part of the channel and once it opened up into the Tampa Bay, up went out sails! It was beautiful day for a sail, too. The weather was a perfect "welcome back" after our long hiatus from the sea. We made excellent time getting down to the Skyway bridge and decided we could make it all the way to Sarasota by sundown.
We took the ICW from Tampa for the remaining short jaunt down and made it to our anchorage right before sunset. To celebrate, we had steaks and wine for dinner as we watched the lights twinkle on in our favorite city to anchor off thus far. The winds were supposed to be against us the following day, so we planning on staying in Sarasota to get a few things accomplished and then set out on Wednesday.
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