And we're off!

3.6.10

We left bright and early this morning amid the fog and the frost, bundled up to the nines since it was only 40 degrees. We had decided to motor down the ICW until we got to Melbourne, hoping that we would be able to spot any issues with our boat and learn to navigate before hitting the open ocean. It was smooth "sailing" until St. Augustine where my trusty navigator (brad!) lead me straight into a shoal (sandbar)! It was our first encounter with being stuck, but we successfully maneuvered out within a few minutes and got back on course. No worries, a few miles down the ICW, I also directed Brad into a shoal which we had to maneuver off. Obviously we were off to a great start with our expert navigation skills....!!
After traveling for 7 hours, we decided we should attempt to anchor for the evening - leaving plenty of daylight in case we couldn't anchor successfully. After 3 tries and 1 hour, we were anchored in a somewhat precarious spot. We had a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes, cooked our new grill (compliments of my wonderful parents!) but decided that since we were unsure about how well our anchor was in, one of us should get up every few hours to check and make sure we were in the right spot. Well, I drew the short straw....
Everything was going well until about 10pm. I took Koa out for his evening pee and noticed a large ferry heading our way. I wasn't too concerned since we were outside the channel, but as I watched I realized he was on a straight collision course with our boat and showing no sign of stopping!! I glanced up at the top of our mast to make sure our anchor light was on so that he could see us - and it had gone out!! I started furiously flashing my flashlight towards him and he swerved at the last minute, barely missing our stern. He turned his floodlight on us for a full minute (probably a boater's way of saying screw you!!).
I figured out that our batteries had died a bit before that, so I had to jerry-rig a flashlight to shine up our mast so that other boaters would know we were there.
Thank goodness the rest of the evening was uneventful, except for my lack of sleep as I imagined other boats on a similar collision course with our little boat!

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!!!