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.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Finally!!
11.27.2010
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone was able to enjoy great food with their friends and family! We were lucky enough to crash a last minute thanksgiving dinner with some of Brad's family. We weren't planning on being here for Thanksgiving and they thought we had already left - so it was a surprise for everyone!
After much hard work and money spent, we are finally ready to push off. We aren't leaving until tomorrow so that we can catch the Ravens game today, but are spending most of the day tying up a few loose ends. We are both anxious to leave and cannot wait to start our adventure. The preparation for this trip has been unbelievable and we are hoping it will pay off. Although I am sure there will always be something that we didn't plan on happening, we are as prepared as we are ever going to be.
Unfortunately, our extensive amount of preparation has cut more deeply into our funds than we had anticipated! We are hoping our charm and good looks will get us far once we get there....haha. We may be home sooner than expected, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we aren't going to let it pass us by! Lucky for us, we have very supportive family members who are helping make this dream come true - and for that we are so very grateful!
So tomorrow is the big shove off date! Stay tuned as we travel back down the west coast and over to the Bahamas! BON VOYAGE!!
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone was able to enjoy great food with their friends and family! We were lucky enough to crash a last minute thanksgiving dinner with some of Brad's family. We weren't planning on being here for Thanksgiving and they thought we had already left - so it was a surprise for everyone!
After much hard work and money spent, we are finally ready to push off. We aren't leaving until tomorrow so that we can catch the Ravens game today, but are spending most of the day tying up a few loose ends. We are both anxious to leave and cannot wait to start our adventure. The preparation for this trip has been unbelievable and we are hoping it will pay off. Although I am sure there will always be something that we didn't plan on happening, we are as prepared as we are ever going to be.
Unfortunately, our extensive amount of preparation has cut more deeply into our funds than we had anticipated! We are hoping our charm and good looks will get us far once we get there....haha. We may be home sooner than expected, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we aren't going to let it pass us by! Lucky for us, we have very supportive family members who are helping make this dream come true - and for that we are so very grateful!
So tomorrow is the big shove off date! Stay tuned as we travel back down the west coast and over to the Bahamas! BON VOYAGE!!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Up, Up, and Away...
11.14.2010
So one of the large tasks that we have been putting off for so long is going up the mast to replace the anchor light and checking the wiring on our anemometer (the thing that tells us the direction and speed of the wind). Yes, that meant that one of us was going to have to be hoisted all the way to the top of our 59' mast. And of course it only makes sense for the lighter of us to be the one to go - so, up I went!
Brad strapped me into a bosuns chair and attached it to our main halyard line as I started to get a little nervous about this whole endeavor. I did feel a little better when Brad told me he wasn't nervous and that I would be fine. We started slowly, making sure that everything was set up correctly and the line was going to hold my weight (I'm no lightweight!). Everything seemed fine, so Brad started hauling me up.
It was a long and arduous process; me shimmying up the mast trying to take some of the pressure off of Brad, both of us having to rest every 15 feet of so. When I was almost at the top, Chelsea (my friend visiting from Jax) arrived and immediately starting laughing and taking pictures - we were quickly turning into the neighborhood entertainment.
Of course I reached the top of the mast only to realize that I was too far down to actually see the top and could, in fact, barely even reach up to change the bulb! Talk about frustrating!! So I wrapped my left arm over the top of the mast and with my right arm, attempted to unscrew the cap off the anchor light. After a few setbacks - after twisting for 10 minutes I realized there was electrical tape around the base that I had to remove, and then I couldn't reach the top of the screwdriver to unscrew the screws to remove the actual light fixture - I finally managed to just changed out the lightbulb and replace the cap. Although we were hoping to change the whole fixture, this was better than nothing.
I took a few pictures of the top of the mast and of me hanging so high in the air. And of course, of the marina, the scenery and our boat which looked so tiny down below! Then Brad and Chelsea slowly let me down.
All in all, it was uneventful and a lot more fun than I had ever thought it would be! And of course, as soon as I was safely down on the boat Brad said, "Thank God! I thought I was going to be sick the whole time you were up there!" Well, at least he is a good liar!
So one of the large tasks that we have been putting off for so long is going up the mast to replace the anchor light and checking the wiring on our anemometer (the thing that tells us the direction and speed of the wind). Yes, that meant that one of us was going to have to be hoisted all the way to the top of our 59' mast. And of course it only makes sense for the lighter of us to be the one to go - so, up I went!
Brad strapped me into a bosuns chair and attached it to our main halyard line as I started to get a little nervous about this whole endeavor. I did feel a little better when Brad told me he wasn't nervous and that I would be fine. We started slowly, making sure that everything was set up correctly and the line was going to hold my weight (I'm no lightweight!). Everything seemed fine, so Brad started hauling me up.
It was a long and arduous process; me shimmying up the mast trying to take some of the pressure off of Brad, both of us having to rest every 15 feet of so. When I was almost at the top, Chelsea (my friend visiting from Jax) arrived and immediately starting laughing and taking pictures - we were quickly turning into the neighborhood entertainment.
Of course I reached the top of the mast only to realize that I was too far down to actually see the top and could, in fact, barely even reach up to change the bulb! Talk about frustrating!! So I wrapped my left arm over the top of the mast and with my right arm, attempted to unscrew the cap off the anchor light. After a few setbacks - after twisting for 10 minutes I realized there was electrical tape around the base that I had to remove, and then I couldn't reach the top of the screwdriver to unscrew the screws to remove the actual light fixture - I finally managed to just changed out the lightbulb and replace the cap. Although we were hoping to change the whole fixture, this was better than nothing.
I took a few pictures of the top of the mast and of me hanging so high in the air. And of course, of the marina, the scenery and our boat which looked so tiny down below! Then Brad and Chelsea slowly let me down.
All in all, it was uneventful and a lot more fun than I had ever thought it would be! And of course, as soon as I was safely down on the boat Brad said, "Thank God! I thought I was going to be sick the whole time you were up there!" Well, at least he is a good liar!
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