"fun times and travels"

We sailed with a reefed mail and full jib from warderick to Blackpoint. Winds are crazy strong ENE around 20. We re signed up for the Super Bowl party at Lorraine s tomorrow.

We slept for 12 hours. It was a great feeling. We took the jib down and accessed the damage: considerable. Definitely need a professional. So we must head to nassau tomorrow.

Andy got the water maker running. The generator ran for the first time. We fueled up. Good day to sort things out. We both still feel pretty tired so we re heading to bed early for our dawn departure to Nassau.

We left Hillsboro Inlet at 7 am. We could see the white horses in the distance out to sea. The wind was 17-20nw which was not a good time to cross the stream. They always say, " Don't cross in northern winds" , but this was the best wind for a week with another cold front hitting tomorrow. The seas were 6-8ft with an occasional big one. We sailed with a reefed main and jib at 7kts. About 10 miles from Great Issaac light the seas calmed down. The banks were flat till around 2am where we anchored for 3 hours till it was too rough. The winds hit from the southwest as predicted.

We pulled anchor at 245am too rough. The winds were howling 25kts gusting to 30. We were sailing with just the jib and when the wind shifted to west it back winded the jib and tore up the leech line and most of the sunbrella stitching. We continued under bare poles at 4-5kts no motor. Crazy. We were stalling to avoid crossing NW channel before dawn.

The front hit with stronger winds and showers just off the banks. We sailed to morgans bluff, andros. The harbor entrance was wild with big seas off the bluff. Very hairy going in against that wind. We went straight into the harbor and tied up by the fuel dock. It was wonderful to finally stop moving! We made it in by 9:30.

The previous owner had shorten the rudder for depth issues. We decided to remove the old rudder ourselves in the water and drive it up to Foss Foam to have a new one built. With scuba, and weights on the bottom of the new rudder Ryan pushed the rudder down while I guided it into the gap. We re good to go with the new rudder.

We rigged up the dinghy again to clear the southern most 65ft bridge. This time was easier as we had experience. We headed out Fort Pierce in strong NE winds. The seas were angry and rough. Poor Sassy, Andy, and Ryan. We just let out the jib as the winds were blowing a steady 25kts. We made great time and came into Lake Worth inlet and anchored off the west side of Peanut Island just before sunset.

Staying on the inside on the Indian River poses some problems for a 64ft mast. The strong northerly winds dictated the water level and tide was really no effect. The further south we travelled the higher the water level. We begin hitting the antenna around Melbourne. The 65ft bridge 7 miles north of Vero showed 62t. We had to hang the dinghy over the side, fill it with water tilt it out with Ryan and I hiking out. He scrapped the tv attachments but were so pumped up to have made it under. It took awhile to rig and in rig all this so we pulled into Vero Beach Marina and hung on the fuel dock all night. Knowing that the next day would require all that work for the southern Vero Bch Bridge. Wish we could stay longer, I love Vero.