After a frustrating delay with Total Yacht Works on the morning of April 23rd, Endeavor finally splashed at 1045am. Ron, James, and Captain Rick took her to the fuel dock and returned to the Fonatur dock and washed her up. After being in the boat yard for 2 weeks, she was filthy. In the meantime, Sydney and I unloaded the freezer, fridge, and the rest of our belongings from the condo into Larry & Danice's minivan, which they were kind enough to volunteer, and unloaded it all back onto Endeavor. It was somewhat of a race with the clock there at the end. Low tide was at 2pm and it was looking like we wouldn't be crossing the bar until 1pm. When we finally pulled away from the dock and were close to the entrance, Capt. Rick put the hammer down to get through the shallow breaking waves. I am grateful there was nothing to hit but sand when Endeavor's keel slammed into the ground before the next wave brought her out. There goes the new paint from the very bottom of the keel. It was pretty quiet for the next several minutes and then everyone exhaled. All was well.


Capt. Rick and brother Ron Taking it easy on day watch....

As far as crossings go, this was pretty sweet. The first day we were able to sail for several hours without the motor. After that, it was a motor boat ride with a light southerly breeze all the way. The kids, being unable to pull the "I feel queasy" card, did not miss any school work. Having calm seas, a full moon, and an extra person made night watches so enjoyable and left us feeling well rested during the day.


Sydney at recess....


Day two ended up being a sports fisherman's dream. At about 10am, Ron hooked and brought in a 25-30 lb. Dorado! Ok, my freezer is officially overflowing with my favorite fish. No more! After that James wrestled with what we believe was a Marlin. It took his line and almost emptied the reel, jumping and twisting out of the water. Luckily for all involved, it finally broke free. Shortly after that, we had another Dorado on the line. This time James brought her all the way in and Dad successfully released her. The last catch of the day was a nice Yellow Tail Tuna. It was tempting to keep but I was the bad guy and talked the boys into letting it go.


Fresh grilled Mahi Mahi for dinner was muy bueno!

Our calm seas came to an abrupt stop. About 2 hours from our destination, the wind piped up to 22 knots at our nose with rolly beam seas and 3-4 ft. waves. Capt. Rick was on watch and I got up after being bounced around the aft cabin to find Ron buried in a mountain of books that had fallen from the shelf above the settee where he was sleeping. Pretty comical sight! We finally pulled into Isla San Francisco right at dawn and dropped the hook. We have arrived!