This was definitely an interesting trip. We were debating whether or not to leave on the 26th because of wave height. As you all know I am known to have a tough time in calm seas, and they were forecasting 3 to 5 Ft. seas subsiding to 2 to 4 Ft. I agreed to set sail because I really wanted to get South, but I was really nervous. As usual Bailey and Jeff were completely fine, and this was one of my worst trips yet as far as being sick. The waves were 4 to 6 Ft with an awful swell from the side and nose. We could've stopped at Ft. Pierce on the second day, but we were actually making good time and calculated at our current speed that we could make it to Lauderdale by noon the next day. I was already sick, so I just wanted to get to Lauderdale quickly, rather than drag it out another week.

Everything was going good, I was staying awake for my watches and that allowed Jeff to stay rested. On the morning of the 28th, we were pretty beat up from the seas. We were only 3 miles off the coast and about 20 miles North of Lauderdale at around 8:30 am, so close....

There was a lot of fishing boats out and I was fried so Jeff and I switched watches. I thought we only had less than 2 hours to go. I hadn't been asleep very long when I heard the engines being shut down. I thought that was odd, I couldn't imagine why Jeff wanted to just sail instead of motor sail so we could just get there already! I went outside and Jeff asked if I was ready to take over. Then he told me that we had just lost our port engine. It was torture!! So close to Lauderdale, and we got knocked around by waves for 6 more HOURS before we made it to Port Everglades at around 4 pm. We were fighting almost a 2 knot current and with only one engine and the wind from our nose, we were crawling along at 2 to 3 knots...painful!

We decided to call Tow Boat US to tow us into the Port. There are so many boats and huge ships going in and out that with us being under powered we didn't dare risk it on one engine. It was actually pretty fun being towed into our Marina, very relaxing after our stressful 48 hours. We had to be towed from the nose rather than a hip tow because the guy said Jeff's vessel was too big! Haha, talk about giving a guy an ego! I have some good pictures to download when I have a better connection speed.

So good news, we're only 60 miles from Bimini. Bad news, it won't be until at least the 2nd at minimum before we can have someone come look at our engine. Now we're cleaning the boat up, playing games, doing puzzles, and trying to enjoy wearing shorts and summer clothes again.

Zack did about the same on this vogage, no big business on the boat, but a little bit. He was a little freaked out by the noise of the waves. As soon as you'd close your eyes when you were off watch he'd stick his hairy face right up to your nose and tickle you with his whiskers. Usually we enjoy cuddle time with Z dog, but he had to stay up with the current watch person so that the other one could actually sleep.

So, it looks like the New Year in Lauderdale. I'll try to get pictures on soon and update with our plan when we find out about the engine.

Happy New Year!!