Thursday, April 30, 2009

Well today was pretty much a "get ready for tomorrow" day. The morning entertainment though was watching a 120 ft mega yacht (Bella Bri) try and maneuver out of the marina. He was tied to the same wall we had a problem getting off of (the winds were up again this morning) so we spent the first few hours watching him try to get off the dock and back out. All I can say is I'm glad I don't have to try and jockey that behemoth around. It also made me feel better about our antics yesterday (after all - this was a professional captain and crew handling the ship).

After that it was time to start stowing things that can go pitching in the cabin. Then filling the water tank, taking the engine off the dinghy, putting the dinghy on the deck, then the all-important "What do you make to eat as far as comfort food for a 2 day, nonstop trip?" Why brownies of course. So I baked up some comfort food - banana muffins and brownies. Actually two batches of brownies, since we devoured ½ of the first batch... Check the weather, check the email, notify kin of path, play on the computer a bit, with my awesome internet connection I discover some people I know from teaching and made a connection (this takes a little longer of course).

Then chart plotter on, coordinates plugged in for the possible landings and the Gulf Stream. Quick shower, dinner and last minute blog check and update.

Now the plan -we're currently at West End on Grand Bahamas Island. Tomorrow we're going to leave the Old Bahamas Bay Marina around 6:00am since there is no northern wind component in the Gulf Stream. We've plotted a course for Ft. Pierce Florida and along that course line we've estimated where the middle of the Gulf Stream is. By using the Gulf Stream we'll get a 2-3 knot increase in our ground speed, going north (on the way down, we lost speed). We're actually not planning on going into Ft Pierce unless the waves are really rough - then we will. What we're planning on doing is going to the mid-pt where we plotted the gulf stream, and if all looks well, we're planning on shooting up to Fernandina Beach (St Mary's Inlet) and checking in to customs there. This is a 278-mile - non-stop trip unless we have problems. If we run into rough seas between Ft Pierce and Fernandina, we'll go in at Port Canaveral, which is 134 miles from here. These are nautical miles (larger than regular) so we are projecting that we'll be a couple days at sea.

Okay - Bermuda Triangle - here we come!

We'll keep the sand in our shoes until we return...