Our adventure has divided itself naturally into a number of phases, each with a very different character. I’ve dubbed the phases: Acclimation, the Crossing, the Waiting, Down Island, the Return, the Reunion, the Abbotts, and, now, the Ditch.

Acclimation: Elaine and I spent the first two months aboard DAWN moving slowly from Maine to Virginia. We were getting used to the boat, used to living aboard, and used to being in each other’s company twenty-four hours a day. The phase went well as we sailed in more or less familiar waters and weather conditions on a boat we know pretty well. We arrived in Hampton, VA, in good shape and early. Final preparations for the crossing ensued with the help of Don, Jody, Peter, Gini and Rob.

The Crossing: The crossing from Hampton, VA, to Virgin Gorda was like most ocean passages I’ve made, a mix of desirable and undesirable weather and sea conditions, a watch rhythm that sets a manageable pace, things breaking and being put in some sort of order, and exhilaration as the destination approaches. It differed from many of my ocean passages in two fundamental ways: my wife was on board, and, as a result, the quality and quantity of food served up from the galley regardless of the weather was unprecedented. Eleven days of open North Atlantic well demonstrated DAWN’s ability to do the work asked of her, as well.

The Waiting: We sat in Virgin Gorda for about a month awaiting repair parts for DAWN’s autopilot. While exasperating at the time, the period did serve to acclimate us to the new locale and its weather, or really absence of significant weather change. We sailed the BVIs and began to learn some important cultural lessons. We didn’t know that the waiting would lead to a general distrust of the autopilot, which, in turn, would lead to thousands of miles of hand steering.

Down Island: This phase began our much-anticipated exploration of the Leeward Islands and Martinique, the first of the Windward Islands. The sailing was boisterous between islands and often light and variable in the lee of the islands. The time was a period of anticipation, frustration, learning, and appreciation. Each of the islands presented new geography, new cultures, often new languages and new currencies to be learned, and, of course, new navigation and pilotage problems to be solved. We met lots of new cruising friends and ran into Salty Dawgs throughout the trip. It was all we’d imagined and much that we couldn’t have.

The Return: The timing of The Return was driven by a long scheduled and much anticipated reunion of family and friends in the Dominican Republic. Sailing was generally what friend, Larry, calls “big boy sailing.” The winds were generally in the 20+ knot range and seas were commensurate. We got accustomed to it all, and DAWN was delighted cracking off more than seven knots routinely and often surfing to nine or ten knots with large following seas.

The return to the Virgins was generally a close reach in brisk conditions. We dallied for a bit in the US Virgins before heading west to Puerto Rico’s southern coast and, eventually, the Dominican Republic. Our tiny crew was logging lots of miles and enjoying old and new destinations. The passage along the Puerto Rican coast was heavy sailing off the wind, and the trip across Mona Passage started light and ended in the strong winds and big seas typical of the Passage. We enjoyed having an experienced crew member, Alvaro Acuna, join us for that crossing.

The Reunion: The reunion with family and friends in the Dominican Republic was a highlight of this adventure. I’ve written about it extensively earlier, but being together with family and friends after six months away was wonderful, indeed.

The Abbotts: The name of The Abbotts phase of the journey pays tribute to Don and Jody Abbott who joined us for a cruise in the Bahamas from the Dominican Republic and ended up having significant passages with plenty of wind and seas. They joined us for 840 miles of sailing from the Dominican Republic to the Turks & Caicos through the Exumas to New Providence and Great Bahama and for the Gulf Stream crossing to Ft Pierce, Florida. Their company and seamanship made a great addition to our vessel.

The Ditch: Following a motorboat crossing of the Gulf Stream, the Abbotts left us in Ft Pierce after a pleasant, productive couple of weeks. We did laundry, cleaned the boat, and did all of that sort of housekeeping just before Elaine simply stepped over the coaming to go onto the maindeck and did something to her skeletal/muscular system. With extraordinary pain, she went off to a walk-in x-ray session with the help of the Parsons. A diagnosis, some pills, and off we went driving up the Intracoastal Waterway, “the ditch.” The pills worked for a bit, but clearly there’s more doctoring that needs to be done.

At the same time, my head needs adjustment as I simply don’t like driving around the shallows at 6 or 7 knots all day waiting to fetch up on a newly formed sandbar. Give me a breeze, some water and some room!

Happily, the autopilot has performed flawlessly in all motoring circumstances; ‘guess I’ll have to give it a try under sail in moderate breezes again.

Yesterday’s passage from Daytona Beach to St Augustine led us through really homely, shallows in several places. In one spot I couldn’t find a way through, so I sheeplishly followed another guy with a boat of six foot draft who seemed to understand this game. Sure enough, he found a little passage back to “deep” (13’) water and off we went. I was happy to see St Augustine Harbor and tie up.

There are different sorts of adventure, and I guess this is one of another sort.