January 30, 2016: Off Naples, Florida

We left Pensacola Yacht Club mid-day on Tuesday, the 19th.  With help from Steve Vague and Ken Baker, we had spent the previous 3 days installing a new water heater, new electric bilge pump, and new battery.  Maribeth and Pam Vague had been buying food and beverage, and the boat was sitting low in the water.

We had hoped to sail south, ideally towards Key West.  But a cold front was coming, with rough seas and 30+ knot winds forecast, so we headed east on the Intracoastal Waterway.  It turned out to be a scenic and interesting route, rich with wildlife.  

The front arrived overnight on Thursday, the 21st.  (This was the same system that brought snow to Nashville and much of the NorthEast.)  We would have liked a tight little protected anchorage, but none could be found.  Instead we anchored in the southern end of West Bay, itself an arm of St. Andrews Bay.  A half mile of open water to the east, south, and west, there was no protection from the wind, but a little from the waves.  And, if things didn't go well, we had room to drag anchor.  We arrived after sunset, in a building gale, and finally got an anchor set, with 150 ft of chain out in 9 ft of water.  We spent the night listening to the wind howl and the anchor rode creak.  But we didn't move, and the next day's downwind sail past Panama City was exhilarating.   

And cold.  It was always cold.  

We arrived at Port St. Joe at sunset on Saturday, the 23rd.  The storm had blown itself out by then, so we decided to head offshore for Tampa the next morning.  The forecast wasn't perfect:  the wind would be in a favorable direction but light for a day, then die off completely, then build again, this time on our nose.  Nevertheless, we were tired of the cold and wanted badly to get south.

Our crossing took 3 and a half days.  Instead of Tampa, we dropped anchor just inside Boca Grande Pass off Lacosta Island  in Charlotte Harbor well after dark on Wednesday, the 27th.  We had struggled to sail east, but the wind wanted us south, and we were easily convinced to bypass Tampa.  We had some dead calm, a raucous banging crashing night, and relentless drenching rain.  It was great fun!

We did four-hour watches.  Pam and I shared the 6:00 to 10:00, and 2 to 6 watches.  Steve and Maribeth took the 10 to 2, and 6 to 10 watches.  A competition developed.  But it wasn't much competition:  Pam and I consistently made better time on a more favorable course than did the lesser watch team. 

We've spent the last few days traveling south down Pine Island Sound, east on the ICW, and south again to Ft. Myers Beach.  There we had to say goodbye to Steve and Pam.  They are excellent sailors and great company, and we miss them already.

Maribeth and I are sailing south today, looking forward to my cousin Cindy's visit in a couple days.  We had hoped to meet her in Ft. Lauderdale, but Marathon now looks more practical.  

We're still wearing long pants and sweaters, even this far south. But I know shorts and t-shirts are not far away!  

We miss you all.  Come join us!

January 17, 2016: Pensacola

We finally left South Shore Harbor and New Orleans on Saturday afternoon, the 9th.  Since then, we've been sailing east, sometimes fast in boisterous winds, sometimes slowly in warm whispering breezes, and sometimes with the mind-numbing drone of the motor.  We anchored somewhere new every night until we arrived here yesterday.

We're tied up now at Pensacola Yacht Club.  We'll spend 2 or 3 days here tending to boat projects.  Steve and Pam Vague flew in yesterday, and will sail south with us, hopefully to Key West.

This has been a winter cruise.  The days are cold: 28 F when we anchored off the beach at Gulfport.  And the nights are long:  nearly fourteen hours from sunset to sunrise.  Maribeth has made outstanding meals.  We enjoyed a fabulous evening at Jack and Margie Grace's house.  Thom and Susan Garrison were there also.  They have been traveling this same route aboard Resolute.  We shared an anchorage with them at Horn Island, and we've been in regular contact all week.

We're getting to know La Peregrina.  She has some idiosyncrasies:  we discovered the water heater doesn't work, the autopilot has bothersome habits, the main house battery is old and lethargic, and there's a wire we wiggle to keep the refrigerator working.  But she's strong, and she tries her best to do all we ask of her.

There is way, way too much stuff on this boat.  The ladies have taken to hanging nets from the ceiling to store groceries.  So much is stashed under the table, there is no room for legs.  And no place to sit for all the pillows.  I thought we had learned this lesson on the Camino:  Less is better.

We'll finish some chores, somehow stuff more provisions on board, fill all the tanks, pour over weather reports, and finally raise sails again soon.  We'll let you know how it goes.

Let us know when you can come join us!  We miss you.