7/22/2014… Tuesday -There and back again…. A sailing
adventure.
Honestly, if a dragon would have risen from the Gulf with a
wizard or Orc on its back, I don’t think Tom nor I would have blinked twice. I
might have fumbled for my camera, nevertheless I don’t think it would have
phased us.
We left Sailors Wharf on Saturday, weather forecast called
for hot, windless, calm seas, days and nights. Which of course means that
somewhere there is a storm headed our way. Our first leg took us to Fort Myers.
We stopped outside Saturday night and endured the pitch and roll of 3 to 4 ‘waves
worked up by the storms both in the Gulf and on shore. I slept very little. I
have a new learning curve, figuring out what all the clink, clanks, bangs and
bumps are. I finally dozed off when a particularly large wave rocked us causing
the doors to slam.
Sunday morning we
went into the marina where we met up with Tom and Joy; friends from Kemah that
are on their way to the Keys. We also met up with Terry and Susanne long time
sailing friends from Muskegon. We were surprised at how empty Moss Marina was.
They have gotten rid of all the derelict boats, cleaned up the lounge and have
plans to start remodeling the docks. I like Moss because it is so easy to
explore, get groceries, and plenty of restaurants to choose from. It will be
interesting to see what they look like the next time we make a trip to the west
coast.
After fueling up and getting our first sticker shock on diesel,
Cool Hand Too has twice + the fuel capacity as Cool Hand does, we stayed one
night, filled the fridge with ice and cast off lines and headed south. The run was
considerably faster than our trip to St. Petersburg, but we were still finding
small surprises with the new boat. Our refrigerator does not work, the air
conditioner does not work, the chart plotter will just shut down for no reason,
bilge pump is not automatic and oh by the way so dirty that it wasn't pumping
out the water fast enough- yep we had gallons of fresh water in the bilge which
means one of the fresh water tanks has a leak somewhere. Oh well IT’S A BOAT.
Monday night crossing the gulf we were surrounded with
lightening on the horizon. Good news we did not hear the thunder until around 1
AM. We decided to drop anchor and go into Boca Chica in daylight, all in all it
wasn't too bad of a night but I didn't have Sirius connected so could not see
the track of the storms. One amazing thing about sailing in such open water is
witnessing the wonder of weather. Clouds billow up then flatten out, you see
rain falling, layers of clouds lit by lightning, layers of wind, so many shades
of gray massed in such energy with the sun, stars and moon competing for space
or time in hopes that someone below will stop and gather it all in and remember
those ever changing moments.
We arrived in Boca Chica, snug to the dock and Tom already
running errands by noon. We are hoping that the Repair person for the Fridge
can come out tomorrow. Tom will be working through his list of “TO DO’S” then
he has his surgery on Thursday. It will be interesting to see how much a one
armed man can get done. J
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This was the ladder that we climbed to bring
everything up into Cool Hand Too |
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| Lightening on the horizon AM 7/22 |
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| This one we heard rolling across the water in the wind. |
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| Leaving Tampa Bay |
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| First sunset, I don't believe the adage about red skies at night |
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| Rain over Key West ... going to get wet. |
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| Moss Marina .. Sunday 7/21 |
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| sunrise 7/22 |
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