What... No pics of the trip south?

 

Cool pics of the launch, but where are the trip photos?

 

I've got a few, but not many... they will follow along with a much longer story.

For now the moral is "Thanks Rusty"

 

We don't want pics of Rusty, we want pics of the trip.

 

Yeah, who wants photos of a salty ole' dog who can drive anything with a propellor????

 

Damn it, I forgot all about the launch. I lived in Melbourne for a few years and remember watching and hearing the space shuttle launches. Really cool.

 

The Falcon 9 rocket is a really spectacular shot to watch. I've seen hundreds of rockets from here and that one was impressive.

 

Nice. Pics, stories and stats when you can...

 

Thats awesome!!! I'm in Annapolis. I should have gone with you for the adventure instead of hearing "no thanks" on my software sales...... Safe travels!!!

 

Thanks guys....

I didn't mention before that I've been on my own. I've single handed her the whole way through some adverse situations. Single handing a 44' boat......that's your first..... that you've only owned for a few months..... is a bit of an undertaking. Stories will follow.

I will say I've met a few CSR'ers on the way down and even ran with one for part of the journey. It's been great.

Today I'm just enjoying Florida and giving respect to Rusty.....

 

BG, good job in single handling your boat all the way down there. It's not easy and requires 100% of your attention 100% of the time. Many things can go wrong and you were the only thing keeping Murphy at arm's length during your trip.

I admire your "True Grit".

 

I'm totally jealous!
If I had the freedom to do what your doing....I'd be floating right next to you.
Rock on,

Mark.

 

I was in Melbourne last night and saw that launch too. I wasn't expecting it, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Congrats on your trip, sounds great!

And yes, Rusty is The Man.

How far are you going?

 

Super cool adventure, enjoy every minute!

 

Hey, got off your ass and get down to to the Keys! We are now on the west side of Lake Okeechobee. It's MUCH warmer here.

Keith and Jo
"Dream Weaver"

PS There was a point when you were not single handing!

 

Is there a trip back? Or is this one way? We're going to need a daily report with pictures for the trip back. Well give you a mulligan for waiting so long to tell us about the trip down.

 

Boat Guy,
Glad you made it down to Florida safely! May you continue to have smooth waters and many adventures!
I know many of us can't wait to hear "The rest of the story" regarding the trip.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

There will be a trip north probably sometime in May / June.....

I apologize for the delay in posting, but I'm usually a pretty quiet / private on the internet about what I do. So, I'm more likely to post where I've been than where I am.

KT - The weather here is great. I'm getting some work done and waiting for some Ray Marine stuff to arrive. I'll prob. be here for a little while. I'm in no hurry but will continue my trek down to the Keys. I'm also getting the seals done on both engines. If you knew what I was paying you would know why I'm doing both engines. A little preventive maintenance..... I also have a new battery charger and I got new AGM 31M batteries. I thought it was time to stop using the "Emergency Start" switch...haha

So yes, I've got a lot more miles ahead of me.

The thought is (I have no plan as I follow two sayings : 1. "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" 2. "No Plans" - Plans get in the way of adventure and adversity) to head to KWF and then an excursion down to the Dry Tortugas. Then back up to the Keys and further up the coast to find a good area to cross to the Bahamas. Then hang there for a month or so.

As I tell me story, I'll fill you in on what KT is talking about.

Thanks Chris... Sorry I didn't catch up with you again before I rolled out.

GFC - Thanks, I think you understand a bit of what the experience is like. When others are asking about picts, I really had little time to be shooting. Mostly, I would decompress after being tied to the dock after a run and shoot a picture then. The ICW is riddled with small boats, no wake zones, and sailboats. "slow passes" and monitoring shoaling inside the narrow channel takes a great deal of attention while moving at 20 kts. Outside is different... In fact in a lot of ways more relaxing. But, without auto pilot if I looked away for more than 15 seconds I could be off course by 50 degrees. I have run down the ICW at 7 kts a couple of days and that's far easier. It's also a lot better on fuel burn.

For Thanksgiving, I was with KTCanuck and we were in St. Augustine. A bunch of sailors got together in the club house marina to share Thanksgiving. There was a couple there that had been on their boat, if memory serves me, for about four years. They are traveling across the world starting from Australia. They ran the Indian Ocean and have now found their way to the East Coast of the US and the ICW. The wife's eyes widen when she talks about the ICW as being some of the most challenging water they've experienced. It's just not forgiving if you miss a channel marker or even if you don't and a shoal has found it's way into the channel.

Here is a pict for you pict guys....

 

No autopilot? I think you should move that up on your todo list. It'll give you lots of time to take pictures if you don't have to steer.

 

I now have auto-pilot....

The boat had auto-pilot and I was told it was not operational. I connected some wires to Sea Talk before I left Annapolis and it appeared to be functioning properly. I thought I lucked out.... Then a rain storm happened and I didn't have my canvas up. So water intruded on the remote for the AP and it fried some IC chips inside the remote. So I never got a chance to see if it worked or not.....

Since this is all legacy equipment, I can't just buy off the shelf. I had to keep an eye on Ebay. I got lucky right before I left and saw an auction for a "New" remote. So I worked a deal with the ebay'er but I was never in a port long enough, nor did I know which port I would be in, to send it. When I got to Savannah I stayed a week or so and had it shipped in. As soon as I got it, I installed it and it appeared to be working great.

I was able to test it on my run from Savannah to Amelia Island.... Which I did in the pond... Oh man, what a difference. It was great being out in open water and not having to course correct every two seconds. I still didn't let up my guard as it was the first time using AP and I wasn't totally sure it would continue to work properly. That was a great day.... In fact saw right whales, dolphins, and even a few sea turtles......

 

I'll second what Mike says.

The AP is the best fatigue reducer you will ever have on a long trip. Just freeing your hands to grab a coke, flip a chart over, get a bottle of water really, really helps with fatigue. On a trip, my AP is on about 95% of the time.

 

It does outside.... Yet in the ICW course corrections are always necessary..... and if there is strong current and / or wind the AP zig zags her around a bit. There isn't enough room to be ziggin' and zaggin'....

Nice to see you chime in here, Frank. I owe you a debt of gratitude too. Without your assistance early on I would never have had a boat to start this mini-adventure.

 

Nice to see you chime in here, Frank. I owe you a debt of gratitude too. Without your assistance early on I would never have had a boat to start this mini-adventure.

Mini-adventure?.....Did you really say Mini? What do you plan for next year, space exploration?

Just kidding of course. Be safe. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

What a cool adventure. *Envious* Have fun!

 

Quite an adventure let alone it being a first boat and you're handling all the captain and crew duties by yourself. My hats off to you. It would take me forever to do a trip solo as I'd then have to shut down about every 10 miles just to whiz. Can we assume you have some sort of float plan left with someone or are you just taking it as it comes?

Speaking of fatigue, one of the things I now can't live without when on a long trip is an anti-fatigue mat. I spend a lot of time standing against the bolster and having that extra cushion to stand on really makes a huge difference when you're at the helm for 10 hours.

anyway, stay safe and enjoy the trip...

 

Living the dream! This is what I want to do someday....no plan no worries!

 

This trip is half adventure and half learning experience and I really wanted to do it solo.

There is something different about traveling on your own. You lose some comradery and a sense of comfort knowing someone else is there. Yet, you gain a sense of accomplishment and it's an enjoyable way of meeting other people. When you travel with someone, a lot of times you keep to yourselves. Traveling alone, you tend to be more extroverted. I traveled across country alone and have done extensive world traveling that way. Plus, this is all just a primer to getting a large sailboat and setting sail for a long time.

I had friends that wanted to join me, if not for the whole trip, for different legs. I declined all offers, telling them this is a solo journey.... At Least for the trip down. Once I reach KWF then I might open it up and not be so concerned about doing it solo.

In fact, Jo (KTCanuck's wife) thinks I need a deck hand or first mate.... I think she might be right.... I'll be accepting applications soon.... But you have to look good in a bikini..haha

Tim, the first part of the trip my canvas glass was so bad that I had to unzip the top and look through the unziped area. So it was a lot of standing. I didn't mind it as it allowed me to stretch a bit. At the end of the day I'd feel it though.

Regarding going below, I'm very careful and will set autopilot and slow down when I need to hit the head. I count so I'm sure I'm only down for seconds.

 

Plus, this is all just a primer to getting a large sailboat and setting sail for a long time.

Too much alone time. He's starting to talk crazy talk... Sailboat? Might be time for a CSR inter-friend-tion. :smt101