On the move at last

Today the journey home starts!

Ten days at the marathon city marina leave me scratching my head; where did the time go. But then again, it's been 6 weeks since we left home to go get The Hoot and bring her home. Where did all that time go? Who knew? The most amazing thing about this trip so far is that there has not been one "predictable" day.  You plan, you work, you enjoy, you adapt, you learn.  We have learned so much since we arrived in Marathon.  

Pulling out of the marina for the last time yesterday afternoon was a great feeling.  Not that the marina was bad, actually the Marathon City Marina is pretty awesome.  And we came across the most interesting people. 

But no, this time leaving signaled the start of a new chapter. We're really on the water now.  

We fueled up the boat, added water and out the channel we went.  That all sounds so simple, but let me assure you, nothing is simple maneuvering a 20,000 + lb ship with less than 50 hp. in 15 kt wind.  Such is the reality of a sailboat.  The plan was to get out, get anchored, get settled and get a clean start this morning. So far so good. 

What an amazing sunset we were treated to as we checked the anchor, carefully watched landmarks, and for the first time, set up Chrissy's "Drag Queen" app that alarms when the boats position changes more than 100'. Every sense heightened by the sea; the simplicity of it all, and the continual feeling of the enormity and power of the water. Every sound magnified as the sunset turned to darkness.

So we settled in for the evening, light dinner and getting used to our "new" surroundings. No longer do we have the security of being attached to a dock, or to a mooring ball. We'll be at a dock again in a few days.

As we jostle around in the sea I am grateful for our friend and previously described "boat guru",  DJ.  He was emphatic and unrelenting about the need for the best chain (not that cheap Chinese stuff from Home Depot), the best non-chafing rode (in a previous world I called it rope) and finally, a bigger and better anchor, a 45# Rochna.  I knew ultimately I would heed his advice and recommendation. "You don't take chances with ground tackle" DJ would say, over and over.  Try as I may to convince him that we could get by with less, he never wavered.  So we did get great stuff from West Marine and now, it feels good to know our anchor isn't dragging despite 20 kn gusts.  Thanks DJ.  It was worth Chrissy having to taxi to the airport, rent a car for a day, drive to Key Largo, buy the anchor (not for the feint hearted), drive it back, unload it at the marina, load it into Ripple, motored it to the Hoot, connected it all up.  Yes, it was worth it and we at least got a few hours of sleep because of our  solid ground tackle.

We also worked on the bilge system.  DJ helped us add an extra pump, rewired all 3 of the bilge pumps and installed switches that make our bilge system really really solid now.  

He also replaced very very old switches on our lights--masthead, steaming and running lights.  That is very solid now.  These are critical for our visibility right now as we sit here anchored.  He also replaced / added a handful of 12v cigarette lighter plugs, mainly used for charging our electronics and running a small fan. After a "minor" short in one of the plugs, causing mug smoke, it was best to replace them all.  Along the way, he removed no less than 20 lbs and countless feet of wiring that went to absolutely nothing.  That's what happens in old boats.  Equipment comes and goes, but wiring rarely gets removed.  

DJ also wired up our high water alarm, should the bilges not work or not be able to keep up, we'll be the first to know. 

We rigged up a way to get our dingy (Ripple) up on the davits. Hope that holds.  Ripple is an old and tired dinghy that responded well to the repairs Chrissy and I made to her a few weeks ago. She is serving us well. Quite a change from earlier when we ran her aground. 

During our time in the City Marina, we also had repairs done to our headsail, reinstalling the leech cord and re-stitching the sun cover fabric. That is very solid now.  

We learned about new weather resources.  Passageweather.com is a great site giving you forecasted wind (speed and direction), precipitation and waves (height and direction). All critical information for sailors.  We learned about the iGrib iPhone/iPad app that is great as well. And we have the Garmin Blue Charts App for backup to our main GPS and paper charts.

Our knowledge grew daily as we enjoyed a few happy hours with DJ. He is a like a sailboat encyclopedia and he shared a lot with us on what to expect and how to be safe and survive.  Here's a long promised  photo of DJ and Chrissy.

So yes, we're ready and the Hoot is ready.  We've got a 45-mi sail planned for today taking us to the southern tip of the Florida mainland, to a spot in the Florida Everglades called the Shark River. No, don't think we'll be swimming there either. The area where we will be anchoring tonight does not have cell service so we'll be completely unplugged and off the grid. Guess I better download Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon for the evening playlist.  

We are very grateful for the support and encouragement from friends and family alike. It helps a lot. 

So as the sun rises on a new day, the 7-mile bridge awaits us.