Part I of Ft. Lauderdale to Fairhaven 2012

Ft. Lauderdale to Fairhaven, 2012

“T minus 2” May 31, 2012

There are few mornings when I want to thank Gus for getting me up early. Today was such a day. When I took the dogs outside, I was greeted by this fabulous display of colors thanks to the rising sun. What a way to start the day! Thanks, Gus and Pepper for rousing me from my slumber!

Today Maria arrives from Spain. The new house is still a flurry of activity with different service people coming by to give us bids and get instructions for the next four months. The floors have to be redone, many rooms need to be painted, the pool has a few problems, and on and on. In the meantime, I finally get to the grocery store to buy most of the provisions. Tomorrow we will get the all the fresh produce and anything that I forget today.

Thank goodness we have Kevin as he is manning JAMBO. They are still working on the punch list from our Bahama trip. And then Ray and Susan Cope from another Outer Reef named “Copeing” are at the front door! They have come to inspect our bilge system as they are getting ready to redo theirs. “Copeing” is the very first Outer Reef 65 ever built, and there have been many improvements since it was built. Each owner brings one or two (or more) good ideas about how to make things look or work better. We are lucky to have the best of the best (so far!)

Maria arrived in the evening looking great – she never changes! Turns out her connections in Madrid and Atlanta were very tight, so she got rather stressed, but finally she is here! It was fun showing her around the house, and she was amazed how the boat was right in the back yard. She is not allowed to tour the boat until tomorrow since it is still torn up from the work being done.

(Just realized how many times I said “thank” in this post…I am, indeed, thankful for all I have and the wonderful people who surround me each day!)

“T minus 1” June 1, 2012 – TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Up early because there is lots to do. Unfortunately, looks like this will be a day of almost constant rain. Bummer. After Maria has her shower, she discovered that the water would not shut off. There is a steady stream of water coming from the shower head. Something else to add to the list! Eileen, our real estate broker, referred us to a plumber who was very kind and worked us in today. The water drips will be fixed around noon. The new pool service guy arrives and we discuss the pool. Fred is off to the dermatologist. Another company comes to give us a bid to treat all the landscaping for pests. Pepper is busy chasing the many lizards in the back yard. The glass guy (who reminded me very much of Vinnie Caminiti!) comes to adjust and fix two of the shower doors. Gus, well, Gus is Gus. He just lays in the middle of the floor and sleeps so we all have to step around and over him! And most of this was before noon!

Maria and I go to the book store to load up on Sudoku books to help pass the time and then to the grocery store for the fresh produce. We forget to get any candied ginger. Ginger is very good for helping prevent sea sickness. When we realized the omission we say “Oh well. We never get sea sick anyway. It will be fine……….”

When we get home, between the pouring rain showers, we have to start loading everything on the boat and stowing it all. It looks like I have provisioned for two months! We do manage to stuff the fridge and freezers and get all the packaged and canned stuff put away. Hopefully I can find what I need when I need it! Now to bring all the “stuff” from the house. Since all of our “stuff” is still in Dallas, I had brought dishes, glasses, our clothes, office files and on and on in to the house for the three weeks we have been staying there. So back it all goes. Load after load after load. Fred just keeps shaking his head and saying “I am serious! You are not buying one more thing to come on this boat!!!”

We went for an early dinner Shooters, one of the nearby water-front joints. A lovely bottle of champagne, spinach dip appetizer followed by delicious spinach salad with grilled salmon. Since it is, after all, my birthday, I order a brownie sundae. Out comes this ginormous piece of brownie cake topped with ice cream, caramel sauce and whipped cream. Even the three of us cannot finish it. Happy Birthday to me!

Back to the house for more loading, more of Fred shaking his head. About 9:30 I send Maria to bed and tell her only I can do the rest. She has worked really hard and has jet lag to deal with as well. Around 10:30 I shoo Fred out so I can work in peace.

At 11:30 I realized I had not set the new alarm codes for the property manager and Kevin. (This is one item I had started to do around 11 this morning and was interrupted by the door bell or phone or something.) So, I get out the manual and it seems pretty clear. Press the first two buttons and…the alarm begins to SET! No big deal. I press our alarm code and…it should disarm…but, no, it keeps counting down for the set. Again and again I try our code and it does not work. Luckily, I have my phone in my pocket and call ADT. The nice guy who answers calmly tells me what to do. “Press 0-8. Press your code. Press this number. Press that number. Alarm still set?” “Yes” I tell him, and we try again. And again. “Ummmm,” he says. “That’s strange.” I think perhaps something is wrong with the keypad, so I head to the kitchen. One step and…the alarm goes off! I have set off the motion detector. Argh!!! The good news is that it unlocked the keypad and I am able to shut it off. Only after waking the entire neighborhood…..At some point later I finally close down the house and head for bed on the boat. It will be an early start tomorrow…

Departure – June 2, 2012

6:30 a.m. and we are out of bed and preparing to leave. Off the dock by 7:10 and headed down the Intercoastal. The sun is a welcome sight after all the rain yesterday. Winds calm, bright clear morning, all is “Terrific” as Maria would say. 45 minutes and two bridges later we are headed into the ocean. Calm seas! Just what we wanted!

Our watch schedule begins. Fred will take 7 to 12 while we all get acclimated. Here is the rest of the schedule, just for a sample:

Noon to 3 - Darla

3 to 6 – Maria (yes, our guests are put to work, too!)

6 to 8 - Fred

8 to 10 - Darla

10 p.m. to 2 a.m. - Kevin (he is a night person and said he is happy to take a long shift at night)

2a.m. to 4 a.m. - Fred

4 a.m. to 6 a.m. - Darla

6 a.m. to 8 a.m. - Kevin

8 a.m. to 11 a.m. - Fred

and so it goes.

I think I have the greatest of the schedule. I get to see the sun set (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and the moon rise. Then I get to see the moon set and the sun rise on the 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. watch!

Fred and the dogs lounging on the "poop" deck

During the day we are all pretty much on deck for the first day at least. At night, the person who goes off shift stays either in the pilot house or in the salon. You can sleep, but we just want one person as back-up to the one on shift in case they need to leave the helm for the “call of nature” or have a question about an upcoming situation with a boat or navigation.

Maria on watch -- all eyes forward!!!!

The day is beautiful and the seas calm. We are having a great time, and the Gulf Stream has pushed our progress from 9 knots to 12.5 knots. All is right with the world, until…

Around 6 p.m. Maria and I decide we should go take our showers, since there was no time in the morning. No problem. It is relatively calm.


This becomes Maria's permanent place while in heavy seas. Pepper and Gus keep her company.

Well, our stomachs had different ideas. We both managed to start to feel a bit queasy while below. What an awful feeling. I manage to fix a dinner for Fred (Kevin mostly fixes his own food) but Maria and I don’t feel like eating. Maria has never been seasick and it is not a nice feeling. I ate a bit of bread and took part of a Bonine (like Dramamine) and start to feel better, but she is still very uncomfortable. Around 8:45 we tell her to try to get some sleep. When the morning comes, the seas have picked up since we now have a wind from the north fighting the Gulf Stream coming from the south. Ugh. Even the dogs are flat out. Gus thought at 5:30 maybe he wanted breakfast, but when I implored him to go back to sleep, he obeys and has hardly roused his head since (and it is now 11:30 a.m.!) Not like Gus-man to miss a meal! Pepper is doing okay, just sleeping. Maria is curled up on the sofa in the fetal position holding a cool rag to her head. Wish I could just beam her to Charlestown and spare her this discomfort!

Sunset on my watch

The displays during a night watch.

My watch from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. was full of activity. There is a sailboat named “Montana Sky” ahead of us on exactly the same course. What are the chances on this big ocean that another boat would be right in line with us? Go figure! I discuss with Fred as he goes off watch how I should pass the boat and feel comfortable with the plan.

The full moon setting just before sunrise.

Montana Sky and I chat from time to time. Comments about passing so close we could pass the Grey Poupon keep us amused in the early morning hours. Eventually, the winds start to push the sail boat off our direct course, so passing was not a problem by the time we caught up with them.

Some of the activities during the day... Fred picking up Pepper's poop and feeding the fishes!

Finally, after 41 hours of cruising, we arrive at Charleston, SC, and dock at Charleston City Marina. Here they have a MegaDock which houses many, many boats with easy in-and out-access. We are all rather weary from the journey and rest a bit before heading to the shuttle for town.

MegaDock -- a loooong way to walk to get to grass for the dogs!

Charleston is lovely. Now that it is about 2 p.m., we are starting to be hungry for a real meal. We found a restaurant named “Magnolia” that has a promising menu, and lots of people inside which is usually a good indication that the fare is good.

We started with their “famous” homemade piminto cheese, a dish new to Maria. Yum! They add green olives to their recipe and it is very good. Fred chooses a blackened catfish with fried green tomatoes and Maria and I have Parmesan-crusted flounder served with fresh-off-the-cob-corn, asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Tastes wonderful, as does the wine we drink.

Parmesan crusted flounder

Blackened catfish with fried green tomatoes

Now that we are fortified with lovely food and a bit of vino, we wander through the shops and stalls in the market area. Nothing special. Fred does not want to take a carriage ride and hear the history – besides, the waterway guide warns that the leaders of the tours have a vivid imagination, so perhaps we would not hear the “real” history anyway. Back at the boat, we relax and get ready for the next day.