Hello!
We left the Manatee River Thursday April 23rd at 7:00 pm and arrived in Marathon Saturday April 25th at 10:30 am. It has been years since either of us have done a passage, so we were nervous. I usually don't care if I can see land but on this it was reassuring. We could see the shoreline until south of March Island.
To avoid heavy winds and high seas from behind us we settled for lighter winds coming from the direction we were going. That made for a rough first night. The boat did well and we took turns staying up to watch the horizon and adjust our course. We use an auto pilot to steer the boat on long runs; it needs to be watched and adjusted occasionally to keep us on course. We do not want a fully automated, integrated system. It's good to have something to do while on watch. I entertained myself with some movies downloaded to my phone, reading a book and catching local stations on a new AM/FM radio my friend Joan gave me. There is also like nothing being under the open sky with time to think about life and talk to relatives no longer with us.
The sky was mostly clear and temperature nice during the passage. We saw one sea turtle, some flying fish and seagulls. We used the diesel engine the entire trip and had the mainsail up to steady the boat. If we waited for the right wind to sail everywhere, we would never go anywhere. It is very nice when the winds are right and we can put up the sails and travel to our destination sailing.
On Saturday morning we would see Marathon. The water was just 6-12 feet deep and was a nice turquois blue. It took a few hours to get around to the harbor. A woman came over in her dinghy to help us pick up the mooring ball. Super nice because it is not an easy maneuver and we are out of practice.
We are swinging off a mooring ball now which is almost as nice as being at anchor. There are hundreds of boats here. Boats at anchor, on mooring balls and in marinas, boats in every conceivable condition.
We are close to the marina office and dinghy dock. Grocery stores, laundry and supplies are nearby so we can prepare for the passage to the Bahamas. It is exciting to have made it this far.
Fran Lima
No comments:
Post a Comment