Month: October 2009

Oct 20 – 22

We arrived back at Mike’s folks home and began the task of packing for what Mike had estimated as a 3 day trip.  Our plan was to drive to Ft. Lauderdale to Pick Up Dancing Dolphin and to take her the southern route through the keys and around to Punta Gorda where we will outfit and provision her for our extended cruising lifestyle.    We arrived on Tuesday Oct 20^th and spent the day driving around Ft Lauderdale picking up spares for a host of normal problems that can occur when traveling by boat as well as some last minute grocery items.  We were hoping to leave on Wed and be back in Punta Gorda by Saturday at the latest.   God Just Laughed!  A northeast wind was blowing pretty hard and rough seas were expected to continue throughout the day.  We decided to wait until Thursday, so we spent Wed checking over the boat systems and familiarizing ourselves with its details as well as picking up a few more spare parts.  Not an easy task as we are finding that many of the parts for the systems on the boat are not readily kept in stock.   We also picked up cleaning supplies as she needs a good scrubbing inside and out.  I figured I could work on this a little as we traveled back to Punta Gorda.   Thursday morning we turned on our VHF Radio and listened to the weather report for the day.  The winds had subsided to a more reasonable level and the seas were beginning to calm a bit.   Mike debated  whether or not to take us down the ICW (Inter-Coastal Waterway) or take us out on the ocean for the first leg of our journey.   He opted initially for the open ocean.   “I’m takin ya out to the Big Blue” he said. “Are ya ready?”   “As I’ll ever be, I guess” I said.   We said goodbye to Ray (who’s house the boat was docked at) and  took our picture right before we left and told us bon voyage.  We will leave the car in Ray’s Driveway and drive over again to pick it up when we get back.  Mike took us out of the channel and headed for open water.   We watched as some other bigger boats were heading back into the ICW from the Big Blue.   It was a pretty good indicator that conditions were not as favorable out there as we had hoped.    Still we pressed on and soon we were met with 4-6 ft  waves  and High winds again.   I think it was the pensive look on my face along with still more boats returning to the ICW that helped convince Mike that maybe a trip through the ditch was a better option.  “I don’t want to beat us or the boat up on our first day out” he said.   I replied “Thank You”.   We returned to the light chop and mild conditions of the ICW and motored our way along the ditch timing our way through the many bridges that had to be raised for our passage.  Most operate on the hour and ½ hour or on a 15/45 schedule.   There were beautiful homes along the ICW along with huge highrise buildings and giant Mega Yachts.   After the last bridge we raised sails and made our way across Biscayne Bay.   We ran into a little difficulty when we realized we did not have a manual for our GPS.  It took me a little while but I was able to figure out the software and how to enter waypoints in order to navigate to our desired locations. That as well as the charts we brought along kept us on course.  Our Autopilot also quit on us and so we will have to steer the boat ourselves for the rest of the journey.  Well It’s good practice anyway.   Mike said welcome to cruising.    We anchored off of Pumpkin Key for the evening and enjoyed a lovely sunset, the first of many more to come.

Oct 15-19th

Hello All,  For the past couple of weeks, Mike and I have been busy handling the details of the Purchase, Documentation, and Insuring of our 35 ft Catamaran, Dancing Dolphin. We had hoped we would be able to close the sale and move her back to Mike’s Folks Dock before we left to see our youngest son Sage Graduate from Military Basic Training for the Air Force this last weekend  but as is so often the case, it was not meant to be.   We closed on the boat on October 14^th, the day before we were to fly out to San Antonio, TX.   Upon arrival in San Antonio and procuring our rental car we made contact with My Parents and Sage’s Dad.   We drove straight from the Airport bypassing checking into the hotel and directly to Lackland Air Force Base to meet up with Sage, his Grandparents Pat & Martin Sperry, and his Dad Don Coughlin.  They had arrived the day before from Prescott, AZ and Pagosa Springs, CO and had been spending the first part of Thursday watching the Airman’s Run and the Airman’s Coin Presentation.   We met up with Sage and the rest of the family at the café in the Bowling Alley on the Base.   Sage looked great in his uniform and was walking tall and proud after the challenges he faced over the past 8 weeks.    The maturity and confidence he has gained is evident in his demeanor and mannerism.   I said goodbye to a boy 8 weeks ago and hello to a man this weekend.    It was a happy tearful (at least on my part) reunion and we enjoyed hearing in greater detail many of the stories of the adventures (funny and not so funny) of the last few weeks.   Sage has kept that great smile and wonderful sense of humor.    Sage only had Base liberty the first day together so after lunch, since it was Payday, Sage stopped at the bank and then we all went over to the BX – base department store – where Sage purchased a Play Station Portable.   It was nice to see that some things still haven’t changed.   Friday morning we were met with cold winds as we were bused out to the Parade grounds surrounded by Military Aircraft and waited to watch Sage and the other 789 young men and women Graduate from Basic Military Training.   The ceremonies were very impressive complete with a Marching Band High Ranking Military Guests.  The individual Flights and entire Squadron were all presenting us with their best efforts.    Sage’s Flight was sporting 2 additional ribbons on their Flag for Top Honors in Academics and Beast Week.   The entire Squadron had won top honors for the Quarter.   We enjoyed the rest of the day together off base.  We took Sage over to the RV Park where his Grandparents and Father were staying along with Sage’s Dog Dusty and Cat Archie.  It was a great reunion and the animals were delighted to see him again.   We all had a great dinner at the Red Lobster and then Sage, Mike, Don & I took in a Spurs vs. Cavaliers basketball game.    Saturday we all spent the day with the pets in the morning and exploring downtown San Antonio and the Alamo where Sage’s ancestor Davey Crockett met his demise.   We took a boat ride around the Riverwalk area and Sage enjoyed the eye candy provided by all the pretty civilian girls.   Mike and I said our goodbyes to Sage Saturday night as we had to fly out Sunday morning.    It was a tearful goodbye for all of us (Sage Included)  but he is excited to begin his training in Air Traffic Control at Keesler AFB outside of Buloxi, Miss.  He ships out at 00:01 on Monday morning,  He has a bright future ahead of him and we are very proud of his accomplishments.   We are now back in Florida. We will be traveling to Ft Lauderdale tomorrow to Pick Up Dancing Dolphin and bring her around to Punta Gorda, FL. where we will spruce her up and provision her for our winter in the Bahamas.   Stay Tuned for more adventures to come.

Oct 1, 2009

A new month and a new chapter has begun.   How’s that go, today is the first day of the rest of your life.   Make it a good one.   Over the last couple of weeks we have bid a fond farewell to our beloved Motor home Creampuff.   Her new owners Bob and Lisa Ahlstrom will take her from Florida on a Trip up to Ohio.   We really enjoyed meeting them and they were very appreciative of all the work we put into her to make her sparkle.    We know they will enjoy her as much as we have and we hope she provides them with as many great memories as she has given us.   We have been very busy over the last couple of weeks shopping for items we know we will need on our extended cruise.   We purchased a used/nearly new 2006 AB Dingy with a 25 HP Tohatsu Motor.    We took her out for a spin on Charlotte Harbor and then over to Vince and Lore’s Dock.  She really gets up and scoots.   She will be great for getting to fishing holes, snorkeling spots, and traveling to and from Shore.   She’s our new car.   Craigslist has not only provided us with many of the items we need to outfit the boat but has allowed us to meet some terrific people who have also spent time on the water in a variety of boats and adventures.    We made a wonderful new friend in Jenny who not only sold us our SSB Radio and Pactor Modem but invited us to see her pictures and shared some of her stories of her trip across the Atlantic to Africa and back in 2001 in a Steel Hulled Boat.   She is quite the adventurer and an inspiration for getting out there and living the dream to the fullest.   We purchase 1950’s Pfaff 130 Sewing machine(these have been highly rated by sailors around the world) from Lynn & Preston who sailed a 52 ft Vagabond all around the Caribbean and a couple of folding bikes from their neighbor Ted who sails a Catalina 40.   Yesterday we met with Noel, the current owner of Dancing Dolphin, along with Bill the Broker, to take her out for our final Sea Trial.   We had her bottom cleaned yesterday and the diver said her bottom was in great condition.   We took her out of the ICW in Ft. Lauderdale to the Atlantic and even though the winds were light she handled well and true to her name she danced across the water at 6.5 kts in only 11 kts of wind.   She moves well through her tacks and we got some great tips from Noel and Bill on how to tweek her sails for optimum performance.    I took notes on some of her systems and the advice given by these knowledgeable individuals as well as notes on how to navigate the canals and bridges to the open ocean.   Noel had fired up all the systems and everything seemed to work great.  Noel has taken wonderful care of her and we feel we are getting a well maintained and reliable not to mention beautiful boat.  Noel is also wonderfully personable and gave us his telephone number to call him with any questions.     We signed the final paperwork for them to proceed with the transfer of ownership and hopefully we will be able to take possession in 5-14 days.  We will then sail her down through the keys and up the gulf coast to Mike’s folks Dock to upgrade her and outfit her for her trip to the Bahamas.    Thing are finally coming together and it is hard to be patient in these final days before she becomes ours.   I have posted more Pictures of Dancing Dolphin to see her in more detail click on MORE PHOTOS  and then go to the Dancing Dolphin Set.