Kris and I are slowly beginning to feel a little more comfortable in our home on the water. Since this will be our home for the year long adventure of the Great Loop, we are learning to share responsibilities equally. It is important she know how to perform basic maneuvers with the boat, especially if I become incapacitated in some shape or form. She wants me to learn how to use the oven and the washing machine…. I tell her I am already checked out on that equipment and will accomplish those tasks when she becomes incapacitated! She didn’t see the humor!!!
Our first night on the hook wasn’t as restful as I had hoped. Most of the apprehension was self inflicted by my lack of confidence in setting the anchor. The weather was perfect, the depth was reasonable (15 feet) and the seas were calm, so what am I to worry about? Kris sometimes accuses me of “borrowing trouble”, but I call it preparing for the worst case scenario. Either way, I put out the required rode, set the anchor and arm my anchor alarm on the GPS Chartplotter. Only then do I head to bed but awake a few hours later at 3am. After several years of flying in the Asian theater, my circadian rhythm is pretty much dysfunctional, so getting up at odd hours is not uncommon, but I stay up entertaining myself with reading material awaiting the rising sun!
We depart our anchorage at 0830 for the trip to Marina Jack in Sarasota. The trip was uneventful except for the abundance of weekend traffic! As we crossed Charlotte Bay we watched Open Ocean racing boats go screaming by. When I say screaming…. I truly mean SCREAMING! These boats are huge and reach unimaginable speeds on the water. They were fun to watch, but certainly not our style of water sport.
We docked at Marina Jack right on schedule and they put us in a slip near the restaurant and lounge. As we backed in to our slip we immediately knew we were in foreign surroundings for us West Tennesseans. The boats on either side of me were the big bright shiny “seven figure” boats! But our extra special Defever brought out several residents to compliment her lines! I was proud of her and the way she looked!
That evening we dined on hotdogs grilled on the aft deck with baked beans and potato salad! Kris made the comment, “food tastes better on the water” and I tend to agree. Later we enjoyed the music of the live band performing in the open air lounge while sitting on the aft deck.
The next morning I got the opportunity to take a nice jog and Kris walks in the park. The night before as we walked in the park near the Marina, we watched as a young man on bended knee proposes to his girlfriend! She must have said yes because when we saw them again she was in his arms!
On that note, I shall close this update. Tomorrow we are going to the Tampa Bay area and will anchor along the Sunshine Causeway.
Stay tuned.
Rusty and Kris
Our first night on the hook wasn’t as restful as I had hoped. Most of the apprehension was self inflicted by my lack of confidence in setting the anchor. The weather was perfect, the depth was reasonable (15 feet) and the seas were calm, so what am I to worry about? Kris sometimes accuses me of “borrowing trouble”, but I call it preparing for the worst case scenario. Either way, I put out the required rode, set the anchor and arm my anchor alarm on the GPS Chartplotter. Only then do I head to bed but awake a few hours later at 3am. After several years of flying in the Asian theater, my circadian rhythm is pretty much dysfunctional, so getting up at odd hours is not uncommon, but I stay up entertaining myself with reading material awaiting the rising sun!
We depart our anchorage at 0830 for the trip to Marina Jack in Sarasota. The trip was uneventful except for the abundance of weekend traffic! As we crossed Charlotte Bay we watched Open Ocean racing boats go screaming by. When I say screaming…. I truly mean SCREAMING! These boats are huge and reach unimaginable speeds on the water. They were fun to watch, but certainly not our style of water sport.
We docked at Marina Jack right on schedule and they put us in a slip near the restaurant and lounge. As we backed in to our slip we immediately knew we were in foreign surroundings for us West Tennesseans. The boats on either side of me were the big bright shiny “seven figure” boats! But our extra special Defever brought out several residents to compliment her lines! I was proud of her and the way she looked!
That evening we dined on hotdogs grilled on the aft deck with baked beans and potato salad! Kris made the comment, “food tastes better on the water” and I tend to agree. Later we enjoyed the music of the live band performing in the open air lounge while sitting on the aft deck.
The next morning I got the opportunity to take a nice jog and Kris walks in the park. The night before as we walked in the park near the Marina, we watched as a young man on bended knee proposes to his girlfriend! She must have said yes because when we saw them again she was in his arms!
On that note, I shall close this update. Tomorrow we are going to the Tampa Bay area and will anchor along the Sunshine Causeway.
Stay tuned.
Rusty and Kris
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