Tuesday, December 3, 2013

WE DID IT!!!

It was a long 22 hours and my eyes were spinning in my head (that's not a joke) from exhaustion but what a feeling to have actually done something you dreaded doing and having it go so well.  We left Carrabelle with three other boats at 2pm on Monday and when we reached East Pass, the entrance to the gulf, we added another three boats to our flotilla.
This is Kim from C Quarters wishing us a perfect voyage...


Heading out....


and these were the seas as we reached East Pass and the dreaded ( by me) Gulf of Mexico......
  yup', you got it pretty much P.O.P.

We saw an awesome sunset....



and spent 13 and a half hours in the pitch black of the Gulf of Mexico. Thank God we were with buddy boats, the VHF chatter back and forth tends to keep one somewhat alert and since we were the second boat from the rear we had lots of heads ups. there were actually big fishing boats anchored about 40 miles offshore sleeping I guess, that was a surprise. All we were expecting to see were the two sailboats that left Carrabelle at 8 Sunday morning. I mean really who else in their right mind is out on the Gulf Of Mexico at 2:00 in the morning!!! It was a total blackout with the stars so dim and no moon.  If there would have been anything adrift there was no way you would have seen it until it was too late.  A rather scary proposition.



Bob passed out at the helm... He is the only one that slept ....we would close our eyes for an hour or so while still being aware of what was going on...so much for the watch system...we just aren't built that way...must take practice.  Journey the trawler in front of us were doing 4 on watches and they each slept like rocks on their off hours giving them 8 hours of sleep!!!  What is up with that!!!!!!!!!

The wind kicked up a little (as predicted) at midnight but it was kind of like being rocked very slowly in a big ole' cradle, and although it still didn't put us to sleep, it didn't make us seasick either.....that being one of my biggest fears.

When the sun finally started to show that it was somewhere hidden behind the clouds ...it was a YAY moment!

We arrived at Marker I Marina in Dunedin at noon.  First thing on the agenda....SLEEP!!


Synopsis of the trip....it was excellent for an overnight crossing one did not want to do.....would I do it again...not unless I had too....lack of sleep is not pretty on me....

It took 22 hours dock to dock

180 miles running at 8 miles per hour ( we still did the alternating engines as usual)

Burned 45 gallons of fuel  which equals 2 gallons per hour and get this .....

4 miles to the gallon !!!  that being our all time record for fuel consumption, unheard of !!!



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