Catching Up

Fernandina Beach Florida Public Library
November 28

It' s been a while since my last blog.

Good news. Last Wednesday they had the closing on our house. It's done. We're officially homeless. Unoffically we're content with our home on Tarwathie. It's a tremendous burden and source of worry off our minds.

On Thanksgiving day we missed our family and friends. We often hosted thanksgiving at our house with children, grandchildren and the Undrills. Oh well. Libby said she is not homesick but peoplesick. We made the best of it. We stayed another day in Southport. Libby baked a turkey on the boat and we had thanksgiving dinner. We walked around the town and found a porch with rocking chairs at the tourist visitor center. There we rocked and read the newspaper to pass the afternoon. Very pleasant.

Friday the weather report offered a two day window with favorable winds. We decided to go outside and sail for Florida to escape the cold. The other reason was the the waterway from here south sounded less pleasant. The next stop south is Myrtle Beach where there is a free dock next to an outlet mall. Being near malls on black Friday sounded awful. Anyway, it would take 2-3 weeks to reach Florida on the ICW, compared to 48 hours at sea.

The passage south was pleasant and uneventful. No gales, no seasickness. The trip took 48 hours, and the winds lasted 40 hours. Then the wind died and we had to motor. The trip would be the envy of lake sailors. 40 hours sailing with just the jib, no need to adjust the sails or come about or to jibe the whole time.

When we arrived in Florida waters it got warm. We were wearing long underwear, top clothes, sweaters and rain gear, so we stripped down to t-shirts and jeans. Felt good.

We will stay in Fernandina beach for some repairs and improvements. We're going to install a cabin heater, and a bimini top, and I'm going to replace a chain plate and to repack the stuffing box. It ought to take a week. After that we'll head for Melbourne FL to visit my brother Ed and the Hacketts.