On the move

Dear Friends and Family,

After last weekend’s cold front, I am so happy we are moving South. Now I can only hope and pray that it is indeed warmer. On Monday we began preparing for our departure from the Punta Gorda area. All the parts came in for the wind generator; Jimi fixed it and we are again producing more power then we know what to do with. We did all the laundry and made a trip to the grocery store for some perishables.  We scored a BOMBASTIC deal on some used foul weather gear. Both sets fit us nearly perfectly. They will keep us dry from the spray and rain, shielded from the wind and even warm from a cold night on deck. We have already put them to use and we couldn't be happier about our purchase.

I decided I wanted to cut my hair a bit shorter, so Monday I went in to the bathroom, put my hair in a forward ponytail and cut it off. It looks good, but it is still way too long. I am going to do it again and this time Jimi is going to do the cutting for me. This will do for now and when we get further South I’ll go to a hair dresser.

Thursday we left Charlotte Harbor around 1pm making our way to Cayo Costa State Park. We anchored there about 6:30pm for the night. The sail was perfect. I spent most of it in the cabin and let Jimi and friend, Ray captain Sanibel. The winds were good, but not choppy, the sails stayed full hitting a top speed of 7 knots and we heeled up to 20 degrees. It was smooth sailing and that’s what I like.

We just departed about 7am for a 28+ hour non-stop sail. We’ll travel out into the Gulf of Mexico rather than hopping up the coast. Less traffic and a much better chance of a straight through trip. We are headed  to the Dry Tortugas National Park where we’ll spend several days exploring Fort Jefferson. Molly did very well on the trip. Every time I checked on her, she was sleeping soundly in the aft cabin. I premade a meatloaf and fed the guys meatloaf sandwiches and a few oatmeal cookies.

I’m certain there will not be internet access on the Gulf or at the dry tortugas. For  here on out writing is going to be hit and miss, but I’ll write as often as I possibly can. You can always check on us and find out where we are with our SPOT – updates will go to our SVSANIBEL page on Facebook or to our blog www.svsanibel.com and then click on the “Where are we?” tab.

More to come…..

   







Love everybody,

Lorie & Jimi