Friday, Dec. 14:
Our greeter at Crow’s Nest Marina
Sailing is usually the right level of inconvenience, but today was just a bit more than that. Not terrible, you understand, but uncomfortable and a bit disconcerting. First, weather: the uncomfortable part. The forecast sounded quite reasonable. Winds NE 15 kts decreasing to 10 in the afternoon. moderate chop on the waterway. Now, we didn’t know temperature, but hey, this is Florida. However,when we threw off the dock lines at 7:15, it was definitely overcast and windy. Once out on the water, the wind gauge read 20 with gusts to 25 and that gets cold particularly since there was no sun until well after 12:00. Now we did bring winter jackets, but I forgot about gloves and hats. We really weren’t planning on needing them. I will say, by the time we tied up at Crow’s Nest Marina in Venice, it was warm and sunny so we hope for better weather tomorrow.
Then the inconvenient part. Our chart-plotter (like the GPS in your car) had a mind of its own. For no reason that we could determine, the screen went black and we had to shut it down and boot up again. First we thought, OK, lost satellite, but after 4 more times, I don’t think this had to do with the US government and spies. We write fiction, and my diagnosis is this was some chickcharnie in our Raymarine unit, I’m sure. (If this doesn’t mean anything to you, read our blog on South Andros, or better yet, when Night Watch is published buy a copy and you’ll learn all about these mischievous little critters. In addition to the black screen, the cursor would move to some land-locked location, like Memphis and I know this was not where we were. Fortunately we sailed long before satellite navigation and still carry and rely on our paper charts which looks like what we may have to do until we get to Miami. And meanwhile, tonight, we are told we can enjoy a really good restaurant here so Ed is a particularly happy sailor.
The end of Sable’s first day out
Moving on tomorrow,
Jan, Ed and Sable
The wind sounded damned uncomfortable. On the salt water, it can cut through you like the proverbial knife. Glad you are safe in harbor with proper charts, and a good meal to anticipate.
We miss you, from somewhere in the desert near Area 51. Perhaps you had visitors testing out your chart-plotter. Perhaps aliens are jealous of our electronics!
Hugs,
TBC and Arnie