Best Life

 We have decided to stay put in Vernon River for a few days.  The weather has been terrific.  Hot days with low humidity followed by cool nights and moderate breezes.  And best of all - no more horse flies!   I think Fred has eaten them all.  He continues to hang out with us frequently through the day.   Today we focused on safety.  Last night's class reminded us that even though our AIS is working, our EPIRB is outdated. AIS (Automatic Identification System) is our specific number registered with the Coast Guard, tracks us by satellite and allows other boats to identify us on navigational charts.  We can also "see" other boats, their size and name on our navigation charts. The EPIRB is a beacon that is activated should we have to abandon the boat or we have serious trouble.  It accompanies us on our life raft.  Paul has ordered us a new one in preparation for us leaving the coast next year.  We will also have smaller...

  “Fred” greeted us this morning!   An awesome way to have coffee.   And then later in the day while I was singing Michael Buble, Save the Last Dance for Me , Fred joined in!   It was amazing!   Last night  and again tonight  the sunset was breath-taking with shades of red so rich, it did not seem possible it was real.  And that we were witnessing it while slowly rocking in the wind. After taking a couple pictures, all we could do was stare.  Then I started thinking about standing and enjoying and just breathing.  Peace.  So here are my thoughts on peace: A stillness in the world and within; A state of tranquility or quiet; To stand and feel, feel the breeze over each leg, arm, face; to feel the heat from the sun; to feel the rain; to feel the saltwater of the ocean; to feel the cold shower on a hot day; to feel the gently (or not so gently) rocking of the boat; To smell, smell the water, heat, mud; to smell the individual...

  An absolutely breathtaking morning!   Today’s journey included traveling through Hell Gate.   A notorious tough, narrow channel in a large body of water with resulting swells and possible wind drift and to top it off – a MLW of 5 feet.   Which started me thinking about being afraid.   Fear is something that is talked a lot about in the class we attend.   We expect to have scary moments and have tried to identify and mitigate, as best we can, our fears. Most people share similar fears.   We have had some good adrenaline rushes but here we are still motoring north.   My biggest fear before we started would be lightning.   I had some real terrifying experiences with strikes too close to me while I felt vulnerable.   Not really a problem anymore.   We have heard stories of sailboats being struck and yes, it would be devastating, but not be fatal.   It might end our season sooner than planned but everything could be replac...

  The decision to pull up anchor and proceed to the next anchorage is finalized during morning coffee.   All data is rechecked and if all looks good – away we go!   This morning dawned clear after last night’s “storm” fizzled out with only moderate rain and a bit of lightning.   Twenty miles is our goal today.  "Fred", as I named him, spent the morning singing to us!   Pulling up anchor can be challenging if there is strong wind and/or current but this morning was easy.  The anchor chain is rinsed as it pulls into the chain locker by a winch.  I have foot controls so my hands are free to spray the chain as it comes up.  Sometimes the anchor has black thick mud or debris (it was way worse in Riviera Beach!).  If left unwashed the mud can become very smelly in the locker and permeates the boat.  Yup, lesson learned!  When the chain is in position, whether down or up, there are two safety measures to ensure it doesn’t accident...

  There is not much happening today.   The weather was not really conducive to traveling, so we decided to stay put for a couple of days.   Maybe.   At least today.   So, I thought I would share what happens during those days when we are on anchor and have nowhere to go.   After sleeping in, 8am, coffee is a priority.   We have a 4-cup pot on board that is perfect for two cups.   During our coffee time we review our sail plan.   This means looking at the weather using two different models.   Predict Wind is the first and Windy the other.   After checking wind direction and speeds, we look at CAPE factor.   That is the energy in the atmosphere and sort of predicts the threat of thunderstorms.   Where we are anchored presently is comfortable (except for the occasional passing boats).   We have two weeks to go less than 60 miles so we can afford to sit tight.   Both the winds and the CAPE factor were elevated th...

 We traveled less than 10 miles north today.  Hazy, hot and humid we were happy to set the anchor and relax while trying to stay cool.  The trip was mostly marsh on both sides.  These homes were on the western side of the river with no road access.  Makes one wonder - how did they get all the materials out and what did it cost? We settled in Crescent river just west of the ICW.   Some traffic including shrimping boats.  I think they are really cool looking.  And I think of Forrest Gump of course! A few boats have joined us.  The weather has held without rain.   Tonight was Blue Water Cruising class night.  Paul and I still attend when we can every Sunday and Thursday.  Tonight was for women only which is always a nice break.  Without the boys on the call topics are dramatically different.  Instead of engine and rigging talk we can discuss children, provisioning, medical, etc.  There is a bond with these...

 Last night the storm continued to our west for quite awhile.  I enjoyed it immensely (too far away to be a concern for us). We left again early in the morning so we would be at Little Mud River with a MLW (mean low water) of 4 feet during high tide.  (Our boat draws 42 inches.)  We had 13 miles to arrive there at 11am.  No problem.    Not surprising the river was mostly surrounded by marsh and there were very few boats.  Plenty of dolphins, some of which were showing off by jumping out of the water.  Pretty cool!  (Unable to get pic, they are too fast !) We anchored just after noon south of Doboy Island in Back River.  Seriously - who picks these names!  The reviews were a  little off.  It said good wind protection.  Ha! The depth was good though and no one else around - so we dropped anchor.  We dropped more than necessary since the current is strong and unsure of our swing when the tide changes.  The...