Category: Weather

Landing in the right place

Leaving the pier at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London early last Sunday may not have been our best decision considering the weather forecasted that day.  Weather prognosticators were calling for winds out of the east around a consistent 15 knots with gust to 20 knots and waves near the Fishers Island Sound to be in the vicinity of 2 to 4 feet stretching out the length of Long Island Sound. Jean and I discussed staying at the pier another day and possibly leaving at first light Monday instead, but the forecast for Monday read the same. The rough idea was to cruise to Stamford or Greenwich and anchor out for the evening and then time our approach to the Throgs Neck Bridge the next morning to ride with the current through the East River to New York Harbor and spend a night at Liberty Landing in Jersey City. The next day would be a four or five-hour cruise up the Hudson to Half-Moon Bay Marina and tie the boat up for a week. We had purchased airline tickets in advance for a trip home for a week, and we would then commute to a hotel near LaGuardia Airport and fly out Friday morning. We had planned a couple of weather days into our formula, but we were using those up quickly. Sunday was the kind of day we knew might not be our most comfortable cruise but forecasts are just that, and they could prove to be wrong. Being wrong though can go either way, meaning, the weather could be better or could be worse. 

Jean and I made our preparations for departure and waved good-bye to family as we brought our lines on board and headed out the Thames River. It was a sunny morning with winds out of the east around 10 knots or so and little to no waves in the river. As we reached the mouth and begun our turn west into Long Island Sound, we thought that maybe this cruise would be a little lumpy but not uncomfortable. We turned on the auto-pilot and cruised with the current at 10 to 11 mph for a couple of hours. As we traveled along with the following sea, we began to notice the increase in gusts and the height of the waves. The two to four-foot waves forecasted turned into four to six-foot waves with several rollers higher than that. The high swells would lift the boat up and place it down 45 degrees in the trough, and we would have to quickly steer in the opposite direction to straighten out again. The auto-pilot was turned off, and we steered manually for another hour or so looking for a harbor or river to enter for the day when the steering began to become practically unresponsive. After 50 miles of four to six-foot waves and dodging submerged crab-traps seen at the very last minute, we found a safe haven in the Milford river and headed to Milford Landing Marina. We were met there by 4 marina staff that helped catch lines, run electric and water to us.  I wanted to see if the rudders and shafts were ok and if we had snagged some rope or something that hindered rudder control. I put on a diving suit and went into the water to check underneath the boat. There appeared to be no line wrapped around rudders or shafts, and the rudders were appropriately aligned and tight to the touch. Later I checked the steering compartment and could see nothing amiss so after adding hydraulic oil to the steering reservoir, we settled in for the night and planned a first light departure for the next day.  

Jean and I departed Milford the next morning at 630am and headed back out into Long Island Sound. The steering still felt off, and the waves were still high. I went to the steering compartment as Jean steered and I immediately saw that the pedestal that held the steering cylinder and auto-pilot arm was cracked and was separating from the hull and ready to break off. We immediately turned around and using propellor thrust only, headed back to the marina. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the auto-pilot arm was sheared off and that while the steering components were in working order, there was no stable platform for the steering gear to function upon. We were fortunate that a highly recommended marine boatyard was located next store we would call them when they opened.  

We tied up in the Milford Landing Marina and waited for staff to arrive and discuss the possibility of leaving the boat there for a week or so and having fiberglass work done in the steering compartment by the Milford Boat Works next store while we are away. I was happy to learn that the manager of the marina followed our blog and had heard of Makin Memories and followed us since Key West. We talked about the loop, and he hopes to begin the loop in a year or so with his wife. The boatyard next to us has been in business for over 80 years and sent a person over to inspect the damage first thing that morning and will repair the steering with the boat in the water at the marina. 

We learned several new lessons as well as being reminded of many old lessons as well. When I first started to research the loop I read a post that said that the number one rule is  “thou shall have NO schedule.” Weather and mechanical can put you into decision-making loops that can be harmful to you and your boat. Our cruise Sunday was very close to breaking that rule. Fortunately, we were able to find positive alternatives. This could have been much more dangerous than it turned out to be. A second lesson is that pushing for high mileage day after day can sap your energy and effect your decision-making as well. The joy is in the journey and not the destination.  A lesson that I personally learned is that I will need to be much more thorough in my inspections and to follow-up every suspicion that may arise and test before getting underway.  

Lastly, I want to thank the individuals at Milford Landing Marina and Milford Boat Works for their professionalism, responsiveness, and friendliness to boaters in need. Our impression of Milford is that it is a great community and it is evident in the people that we have met there.

Weeks Six through Eleven

KennedySpaceCenterWeeks six through eleven have been a whirlwind of activity for Jean and me and catching the blog up will be a challenge. We ended week six in Three D Boatyard in Stock Island (Key West) by having the hull painted and the trim tabs removed and the holes fiberglassed over. Both repairs were necessary for the next 5000 miles of our journey. We lived on the boat while the work was being performed and while pleased with the work, we were delighted to splash again on Friday the 16th and spend the remainder of the day cleaning up the boat from stem to stern. Boatyards can be very dirty.
Having the boat clean and ready for our company arriving on Saturday was a challenge, but we were able to do so and enjoyed our guests and the time exploring Key West together for several days immensely.
The wind was blowing a steady 15 to 20 mph for most days, and we watched for a window of opportunity so that we could make a side trip out to the Marquesas and Dry Tortugas. That window opened on Sunday the 25th allowing us a cruise 85 miles from Stock Island to the Dry Tortugas in 9.5 hours. The wind and the waves laid down some, but we still encountered waves five to six feet high. Arriving the Dry Tortugas late in the afternoon, we anchored overnight and toured the island the next day. It was a windy night, and the anchored had trouble holding till we found a place next to a group of crabbers that provided secure holding in the wind. Jean and I traded watches throughout the night to make sure we held tight.

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Heading to the Dry Tortuga’s

The next morning we dinghied in and toured the grounds for several hours and then headed off to the Marquesas to spend the evening on the hook there.
The Marquesas were beautiful, and the water was SMOOTH, and the wind had died down considerably. We anchored and dinghied around the area for a little sightseeing. The Marquesas are uninhabited by humans and are beautiful, even after the devastation of Irma.
The water on the trip was remarkable. At least three colors of blue and the Gulfstream a resounding royal blue. I would submit that for me, the blues of the water was the most striking sight of the cruise.
After we pulled anchor the next morning, we made our way back to Stock Island and prepared for our departure north along Hawk Channel to Marathon and the Faro Blanco Marina for an overnight stay. But, before we could go we had a soft spot in the galley floor re-planked by a professional shipwright and once finished we cruised to Marathon. The next day we traveled north to an anchorage north of Key Largo called Steamboat Creek in Barnes Sound. It had excellent anchor holding, but the wind was such that we set up an overnight anchor watch just to be on the safe side and am happy to report that all went well. It is here that I came down with bronchitis and Jean took over as captain and guided us through the congested Miami shipping lanes as well as Port Everglades just outside of Fort. Lauderdale complete with all the small bridge openings along the way. I am incredibly proud of her skill in negotiating the ICW traffic and the handling of the boat, navigation, and radio. I was pitiful and not of much use. The next day we headed to North Miami and worked our way up the coast staying overnight in Delray Beach, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. The wind was such that we decided to tie up instead of keeping an anchor watch every night. From Fort Pierce Jean and I cruised to Melbourne where we rented a car to drive home to Tarpon Springs for two days (and a doctors visit for me) bringing the paddleboards and other items we did not need to have on board any longer. Melbourne is an excellent place to leave the boat for a couple of weeks while we visited home and facilitated a 5G Power Skills Certification cohort with Rollins College in Winter Park for five days.
I just finished up changing all the fuel filters and cleaning the bilge, and Jean finished painting the inside of the stern bilge area. Jean and I are waiting out a cold front that is bringing high winds and rain, and then we plan on heading to an anchorage in the ICW in New Symrna and then ports further north.

Week Five and just a little Crabby!

Week five brings us to Key West and our month long stay at Stock Island Marina Village.  The cruise from Faro Blanco in Marathon to Key West was a wonderful day on the water. We had following seas of three to four-foot waves that gave us a boost

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Photo by Jerry Coleman

from our usual 8 miles per hour to 9 ½ miles per hour.  Our trip was pleasant, and we were able to share memories of the different keys and places we had previously visited.  While reminiscing, we were constantly changing course to miss the innumerable crab-pots strewn along the way.  Crabbing in Florida and the other seafood offerings as well as an economic mainstay for the state. In 2014 Florida ranked seventh among U.S. states for fresh seafood production with 99.2 million pounds harvested with a dockside value of $257.7 million.  Florida however, ranked first by value with grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters, and Spanish mackerel.  Florida fishermen caught 92% of the above species.  When we speak with other cruisers about the number of crab-traps, we have to avoid I now see why.  In 2015 Stone

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Photo by Jean Coleman

Crabs and Blue Crabs brought in $36,498,363 million and $12,106,862 million respectively.  In pounds, the Blue Crabs outpaced the Stone Crabs 6.6 million pounds to 2.8 million pounds respectively. I thought we had a lot of crab-traps in Pinellas but was amazed at the number here in the Keys.  While Pinellas County caught 8.1 million pounds of combined crabs with a value of $23.6 million, Monroe County hauled in 12.6 million pounds with a value of $71.2 million dollars.  I have a love-hate relationship with crap-traps; I hate having to constantly course correct to miss the crab-traps but love the dinners they can provide in the evening. https://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Marketing-and-Development/Education/For-Researchers/Florida-Seafood-and-Aquaculture-Overview-and-Statistics

 

Jean and I are enjoying our month-long visit in Key West very much. We go exploring every day. The Key West Botanical Gardens was a great visit for example, where we learned about the local area environment and its ecological history.   Hurricane Irma made a complete mess of part of the site, but the staff has made many repairs and improvements.

Before we departed on the loop, Jean and I bought two compact and foldable bikes. I highly recommend to those considering the loop or any lengthy travel (RVer’s included) to bring bikes along.  The bikes increase our range over walking by a factor of four as well as the time you can spend at various locations.

Jean and I noticed an odor in the aft stateroom that we could not locate, so we begin to take apart the bunks and closets and found a persistent leak under Jean’s bunk that brought a few gallons of standing water in every six hours or so.  We decided to haul out and have the repairs done at Three D Boatyard a quarter mile from our

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Photo by Jerry Coleman

berth in Stock Island Marina Village.  I thought that I could repair the leak once the transom dried out but found that the port trim tab bolts had rusted out and burrowed a hole in four places.  Upon that discovery I had them remove all the trim tabs and glass over all the holes.  We have never used the tabs nor do we cruise at a speed that the tabs assist us.  When we took off the starboard tabs, we could push four of the attaching bolts through by hand.  It was only a matter of time before I had the identical leaking problem on the starboard side as I had on the port side. We found a marine contractor that knew what he was doing and set about making the repairs.  I have learned that fixing one problem will lead to many others that need correction also.  As we sat on the hard (mariner speak for “out of the water” and on blocks and stabilizers), we saw that Makin Memories bottom was in desperate need of a paint job.  The price quote was extremely reasonable, and we have at least 5000 miles to go yet, and we knew that at some point the bottom would need to be addressed but had delayed for the time being.  Makin Memories now has a beautiful blue bottom.

 

Our marine contractor said they would be done today and we should splash (mariner speak for “dropped back in the water”) tomorrow at 10:30. I am looking forward to being back at the dock and then can begin the clean-up.  Any time your boat is in the boatyard, she will become dirty, dusty, and just plain grimy.  We have friends coming to visit this weekend and would like to have Makin Memories ship shape.

Week Four on the Loop

As week three came to a close, we enjoyed our time exploring the North Miami Shores area as well as the visit to the Miami aquarium with an early dinner in Little Havana.   Saturday morning we departed Pelican Harbor Marina City Docks and began our cruise to Biscayne Bay to the Dinner Key mooring field in Coconut Grove.  It was a short trip of just over 14 statute miles but very scenic and exciting as we navigated through the Port of Miami area.  There was not the amount of traffic operating as compared to Port Everglades that day, and we quickly navigated through without delay.

 

Dinner Key has 225 mooring balls available at a reasonable rate which includes amenities such as a dinghy dock, showers, laundry, with wifi in the lobby area.  The field had a few cruisers moored on lines, but it was mostly sailboats, many of which were waiting for the wind to abate so they could cross over to the Bahamas.  As we approached we knew we were going to have our hands full of trying to hook the eyelet and thread our line through and safely moor.  The wind was a steady 20 mph gusting 30mph.  It took Jean and me five attempts to navigate the moored boats, cope with the wind gusts, and dodge a sailboat race and their support craft that were using the mooring field approach path as a shortcut.  The night on the mooring ball was one of the longest nights I have had while in the loop.  Wind and waves made this choice of overnight a sleepless one, not because of the fear of pulling loose and drifting, but of the noise and commotion of the waves pounding the stern, which of course consists of our new swim platform and dinghy! The boat was bathed and crusted in salt by morning. No more open mooring fields when high winds are forecasted, only marina tie-ups or snug little hidy holes from now on for us.

 

And at the crack of dawn when there was light to navigate by, we untethered ourselves and headed out of Biscayne Bay into Card Sound and found a great little hidy hole called Pumpkin Creek.  Just off of the sound entrance to Angelfish Creek, there is a small cut that has plenty of water and wind protection.  We threw out two anchors, dinghied around to see the local area and then slept like babies through the night.

 

The next morning we pulled our two anchors and began a slow cruise of 21 miles to the bay side of upper Key Largo.  The winds had not wound up yet, and with a few showers that helped clean the boat of salt, we made our way to our next anchorage in Tarpon Basin.

 

Tarpon Basin is a good place to anchor out and enjoy the scenery.  The dinghy allowed us to motor in and visit Key Largo and Uber down to Tavernier for a Rotary Lunch.  The Lunch was fun and was held at Craig’s restaurant.  Afterward the meeting, a man asked to speak with us and told us a story of when he was in college he captained the 72′ “Coastal Queen” around the loop.  She is an older ship with beautiful, graceful lines.  When we asked him how long it took, Jean and I smiled when he grinned and said that it took four years to complete. I could see where you might not want the adventure ever to end.

 

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Photo by Jean Coleman

From Tarpon Basin we cruised to Islamorada and tied up at Islamorada Yacht Basin alongside Lorelei’s bar and grill.  It was a small basin completely protected from the wind, and we spent a few quiet down days. When in a marina, the boating life is not that dissimilar to living in an apartment complex, of course, you are on a boat and floating, but your neighbors are very close, and curiosity, questions, and conversation are constant.  It is a tight community, and you make friends quickly with invitations to visit from all over the eastern seaboard.  Jean and I used our bikes to explore some of the local out of the way places and witnessed the destruction Irma caused this small community.  The rebuilding and starting over is everywhere you look. The scrapped empty lots are the worst.

 

As a side trip, Jean and I dinghied to Lignumvitae Key to explore the botanical gardens. Lignumvitae is Latin for “tree of life” and has a very interesting history. You can get to the key only by boat and once we arrived we could see that Irma once again had taken a toll.  The public dock was in disrepair and hazardous.  Jean and I tied up to the one remaining piling and took a quick stroll around the house and some outposts.  Rain approaching from the southeast threatened our ride home so we left before we could enjoy a tour by a ranger. Maybe next time.

 

Our cruise from Islamorada to Marathon was windy but beautiful. I use both paper and

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Photo by Jerry Coleman

electronic charts as we navigate from one place to another. The names of passes, channels and cuts, are always interesting to me.  As we navigated from Islamorada to Marathon we passed by, over, or around, places such as; Bowlegs Cut, Old Dan Bank, Old Sweat Bank, Rachel’s Bank, and Washerwoman Bank. I love the names and I am sure there are many interesting and colorful stories on how they came to be.  Once we arrived at Marathon, we stayed at Faro Blanco (The White Lighthouse) overnight. We fueled and visited the local West Marine for supplies.  Jean and I tied up in Marathon last year and we re-visited a small restaurant called Burdines.  We enjoyed a couple of sandwiches and a rainstorm as well as a beautiful rainbow afterward.  As we walked to dinner, we were able to witness some of the devastations that Irma brought to Marathon.  One of the boatyards in Boot Key was used as a boat graveyard. It was very sad to see the floating homes of people so damaged that their owners were left homeless.  One of the boats had a gaping hole in the aft cabin section, and you could see the clothes still hanging in the closet.

 

From Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon, we cruised to Mozer Channel and headed outside to the Atlantic, turned right and followed Hawk Channel down to Key West. Our destination is Stock Island Village Marina where we will winter until early March.

A Windy Week Three

It was an early morning departure for Makin Memories and her crew this Sunday from River Forest Yachting Service. River Forest is a quiet, clean, well-maintained place to moor before locking through St. Lucie. After a coffee and tea to wipe away the night’s sleep and with the preparation for departure routine completed, we were on our way to the last lock-through on the Okeechobee Waterway. The St. Lucie lock has a 13-foot drop from the Caloosahatchee to bring you back to sea level. The cruise across of the remaining Okeechobee Waterway was a quite one with wind and wind gusts steadily increasing. We made our way through the St. Lucie River and past Stuart, turning right and cruising through Hobe Sound. A beautiful stretch of the preserve on the ocean side and beautiful homes on the west side. Jean climbed out and up on the hard top and shot photos of the Jupiter lighthouse as we passed a very busy cross section of bridges, rivers, and boaters.

Our destination for the day was Palm Beach Gardens, and a marina stays for a couple of days while we dealt with the repair of our inverter. We rented a car and delivered our unit to a certified repair depot in Ft. Lauderdale was thinking that we could pick it up as we passed by on the way south but were pleasantly surprised that they had the necessary control board in stock and we brought the unit back with us the same day. A thank you to David Romero of eMarine Systems of Ft. Lauderdale and his great customer service. I would also like to thank Louie and Shane of Louie’s Marine Electrical, Holiday, Fl. (727-222-3932) for talking me through the systems test and reinstallation of the inverter. The two of them spent a lot of time on the phone over four days teaching me how to find a possible workaround till I could get the unit repaired.

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Photo by Jerry Coleman

Leaving Loggerhead Marina at Palm Beach Gardens, we cruised through Lake Worth and tied up at Lighthouse Point Marina at Lighthouse Point, Fl. (just outside Delray, Fl.), for the evening. The next day’s cruise was sunny, but still very breezy, as we passed Boca Raton, Hillsboro Inlet, Ft. Lauderdale, and the amazing Port Everglades where the harbor was full of cruise ships, mega yachts, tugs, barges, and container ships. We were able to clear most of the bridges without having them stop car traffic, but there were several that we had to wait alongside sailboats for the scheduled opening. The wind was a challenge to stay on point, sometimes waiting 25 minutes.

Jean and I found a city marina in North Miami

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Photo by Jerry Coleman

(Pelican Harbor Marina) that has reasonable, and we could wait out the 20 to 25 mph winds, gusting to 30/35 mph for a few days. The facilities are commensurate with the rates and the location not bad. We could walk to several restaurants, and Uber’d to The Miami Seaquarium and Little Havana.

Week three was a windy one, and it looks like week four will be much of the same as we enter the upper keys.

First Week on the Loop

Week one of America’s Great Loop cruise is now in the books; literally in the; logbooks, personal journals, and postings to our social media sites. Our itinerary began with our leaving on Saturday the sixth and cruising out to Anclote Island for our first anchorage. It was a blustery night with waves noisily pushing on our stern all night. I do not sleep well when we are at anchor continually checking our position and making sure we are not pulling our anchor out and drifting silently into shallow water or someone else. When it is windy, our anchor has been known to become unanchored.
From Anclote Island, we motored to an anchorage just west of the Sunshine Skyway causeway and dropped the hook in 14 feet of water and spent a very peaceful night. I checked our position only five times that evening! We used our dinghy to explore local marinas and find the “facilities.” We try to use other facilities when we can so that we do not have to pump our black water out of our 40-gallon tank as often.
After a leisurely morning, we cruised into the Vinoy Basin and tied up to a mooring ball. We love St. Pete city and its beachfront lifestyle. Jean and I dinghied onto the city dock and walked the downtown area, visited with family, and took in a movie. The St. Pete Municipal Marina service and facilities (Wi-Fi, showers, etc.) are clean and included in the price of the mooring ball. 53
We left the Vinoy Basin in fog with one-mile visibility heading south using the radar and chart-plotter to navigate from one-day marker to the next. We could not see the Skyway bridge until we were a half-mile away and then only as we passed under it as it disappeared off the stern a half-mile out the other side. From the Skyway, we cruised to Anna Marie Island and anchored in a small basin called Jewfish Key. Jean and I dinghied into a the Mar-Vista restaurant and walked to the beach for a beautiful sunset. Fog settled in not long afterward and blanketed the entire area. While we were firmly anchored, the mist can create the illusion of drifting, and I was checking our position throughout the night. The next morning Jean and I dinghied over to the city dock and rode a trolley around the north part of Anna Maria Island and enjoyed a walk around Coquina Key Park. With winds forecasted to increase, we decided to head to Sarasota and tie up at Marina Jack’s.
The cruise to Sarasota was a breezy one with fog settling in from the north and chasing us into Marina Jack’s. We had tied up here before and knew that we would enjoy their service and facilities. Tying up at Marina Jack’s gives us an opportunity to refresh our batteries, fill our fresh water tanks (120 gals), wash the boat, and perform maintenance as needed. It is also a great joy when you can enjoy a hot shower instead of a quick sea shower.
We used an Uber for the first time in Sarasota as we needed a ride to a Friday morning Rotary Club meeting. Jean and I are fortunate to be ambassadors for Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust, which provides cutting-edge research for scientists finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. The Sarasota Sunrise club is a very energetic and a fun club to attend. Jean and I gave a quick overview of our loop trip and how Rotarians can help battle Alzheimers through the C.A.R.T. organization. Sarasota is one of our favorite cities to walk and enjoy dining out.
76 longbeach morroringin fogOur intended destination out of Sarasota was going to be an anchorage near Venice, but throughout the day and with a steady stern wind (9 to 10 miles an hour), we decided to stretch out and cruise to Cabbage Key and tie up for a couple of days. And here we are. Bright sunshine, chilly, and windy as all get out. White caps on the water.
Staying at Cabbage Key for a couple of days gives us a chance to catch up on household chores, writing, planning the next week’s journey, and some walk around exercise.
I want to share a few thoughts and insights on week one’s adventure. Economy stands out as being an integral part of cruising. Safety is always first with me, and I tend to be conservative in my choices as far as the safety of crew and vessel go. When I speak of the idea of economy though, I mean saving in size, amount, duration, and speed. When you live in a house, there is typically room for everything we accumulate, but on a boat, space is at a premium. I have too many clothes, too many notebooks, too many shoes, too many everything. Jean and I are learning that any item onboard must perform at least double duty, if not triple duty. Speed and duration are also at play while we cruise and since this is a marathon and not a sprint I am learning not to wake up and immediately start the engines and go with the intent of “getting to the next destination” as soon as possible. A hard lesson for me. I am learning to slow down and smell the salt air. It is the journey and not the destination that is key. I will insert a caveat here: we will either stay or go dependent on weather. I read somewhere that a captain has a book of intentions mitigated by weather and mechanical and will act accordingly.
Size does matter, and it matters very much. When space is unlimited, you can store things in “out of the way” places, not so on this boat. There simply is not enough room. Recalling the above thought on an item performing triple duty, smaller is also better. A rare thought for land lubbers.
Lastly, I want to talk about how important communication is when cruising (actually, it is5 always important). Communication is one of the keys to a safe and enjoyable cruise. Sharing ideas, feelings, and dreams is a big part of the trip as are the doubts, fears, and nightmares. Being open to discussing all the above without judgment is paramount.
This week we are planning to cross the Okeechobee Waterway and turn right towards Miami.

Preparations

Version 2Makin Memories is scheduled for haul-out today; weather permitting. It is exciting for both Jean and me as we anticipate the final touches in preparation for departure in January. The boat is not the only item that needs attention in preparing for a journey of a year’s duration. The house, the cars, banking, to name a few need attention too. This weekend we spent time reviewing household operations with the couple that will be moving into our house while we are away, as well as packing and storing. With two months left before we depart, it is incredible how much there is still to do!

Irma September 2017

Irma image Sep 2017Fortunately, Makin Memories weathered Irma without any significant damage, in fact, she fared better than our home. With trees down and debris everywhere, at home, Makin Memories kept all her canvas and glass and took very little water onboard. As witnessed down south of us, it could have been so much worse. Our hearts go out to those who suffered the damaging effects of Irma, and we wish them godspeed in their recovery.
Makin Memories is moored at Turtle Cove Marina in Tarpon Springs, and I have to give a shout-out to the staff for their preparations and continued care while Irma raged through our area. Makin Memories well being is in large part due to their professionalism and dedication.

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