TopCat's maiden voyage (with us)

amytom · Post by **amytom** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:15 pm

End of day 4 now.

Day 1:Left Charlotte harbor and spent the night on the hook just North of Sanibel. Hurricanes must have shifted the sand as the Navionics chart showed a nice inlet with 6 to 8 feet depth but we ended up grounded(depth transducer not working). Jumped in the water and used the anchor and windless to help pull us off. Unfortunately the windlas met it's untimely demise. We found another spot off-shore to hang for the night.

Day 2: Fixed depth transducer. Raised sailed but with a Southern wind didn't make very good time. Pulled into Napples inlet. Funny but I always thought no wake manatee zones meant go slow... not in Naples. Ended up dropping hook right outside someone's back yard.

Day 3:Filled Gas tank and motored south against a minimal head wind. Made good time but had a mishap with a crabpot. Had to jump in the water late at night to free the port prop. Spent the night on Florida bay with nothing in sight or on radar. Very pretty night though, vary calm water with no wind.

Day 4:Woke to higher winds and choppy seas. Motored south to Marathon and splurged on a slip for the night. Hot shower without turning the water off

Replaced the windlas but the new one is just a little taller so the lid won't close ugh!!!!

After this we continue on towards Melbourne. I'll update as I can.

amytom · Post by **amytom** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:53 pm

End of Day 6 now

Day 5 One of the crew had to go back to work so now just two of us. Rough water (5 to 6) with head winds and head currents, Decided to just keep going. Took turns through the night. Got real rough, lost the flag and almost lost the dinghy. Had to rig the dinghy mounting ropes in the dark. Missed the Eclipse as it was quite cloudy.

Day 6 This morning stopped at power plant entrance near Biscayne Bay and re-mounted the dinghy. Headed out and set sail to a southerly wind of about 15 knots. Sailed all day and went through storm while passing Miami, actually maintained 10 knots with one reef in the main. This was a great day!!! We're going to sail through the night again, I could really get used to this.

Tom

amytom · Post by **amytom** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:05 pm

Day 7 Sailed through the night at about 9 knots average and pulled into Ft. Pierce about 0500. We're motoring with the jib as the wind is from the south and I think we just went through Malabar. We'll be pulling into the marina within a couple of hours. Mission Complete. (where have I heard that before?

) Last night we lost the Lazy Jacks though. The kids want to sail this weekend so I guess I'll walk to WM and get some new line and rig the LJ while I wait for Amy to get off work and pick me up.

Lessons Learned:
Pick the crew carefully; the right group of freinds can really make the trip great.

Keep the dinghy High; for obvious reasons

Crab Pots; @#$$%^%%$%^##!

Lines; when buying a used boat, replace the lines, all of them.

Coolers need to stay low or they hurt when they fall.

solar and wind gens are great but make sure they work. The wind gen doesn't appear to be working so we had to break out the Honda 2K.

Fridge, maybe the HomeDepot special dorm fridge isn't the way to go?

Back to lines, maybe new reefing lines pull through the sail grommets easier?

Most importantly; relax, you"re doing this for fun not profit, enjoy yourself.

If anybody has any comments or tips please post; I'm always open to new ideas.

Tom

Cat Tales · Post by **Cat Tales** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:41 pm

If your lines are stiff, try washing them before replacing them. Use a mesh bag for the lines & liquid detergent for the machine. Wash on gentle, cold and line dry. They generally come out much softer and easier to handle.

Congratulations on your "new" boat & for a successful trip!