Prepping for the final (???) push

Once again it's been way too long.  There is my daily life, then the one that occupies my daydreams.  In one week, all 4 of us will be aboard our home for the final push to bring it closer to our house.  The kids have asked about meals and watches, and I've packed more snacks and ginger ale than I did when it was just Frank and I.  I need this.  All of us need this.  Just need to make it through this week and get a good weather window!

Gratitude

Now that leg 2 (of 3???) of the world's longest boat PCS is over, we'd like to thank those that made it all possible!  THANK YOU!

Grandma and Grandpa Katrein--Had they not signed on for 2-ish weeks of childcare and a trip to Louisiana so the kids could stay in school, we'd still be planning how to get the boat out of Jacksonville!  Thanks, mom and dad!

Sadler Point Marina--Seriously impressed with the customer care this small yard provided.  We certainly wouldn't have made it to Tampa if they hadn't splashed us on an "off" day.

My carrier Shipmate, Craig--Craig drove I don't know how far out of his way to pick me up at the car rental place and take me to the boat on NAS Jacksonville.  We had been so crunched for time I didn't even manage to get him an adult beverage to thank him!  I'm so thankful for the many great Shipmates I've met along my Navy journey, and especially thankful for Craig.

Another great Shipmate and friend, Bethany McDonald--Despite work, grad school finals, and holiday events, Beth provided us with weather routing on this leg.  I know, I know, I'm a METOC officer, but I've actually never been an official forecaster!  Beth has been a ship router and forecaster and provided critical information when we were offshore and couldn't access all the models, and it was always nice to have another (trained) opinion!  She basically walked us in to Tampa Bay with an hour-by-hour breakdown--we were not surprised by the conditions we saw at all thanks to Beth!

My Maine Maritime classmate, Brian--As we sought out a place to leave the boat around St.Petersburg, Brian generously tried to fit us in at his home's slip, but we wouldn't fit.  He gave us a great recommendation for a marina though, and we now know that we have a friend near the boat--so comforting!

My stellar XO, Mike--I think he hates the fact that it was his idea that I use the middle of December to try to knock this out, but Mike covered down as acting CO wonderfully while I was out and allowed me to focus on my duties underway.

THANK YOU!!!!  

Always an adventure!

We pulled the hook at sunrise as planned, or rather tried to.  We were set good!  After a few tries we were off.  Once we cleared the channel into Tampa Bay the real fun started!  20kts of wind across the length of the bay had stacked some impressive short period waves--we slammed our way across!  As we were headed for a tight channel with very little extra depth, the wave motion was concerning.  The Tampa bridge dampened the waves at the start of the channel, but all that wind had managed to blow water out of the bay and the channel was extra tight!  In one spot of reported shoaling Frank saw 7'--we draw 6'3"!  Tight!

We got a little reprieve as we made our way toward the marina and had a few friends join us.

The marina approach was shallow and the tide was going out--more stress!  We were finally to the dock and still couldn't catch a break.  The current and 15kt wind kept pushing us all over the place as Frank tried to back in.  After 4 tries and much help from our new dock neighbors, Lehe Paine was docked!  Whew!  

We quickly packed, grabbed a rental car, had a nice lunch as the marina fish shack, and buttoned up the boat.  That's the end of this leg of the move!  

End of the road...for now

Well, the problem with having a schedule is that weather may not always be on your side.  This trip has been a prime example!  With about 24hrs of thunderstorms in the forecast between here and Panama City Beach, our childcare and leave running out, and our strong desire to see our kids, we have made the decision to leave the boat in the Tampa area until we can start again.  We thought that decision would be the hard part, but finding a marina with room for us proved even harder!  After about a dozen calls we found one that had "one more" slip available!  We will strike out at sunrise to make the 20nm journey and then rent a car and head home.

It's been crazy windy today so we spent the day cleaning up the boat (when we weren't trying to find a slip!).

And after the stress of trying to find a slip, it's 5:30--I don't care what your clock says! (Yes, both are mine.)

Tucked in at Bradenton, FL

Well, last night was long and action-packed!  We continued to run into crab pots through sunset, so I manned the bow armed with a headlamp and a whistle to alert Frank of any buoys.  

After a bit we got into deeper water.  The shrimpers took over and we secured the crab pot watch...for now.  Our friend Beth kept us updated on the timing of the strong front and some heavy rain ahead of it throughout the night via our DeLorme InReach as we were out of cell range (p.s. She's the next big thing in weather routing for cruisers--I can feel it!).   As we approached Tampa Bay and the water got shallower the crab pots returned.  And to keep it exciting, heavy rain came shortly thereafter.  I was getting soaked, but we were able to see the pots!  My job was tough, but so was Frank's as he had to respond to my blasts of the whistle with quick helm or engine changes.  Tough all around!

We slowly made our way into the pay through heavy rain and low visibility.  We set the hook just inside for a few hours (of course, dodging more crab pots in the rain on our way in!), then woke at sunrise to make our way through a tight channel to a protected anchorage in Bradenton, FL just ahead of the really strong front.  We had big breakfast burritos, OJ with rum, and a nice sleep!  We spent the afternoon tidying the boat, drying out our soaked gear, and relaxing.

Next step is to rest up and wait for strong N winds to abate and look at forecasts to see if a leg from here to Panama City, FL is possible by Wednesday.  So far we have gone 650 nm since Saturday--pretty good considering we had to duck inside for weather for two days.