Westons Go South

Friday, April 1

THE CROSSING!!!

The captains decided that this would be our best weather window to make the Gulf crossing, so we set about getting ready. We attached the jack lines along the length of the boat, and set out the blue-water harnesses, tether lines, and strobe lights we had borrowed. I got out a huge pile of warm clothing, including our foul weather gear and my rubber boots, and laid them all close by for quick access. We put the ditch bag up next to the binnacle where we could grab it quickly. I cooked up a pot of black beans and rice, and made a pile of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After tranquing up on a double dose of Bonine, we were ready!

We sailed out of Carrabelle at 9:20 in the morning. The seas were 3 to 5 feet, which is a little high, but a brisk wind was blowing from the West so the sailing would be good. The depth meter was working, as were all the other instruments. We steered through the channel behind Dog Island and out into the Gulf. We were off!

Sam spotted a giant sea turtle swimming along. Later, when we were way out into the Gulf, we had two swallows light on the boat. They appeared to be exhausted from their migration trip. They didn’t stay long, but it was thrilling. The Tyes had one come inside their cockpit and spend hours with them. It sat on Pat for a long time, and then perched for the night. They had so much fun with it, but unfortunately it was too exhausted and died during the night.

The sea was a little high and “corkscrewy”, but nothing unmanageable. Soon, however, we had a major setback. Our autopilot kept shutting down! This was a big problem because that meant we had to steer by hand through the corkscrew waves and gusting winds. I had to brace both feet on the deck to have enough strength to hang on and crank the wheel while it constantly shifted. My feet got so sore and swollen I switched to my huge rubber boots. Both of us felt like our arms were pulled out of the sockets, and our arthritic hands turned into aching claws. It got colder and colder, so we ended up wearing five layers of jackets, our gloves, our watch caps, and our foul weather gear. We took two-hour watches all night long, but Sam couldn’t sleep at all and I got very little. He had to do double-duty when I missed one of my watches, so he was really, really tired.

We were feeling stoic until we looked over at our partners in this adventure. They were tucked in nice and warm behind their wind/rain curtains, sitting back sipping drinks and reading while their autopilot steered them along a nice smooth, straight course. What bums!!!

The good news was that the winds were really good, so we made terrific time, hitting the seven and sometimes eight knot range repeatedly.

The bad news was that, even though I stoked up on more Bonine, Linda Wright’s nose drops, and soda crackers, it was all to no avail. I lost it all in the early evening, and from then on anointed the bucket frequently. I was so miserable! I wanted to get off NOW!!!

Saturday, April 2

Clearwater

Early Saturday morning the Tyes developed serious engine trouble. Their engine slowed way, way down and started smoking terribly. We were all really worried. Our depth meter, which had been working when we were in eighty feet of water, started going off and on as we approached shallower water. How do it know???

It was a relief when we spotted land. We limped along for several hours until we finally got to Clearwater. Unfortunately for me, the trip took twenty-seven hours. Thankfully, that was about six hours faster than normal.

A nice surprise! Craig and Cece happened to be in Clearwater. They took pictures of us going under the bridge, met us at the Clearwater Yacht Club, and got us off the boats to take us out to lunch. They are my heros!!!

When we got back after lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping. We got up to take showers and clean the boat, and then went back to bed.