Confessions of a First Mate

Hello Everyone, this is Susan, alive and well and making my first posting to our blog. Walt has often urged me to participate in our chronicles, however until now I didn't have an "adventure" to report. Frankly, I read the blog just as you do and find out what Walt has had done to Kingdom to make ready for our departure.
Trust me, we have the most up to date electronics and navigation thingamajigs available. I admit they are easier to learn to use than the sextant and compasses, parallels, paper charts, soundings and readings used by our fathers and uncles! Thank you God for GPS and transponders. My favorite display in the pilot house is "Water Temperature", so you know my priorities. We headed south from Brunswick Georgia on January 4th, a 6 day trip to arrive in Palm Beach by Thursday January 10th for a scheduled appointment with the Water maker technician on Friday morning. It was fabulous to be underway again, warmer and warmer as we headed south, but without the humidity that makes it so oppressive. We prefer to be "on the hook" rather than in a marina, but at our favorite Tiki bars and restaurants along the way we would opt to spend the night tied up and indulge our appetites.
After a lovely afternoon in Daytona Beach visiting with sister Ellie Rein and dinner at Chart House restaurant we took off heading south along the ICW to Titusville. This should have been an easy day, making our anchorage long before sundown. Unfortunately, about 2 miles south of the Ponce DeLeon Inlet we encountered a bascule bridge closed for the day to undergo sandblasting. They would re-open at 5:15 p.m. putting us a day behind schedule. So much for our local knowledge.
At that point we forgot our most important lesson: Prepare for the Worst and Expect the Best...We checked in with NOAA (the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration) and heard forecast maximum 15 kt. winds and seas 2-4 ft. out to 20 miles off shore. "Hey, no biggie, let's go for it" I said; we'll just make the run down the coast 3 miles off shore, clean out our blackwater tanks while underway, and head back in at Cape Canaveral Inlet.
Well, seas were 4-5', winds steady off our port bow at a minimum of 15 knots, Strike One!
Nothing that Kingdom can't easily handle, but something I had for dinner wasn't agreeing with me, and I would have much been happier inland. All the repairs and refits in the galley hardware worked perfectly, and the scooters rode the flybridge without budging from their cleats.
About midway to Canaveral, and late in the afternoon, I spent a little time with the charts I should have studied before. Shoals, lots of shoals, shallow little devils all the way from shore to more than 3 miles out. Strike Two!!
So my Captain changed course and out we headed...with seas 6-7' and winds to 20 knots. Then it got dark, rain squalls here and there... Strike Three!!!
The wind and seas eventually calmed a little, and the course change heading back toward shore helped. We knew where we were because it was as plain as day (and as bright) on the chart plotter glaring into our eyes right in front of us. (We now know how to engage the night vision screens on the plotters) About the time we expected to see the first channel marker for the port entry, Walt asked me to go out on the Portuguese bridge to have a look around...jeez, there it was about 20' off our port bow...those little suckers have little tiny lights! So I remained on the deck, closely watching as ships and ferries passed us in front and buoys to our port and starboard. It was absolutely beautiful, I wish I'd know what the heck I was looking at!!!
By this time I figured Walt could fend for himself and I should study the charts to figure out where we could drop the anchor...OMG! Bascule bridge just ahead!!! OK, no problem, I called the bridge tender, he opened the bridge, and gave us the channel to hail the LOCK tender!!!?? OMG!!! OK, no problem, I called the LOCK tender, and admitted that I've never been through a lock before, and didn't have the faintest idea of what to do. He was wonderful. He chuckled and said people do it lots of times and still don't have a clue what to do...so he talked me through the procedure; lines, fenders, stop, go...We did fine, and I blew him kisses until the lock closed behind us and we were once again clueless about where to drop the hook. Magically, a couple dolphins came by to head us to a little deeper water without snagging a crab trap, but by this time I'm on the verge of serious crankiness. My darling Captain, calm as always, not complaining, in a torrential downpour proceeded to secure the anchor while I poured him the very last shot of scotch. I'm a lucky woman!
The next morning we made a peaceful quiet run down the ICW to Melbourne Harbor Marina, and spent a far too short visit with our friend and Yacht Broker Jim Guin. I think he approves of the improvements we've made to the boat, and it's good to hear the boat market is doing better than the real estate market.
We are now in Palm Beach, and yesterday (Friday) the Water maker was declared "top of the line" and ready to make 800 gpd of the best tasting, cleanest water possible as soon as we get off shore. A trip to Costco for food and probably at least a couple to Boats-R-Us for stuff Walt needs, and we will be ready to make the 55 nautical mile crossing to Grand Bahama Island. We may need to wait a couple of days for perfect weather conditions because crossing the Gulf stream can be dicey even in moderate seas.
We're having dinner with friends Claire and Don Jones this evening (who graciously loaned us their car while we're here, Thank you Claire and Don!)
Walt and I were reminded of an important lesson, which we will never again forget: Prepare for the Worst and Expect the Best. We are grateful for the outside run which taught us much, and ended so well, and although we never feared for our safety, we were exhausted. So next time I come up with a "hey, no biggie, let's go for it" and fail to plan ahead, Walt will probably ask me to walk the plank.
Love,
Susan