How was the first day?

After a weather delay, on March 21st, we FINALLY left the Loggerhead Marina in Hollywood, Florida, where The Zone has lived happily for several years. 

Proudly displaying the America's Great Loop Cruising Association burgee.

Off we were heading North on the Intracoastal, not exactly sure where we would land our first night, though we knew we would anchor out somewhere near West Palm beach.  The WPB Boat Show assured us the marinas would be a zoo filled with monster yachts and we wanted to avoid it like the plague. The first day was relatively uneventful, though not unexciting for us. We were doing it! We felt free, in love and living our dream. Granted, Day 1 consisted of waiting for many bridges to open and wondering who all these people are who spend their days on jet skis, but nevertheless, we were on The Great Loop of America and were sharing the helm and life, looking forward to what lies in store for us.

Last check of the engine room

Sharon, from Loggerhead, who along with her team
took great care of us & The Zone!

 What was in store for me for several hours, was trying to understand and follow nautical charts to help my Captain navigate. Not always simple, for either of us, despite his experience and my 5 Day Class.  Some of the charts are old, and my vision older, but by the end of the day I got the hang of it and now feel comfortable with my important daily task..especially now that I'm using the giant, globe magnifier.

Small section of a chart from Day 1 in South Florida

 We had a gorgeous day on the water, and chose to spend the night at the North Lake Worth anchorage.The water was a lovely calm with a delicious breeze making the evening a delight. Making my Captain a calm, delicious delight to be with, was a lovely app called, "Anchor Watch" that would sound an alarm on his Blackberry if we drifted.  Aah, the wonders of technology.

Swaying gently for a peaceful 1st night

Stay tuned for our next episode, as I describe our first docking debacle.....(we're fine, really, just want you to come back for more!)

 Here's a preview....this was the remainder of an attack of a very large, very sick bird....most of it's "spray" landed on me, in front of a dock full of boaters as my audience.  They said it's a "blessing".

Haven't you gone anywhere YET?

Well, no, we haven't, at least not literally!


Our departure date has been pushed back to (cross your fingers) March 20th.  We've been plugging along at a steady pace for the last two months and have done so much on the boat since we got here.  We are now in that comfortable spot of being just about ready to start our trip.  FINALLY!!  We've already had our share of surprise mishaps and sh*t-happens moments, and we haven't even left the dock! 


Just to give those curious an idea of what exactly we have done thus far, here's a list of some of our completed projects:

"Crispy" water tank alarm

• Serviced a 50 HP Yamaha outboard engine
• Serviced 2 Cat diesel 3208 engines
• Serviced a Westerbeke 12.5 diesel generator
• Serviced 4 A/C units
• Upgraded the windlass (anchor retrieval mechanism)
• Replaced 150 feet of 3/8" anchor chain  - twice:
• 1st time we shlepped it back to the boat, we found they gave us the WRONG size!!!
• Replaced and installed screens on about 15 windows
• Changed bathroom faucet 
• Replaced the water tank alarm system - twice:
• 1st time, a short in the system - not installed by us - turned the alarm into a crispy critter  - it stank up the boat for days!!
• Replaced the water pump - twice - trial and error with eventual success, but first:
• 2 or 3 days of not having running water while Ross was in NY
• 1st-time for me in the engine room while the captain helped by instructing...me via ooVoo (video conference) to do something he had never done himself.  THAT was cool!
• Beat our 3-trips to Home Depot- in-1 day record
• Dyed curtains in the mid-cabin (that was Cap'n "Becky Home-Ecky"), cleaned, re-orged, bought, fixed, polished, inventoried, threw out, labelled, re-greased, de-greased, unclogged, and tested just about everything on the boat.

All in all, approximately 28 trips to Home Depot and West Marine, not to mention Target, K-Mart & well, Anthony's Pizza.  

Another day in Paradise!

Measuring new anchor chain
 to mark before installing

     

One of my new jobs!

We've seen my folks as often as possible, which has been a gift, and went back and forth by car to NY for a week to see some pals and family. We've had not one but two amazing parties -one in Florida and one in NYC. Check out all the fun pix on Facebook!

From our NYC Bon Voyage!

Photo from our party at my Dad & Anita's in Florida

We've dealt with a bazillion mundane details like, mailing address changes, health care, taxes, registrations, insurance (boat, car, apartment..), and after an upcoming visit from one of Ross's sons, we will actually be on our way North!


The time we have spent thus far on-board has been its own adventure of sorts.
We have developed some routines, at least for starting and ending the days, and have discussed safety and other related habits and rules that need to be adhered to. We have developed roles as to who does what/when to some extent, and have started some traditions we would like to keep. One that I love, is to get dressed for dinner each night, even if we just grill up some hamburgers. It's a lovely way to end a day and appreciate where we are and who we are with. 


I get to have "date-night" with my sweetheart EVERY night!