AND WE'RE OFF!!

After enjoying a wonderful bon voyage party last night, courtesy of our fellow dock mates, we are on the move.  There are so many great pictures from last night that I can't get them all on this post but here are a few...

We cast of our lines at 8:50 AM and are enroute south to Sanible/Fort Meyers area.  Sailed for about 2 hours but wind dropped and we are motoring as I write.

We have a location detector called a SPOT on board which shows our position and updates every 15 minutes or so.  Here is a link to check it out.  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vJ1MTFHs1grRdytl4xmtWfq7yvuqYeab

There is also an app you can download to your phone which is even better if you are so inclined.  If you have any questions about either, let us know.  

We will post as we can.  Should have good internet as we sail down and around beofre we jump over to the Bahamas.  Happy Sunday!!!

GETTING READY TO THROW OFF THE LINES

January has been all about the weather and prepping the boat for sea.  Our weather here has been soggy to say the least.  We have had over 10-1/2" of rain here in Punta Gorda this month and a few days with some really high winds.  

We clocked 50+ MPH winds just here in the marina.  We've had alot of local flooding, even power outages and tornados.  I thought this was supposed to be the "dry" season?  Apparently we cannot escape the effects of El Nino, even in Florida.  

John has been making improvements, fixing and updating systems on the boat all month.  We are now proud owners of a couple of 100 watt solar panels which we mounted on top of our bimini.  Although we haven't has a lot of sunshine to charge them, I am happy to report they are working just great.  

As far as fixing goes, having a boat is kind of like having a house - there is always something to fix.  John has gone through the engine, replaced hoses, topped off batteries, reworked both of our heads (our potties for you landlubbers) to name just a few.  He's recoated woodwork, waterproofed canvas, beefed up lines, procured jerry cans - the list goes on and on. 

I have been busy cleaning, organizing and provisioning.  We have found orifices on this boat we didn't know existed and have things stashed in some pretty creative areas.  While there are stores and markets in the Bahamas, we are told some supplies are limited or not available and it could cost quite a bit more.  We have friends there right now who are telling us that a gallon of milk is going for $15 - ouch!

On the FUN front, we have continued to welcome returning marina residents and meet new ones throughout the month.  John ansd I organized a Euchre (card game people from the Midwest and Canada know) party in our clubhouse.  Before we knew it, we had 16 folks signed up and ready to play.   The group met and played for a couple of hours and they have decided to carry on playing weekly now.  Glad we got the ball rolling. 

We have been socializing outside of the marina too.  Went down to Fort Meyers stayed with with Jim and Terri Weber at their condo and saw Arlo Guthire in concert.  His daughter Sara Lee opened for him and we enjoyed her performance as well.  While not all the "old guys" sound good any more, 

Arlo still sounds great.  Hard to believe this is the 50th anniversary tour of Alice's Restaturant!

We also took a quick trip up to St. Petersburg and spent time with our Looper friends Karen, John and Captain Jack.  It was cold and raining up there too but the crew still managed to get some tub time in.  

And as an added bonus, we got the opportunity to see John's niece Katie and her husband Dennis.  Always nice to get some family time in.  Glad our paths were able to cross and we could catch up.

We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this week too.  I have to say I found the most perfect card ever - the inside greeting..."Let the adventure continue!"  How appropriate!

As far as the Molly report, all is well.  We have shuffled her from Fort Meyers to St. Petersburg and I tink she is happy to be back on board.  We have been strolling with her alot and she has enjoyed some cuddle time with her daddy.

We are now 48 hours from our expected departure for the Bahamas and the excitement is building!  We got together with the crews of Sea Pearl and Cool Runnings last night and decided we will head out on Sunday unless the weather deteriorates. I think we are all just ready to get off this dock and get going.  Even if it means we sit in another port waiting on weather, at least we will be on the way.

Tomorrow is our bon voyage Pirate party here at the marina with our fellow dock mates.  Can't imgine what dabauchery will ensue.  Too bad we left our pirate outfits at home.  Captain John looks so great in his stripped pantaloons, guess we'll just have to improvise.  Hope we all survive it and are able to sail on Sunday.

As always, wishing you sunshine and good health when ever and where ever this blog post may find you!

THE BLOG IS BACK!

Greetings from the shores of the Peace River here in beautiful Punta Gorda!  

John, Molly and I are once again in Florida and have been here since early December getting Free Bird back in shape and reconnecting with our dockmates here at Fisherman’s Village.

Until about a week ago it has been very hot here.  I know, I know - you have very little sympathy for us!  That has changed and we are now running the heater so Winter is here.  The days go so fast as there is always something to do in addition to working on the boat.  We are doing our best to fit in as much as we can.

I have joined a few of the gals from the marina on a couple guided kayaking trips.  One was throught the cypress swamps and the other through mangrove tunnels.  It's unlike any kayaking I have done.  Have thoroughly enjoyed discovering some new spots and meeting new people.   

Molly has been getting out and meeting new friends too.  Here was her 1st encounter with Izzy.  I think they actually like each other and may get to be girlfriends!

We continue to walk the neighborhood and discover new flora and fauna too.  Have come across some stunning colors.  It's literally an everchanging canvas as every day I go out I see something I missed the day before!

Our neighbor Bob Ryan was in Miami on business and John went over to meet him and They hung out in "the Keys" for a couple days.  They romped around in Key West checking out the action on Duvall Street and took a tour of the lighthouse and Fort Zachary Taylor.  I believe more than a few beers were consumed along the way!  

Coming down here in December meant spending our 1^st Christmas away from home.  Although we missed our friends and family back home, it was very festive here. 

We decorated the boat and even had a baby tree.  Caught a boat parade, did a night time canal tour of homes that were all decorated for the season and even saw the Grinch!  

 We sailed south to Fort Meyers Beach with another boat, Suzi and Mike on Night Shift and spent Christmas Eve and Day down there under the full moon.

Celebrating the 18th anniversary of the day we met - Christmas Eve!

Crew of Night Shift

We had the opportunity to sail up the coast on the outside and in through Boca Grande Pass anchoring off of Useppa Island on our way back home.  

I have 2 words for New Year’s Eve.  BIG FUN!!  The evening started with a transient boater playing bagpipes at sunset.  You just never know what's going to happen around here!

We attended a party sponsored by the marina for all its boaters.  All we had to do was walk down the dock and spend the night making merry.  I believe we all did a great job of it too!  

Some wild and crazy girls!

Took another 3-day trip last week with Jane, Steve and Izzy of Sea Pearl down to Cayo Costa State Park.  Highlights included time spent walking on the beach, a looooong dinghy ride in search of the “tunnel of love” and another gator encounter.  Saturday evening we weathered a storm packing some big winds and rain.  While there was a pretty bad tornado just to the South of us, other than a few rattled nerves I am happy to report we came out unscathed.  

Crew of Sea Pearl

Now we are in “get ready” mode as we prepare for our trip around the tip of Florida and our jump over to the Bahamas.  We will be travelling with 2 other boats from our marina and I think another sailboat crew we met coming down the river system last year will be joining us too.  The plan is to spend February and March there returning to our home port here in April and back home late April or May.

Just wanted to bring you up to speed and let you know we are alive and well down here. 

Please stay tuned as the blog will continue as our coming adventures unfold.  We plan to add an interactive button showing you our current position so you can track our voyage and we will do our best to document our journey so you can be with us as we sail on.

Here’s hoping all of you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2016 brings blessings upon us all!