January 2014

2014 BOAT LOG

Melissa, Taffy, and I spent the first week of 2014 hanging out in Sarasota.  I futzed on a few small boat projects while Melissa continued to heal.  The weather was nice until Jan 6^th when it became windy and cold.

Jan 8^th…time to head south.  We plan on leaving the boat in Ft. Meyers when we fly back to Minnesota for the birth of Josh and Lisa’s first child. Took on 60 gal of fuel at Marina Jacks at 8AM and left the dock at 8”30.  Cold overcast day with some sprinkles so we might as well motor rather than hang around inside in Sarasota.  With the additional Garmin at the lower helm we stayed warm and comfortable.  I checked out the conditions outside the intracoastal at Venice but it was too much for Melissa so we ducked back inside for the rest of the trip.  The extra miles of using the GICW would not allow us to get all the way to Ft. Meyers.  After debating options we decided to shoot for Cabbage Key.

We had to wait a bit for the swing bridge to open at Boca Grande.  As soon as we turned into the beginning of Charlotte Harbor the wind really picked up and it got a little rocky.  A short while later I heard a clunk up on the fly bridge.  I went up to investigate and found the Bimini coming apart from the cross wind.  I struggled to get it secured without killing myself or grounding the boat.

Charlotte Harbor was too rough for Missy and Taffy.  They huddled in the aft cabin while we bounced around for 30 or 40 minutes.  I feel so bad for Missy when it is choppy and I wish I had 60k for a stabilizer system.

We pulled into Cabbage Key at 4PM.  Dock Master Jeff was very helpful getting us tied up in the wind. 2732.2 Hrs

The binimi will need some repair so I took it down.  We are looking forward to a nice dinner and an easy day tomorrow of 45 miles.  We had the restaurant to ourselves and the meal was fantastic!  We need to go back!

Jan 9^th…Had coffee in the restaurant and put some dollar bills on the ceiling.  They estimate they have $80,000 in 1s taped to the ceiling and walls.  About 10% falls down every year and they donate it to a charity.  We grabbed some smoked salmon for lunch on our trip south…..best smoked salmon EVER!  Lots of boat traffic but mild weather so just cruised along.  We arrived at Legacy Harbor at 2:30.  I washed the boat after checking in….very nice marina.  Dinner on board.  2736.9 HRS

Missy and I hung out in Ft. Meyers for a few days.  Nice but not as nice as Sarasota.  I kayaked and biked every day.  We flew home on Jan 12^th to be home in time for the new baby!