The morning got started with the coffee and Lauren taking Frank to the vet while I prepared for departure. We were both a little anxious, Lauren because of our upcoming jump across the Atlantic Ocean and me due to the repairs I did, hoping they had worked and also I have to admit I was a bit uncertain myself. I had done a ton of research about the trip and we had signed up for a weather service, which gives predictions of weather/waves and helps determine if it is a good day to make the Gulf Stream crossing. Our latest report was saying Thursday (tomorrow) would be a good day to cross- it also qualified it with a “the seas will be lumpy but doable (for some) but not fun”- more on this to come…
We prepared to depart The Pilot House Marina and we held our breath as I started the engine. It fired right up and the gauges were giving good readings! I went down to the engine room to check for any leaks, and all looked good! Yay! Now the test will be if it holds up during our travels! We eased out of the slip and headed down the channel, remembering the tips they had given me coming in about staying close to one side or the other due to shallow or rocky spots. We made it out of the channel with no issues and continued out into the ocean toward our next destination. We were only going less than ten miles away, but it would be a good test on the engine repairs and it was a good ‘jump off’ spot to get out to the ocean and gulf stream, which we would take advantage of the current to push us north as we crossed to the Bahamas.
The trip was a nice easy cruise, with Lauren driving as I went down and continued to monitor the repairs I had made. Everything was looking good, and the leak had (for the most part) been fixed. There was a small drop that formed, but nothing like the leak we had. I tightened up the bolts a little and was pleased that it seemed to be working well. We eventually came to South Sound Creek, which would take us into the state park. The creek depths were anywhere from ten to twenty feet deep and very protected so it was a nice easy ride. Once we got to Largo Sound where the park is, the depths dropped to just under five feet! The charts were showing a five foot depth, and we turned toward port to follow the five feet of water and toward the mooring balls. We ‘touched ground’ a couple times, but never came to a stop. We reached the first mooring ball (which was farthest from land) and decided we would take this one and not push our luck any more with shallow water. Once we securely attached to the mooring, I took Frank in the dinghy to find out where to pay and scout out the area around the park. The park was busy with all kinds of water activities going on from snorkeling, kayaks and canoes, and swimming at the many beaches they have. There were also plenty of bike and hiking trails. Once I found the harbormasters office, I checked in and paid the small fee for the mooring ball. We were chatting and they were surprised we even made it to the moorings with our draft! I made a note to make sure we leave either at high tide or at least a rising tide! I would have to check this out as we wanted to be leaving fairly early in the morning…
Frank and I made it back to the boat and we had lunch. Lauren wanted to go to shore to explore, so once we were done eating we all hopped back in the dinghy and headed back to shore. We wanted to do some swimming, but realized when we got to the beach that dogs were not allowed on the beach. Bummer. We normally would have pretended to ‘not see’ the sign, but a park ranger seemed to be hanging out there and was keeping an eye on us. We found a spot to sit under some shady tree and hung out there for a bit. Eventually we wandered around the park for a while and then decided to head back to the boat. We checked the weather again for tomorrows journey and confirmed it was looking pretty good with no north winds expected. One of the biggest weather issues when crossing the stream is NOT having any north winds. Apparently wind coming from the north will wreak havoc by stacking up the waves into very steep, fast waves as it would be blowing against the current of the water flowing north. Tomooorew was forecasted to have south/ southeast winds which were in our favor. The weather service also was still saying it would be a good day for some to cross, but not all. This didn’t scare me too much as I figured it was a nice way of saying “don’t blame us’!
We had dinner later and retired somewhat early. We were both getting a bit more anxous and i wanted to make sure we had a good nights sleep before embarking on an open ocean jaunt. We made some final preparations and made sure everything was secured and battened down. We looked at the weather again and finally went to bed, hoping tomorrow would would be still be a good day to cross when we woke up…