Publish Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009
Location: Somewhere off the coast of Florida
Coordinates: 27° 18.945′ N 80° 08.532′ W
…another busy, but great day aboard Three @ Sea. I’m writing this blog on my night watch (which I now
Ayla sporting her new crew shirt from Mine Games.
enjoy versus feel panicky about). We left North Palm Beach, Florida at 11:15 p.m. under an almost full moon, and have begun our journey north. There is no typical day aboard Three @ Sea, but today’s activities give you a feel for what type of things occur.
While having my morning coffee, I finished stowing the provisions I had acquired yesterday. This may not sound like much, but it does entail pulling up most of the cushions and locker covers in the salon, and distributing items among the many storage spaces. To the untrained observer it could look chaotic. 🙂 I do try to be organized about it, keeping my beverages and canned goods in one area, dry goods in another etc. – it’s a giant puzzle. Once that was done and the coffee gone, it was off to Whole Foods.
I usually do major provisioning in this order:
1. Costco
2. Target
3. Large grocery store chain (i.e Publix, Safeway)
4. Whole Foods.
The first three fill most of the basic household needs from laundry detergent to TP, and canned Items/beverages to condiments. I use Whole Foods to round out the fresh vegetables, fruit and meats.
While I was at Whole Foods, Dave and Ayla were busy cleaning the interior of the boat. We always like to have it spiffy before we get underway. Upon my return, Ayla helped me unload and store the last round of provisions while Dave cleaned the outside of the boat. There went the morning.
Our afternoon activities changed as Ayla received the call she had been hoping for. The stewardess (Erin)
Formal salon of Mine Games.
on the beautiful megayacht Mine Games called and invited her aboard for a tour and to film a From The Pilothouse episode. We first saw Mine Games at the Atlantis hotel in Nassau in mid-December. We’d never seen anything like her before, submarine and all. We then had the chance to see her again in the Bahamas in early February, and now here we were at the same marina with her in Florida. Ayla got up all her courage and wrote a note to the Captain and Chief Stewardess requesting an interview. You can only imagine her excitement when they actually called and invited her aboard.
Hot tub on the top deck of Three @ Sea (just kidding, Mine Games of course).
Quick showers for everyone, and we were off to the megayacht. Mine Games just happened to be docked in front of Tiger Woods megayacht, Privacy (of course, he wasn’t there as he is trying to win a fifth green jacket at The Masters). Erin and the entire crew of Mine Games could not have been more gracious. Erin spent the better part of an hour giving us a tour of the boat, introducing us to the crew, and answering a hundred questions from Ayla. We did do some filming, and hopefully we’ll have enough to do show. We scurried off the boat as the owner was arriving unexpectedly.
Back at our “minor” yacht we visited with a cruising group on our dock, who had come up to North Palm Beach for the Easter weekend from Ft. Lauderdale . They had lots of questions for Ayla about home schooling and life aboard our boat. We are looking forward to having a number of their grandchildren join us on our journey via the internet.
We did a few last minute preparations for our late night departure (e.g., filling our water tanks, taking care
Tim and Dave on the flybridge .
of trash, stowing spare parts etc.); and then we switched gears preparing a nice Easter dinner to share with our dear friend Tim (whose loan of a car was invaluable). We had a wonderful meal together and great conversation as we watched the sunset and the moonrise. After the dinner dishes were washed and stowed, it was time to slip our lines from South Florida and begin the next part of our journey heading towards the Great Lakes.
Ayla, as the Chief Stewardess of Three @ Sea, set a beautiful Easter dinner table.
The three of us were up on the flybridge as we left. The moon played peek-a-boo through the clouds, and we all took a deep breath enjoying the warm evening air. What a wonderful day. Tomorrow (really just a little later this morning) is Easter, and Ayla is wondering if the Easter Bunny will find her at sea.