Publish Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Location: Atlantic Ocean, Coast of Georgia
Hi All! We will alternate who blogs each day during this passage so we
don’t inundate you with updates on the same thing. Our departure went
smoothly this morning and we were cruising out the St. Augustine inlet
into the wide open Atlantic Ocean at 8:45 a.m. We were all a buzz with
excitement, as this will be our longest passage to date as a family.
The first few hours the wind was coming out of the north at about 15 to
20 kts, giving us seas on the nose. Even though the waves were small
(1-3 feet), it was still lumpy. The wind then shifted to the southwest
and died down, so we are enjoying a “sweet ride” on following seas of
about 1-2 feet.
Everybody is feeling great and settling into the cruising routine. Ayla
took care of school first thing this morning, and has been enjoying her
book and playing Mario Kart this afternoon. Dave and I ran the wing
engine for awhile this morning to make sure it was in good shape, should
we need it. We had added stuffing to the stuffing box, and we wanted to
make sure everything was functioning correctly.
For those of you who don’t know, our boat is powered by a single 110hp
Lugger engine. However, should something go wrong with this engine, we
have a small “wing”, or “get home” engine as well. It’s a small 60hp
Yanmar engine that would allow us to point the boat in the correct
direction and putt-putt home at about 3.5 kts. But hey, at least we’d be
moving. It’s a good idea to run the wing engine every few weeks to keep
it lubricated and make sure it’s functioning.
Other than that, Dave has been working on our summer cruising route and
I’m trying to wrestle my email box to the ground (I’m very behind on
correspondence). We are taking advantage of these beautiful seas to cook
and get things done — it’s not always the case that you have such a
smooth ride.
Dave and Ayla win the wildlife sighting award today. Dave noticed what
looked like a brown box floating in the water, when we got closer they
realized it was a huge sea turtle floating on the surface. It dove
before they could get the camera. Also, we have had quite a few dolphins
frolicking near the boat.
Tonight should be interesting, as there is no moon and not a cloud in
the sky. We can hardly wait to the see the stars. More on that tomorrow….