"The Best Laid Plans....."

I guess as a seasoned cruiser I should know that planning is usually wasted effort, particularly when it comes to timing, equipment and weather. The plan was to rise early and depart Burnt Store Marina at around 0730 hrs for a nice, comfortable offshore sail and arrive at an anchorage at Naples at around 4ish; after setting the hook, mix a couple boat drinks, grill some sausage on the barby , watch the news on TV , hit the hay early and get an early jump on the off shore trek to Everglades City the next morning. Here's how it actually happened:
We awoke at 6:50 and began preparations for departure. We noticed that the wind was unusually high for so early in the morning and began to consider perhaps staying inside in the ICWW for the trip to Ft Myers Beach and then go off shore for the rest of the 15 miles to Naples. Next we found that our computer software navigation program, Seaclear, had mysteriously been erased from the "puter. We still had the chart plotter but both Diane and I have come to rely on the ridiculous accuracy of Seaclear for helping us through new waters or tight spots. Soooo--after trying to find the exe. program somewhere in the computer I finally gave up and took it into a "puter" fixer in Punta Gorda. Joe jumped right on it and after about 2 minutes of repair time and about 40 minutes of conversation we finally returned to the boat with a fully functioning Seaclear and got underway at 10:15.
In the meantime the wind had continued to build and it was blowing a good 20kts from our stern as we exited the marina with 4 foot waves chasing us down wind. After checking several weather sights---again---we decided we would be better off running down the ditch and stopping in Ft Myers for the night and possibly the next day or two as we wait for the winds to subside to a comfortable level. It was a very good decision for as we turned into the wind entering into the ICWW and headed south, the wind was now on our beam and blowing a steady 23 to 25 with 3 to 4 foot seas hitting us on the beam--even in the protected waters. The offshore reports were for 6 to 8 foot seas. The wind lifted and fell all the way to Ft Myers Beach (on Estero Island) and hit as high as 29.9 kts coming across Pine Island Sound. WE tucked into Moss Marine Marina, planning to stay at least 2 nights as the forecast was for increasing winds for the next two days.
After spending a very comfortable night tied up in the marina we awoke to high winds again, confirming the weather reports. We took a walk out to the beach and observed the conditions, had lunch at a nice Greek restaurant and are now back on the boat relaxing, reading, napping and blogging. (Diane's working on the taxes) Surprisingly, however, the winds have settled down a bit already and we are planning on setting out in the morning for at least Naples, depending on the weather, or Marco Island. If we can get to Marco tomorrow, then we might be able to get as far as Little Shark River on Sunday which would put us back on schedule.
It's great having Chuck along. It's pretty amazing--while we have only known the Kiefers a few weeks it feels as though we've been friends for years. And the best part is--Chuck likes to clean. I mean he really likes to clean. Every time I look up he's got a rag in his hand and is wiping something clean. My dodger has never been clearer even after the salt water pounding it got yesterday (and he doesn't snore---wish I could say the same for Diane)

Our friends on Kaleo did this a while ago and I thought it might be a good idea to aquaint those who are not too familiar with sailboats, to give a bit of a guided tour through the boat to see how we live. Thus, the next post will be a bunch of pictures of the boat with labels explaining what you are looking at. Labeling has been quite difficult for me --I haven't figured out how to do it correctly, so the lables may not make sense---Don't blame me---blame my computer illiteracy, which is excusable because I'm old---turned 64 on the 23rd---Anyway, I'll try.

The boat has performed beautifully. No engine problems. No hardware issues and the wind generator is doing a great job, so far, of keeping close to our power usage when on the hook or underway. I think I may have one weak battery and I'm a bit concerned about that but so far it seems to be doing alright. Hopefully we'll give it a good test before Marathon as that may be our last opportunity to change it out. But, despite the tight spaces she has been quite comfortable for us and once again I can say that Assisted Living has exceeded all expectations on this trip. We realize that we will encounter a completely different set of circumstances once in the islands--no more marina hopping, with shore power, ice access and water---and we're a bit anxious about how that will go. On the ice front---we decided to, once again, follow the lead of the Sittons and we bought a small Emerson ice maker at Target before we left Burnt Sore Marina. While we haven't had to use it yet, I did run a test for a few hours and made a few baskets of ice. It seems to work well and doesn't seem to draw a lot of power. Then we have the issue of water---Our boat carries about 85 gallons of fresh water. That's usually enough to last us 4 to 5 days if we are frugal. We're hoping that our travels will find us near a water supply at least that often as we sail around the islands. The alternative is to install a water maker at a cost of several thousand dollars. We've decided to take our chances and go without on this trip. We'll see. This all will be very interesting and we are so looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.