Chapter 22: Leg Two Begins...

5:30 am
Monday December 27, 1999

It's early Monday morning, and were back on the road again. Well not quite yet, but we are catching a flight today for Tampa, and then a short drive to Tierra Verde to the boat.
Here we are on our second phase of our Great Circle Trip. For those of you who are new on the distribution list (I can't believe the stories of people who have said they read this), and to those who have just forgotten, I'll take a minute to bring you up to speed.

Don't forget. I write these captain's logs for a couple of reasons. 1) at some date in the future, when we're old and gray, I want to be able to look back at these logs, and recall the events as they happened. 2) Because we have so many people who ask about the trip, this is an easy way to keep them posted, and not have to explain all the details when we get home. I apologize if I don't cover what you are looking for.

Also, please remember my disclaimer. I am more worried about the message content, than I am about the grammar, or spelling. Sometimes, I get so excited about something, that my typing can't keep up with my brain. (which just says I type very slow)

Anyway here is a little recap.........
* We left last Labor Day, and took three weeks to get the boat from Ottawa, IL., to Florida. It was an awesome trip that I will not soon forget. Looking back, the part I'll remember the most, is the part I dreaded the most.
Crossing the Gulf. It was 10 hours of being scared, bored, and relieved when we got to Clearwater, but I'll never forget it. Those type of memories are the reason we made this trip.
* The boat spent the first part of the winter in a slip in Tierra Verde, FL.
A great marina that I will hate to leave.
* While the boat was in Florida, Deb and I went down once. We only went for a long weekend, but we had a great time. When we arrived, I noticed something looked funny, and I realized that someone had stolen the stereo, and speakers, from the fly bridge. The good news is they didn't do any more damage. I bought a new one and sent it down to the marina, I hope it will be installed when we get there. Also while we were there I found out that you need to clean the bottom of the boat on a regular basis. It had only been 6 weeks, and the bottom was full of critters. Since then I've had a diver go down every couple of weeks to keep it clean.
* Hopefully when we get back to the boat the salon table will be fixed. When we tried to cross the gulf the first time, we were in some large waves, it fell, and broke the base unit. I called Cruisers Yachts to replace it, and they told me just the base was $650, so I found someone at the marina who lives on his boat, and does carpenter work on the side. He looked at it, and said.....no problem! We'll see how it looks when we get there today.
* Our plan for the next leg is to go from Tierra Verde to Ft. Lauderdale I figure about 450 miles). The boat will then stay in Ft. Lauderdale till mid may. The cost to leave the boat there is very expensive ( about $1400 a month), but it is the boating capitol of the world, and I wanted to include this adventure on our trip. (We may be paying for this for the rest of our lives, but it will be worth it)
* Making this next leg with Deb, and I, are my business partner, Steve Thoke, his fiancée, Chris Van Allan, and a friend of ours Carl Melville.

Besides the normal fun and excitement, Chris and Steve will be getting married along the way. They have their Florida marriage license, so the legal things are handled. Then the plan is to go to Pier 66 Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, where I will perform small ceremony on the back of the boat. not legal mind you, but a marriage ceremony none the less) Another great thing about being a captain.

* I am really excited about getting back to the boat. We have made most of this leg before when I took a friend's boat from Tampa to Philadelphia, so I know what to expect. I have been studying the charts for hours, and in my mind, and on paper, I covered every mile. Most people ask "will you go all the way down and around?" No. We will go inside at Ft. Myers, and take the Caloosahatchee (you pronounce it....I can't) River across the center of Florida to Lake Okeechobee. We will then wrap around Okeechobee until we get to the St. Lucie River and Canal. That will take us to Stuart, FL., and out to the Atlantic (from Ft. Myers, it's a total of about 130 miles). At that point we join the Intracoastal at mile marker 980 (which means we are 980 miles south of Norfolk, VA.). We will then make a hard right, and go about 85 miles south to Ft. Lauderdale.
* We should arrive in Ft. Lauderdale about January, 2nd or 3rd. On January 5th, I have our management team joining us for a managers meeting, and they are bringing their spouses. This will allow us to use the boat for these meetings, and mix a little business with pleasure. We will then head home on January 9th.

Well I guess I should end this first message, and get ready to head out.
While I was writing this I noticed the snow plow going in front of our house. We got about a 1/2 inch of snow last night, so I need to plow that off the driveway before we leave. I was also watching my favorite show "The Weather Channel" and although it is cool now, they say it will be 80 degrees in Florida for New Years Eve. We will either be on Lake Okeechobee, or in North Palm Beach, depending on our progress, but it looks like we'll be warm where ever we are.

Talk to you soon....

BK.