Despite the many obstacles that we have had to overcome in getting our boat seaworthy, recent events indicate that we are in fact going to leave the dock soon.. For starters, Wes and Tiffany officially joined us late last week, so we have a full crew! This has provided us with much-needed rejuvenation as we are completing final tasks (provisioning, making repairs, planning routes, etc.).

Tiffany's self-portrait

Tiffany's self-portrait

Today was a banner day in terms of our preparation. We got up early and motored for an hour to another marina in order to have patches welded onto our water tanks by the local expert. This was the last major repair for sailing vessel Pura Vida, and it went quite well, taking only a few hours. Since we had some unanticipated free time in the afternoon, we decided to take Pura Vida out sailing for the first time.

We were very fortunate to have our friend Ken Liddiard on board, a Rhodesian whom we met a couple of weeks prior as he was making the rounds at the marina. Ken is extremely knowledgeable about sailing, having sailed around the world in a boat without an engine back in the 1960’s. Ken also seems to have boundless energy, so thanks in no small part to him, our first sail was both fun and productive.  For example, when he wasn’t telling us stories about his time in the Seychelles, Ken made his way about the boat making suggestions about running rigging, stowage, etc. Also, since we had around 10 knots of wind, he encouraged us to try out our two beautiful spinnakers, both of which seem to be in great shape. All of us took a turn at the helm and got a feel for various points of sail. We even got to see some wildlife as several schools of sting rays went by!

Ken hauling on the topping lift

Ken hauling on the topping lift

 

  

Wes setting the spinnaker

Wes setting the spinnaker

 

 

 

Upon our return to Fernandina Beach, we picked up a mooring buoy, and Tiffany and I cooked a mean lasagna. Over dinner, Ken talked with us about our options for getting down to Panama. While we had initially planned to take the windward passage from the Bahamas, stopping in Jamaica, Ken encouraged us to consider the passage around the west coast of Cuba or even staying with the easterly coasts of Florida down to Latin America with stops in Cancun and Belize. Either sounds pretty good to me, but from a sailing perspective it sounds as though the latter is better (less beating into the wind). Ken also encouraged us to invest in a windsurfer in order to have a means of recreation, exercise, and fishing (whoever is surfing trawls a line and returns with dinner!) while at anchor. Despite that we have little to no extra room on the boat, I think I’m sold.
Sunset at Fernandina Beach, FL

Sunset at Fernandina Beach, FL

So with one whole day of sailing under our belt, we are just about ready to go! All that remains to be done is to finish the water tank repair, make final trips to the stores, get rid of two vehicles (one on ebay, the other to the local mechanic), get immunizations, and get our dive tanks inspected. Minor details, right? We’re hoping to be ready to go by Sunday, although a front is expected to blow in, so we’ll see…it won’t be long now!