Rockin and Rollin

9:30 Thursday morning.Lisa blew the horns and we began our cruise out of the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW, then headed out of Port Everglades into the open ocean. We dropped the paravanes (sp?) and Captain Larry said, look ahead at the color of water and how it is different than here....that's Gulf Stream. So even though we were full speed ahead, we were only cruising at 4 nmpr. We were rocking side to side about 12-15 degrees and we were pitching at about 18 degrees. Then one of the hooks that holds the power dinghy broke. So, Ed climbed out into the dinghy while still underway and secured it. No worries, his life insurance is paid up.
Then Captain suggested that we take up the paravanes because they were slowing our speed so up top he and Ed went but the motors that function the paravanes weren't working. A fuse? A burned out motor? They brought up one paravane manually with a rope and Friday, they would work on finding out what's wrong.
Mid-afternoon, Ed and I were both feeling a little sick (even though I had patch on).
Ed threw up, then me. So for dinner, I just had little bites of bread and drank soda water to settle my stomach.
Captain Larry said, check the starboard side....bunched of dolphins. There must have been 20 of them playing along side our boat. We also saw a massive sea turtle just swimming along.
Watch schedule:
Ed covers from 12 - 4, then Larry from 4-8, then Lisa from 8 - 12.
We map out our journey, then enter it into the GPS, then put the boat on auto-pilot. We note points like lighthouses and buoys. Ed and Larry take turns fueling the day tank from the main fuel tanks. We're burning about 150 gal per day.
Sleeping was not a problems, the boat rocks you to sleep.
Taking a shower this morning for me was a new experience for sure. Forget about shaving legs,,,,it's just too rough.But oh how beautiful out here.
Listening....what do I hear. The sound of the waves, the creeking of the boat and a deep blowing sound as a result of the dry stack and the wind blowing around it.
Looking....what do I see. Deep blue ocean water, Baby blue skies, magnificant sun, more dolphins and ocean swells about 5-6 feet.
We are about 24 nm from Key West, then we'll go around and start up the gulf side. We will likely arrive in Mobile Bay on Tuesday cruising 24 hours a day.
God's blessing to al, Lisa