Day 1 - While still in the Galveston Ship Channel, we
were hit with what we deemed a bad storm. We anchored so as not to hit larger
vessels. After the storm, we found our rudder to be entangled with a line. Jim donned his snorkeling gear and jumped
into the cold water to free us. We were
back on course.
Day 2 - A “light” norther caught up with us 1-1/2
days early that hit us with 45-50 kt. winds, waves that swamped our cockpit in
a matter of seconds and rain so heavy we could not keep our eyes open to see.
The nose of the boat went up in the air and twirled as if it was going to drill
us into the Gulf. Scary as hell!
Days 3, 4 & 5 - All 3 days we were blessed with 6-8 ft. seas. Made some good time sailing. We thought we were good to go the rest of the
way…NOT!
Days 6, 7, 8 & 9 – Four full days of 10-15 ft. seas with
easterly winds of 20-30 knots. This was more than the auto pilot could handle,
which forced us to hand steer every minute.
We tried unsuccessfully for the last 3 days to get back on top of the
Continental Shelf and eventually ran out of diesel. Tow Boat US and the US Coast Guard teamed up
to safely tow us some 180 miles (26 hours) to safe harbor in beautiful Key
West, Florida.
Day 10 - Arrived in Key West, Florida to catch our
breath and assess the damage. The boat
appeared to be trashed; however, upon closer examination, yes there are many
repairs to be done, but not as costly as we initially thought.
Here are some video's taken while enroute.
Here are some video's taken while enroute.
Glad to hear you are safe and sound. Good learning expireance. Hope y'all learned something to make the rest of the journey fun. Remember the nice island beaches you will see soon.....
ReplyDeleteOther than Jib.... what was damaged? And what the heck with the Jib? Did yard not do the work properly? Let me know I will go kick their a$$!
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it! Do you think the dinghy is causing any handling problems? It looks like a pretty big shape up on the foc'sle. I know there's no other place for it. just curious.
ReplyDeletenever did a big crossing like that but i have been hung out on bad winds and couldn't make any headway. it sucks. only thing to do is head way out of the way, if you have room.
Hi Mike, Yeah the dinghy did have a little affect on going to weather. Now, the dink will be off the bow for the remainder of time, except for when we cross the Gulf Stream to Bimini.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the crossing was a Bitch, but it gave us great learning and experience with the boat and how she handles. Because of the winds, there was talk of going to Cuba or Isla Mujeres, Mexico, but we were able to make it into Key West AND keep our boat in tact.
Take care, Buddy!