Sunday, January 29, 2012
Bahamas Baby!
I just received an update from Mom and they have arrived in Nassau safe and sound. They were in the process of checking in with customs and everything was great. A great day of sailing and they currently have a view of the Atlantis Resort from their boat :) She's hopeful to get a wi-fi signal tomorrow and she will be able to send more details but for now I wanted to let everyone know they made it safely!
Update as of 1pm 1/29/12
Just received an update from Mom and Don and all is well! They estimate they will be to Nassau by 8pm tonight. She says the water is so blue and beautiful. They are currently in 14 feet of water but she says it looks like 2 feet because it's so clear! Everything is going well and no problems.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Water, Water Everywhere
They are on their way! Mom and Don left No Name Harbor at first light this morning and she was able to send a text before they lost their signal. They were in the gulf stream sailing at 7 knots in 715 feet of water!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Update as of 7pm 1/27/12
Well, the plans must have changed a little today but Plane to Sea still made progress. The original plans were to sail to Cat Cay today and stay there overnight but I believe Mom and Don decided to use the morning to give the boat one more inspection to make sure everything was ready to go. Thursday was the first time the boat has been in the water since October so it was a good idea to make sure everything was in order.
So, late this afternoon they departed and proceeded South on the intercoastal waterway toward Miami. Lots of bridges to navigate and a few that you have to wait until the time when they open in order to sail through. I received a text around 6:30 pm letting me know they made it safely and were anchored in No Name Harbor. This area is southeast of Miami near Key Biscayne. This sets them up to be in a great position to leave tomorrow morning for Cat Cay. They will then stop there overnight before continuing on Sunday, weather permitting.
So, late this afternoon they departed and proceeded South on the intercoastal waterway toward Miami. Lots of bridges to navigate and a few that you have to wait until the time when they open in order to sail through. I received a text around 6:30 pm letting me know they made it safely and were anchored in No Name Harbor. This area is southeast of Miami near Key Biscayne. This sets them up to be in a great position to leave tomorrow morning for Cat Cay. They will then stop there overnight before continuing on Sunday, weather permitting.
View of Miami
One of the bridges they went under today with 2 feet to spare!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Update as of 9pm 1/26/2012
Just talked with Mom and things went well today. They were able to unload the boat and get it in the water, somewhere near Miami. It was a LONG day for them but things went as well as they could without any major issues. Other good news was the confirmation that their depth finder is working properly. This was the last piece of electronic equipment that needed to be tested and having the boat in the water was a requirement - duh! As I talked to her they were anchored in 15 feet of water.
The plan was to leave first thing tomorrow morning, winds and weather permitting. Our hope is they are able to depart Friday because there is weather moving in and it will probably be another week before they have the window needed to leave.
Keep you posted!
Holly
The plan was to leave first thing tomorrow morning, winds and weather permitting. Our hope is they are able to depart Friday because there is weather moving in and it will probably be another week before they have the window needed to leave.
Keep you posted!
Holly
Big Day!
Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not the most restful sleeper in the world so at 9:22 pm last night when I received a text from mom...let's just say I didn't sleep that great! I will paraphrase - "We are putting the boat in the water tomorrow and will leave on Friday!" What?! Wait - so this is real? You are really going to sail to the Bahamas?! That's what I was thinking. And yes, this is real. Mom and Don's adventure is really about to begin!
The plans are as follows. Thursday (today) will be spent putting the boat into the water. From what I know, this can be a stressful process and is sometimes quick and other times can be painfully slow. We pray for a quick process and minimal stress. All the final preparations will then be done in order to set sail at daybreak Friday morning. The final destination is Nassau, Bahamas but at least 2 stops will be required. The first planned stop will be at Cat Cay late Friday afternoon. They will then proceed to the Bahamas but will stop again before reaching Nassau. So, the goal will be to make it there by Sunday sometime. Of course they will be taking it slow because their safety is most important.
Apparently Internet connection is hard to come by in the ocean so I will have limited contact with them until they reach Nassau. They have put a safety plan in place so I'm aware of how long to wait and what to do if I needed to contact someone in an emergency. That's not a nice thought but I know someone out there is wondering so rest assured those details have not been left out of their plan.
Keep the prayers going for a safe voyage! I'll update as I know more.
Holly
The plans are as follows. Thursday (today) will be spent putting the boat into the water. From what I know, this can be a stressful process and is sometimes quick and other times can be painfully slow. We pray for a quick process and minimal stress. All the final preparations will then be done in order to set sail at daybreak Friday morning. The final destination is Nassau, Bahamas but at least 2 stops will be required. The first planned stop will be at Cat Cay late Friday afternoon. They will then proceed to the Bahamas but will stop again before reaching Nassau. So, the goal will be to make it there by Sunday sometime. Of course they will be taking it slow because their safety is most important.
Apparently Internet connection is hard to come by in the ocean so I will have limited contact with them until they reach Nassau. They have put a safety plan in place so I'm aware of how long to wait and what to do if I needed to contact someone in an emergency. That's not a nice thought but I know someone out there is wondering so rest assured those details have not been left out of their plan.
Keep the prayers going for a safe voyage! I'll update as I know more.
Holly
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Spirits are high...but so are the seas
As of today, Mom and Don have made some amazing progress with getting the boat ready to go. The new motor is in and started right up! Most of the electrical work that was needed has now been completed, thanks to the generousity of strangers. You know that Mom and Don have never met a stranger and seem to make friends at every turn along the way. Last week was no different and they met two locals with a friend who specialized in the electrical work that needed to be done on the boat. Crisis adverted! I won't try to explain everything this includes because I'm sure I would get something wrong but this electrical work was critical. It includes everything from the TV, the iPod, the GPS, the charting of their voyage, water depth, etc. Needless to say they are releived to have everything functioning! This also means that with the bulk of the work complete, Mom and Don can move back into the boat. Good-bye Best Western! Your free breakfast and reliable Wi-Fi have been great!
In other news, I received my first official weather report last week. Mom and Don receive this report 5 times a day! Most of the email appeared to be in a foreign language but the important part was clear:
CROSSING:Today looks good, with light W wind...but NW wind surges tonight as2nd-ary FRONT passes N Route late evening, with lesser increase in NWwind S Route probably after midnight...E-bound sailors on Bankstonight should do fine, with increasing NW wind.Tomorrow's moderate N wind might be OK for hearty folks, but N@15+will support 6'+ seas...Sat14 worse...Sun15 no better than tomorrow.W-bound sailors may like moderating E-SE wind Mon16 afternoon-Tue17.E-bound possibility late Tue17-Wed18, depending on influence fromapproaching ColdFRONT.
Plane to Sea would be part of the E-bound traffic and I don't yet consider her to be part of the "hearty folks" so it's best if she keeps her self parked for a few more days :)
In other news, I received my first official weather report last week. Mom and Don receive this report 5 times a day! Most of the email appeared to be in a foreign language but the important part was clear:
CROSSING:Today looks good, with light W wind...but NW wind surges tonight as2nd-ary FRONT passes N Route late evening, with lesser increase in NWwind S Route probably after midnight...E-bound sailors on Bankstonight should do fine, with increasing NW wind.Tomorrow's moderate N wind might be OK for hearty folks, but N@15+will support 6'+ seas...Sat14 worse...Sun15 no better than tomorrow.W-bound sailors may like moderating E-SE wind Mon16 afternoon-Tue17.E-bound possibility late Tue17-Wed18, depending on influence fromapproaching ColdFRONT.
Plane to Sea would be part of the E-bound traffic and I don't yet consider her to be part of the "hearty folks" so it's best if she keeps her self parked for a few more days :)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Welcome!
Hello! This is Holly, Don and Janis' daughter. I've started this blog in hopes that we can document their adventures for all to see. For selfish reasons, I'm hoping this can be a way to communicate with all of their friends and family without me worrying if I missed anyone on my email updates.
As of now, Mom and Don are still in Florida. They left Texas on Thursday, December 29th and traveled to Florida where Plane to Sea has been stored since late October 2011. Over the last 2 weeks they have been working to remove the old motor and install a new one as well as get all of the necessary electrical equipment set up before setting sail.
First stop will be the Bahamas. A 48-hour window of good weather is needing before leaving the coast of Florida but they are in no rush. Safe travel is most important so they will leave when the weather is favorable.
I plan to keep you posted as often as possible so check back frequently! I'm hoping to teach Mom to blog as well so in the event they have a free moment in between all their island hopping, she can post too.
Until the next update,
Holly
As of now, Mom and Don are still in Florida. They left Texas on Thursday, December 29th and traveled to Florida where Plane to Sea has been stored since late October 2011. Over the last 2 weeks they have been working to remove the old motor and install a new one as well as get all of the necessary electrical equipment set up before setting sail.
First stop will be the Bahamas. A 48-hour window of good weather is needing before leaving the coast of Florida but they are in no rush. Safe travel is most important so they will leave when the weather is favorable.
I plan to keep you posted as often as possible so check back frequently! I'm hoping to teach Mom to blog as well so in the event they have a free moment in between all their island hopping, she can post too.
Until the next update,
Holly
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