Please Help Me with Spot GPS Tracker

[svHyLyte]

They will be tired, stinky, and hungry!! so I still say
#1- the shower/fresh clothes
#2 cheesebuger and cold beer
#3 sleep in a clean DRY bed.

Good gravey--They will have spent 4-1/2 days on a 45' Hunter Passage that is all but a floating luxury condo with hardly enough wind to have kept them moving in 2-1/2 foot seas. Other than watch standing which may have made them somewhat tired (although by now they will likely have adapted) I'm sure they will be in fine fettle. I suggest Orange Juice, Champagn (for Mimosa's), hot Cinnemon Rolls and some good coffee would be the order of the morning.

I suspect that if you take a hand-held VHF down to the Jetty at around 08:00 within short order you may be able to raise the yacht and wave her in as she breasts the channel entrance. I'd also take a video camera to record the event.

FWIW...

[Jennybug]

The marina has full facilities so the warm shower will be a cinch. More then likely they will be caling as soon as they have a signal. We want to be on the dock when they arrive. I cant wait!!!!!

[svHyLyte]

Take some pictures. I'm sure everyone would enjoy seeing the arrival.

FWIW...

s/v HyLyte

[bstreep]

Erika has it pretty well nailed - maybe a fresh margarita.

Hope to see y'all in the slip next to us tomorrow night!

[Jennybug]

The guys just CALLED and they will be here around 10 am tomorrow!!! I am still in shock that they had phone service...it was great to hear their voices. Malcolm & Dad both suffered from some sea sickness the first night (10-12' waves) and water over the bow..but the rest of the sail was calm.

Cant wait to hold him in my arms!! thanks everyone

[bstreep]

Sweet! Great news.

60 miles out is not uncommon for cell service - it's line of sight and there is nothing but the curvature of the earth in the way.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Jennybug

Now that the crew is getting closer to home can you suggest any goodies that we can have on hand when they arrive?...

svHyLyte's skipper had a cold bottle of champagne waiting for us, when we finally made landfall at Bradenton, FL at the end of our passage from St. Thomas. It's never too early for champagne!

[Jennybug]

Everyone is home safe and sound :-)

[SkiprJohn]

I've been watching your saga.
This, in no way is criticism.
Just a few experiences I might share with you. When I first joined the Navy I was 17. I got married on my 18th birthday. I went to sea 4 months later. Our communication was by letter and the ship received and sent out mail about once every two weeks. No email, no phone, no radio communications. Later, I went to Vietnam. I was there a year. One phone call. We got mail once every few days but my wife was not in the habit of writing often so somedays no mail at "mail call." Even in 70s and 80s while at sea we did not receive helicopter service to the ships but once a week so no mail was sent in or out. No email, no way spouses knew where we were because it was confidential.
If you are to be a seagoing family then it may just be that you'll need to relax a little bit more in order to enjoy the experiences that solitude can give you. You'll also be able to relish the experiences of your family members in absentia. There may be times you'll be at sea and they'll be at home. You certainly wouldn't want them to worry about you constantly.
Kindest of regards,

[Jennybug]

I want to apologize for posting so often during my husband's first voyage. I seem to have come across as a nimbicile, which I can assure you I am not. My husband and father had zero sailing experience when this trip began & my husband doesnt swim. After years of wanting our own boat this is an exciting time.

I want to thank those that followed the journey along with me. Your friendship and encouragement will not be forgotten.

Again, I apologize and will limit my posting going forward.

Respectfuly,
Jeniffer

[Bash]

I found the entire thread instructive. I've recently purchased a SPOT, planning to use it on my next sea kayak trip in Mexico, so that my students' parents, boyfriends, et cetera can track our progress. Two resolutions that I've gained from your response to the long silence: first, I'll instruct my TA to make certain I turn the thing on every morning before we get into the boats; second, I'll let everyone following us know that if it's not working there's a 98% chance of it being operator error, plus a 1.9% chance of equipment malfunction.

[Ocean Girl]

I had a lot of fun following your adventure. Friday, my friends at worked asked how you were doing. I got to share the happy news that they were home

We are a family of sailors who share a common bond for the love of the water. Here at CF we help each other. Last month these guys at CF had to talk me through a holding tank extraction. Could I of done this without the pep talk? yes, but sharing in the misery with fellow sailors made it a little less stinky.

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico is no small task. Your boys didn't cross a pond, they crossed the Gulf of Mexico. Be proud, they done good.

Don't curb your posts or your enthusiasm, the adventure has just begun!

Cheers,
Erika

[AK_sailor]

Jennybug,

No need whatsoever to either apologize or limit your posting! Those with Spot experience were able to post and share it, and those of us without Spot experience could read and learn something about it. All of us got to share in a good story with a happy ending.

Keep on enjoying the water, and keep on posting.

[Cyndimarcus]

I think the first passage is the most intimidating, and to have to wait shoreside, even more nervewracking.
Congratulations on a sucessfull passage.
It was good to "tag along".

[Jennybug]

Hey gang,

The guys arrived in Corpus Christi around 4:00 pm on Friday. When their adventure began the weather was pristine (hubby's exact words) then around midnight the other shoe dropped. For 36 hours they suffered through 10-12 foot waves and both were seasick. Between the two of them they could have opened their own floating pharmacy; therefore they tried several different types of remedies. My Dad took his RX the doctor gave him and my husband tried the ginger pills, neither worked very well. My husband actually said that once he stopped taking the ginger pills he felt a little better. At one point my father joked that if he saw a plane or helicopter he was going to jump ship (ha ha). The weather calmed at the 36 hr mark and that's when they started using the SPOT, which is why we didn’t hear from them the first few days. The rest of the trip was uneventful - they saw the dolphins that Ocean Girl mentioned as well as dozens of oilfield platforms. I believe they only had to motor the last day…but I will have to verify.

Even though they had a rough start it was agreed that the trip was a complete success. Between the three of them they had plenty of stories to tell which passed the time. It was interesting hearing stories from the prior owner who has enjoyed hundreds of adventures. He raced five times in the Tour De France, visited Cuba three times, worked with several famous rock bands and even met Liberace. Apparently he had tickets to see Elvis in Las Vegas but the concert was cancelled when Elvis died. The new headliner for the show was Liberace...too funny. We all wish the prior owner had stayed in Corpus longer but he had places to go and people to see. Hubby said that he was very down when they left the marina for the airport. Saying goodbye to his boat was hard and he was second guessing his decision to sell. We told him that we are family now and he didn’t need an invitation to visit. I know we will stay in touch as there is so much we still don’t know about the boat. So like Captain Ron...he disappeared as quickly as he arrived. He would like being compared to Captain Ron J

This coming weekend we plan to spend our first night together on the boat. I'm soooo excited!!!!! She needs a good thorough cleaning below deck & I can’t wait to go through every nook & cranny (did I spell that right?).

As far as the SPOT is concerned, I think it's worth its weight in gold. It calmed my fears tenfold. I would only recommend keeping the directions within reach of the SPOT just in case you question how it works. I also wouldn’t set it up to send coordinates every 10 minutes - that was a bit over-kill LOL. Play with it WELL before you plan to use it (at least 48 hours). We only used the tracking part and I know the silly thing does much, much more. It would be great if the SPOT could be set up to track via their website, as if someone on land could log on to the website and get coordinates without relying on the buttons to be pushed. I suppose a regular GPS would do the trick. We currently have one on our jeep...so it might be worth a try using it the next time the boat goes for a sail. We were using it to keep track of the teenagers in our home..but we quickly discovered they didn’t go anywhere outside the norm LOL. Damn kids behaved too well..it was no fun!!

Thank you for following the first of many adventures to come.

Jeniffer