Well fellow Sailors, on 25 Aug at high noon we shoved off from
Pensacola and made the 700+\- NM trip to Corpus Christi. Took us 6 days which included an overnight at the
Cyprus Cove Marina on the
Mississippi River for
repairs and sleep. The 1st day was beautiful. The 1st night was hairy. 6-8' seas, 16-25kt winds directly off our stern, the main boom constantly jibing every time we rolled through a wave until we lasso'd and tied it down.
A full moon every night. I had the midnight to 4am watch for the duration of the trip and I must admit, the
Bimini folded back, standing at the
helm alone, under a full moon, tethered in of course,
steering by the stars, staying on course with the
compass and
GPS, working the
sails from the
cockpit, the occasional wave coming over the bow was such a F'g GREAT experience that I am hooked for life.
The
boat performed exceptionally well. The
bilge pump check valve was so corroded the flapper was no longer attached so the
water just came back in. The vent hose for the
propane locker had a finger size hole in it and filled the rear lazerette with sea
water.....that freaked me out a little. But we bailed and bailed and bailed until we figured out the problem, fixed it and kept moving.
The middle days of the trip were dead calm. No
wind, no waves, the water so glassy you could see yourself in it's reflection. Shrimp feeding on the surface everywhere around us made me wish I had a net for some fresh shrimp while underway.
The last days of the trip the
wind and waves picked up again and we made 8+ knots coming through Port Aransas with an incoming tide. We rocked and rolled coming across Corpus Christi bay as the wind driven waves picked up and we finally tied off at 9pm in our permanent slip.
The
boat is now safely moored in the Corpus Christi Marina while we're back at
work. Counting the days until we can get back in November to take her out again and continue with some small
repairs.
The plan is to get her paid off in two years, get her outfitted for Cruising and start our adventure in 3 years.