We spent last night docked in Cape Canaveral just near the cruise ships. It’s a busy place but a good staging spot. It’s our plan to head out to the ocean today and make our way east.
East is tough since the trade winds continually blow from that direction. It’s impossible to sail into the wind so we need to tack back and forth to try to make distance up wind. I remember in 2012 when someone said “the trades are blowing today” and we had no idea – today we have much better knowledge of exactly what that means.
In 2012-13 we followed a route referred to as “the thorny path” which took us through the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico then to the Virgins. It involved quite a bit of time and planning. This time we hope to travel from Florida directly to either Puerto Rico or US Virgin Islands. The weather forecast looks good and the backup plan is to stop in the northern Bahamas and wait for another weather window if necessary. Either destination is inviting at this point.
Friday morning we watched Orion take off. We were among a large group watching from the Max Brewer bridge in Titusville. We were with many of the same people we had seen Thursday morning when the launch was ultimately scrubbed. There was a great deal of excitement and we were happy to be there.
Since our last post we made another quick cross country trip,
Washington and Michigan. We spent November 12th just touring around Seattle with Seattle Free Walking Tours. It was a great way to learn a bit about the city.
Sarah graduated from Fire Academy in Tacoma on the 13th. She is a proud member of East Side Fire and Rescue and we were proud parents to see her receive her badge!
She and Kristi bought a house in Bellingham.
We visited Brian and Katie in Sedro Wooley discussed plans for Adventure Cascades and did some cool exploring with them on Fir Island where we were treated to an amazing flight of Snow Geese.
We also made a quick stop in Michigan for a little business, medical stuff and family visiting. We always regret not being able to connect with more friends and family. We do want everyone to know we are thinking of them and do welcome visitors!
Jim and Tammy
After arriving back in Florida we enjoyed a great Thanksgiving g dinner with our friends Jim and Tammy of Sweet Chariot. We first met them inLuperon DR and last saw them in Non Such Bay Antigua. Amazing to once again reconnect at their new home in Melbourne!
We spent the rest of the past month or so readying Echo and ourselves to head off shore. We’re all provisioned up, have loads of spares and full fuel tanks. We have strung the jack lines, secured things needing securing, tested all systems and feel like we’re ready. We even have a few bottles of champagne on board and plan to reinforce our “renaming” just to ensure proper respect to all those forces we hope work in our favor. Want to make sure all bases are covered.
We’ve been checking weather and asked our weather guy, Chris Parker to weigh in on our plan. We use several weather resources and will have regular updates while under way.
The route is pretty much what we did last spring from PR to Florida just reversed. It was a great down wind sail then, we will see how this way goes.
It is about 1000 nautical miles and we anticipate an 8 or 9 day journey unless we have to stop in the Bahamas. Our Delorme will be broadcasting our location and can be viewed by clicking on “Echo Location” under the Location tab on the right side of this screen.
Maybe we will catch some fish in the Gulf Stream this time, got some new fishing tackle and have freezer space available!
~Jeff and Mary~
Christmas lights on the space coast
Mary and Jeff,
Sounds like life is good and enjoyed seeing the pictures and the video. Got your package, Mary, and can’t wait for the unveiling party! Thanks for thinking of all of us and stay in touch! We will be leaving Port Canaveral on a 7-day eastern/western Caribbean cruise from 2-15 – 2-22. Watch for RC Freedom of the Seas and we will keep our eyes posted for Echo!
Karen
Glad it arrived Karen, like to be part of the group from afar. We’ll have to touch base on your cruise itinerary, who knows where we’ll be by then.
Stay safe!
Sounds as if things are going well south of here! You know what they say, “The lower the latitude, the better the attitude.” Would you concur? I had lunch with your sister-in-law, Kim, last Tuesday at “It’s a Matter of Taste” We were attending a financial seminar & I thoroughly enjoyed our time together; pure happenstance. Our son, Jairus, is a Battalion Chief in the Kalamazoo Township Fire Department & loves his job. Jeff, he got his B.S. degree in Flight Science from the College of Aviation at Western Michigan University in 2006. However, his time as a paid on call firefighter morphed into his passion. We’re thrilled that he is doing what he loves to do. (Selfishly speaking, I just wish that he would have made his mind up sooner before we paid for all of that gas for the airplane. 🙁 ) Would you really love visitors to come and spend time with you on your ship as you stated in this post? It sounds idyllic! BTW, your video of the launch of Orion was amazing! What wonderful timing. TTFN, ~Eldred & Belinda
We would love to have you visit! Please email me at mepernick@gmail.com and I’ll provide a way to communicate that doesn’t require Internet for us. I’ll tell Sarah about Jairas, sounds like he’s doing great. We agree on being happy for our kids following their passions.