Back on land - We made it !

Wow - land and beer sure are good to be around! Rob even flew down to join us in Florida as we arrived. After skirting along the Bahamas for several days, including getting close enough so we could hold a Kindle high in the air and get the Mpls newspaper on wireless, we landed at Riviera Beach, Florida at 7 in the morning after 37 days and nights at sea. Yes, we are still friends. More about the homecoming below; first a little more about our voyage back across the ocean. The one thing we could not do with our "at sea" blog postings was include photos or videos, so here you go -

After a good night's sleep we were even happier!

Here are some fun, short videos that show life at sea. Some are narrated and some are narrated by the noise of the wind...

We had the wonderful pleasure of being visited by a group of dolphins for about 30 minutes one afternoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDS9PbhyX4

We wrote about being becalmed. Here's what that looks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74sBxUT4xS4

Here is a clip from one lovely afternoon where we were flying the spinnaker and making nice progress. When Pat ordered the spinnaker he asked Rob to design the colored panels. You will hear Natalie Cole's Christmas CD playing in the background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6i5CoIP-oQ

Of course, not every day was that nice! On the worst days, it was all we could do to manage ourselves and the boat. On the not-quite-the-worst days, we could shoot some short clips. Here is Pat hand steering us through a 30 minute rain squall. It rained so hard that I grabbed the soap and took a deck shower - no video exists of that - you will be glad to know:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAL7DMCKS70

Sometimes the wind came from mostly behind us. That made for smoother sailing and a more comfortable ride. We often found flying fish on deck in the mornings. This clip ends with a look at one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6bZ-T5yQkE

And, some days we sailed mostly into the wind. That made for lots of waves and noise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ACpSUZdaBw

Some days were flat-out beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zPYeXtPrB8

A couple interesting facts - we went 37 days and nights without sleeping more than three hours at a stretch. We both are good nappers and will find staying awake all day at work a challenge! Our days really only lasted from 10 a.m. till 7 p.m.. Someone was almost always sleeping from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. as we alternated watches. Our favorite time of day was 4 to 7 p.m. when we cooked dinner, listened to music, talked and shared our feelings (!), and watched the many gorgeous sunsets.

Since dinner was our favorite meal - and our only hot meal of the day - here are some dinner shots:

The white brick is tofu waiting to be cubed.

We baked bread in a muffin pan to reduce the cooking time.

Here we have Thai coconut rice with tofu and chickpeas ready to serve in our beloved dog bowls.

Cleanup was usually just one pan and our dog bowls. Here they are set out to dry overnight.

Speaking of night, going out on deck was not a big deal, but going out on deck at night was always a little more tense. Here is Pat out clearing a fouled line under the glow of the overhead deck light.



 We tried to avoid rain squalls and their usual high winds but they moved at 30 mph and we could only go about 5 mph... Later in the trip when the boat was entirely salt encrusted we did look forward to a good rinsing rain.

Yup, that is rain up ahead!

We only saw ships in the early and late part of our trip. They usually avoided us but we did have a couple closer than we would like calls, including a cruise ship we had to motor around!


We are really glad we didn't hit this guy.



Even the best of friends run out of things to talk about after a month together.



Here is the information center in the back of the cockpit. The bottom screen is the gps and radar. The top left is the autopilot, next is the depth and speed, the round one is the remote control for the radio/stereo, and the upper right is the wind speed and angle meter.

Now, back to our arrival - after a night of cold, windy, rainy sailing we arrived in Riviera Beach, Florida. We were met by Rob, Mary, and Peggy with a silver banner and hot coffee! We unloaded the boat and did some other chores and then had a great seafood dinner with other members of Pat and Rob's family. The next day we had the boat lifted out of the water and later it will be shipped on a flatbed truck back to Minnesota.


The three sailors would like to thank each and every one of you who followed our trip and shared your thoughts, messages and energy. We loved the comments we got, the visits to the boat, and the help you gave us and our spouses back home. We owe a world of thanks to Michele, Mary and Peggy and will always be grateful for their support and forebearance...

Mother, mother ocean,
I have heard you call,
Wanted to sail upon your waters,
Since I was three feet tall.

Jimmy Buffet – A Pirate Looks At Forty


We hope that your dreams - and the dreams of others you help nurture - can all come true like ours did.


Rob, Pat, Tom