One Girls Ocean Challenge

February 28, 2011

Tim here. Just having a look at some of Diane’s Coconut Grove comments. And stumbled across this posting from before she headed out to sea. Left to me (Tim) to post. I regret the tardy post, but a timely shout out to the great people and hot showers at that Diane has thought of on more than one occasion the past ten days. Still, at about 11pm Monday evening Diane is 150 mn out from the hot showers.

Diane writes: February 18, 2011-02-19

What a great day! I just can’t thank the people here at enough for all their support, help and encouragement. From arranging a mooring ball, shuttling me back and forth to the truck with gear, sorting me out so I could do my laundry and making everything flexible around my times, I just can’t tell you how amazing they have been. I’ve been meeting all sorts of wonderful people.

Today was a particularly great day as I got off the mooring ball and went out sailing out in Biscayne Bay. It’s amazing that I didn’t run aground. It’s very easy to get lost in your sailing out here. On Lake Ontario you can sail for miles and miles and not worry about running aground. Here It’s a whole different story. My first mission was to calibrate the autopilot without running aground and without hitting any other boats. The breeze was out of the east and there was a little chop, but I managed a full calibration mode. Now the boat computer is working perfectly.

My laptop on the other hand is dying a quick an painful death. Some letters aren’t working on my keyboard: e, c and d. {If this post is wildly inaccurate, it’s my (Tim’s) attempt to fix things caught by the spell checker with a pseudo random application of “c”s, “d”s & “e”s. I presume this is the keyboard she was going to wash the salt water out of or wash out with salt water.)

Next after getting the computer calibrated, it was time to go find my channel. Holy cow, just a boat length on the wrong side of the channel markers and instantly out of water. Most of the time, throughout the bay I have only about a foot or two under the keel. Then after hking (?) out the channel I put the kite up and started to make my way back to Dinner Key Channel. Talk about easily distracted, I was pleasantly sailing along with the kite up and all of a sudden THERE WAS THE BOTTOM! Zero under the keel. Quick… BAIL OUT! Apparently they call this “middle ground”. Poorly chart so they say! Yikes!

Then it was time to come in before dark. Grab the mooring ball an safely back on my mooring for tomorrow. After doing a little laundry, it was time for dinner.

I met a very nice man who drives a pilot boat. He’s originally from Montreal but has been here since the late 70s. He loves it that much! We went to a seafood house on the Miami river, ate mahi mahi and watched the tugs push and pull the small freighters up and down the river.

This morning I’ll fill the water jugs and check the tide info but it looks like I’ll set off around noon to cross the gulf stream tonight. Low tide in Biscayne Channel will be at fifteen thirty five so I need to be out of the channel by then. Apparently my three button is not working also! (“either” as one with a working keyboard might say.)

Here are some pictures of yesterday… you’re officially up and on duty now… thanks a million!!! ☺ [Think that was directed at me (Tim) to keep the blog entries flowing and all Diane’s readers up to date.]