Saturday afternoon we got the outboard motor for the dinghy back, it runs like a champ. We took it for a little spin around the marina, looking at the other boats docked there, and deemed it fit as a fiddle.
Sunday we filled up with water and fuel, pumped out our holding tanks and headed back out onto Pensacola Bay. This time the weather was much nicer than ten days before. We raised the sails and had a great sail across the bay and all the way back to Redfish Point across from Pensacola NAS. We dropped anchor about 2:30. We were going to have a little swim before having a late lunch. Susan was already in the water before I was ready and then we saw the jelly fish all around us. I pointed the way for her to get back to the boat and avoid them, which worked until she got to the swim ladder when one stung her all up and down her right leg. Our test is inconclusive on whether meat tenderizer helps with jelly fish stings but we tried it. So much for a swim.
We had our late lunch, took a little nap and picked up our anchor for our first overnight passage. Nervous! At 5:12 PM we passed through the Pensacola Bay Inlet and made our way out to the Gulf of Mexico. Once we cleared the channel we turned East and took a heading direct to Panama City, approximately 90 miles away. We tried to sail but the winds were so light we were only making 2.5 kts so we dropped the sails, turned on the iron sail and motored. The farthest we were ever off shore was 4 or 5 miles so we could always see lights to our north but it was pitch black to our south. It was a long night. The weather was fine but it's a bit unnerving when you can't see what's in front of you. About 2:30 the moon finally came up and gave a little light. We took turns at the helm but had the autopilot on all night. Neither one of us slept much, maybe an hour and a half or two hours all night but it was good to see the sun rise in the morning.
We finally caught up with Ted and Claire on Another Life. As we motored by the Panama City Marina they were out to wave and welcome us to Panama City. It was 9:00 AM, almost 16 hours since we left Pensacola Bay, when we pulled up into Massalina Bayou and dropped our anchor. First order of business, a shower. Second order of business, a nap.
Just after noon we got in our dinghy and headed over to the marina to get with Ted and Claire. About 150 feet away from our boat the dinghy motor died. It's amazing how much better they run if you connect the fuel line. That accomplished, we made it to Another Life with no further issues. We had a great time catching up and comparing stories on our adventures to date. The place we had lunch was beginning to think we were going to spend the night.
More has happened since then but I'll put that in another post rather than make this one any longer.
Take care.
Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment