Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:38 pm
Here it is 20 days later and we are in a slip at Harbortown Marina in Ft Pierce, Fl. Been here since last Friday. I didn't do too well with the trip reports, did I? It is so easy to get caught up in the rush to get to warmer weather especially when you have a tropical bird on board. The old girl did just fine, total hours put on engines = 99.5, most at 1200 RPMs, burned 234 gallons of fuel and traveled 811 miles by the GPS. Have not added a drop of oil in engines, trannies or generator since we left home. My F-36 is not a cold weather boat. I had to duck tape plastic over the salon windows to keep the heat in. Even with 2 electric and 1 propane heater going, we could not heat it north of Beaufort, SC. And the salon side storage cabinets are wide open to the outdoors. Overall the trip down was enjoyable but a lot of hard work. We had no mishaps, groundings, dragged anchors or collisions. I have learned tricks to make an anchor hold with short scope in a crowded anchorage, and did my first Bahamian style anchoring in Beaufort, SC. We spent our first night on a mooring ball in St Augustine. We have met great folks everywhere and the scenery is indescribable. We have loads of pictures that I'll try to put on photobucket a little later so you can look if you like.