Ingram Bayou to Fort Walton City Dock

Today’s blog is titled: “I’ve got some good news and bad news”

So....the good news is.....we are still on course for the Bahamas, we survived an artic blast and are still speaking to each other!!!

The bad news:  Now here you have to understand that this is coming from a “newby” cruiser....a so called ‘wanna be’ sailor.  I am in a serious learning curve about all things ‘nautical and live aboard’.   But my captain, God bless his little heart is saying, “Sheree, you are doing so great, I am so proud of you” when I am (in my mind) constantly messing things up.  OK, I get a lot of things right mind you, but this first mate thing is a real challenge if you’ve never done it.  Let me explain......there are 2 very important concerns about living aboard a boat:

 Power conservation (and shouldn’t we all be concerned about that?)

 Water conservation (ditto)

I feel that I am doing pretty well with #1...I only use my blow dryer or curling iron while underway when the engines are charging the batteries (maybe at some point I won’t worry about Boat Hair) and I use solar powered lights or the “flash light” feature on my phone after dark.  I cook on the propane stove when we are at anchor and am constantly asking Ken what I should do differently to conserve power.

Now to #2..... 

There is nothing so precious to a girl as water....it is liquid gold.....texas tea....oops sorry that was oil....Beverly Hillibillies.  Sometimes I get a bit crazy.  But really, water....to wash and rinse dishes, counter tops, clothes, body parts, hair.....the possibilities are endless and yet when we are at home with a faucet we have no thought of it ever running out.  But on a boat with a limited supply, every ounce of water is precious and must be used very expeditiously.  I have come up with a few ways to conserve our water supply (which we just ‘topped off’ at the Fort Walton City Dock).  I will get better as time goes by and my learning curve lessens but for now I am very motivated and determined to do my best and live within our means on this very incredible journey.

So, I guess that wasn’t really “bad news”, just what I’ve been learning.

We stayed last night at Spectre Island, which is a training area for the Air Force Commandos and we could hear the National Anthem being played from the base as we ate dinner.  Very cool, made me very proud to be so near our brave troops training to keep us safe.  It was bitter cold as I know it was for most of you but we stayed warm running the generator and central heat.  

Today we made a short run to the Fort Walton City Dock to get water and wait for the weather to get a bit calmer for our trip across Choctawatchee Bay, through Panama City, and on to Carabelle where we will be until weather permits a crossing to Tarpon Springs.  I am happy to say that I managed to snag the piling at the dock with the boat hook and a line while Ken kept Microship in position to dock fighting the wind and a strong following current.  We did it!  He encourages me and praises me which gives me more confidence for the next time.  

Well, time to go for now, we are going to get some restaurant food near the dock and then try to stay warm for the night.  Tomorrow, the adventure continues!  We will probably stay tomorrow night in the Panama City area.

Over....but not Out.

Captains Corner

Sheree and I decided to separate the boat and personal blogs.  I will be updating the Microship blog with boat and trip related items. Sheree will be updating her personal blog with her observations as a first time cruiser. You can read her blog at www.microshipfirstmate.blogspot.com