Back at the Dock - Home Port!!!

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YES.  I am back at the dock at Crandon Park Marina, Key Biscayne, Florida.


I really did KISS the dock when I arrived!!

What a terrific sense of accomplishment and pride I feel.  At the same time I am overwhelmed by a mix of emotions - including:  happiness, sadness, joyfulness, and a sense of how lucky I am to have had this experience and to have returned safe and sound from where I began this trip 259 days ago!!

For the past several days I have enjoyed nice, warm, sunny weather, which has afforded me ample opportunity to reflect on my trip as I finished up the last 100 or so miles to Miami.

I am thankful for so many things and so many people - here's a short list of some of the things I'm most thankful for:

Family including:
  • Janet
  • Mom/Dad
  • Kids:  Rich/Kendra, Carolyn/Phil, Megan/Mike
  • PENNY!!!
  • Monica Katzenberger
Family I met and visited along the way:
  • Susan/Bobby - Rob/Dana - Reagan/Hayden - Chris & Chris - Ariana & JT - Matt
  • Mark & Alice
  • Michael/Carline - Danielle, Mike, Nicky, Jackie, Joey
  • Sister Christine
  • Aunt Marie
  • Cousin Lisa/Joey and Antoinette
  • Joanne and George
  • Cousin Jerry
  • Cousin Marybeth and Cousin Donny and Kevin
Other significant friends along the way:
  • Erik/Peg Petersen
  • Paul/Teresa Hansen
  • Rich Z
  • Mitch
  • Kevin McMahan
  • Ted Bayer
  • Brian and Dana from Maryland Transmission
  • Chris and Chris from the S/V 'Scintilla'
  • Dobbs & Suzanne - 'Sailing Gracefully'
  • Ron - S/V 'Tranquility'
  • Ken & Bob from Brunswick Marina - big help when boat was down
  • Bob Lomnicky - long time friend of mine and Dad - and boat neighbor at Crandon Park
  • John Williams - owns identical 'twin' boat to 'Green Ayes'
  • Terry and Moe from Marine Mechanics at Crandon Park
  • Thumper - he's a legend that works with Pacific SeaCraft
  • Hank - He provides navigation briefing at Southport Marina, NC to help ICW cruisers through the 'skinny water' spots
  • Bob423 - Never met the guy but his navigation resources helped me safely navigate the ICW
I have had my share of CHALLENGES along the way - here's a list...
  • Engine overheating 1st day of the trip
  • Running aground - twice over the course of the trip - soft groundings - no harm done... in the cruising community they say there are two types of people - those who admit to running aground - and those who lie...
  • Taking on water at sea - 3rd day of the trip and bilge pump not working - YIKES!
  • Submerged jetty near off shore entrance to St Mary's River - thanks to the local fisherman who saved my ass!
  • Rounding Cape Hatteras at night.  Lightning storm and eerie weather at sea that night.
  • Lost propeller at Cape May - found it!!!
  • Screaming sail in to Port Jefferson Harbor with 25+ knot winds and big waves
  • Transmission failure - the first time
  • Transmission failure - the second time
  • Broken shift cable
  • Haul boat and replace loose cutless bearing after getting towed to Daytona Beach
People always ask me what has been my favorite part of the trip.  Too hard to pick one thing.  Here's a list of some of the highlights:
  • Overnights at sea
  • Sailing with a nice breeze
  • Sunrise/Sunset
  • Stars and the night sky
  • Fog
  • Rain//Thunder/Lightning
  • Windy days/Calm days
  • Big waves/flat seas
  • Quiet, secluded anchorages
  • Busy, friendly anchorages
  • History I learned and discovered all up and down the coast
  • Diversity of people and culture along my route
  • Frost on the boat
  • Beef Bouillon Cubes - when it got cold on me
  • Jogging as often as I could for exercise and to explore
  • Golf and Tennis - I played both several times
  • My guitar - you'll never here me play-  but I put on several solo concerts while anchored at night
  • My visits home - well timed - nice breaks and glad to be home from time to time
  • High Tide - gets me over the shallow spots
I visited so many great places and stayed in more than 120 different locations along the way as I traveled 4,000 nautical miles - here is a list of a few I really enjoyed:
  • Maine - Acadia National Park
  • Long Island Sound
  • Chesapeake Bay
  • Block Island/Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket
  • New Bedford - loved learning about the history of whaling
  • New London/Mystic/Stonington
  • The Dismal Swamp
  • Myrtle Beach/Hilton Head
  • Savannah/Charleston
  • Brunswick Marina
  • Biscayne Bay
I also experienced so much natural beauty along the way - like:
  • Seagulls/Pelicans/Eagles in full flight/other seabirds of all kinds
  • Dolphin - tons of them
  • Manatee/Alligators
  • Flying Fish
  • Whales
  • Mangroves
  • Palm Trees and Coconuts
  • Moss covered trees
  • Sandy Beaches
Thanks to those of you who have followed my BLOG.  I have enjoyed spending the time organizing my thoughts, ideas, and also photos as I worked on my postings.  I appreciate your interest in my experience.

I'm gonna hang out in Miami for a bit now at my homeport.  Then I'll head home for a bit then to Seattle to visit Rich/Kendra/Carolyn/Phil.

Then back to the boat and a bit more of a cruise to the Florida Keys and the Bahamas!!!

Here's a few other pictures from the last few days...

A beautiful sunrise over the palm tress at Jupiter Island...


Another neat lighthouse to show the way...


This guy was waiting at the dock for me when I arrived...


And - A glimpse of my sail today from Ft Lauderdale offshore to Miami... Click on this link



Comments

  1. MonicaFebruary 15, 2019 at 2:33 PM

    Having trouble

    ReplyDelete
  2. MonicaFebruary 15, 2019 at 2:38 PM

    Better now.
    Truly a wonderful and exciting trip for you. So many great comments and plenty of details. Loved the photos, the history, the many friends— old and new, and all your adventures- beautiful, scary, and fulfilling. Hope it is all a “ breeze” now and you have a lovely time. 💓

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joe KatzenbergerFebruary 27, 2019 at 4:50 PM

    Wow, what an incredible journey Rich! At work we have a shop right outside my door that has a 10 ton hoist and repairs equipment every day, but to do it in the water on a boat? UNBELIEVABLE! Great job pulling this off and not giving up! So great to see all the beautiful pics: sea, sky and people! Looking forward to seeing more! Love to all! Joe

    ReplyDelete

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