Heading North – Final Thoughts

May 31, 2021

For my first extensive cruising experience it had a lot of ups and downs. Lets get the negatives over with first.

1. No Worky’s
   • Stabilizers
   • Autopilot stopped working on a couple of occasions at the wrong possible time.
   • Periodic alert on main engine injector
   • Anemometer. Stopped working then healed thyself.
   • Pilothouse Air Conditioning (minor)
2. Bad Times
   • Scraping the “Bridge of Lions”. How embarrassing.
   • Scraping the “Bridge of Lions”. Really bad so I list it twice.
3. ICW
   • No rest for the wicked. Have to be on high alert at almost all times.
   • Limited anchorages
   • Shoaling and skinny water
   • Currents. Seems like they are always against you.
   • Holiday and weekend traffic suck. Seriously, what are these fools thinking?
4. Lack of Experience
   • Missing anchorages and routes
   • Boat handling with high traffic and “nautical” conditions

Now the good stuff.

• Cruising: I didn’t really have a chance to get into the cruising mode. There were a few places I would have liked to stay longer at anchor and explore with the tender or find a marina and look at the sights on land. Being on a tight schedule it was always go, go, go. I definitely had a little taste and want more.
• Open Ocean: I absolutely love going in the open ocean. I can relax, get up and walkaround darn near any time I’d like. I can even take a potty break. No worries about running aground and can even work on the computer or do quick engine room checks. At 8 knots and a clear radar it would take 15 minutes to even come close to running into anything. Crab pots being the exception.
• ICW: If I wasn’t on a tight schedule the ICW would be a little more enjoyable. I could slow down and take advantage of marinas and do shorter days. Now that I have more experience, it is getting easier to pilot the boat and navigate. While there are some cool things to see, there is a lot of the same old, same old.
• Anchoring: I just love anchoring out. You are mostly by yourself and you can chose when to leave and where to drop the hook. Even for the not so great spots it was nice to have that control. Some anchorages were awesome either because it was easy in, easy out or just a beautiful spot to be at.

I am starting to feel more comfortable operating the boat and getting to know her. Once I get a few problems fixed I will have confidence that I can go anywhere with her without worry. That being said, she is still a lot of boat. It is still fun but a challenge to keep up with everything that needs to be done. I think this will get easier over time as well. I am going to take a small break and figure out what is next and begin my summer adventure.