Football, E-bay and all things American

First I have to appologize for the formatting of those pictures and this text. Sorry about that.

Today I celebrate my two month anniversary. We are sitting here stationary in sunny Florida, having missed the tornadoes and drunk football fans that can be equally as destructive. Having no computer from which to update regularly I feel it necessary to bring everyone up to speed as to our whereabouts and our many misadventures.

My last post was from Beaufort NC where I spent a few days in the coffee shop, charging cell phones and thinking of creative ways to describe our leaky window, which has now been termed Niagra. Along the way there have been some great successes as well as some utter disappointment, and one sleepless night on the tiller I realized that it was most practical to let Moxie have an appropriate retirement in warmer waters. Originally the plan was to sail her back to New York City and live on her, but as some of you already know I was not accepted to the teaching fellowship and so my New York days are a thing of the past. I joined the millions and put Moxie up for sale on E-bay. Skeptical about the results I spent a day with Will Davies drafting an ad that described our many leaks as simply a boat that weeps moisture. There was instant gratification as we watched the view counter rise at an alarming pace. The bids began to roll in and within a day I had a call from a serious bidder located in the Bahamas. The real surprise about this auction was the terms on which I was selling her. You see I had sailed a good portion of the East Coast in the middle of winter and I was not about to get this far and give up the true reward of warm water and cheap rum. The terms detailed that I was not willing to give up the boat for another two and a half months. Of course as soon as the bid was over a good 25% of the winning bid had to be paid. So with a good chunk of change in hand I now have the rest of the trip financed, thank you E-bay.

I picked up two new crew members in Myrtle beach. Mac and Sam, two Maine boys in search of surf and adventure. After a day or two in the ICW getting used to each other we were finally able to jump off shore and make some real miles. We left Charleston and headed off 25 miles and pointed straight to Jacksonville. The wind was perfect and around 3 AM I found myself thinking about the first night off shore with Greg and Dave. I wish that both of them could be onboard now to take a turn on the tiller and relish in the knowledge that they both made this possible. Without the two of them putting in some long cold nights with hands frozen battling huge seas, none of this would be possible. Thank you both.

After a quick stop in Jacksonville for Sam to grab a hideous straw sun hat from Walmart, we spent a day and motored to St. Augustine where we were escorted in to town by two lovely dolphins. Anchoring for the night seemed fine until a late arrival dropped their hook a little close to us. Shortening our anchor line later proved to be the wrong decision as we dragged anchor and collided with a yacht in the middle of the night. Why does everything have to happen in the middle of the night. Problems never seem to occur during daylight hours, that would just be too easy. At least that was my thought until our off shore leg to Palm Beach. Conditions were great and we were sailing along fine at 5 knots, a slight heel and all was good in the world. The lights of Cape Canaveral kept us company overnight and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be sailing by as a shuttle took off. Along with dawn came the lightening of the winds and we began to motor down the coast of Florida. There is no need to go in to detail here but lets just say our head (toilet) had reached its capacity. It took a few hours to clean up and get ourselves rehydrated. A quick ocean swim helped with the clean up and we were underway again until a clangy metallic sound began to vibrate from the engine. So much for problems only happening at night.

60 miles away from Palm Beach we discovered the water pump had chewed trough the bearing and was rendered useless. Luckily the winds began to peak and we were under a full set of canvas once again. Overnight our progress continued and we sailed in to Palm Beach at dawn and sailed on to the hook just in time for a morning dip.

I apologize for the length of this post but I must take a minute to say thank you to the hosts of what has been a four day super bowl party. Arriving in Palm Beach I had no idea how long our search for a new water pump would take but we have once again had the good fortune of landing in the hands of gracious friends. The Gerwig family has put up the Moxie crew, supplied us with warm showers, comfy beds and amazing culinary creations, the likes of which can only be described as Southern Hospitality. This trip would not be possible without the help from so many along the way. We are close to our jumping off point where we will them head to the Bahamas. We have made some critical last stops; the fishing store, the barber, and of course Tony’s, this amazing Jamaican spot serving up the best grub outside of the Gerwig residents.

Next stop Bahamas!