Where is Serenity

Date: May 12th, 2008
Location: Anchored off of Mangrove Key , FL, USA
Coordinates: 25.21290, -80.19422
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 97F, wind 20-25K from W
(Small Craft Warning)
Sea State: 0 to 1 foot waves with variable chop

This morning it was my turn to make breakfast. I boiled some potatoes and made hash browns with scrambled eggs and sausage. The meal seemed to go over well. We had a problem with the starboard engine not starting this morning. Turned out that the battery was dead. We took the battery off the port engine and used it to start the starboard one. Then moved the battery back to the port engine. We then connected the battery back the now running starboard engine. The battery charged and the starboard engine now seems to be starting fine. Also, the water accumulator that is used the to supply us with freash water sprun a leak. The leak was bad enough that when I awoke this morning the cushions I sleep on were wet. I was a little concerned for a moment that I had had an accident. We tried to repair the accumulator with epoxy but it did not work. No problem, we just turn the system on when we need water and turn it off when we do not.

After breakfast and the impromptu practical on board maintenance session we when over more navigation. I told the instructor CJay that I was enjoying the material and he told me he was going into more detail than most instructors. But he felt it was no good to know how to sail if you did not know how to get from place to place safely. He also told us we are now 10 percenters. Apparently only 10 percent of boaters ever seek any type of educational classes or certifications. A little scary if you think about it.

Around noon I manned the helm as Scot and the other students worked to raise the anchor. I then pilotted us out of the anchorage under  Rickenbocker Causeway and South down the Intercoastal Waterway. I stayed at the helm as the others hoisted the main and about 90% of the
jib. The winds soon increased to around 20 to 25 knots. CJay had me heave too so that a reef could be put into the mainsail. There are several reef points on the sail and each one reduces the size of the sail to prevent over powering the vessel in strong winds. I continued to steer for quite a while until Scot relieved me so that I could eat lunch. We had fajitas using the left over steak from last night. Scot then got to man the helm as we practiced tacking and gybing. As we approached our destination, the wind strengthened to the point where CJay felt we should not continue practicing any more maneuvers. Greg, another student drove as Scot and I dropped the anchor. We are now anchored in five feet of water just off of Mangrove Key. For dinner tonight we had pork chops and asparagus.

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