We have been vacillating between training and waiting.  Let me explain.  At least once a week we have been going out into the ICW or actually GICW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) learning how to anchor and navigate.  Sometimes we stay in the marina waters and learn how to dock.  Captain Dana ( http://www.captdana.com ) is a wonderful teacher.  If you ever buy a boat and need one-on-one training, Captain Dana’s the captain for you!

First Training Day – Wayne and Captain Dana

Wayne is a natural!  He maneuvers the engines like a pro.  When parking the boat you use the engines to go forward, neutral, backward to place the boat where you want it.  Slowly!  No throttle necessary.  When you want to pivot into the slip, you put one engine in reverse and the other in forward.  The boat moves accordingly.  How’s that for physics.  He has docked (parked) our Always Home back in our slip every time after the first lesson.  He has parallel docked our boat in practice so we know what to expect is we end up on an end slot at a marina in the future.

With Captain Dana’s guidance, we have taken the boat out to practice “anchoring”. Of course, the first time we tried to anchor was a windy day.  We went to Jewfish Key anchorage area about 10 nautical miles away.  It is a local favorite.  A sandbar is close enough for shell collecting, fishing, or swimming.  We didn’t get close to the sandbar.  We wanted to swing and sway away from everyone incase the anchor didn’t hold.

Leaving the marina for our first Anchor training.

Our First anchor spot. How grand is this?

I was on the end of the pulpit swaying with the waves and being buffeted about with the wind that I didn’t feel the “tug” that folks describe when the anchor sets.  I was busy trying to figure out how to put a anchor bridal on the chain.  It is a length of rope with a hook that you attach to the anchor chain to help keep the strain of the anchor off the very end of the boat.  Instead the bridal shares the strain with the boat by attaching to the two front cleats not just the pulpit or pointy thing that sticks out in front.  This meant I was on my stomach with one hand on the boat and one hand on the rope and hook.  Sounds easy until you remember that it was windy, wavy, and I don’t normally crawl around on my belly like a reptile.  Fun times.

Wayne said he could tell the anchor was set.  But I wasn’t so sure.  After a nerve wracking lunch, we pulled up the anchor and headed back to the marina.  Exhausted!  First times are always exciting and stressful at the same time.

We needed to practice this again.  So, we did…

Anchor spot 2: See the purple building?

Nice spot.  We went north again along the GICW looking for deep enough water to anchor in.  We ended up coming back toward the marina just opposite the “Purple Buidling”.  The purple building is a Sarasota landmark.  It is the Van Wezel Perfroming Arts Hall.  The color does make the building stand out whether on land or sea.  If I look with binoculars the buildings around it are also painted bright lime, orange, and pinks.  I figure it is all about the surrounding color scheme.  We were in 8 feet of water.  Plenty for us to anchor, have lunch, pull up the anchor and head back to the marina.  This time everything went smoother.  Practice does help a great deal!

Our latest trip out was to reinforce navigation using our new chart plotter.  Another gorgeous day.  Glad we had sunglasses on.  The water was really glaring.

Early December 2014 going North on the GICW.

If you wonder why every time we go venturing out the weather is perfect.  It is done on purpose.  We check at least 3 different weather sources to make sure the wind isn’t too brisk, the waves are not too high, nor rain in the forecast.  Perfect weather to get the best training.  Once we are on our own, we will be continually selective about the weather and water conditions before throwing our lines or pulling up anchor.  Right?

Waiting?  Waiting for the marine contractors to show up and work on the boat.  We don’t know when they are going to arrive nor what days.  This is “marina time”.  If another boat has an emergency, our name steps down a peg until their emergency is corrected.  We understand.  We are about 95% complete now on the submitted items.  Electrical work, plumbing, and installation of a washer/dryer.

Splendide – vented washer/dryer

No more laundry mats!  This is awesome little tool Wayne is very happy about.  It washes and drys in the single machine.  Small loads.  We bought a vented machine so it actually dries towels and my jeans.  This machine is commonly found in RV’s.  In fact, an RV supplier delivered our machine to the marina.  We had some strong young men help heft it up and over the back rail.

Our little boat is becoming more and more our “Always Home”…..

Always Home – our name is on the back of the boat, now.