"Come Sail Away" - Styx

After Nevada time flew by. I was packing and getting everything ready for my sailing adventure. It is hard to pack everything you may need for 6 months. I was busy visiting family, coxing in Charleston (like I had never left) and catching up with friends. And of course mandatory visits to Skins and Grouchos. The time flew by and soon it was time to head back to Charleston for the haul out. I met Sheila, Capt. Bruce's wife, and Jay, the other deck hand, and we got to work. We pulled the boat out of the water, sanded and painted the hull and sides. We cleaned the inside packed and organized all our supplies and got everything ready. Too soon I was meeting all the guys for the sail down and saying goodbye to my family.

The sail down the coast was fantastic on the beautiful Bahama Star. I have never seen so many of the places we went and I have never sailed down a coast especially when its 4 am and there is not a soul to see or land or boats of any kind. The stars, as you can imagine, were the most brilliant and beautiful things I have ever seen the wind a brittle cold even wearing everything in my swollen suitcase. The group we sailed down with were great. There was a group of 8 guys that Bruce is close to and they all try and do the sail down and back up every year. All the guys know Bruce somehow or another. There was Don who is a pirate at heart. He would arrr and wear a johnny rogers on everything and had his hair braided with sculls. He even had a business card that said “cargo redistribution and rum disposal specialist” (apparently the politically correct description of a pirate). Then there was Richard who wants to be on Survivor and that is the best way to describe him. He is the active older guy who seems to know and has done everything.

Wayne who was the techno guy who brought his own gps and would constantly update us on every movement and degree turn. Pennsylvania Pete who had the long if not graying hair and was always a character to talk to and very entertaining. Naked Pete, who thankfully did not live up to his name, Ron, who was tanner than everybody yet felt the need to sit up at the bow and soak up the sun in his speedo no matter how cold it still was, and Jerry who would tell great stories about his mishaps in the navy. There was Doug who I got along with really well. He loved to travel and him and his wife have done so many crazy things I always enjoyed talking to him. Crazy thing was when Cody met him before we left it turns out they knew each other. Cody went with Doug on some boy scouts canoeing trip years ago! Small world. Then there was Charlie who is around my age and actually staying on for a month as extra crew, and Jay who has been great to work with. We are sharing the tiniest cabin and getting close (by force) very quickly. I should take the time to try to describe Captain Bruce. He is an out going crazy and fun guy who has more stories than anyone I have met, exaggerates the perfect amount to make any story goose laugh worthy. He has a strong love for dancing and is just the most joyful person I know. There is also probably no other captain who knows the Bahamas better since he has been sailing them for 30+ years and makes everything look easy.

So we set sail saturday morning and two dolphins swam with our bow as we left the Charleston harbor! Supposably a very good sign. We were off towards Florida and a long night of sailing. We took turns doing 2 hour watches in groups of 2 (which works out well since there are 12 of us). After the first night out at sea with strong winds right against us I decided at dinner if I don't throw up tonight I am defiantly not going to get sea sick all season. I haven't been that worried about it because I have never gotten sea sick before but I also haven't been that far out to sea before and my sister and mom are both very prone to motion sickness so it was a possibility. After 4 hours in bed falling asleep and then waking up because the bow of the boat was lifted so high in the air it lifted me out of bed and then slammed me back waking me up with a jolt. Instead of feeling sick I just loved it. We landed the next evening in St. Augustine. Jays parents and a group of Bruce's friends where there to meet us with food and beer and we spent the evening eating BBQ Bill's amazing ribs and pork chili and me struggling with sea legs. Other than getting kicked out of a bar because Bruce stood on a chair when the band saluted our soldiers it was an uneventful night. The next day we set sail for St. Lucia and it was another rocky but fun trip. The guys were easy to get along with and there was so much for me to learn. We didn't make it to St. Lucy after another all-nighter of sailing because we had the wind directly at our bow so we stopped in Ft. Pierce where we had a great dinner at the marina and I learned more about how to throw lines and swab a deck.

Soon we were sailing down the inter-coastal towards St. Lucy to make our cut across the Gulf Stream towards the Bahamas. The cut across was extremely calm (so I was told, I've never done it before). We had this delicious beef stroganoff that the wonderful Pete cooked and Doug and I had an appetizer of raw biscuit dough because the can had burst open. I was very excited there was someone else in the world who loved raw dough too. That night Bruce and I had the 4-6 watch... not ideal but it turned out to be great. It was a near full moon and I watched it set over the water. It turned orange and pink and disappeared on the stern as Venus, the morning star, rose out of the water at our bow. I steered in the very dark night while Bruce magically told me where the islands and rocks were as we were coming into the Bahamas. It was beautiful. I could see the milky way and the big dipper and the stars were all just brighter than I have ever seen them. Then we watched the sunrise over the islands. I have never felt luckier.