Departing Ft Lauderdale

We prepared SV Counting Stars to be loaded onto the cargo ship… with the help of Andy (SV OliLuki) and Pat (SV Chapter Two), the enclosures and all-weather cushions were removed and stowed; the sail bag and main sail were ratcheted to the boom, the forward sails were removed, folded and stowed in their sail bags in the saloon, all lines except for the main halyard and topping lift were removed and stowed in their line bags in the cockpit.

Bob and Pat navigated SV Counting Stars to closely pull along side the cargo ship, Kraszewski. The loading dive team dove to ensure the lifting straps were properly placed then she was lifted onto the cargo ship.

Around South Florida (April 19-23, 2019)

With the refit completed, it was time to set sail for Ft Lauderdale to prepare SV Counting Stars to be shipped to the Pacific Northwest. For this passage, we invited friends we met at the Miami boat show to crew with us: Andy Temesvary (SV OliLuki), Mike and Sue Pail (On A New Tack).

ASFL – Days 1-2: 0935 (20-April) departed Burnt Store marina fuel dock for overnight passage to Boot Key. Our crew of five bobbed around in Charlotte Harbor for 3 hours while identifying the cause and repairing a rigging issue with the main sail. 1326 the Gulf of Mexico welcomed us with 8ft seas as we exited Charlotte Harbor. Once clear of the channel, we set course for Key West channel on a downwind sail with following seas. 1000 (21-April) entered Key West channel. Dropped anchor in Boot Key 1800. By the numbers: 5.8kts average/9.5kts max speed; 1 day 8 hours; 189.7nm. Winds 5-15kt/12kt average downwind to beam.

ASFL - Day 3: 0652 departed Boot Key anchorage; 2255 arrived No Name (Key Biscayne). With winds on the nose we motor sailed Hawk Channel dodging the plethora of crab pots then fishing boats before passing the lovely Lady Susan (Leopard 58). Reached max speed as we turned to enter Biscayne Channel, navigating the unlit markers in the dark to set anchor at No Name. By the numbers: 5.68kts average/8.85kts max speed; 16 hours 11mins; 91.9nm. Winds 10-20kt/ 15kt average on the nose.

ASFL - Day 4: 0940 departed No Name anchorage at Key Biscayne and at 1800 arrived Ft Lauderdale - completing our 328nm ASFL passage. By the numbers: 5.5kts average/8.9kts max speed; 8 hours and 30 minutes; 46.5nm. Winds 15-20 close reach. We learned more about the feature rich the Raymarine Axiom MFD - heavily using the "auto-tack" and "to windvane" features - and were impressed with how close to the wind we could sail (close reach, 45 deg).

Check out Mike and Sue’s perspective on their blog, On A New Tack; Sailing with Bob and Melinda on SV Counting Stars