This initial 'Shake-down Cruise....

We had originally planned to go over to the Bahamas on this trip. But upon learning that you can end up waiting 3 weeks for a decent weather window to cross the gulf, we've decided that since we only have 2 months on the boat this trip, we'll just stay on the Florida side. We'll stop at lots of ports down the coast and explore the Keys. We'll head over to the Bahamas when we go back this fall.

This map shows or general plan for this trip. (You can click on it to enlarge it.) Keep in mind that traveling under sail is slow. We'll be sailing against the current, so we'll do well to average 7 knots, (about 8 mph).

We'll start by spending a few days in Brunswick, GA, doing a couple of day-sails and getting the feel of the boat. Then we'll sail down to Jacksonville, a much larger city than Brunswick, and spend several days there stocking the boat with all the necessary supplies and equipment.

Then probably around January 20th or so, we'll harbor-hop down the coast to the Miami area somewhere, where we will pick up Sid's kids, Sean and Jessica, on Feb. 9th or 10th, for a week or so of exploring the Keys.

We'll hopefully even go over to the Dry Tortugas, where the snorkeling and diving is said to be extrodinary.

By early March, we'll head back up the coast to Quest's summer home, Indian Town, where she will be store up on the hard until we come back to retrieve her in November.

Well, for now,... that's our story, but we are not necessarily 'stickin to it'. The wonderful thing about this trip is that things can change.

I plan to eventually put an interactive map on this site where our progress will be tracked by GPS, and our latitude and longitude will be listed. But there was a lot involved in getting the map on the site, and I don't have time to deal with it yet, so that will have to wait until we're on the boat I have some time to 'jump through all the hoops!'