Lessons Learned

Lessons learned and things to remember:

1.   Keep the water tank full, ie if you have a chance to fill it up, do so. Don't wait until you're low.  We ran a little low yesterday and wondered if we would have enough water before we found the next marina.  Mind you, we had plenty of beer but it's hard to make a good cup of coffee with beer. 


2. If you think you hear helicopters flying overhead at night, and there seem to be more than one and they sound like they are hanging around, check that it isn't actually the water pump trying to pump water that is no longer available because you didn't stop to fill your water tank last time you were in port.  


3. When a local fisherman suggests that you should sail out today because even though we had a huge rainstorm the night before, he believes the wind will be good and the seas will be flat, think twice.  He's obviously a local and his boat has a shallow draw which means he can stay close to shore where the sea probably is quite flat.  We discovered the Atlantic can be quite shallow near shore with depths of 3 to 4 feet in many areas and with SEGWUN's draw of 5.6 feet it means we can't hug the shoreline like some boats.  We had a rough day at sea but covered a good distance.  We hoped to at least see a few Right Whales, but no luck.

4. Turn the dorado air intake vents to aft position when sailing in rough seas.  Otherwise, be prepared to wash all the salty water that has sprayed into the cabin.  Nothing like salty duvet, salty sofa, salty floor...you get the idea.


5.  After a long day of sailing and you're looking for a quiet place to anchor avoid narrow and shallow creeks with a tide change of more than 7 feet.  Particularly those called Jekyll Creek.  Unless of course you enjoy sleeping with a list of 20 degrees and think your boat would benefit from a mud bath. 

6.  Don't believe everything you hear about these nonslip pads for under the carpet.  When the boat is listing at 20 degrees, nonslip doesn't work so well.  I have the bruises to prove it.

7.  Dolphins prefer men to women.  I swear, it has to be true.  I can be on deck for the whole afternoon but as soon as I go below they appear around the boat frolicking away for Jens.  As soon as I come back up to the cockpit, no more dolphins.   Or is it just Jens that they like.  



Not enough battery power on the computer to do an update tonight.  But we expect to be in Daytona tomorrow evening and I'll have time to give you more details about SEGWUN's mud bath and our adventure in the Atlantic Ocean.  We're now in St. Augustine, Florida.  Just 50 miles from our destination.