With the intent to keep our adventures with a little "a" (vice a big "A", or the kind of excitement we can live without), we decide to head east enroute to the Florida on our way to the Caribbean via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), instead of heading offshore for 3-4 days to Biloxi, MS. Unceasing north winds in the Gulf of Mexico of 25-30 knot winds, building waves, and directly beating into the wind on the last day to Biloxi all sound like things to avoid.Our buddy boat is the S/V Magic Reunion (Tom and Sandy Campbell). Tom, with Chris Blair, will crew her while Sandy and Robin Blair overland the car to Florida. Troy Jones of S/V Different Drummer will crew on the "Star" for a portion of this trip.
Yesterday, the manly men refuel both vessels. First up is "Magic Reunion". All aboard and off they head for the fuel dock...with the dinghy dock in tow (no one untied it from the boat)! Not so bad for the egos, as they noticed it tagging along after passing only a few slips. Next is the "Star". Bobby backs out of the slip just fine. But, oh, what's this?...just don't seem to be making any headway considering the respective engine RPMs. Maybe we're plowing a new channel? No...oops, forgot to engage the clutch button for the gear shift lever. Now we're moving!
