The work continues.

Yesterday we took CMTB out to calibrate the autopilot.  On our last outing the autopilot failed to hold track.  It appears that installing a TV and a new stereo caused magnetic interference with the autopilot.  Moved the autopilot sensor.  That required us to take her out and drive around in circles.  I think we are good to go there finally.

Today we installed the jib.  Went smoothly except the wind picked up and the jib was filling.  We tried to douse the jib, especially when it was about 3/4 of the way up.  Tried to pull us up and over.  Satisfied with the sails.

Another recurring problem is with the air conditioning.  It is getting hot in St Pete, and we ran the A/C today.  The only one working well is the one in the saloon.  We have the A/C guy coming out, but not until Monday.

It is great that we are staying with Grandma, and the cooking is fantastic.  I have told my boys that they can claim that their Grandma is the best cook - and be correct.

We need to get on the boat so we can lose some weight.

Call Me The Breeze has been sitting pleasantly back in the marina.  Lauren and I drove back to Atlanta to take care of some personal business.  We also took down the jib and took it to a sailmaker for repair. We also need to get someone to check out the autopilot on Wednesday.  Evidently getting work done in Florida during this time of year is challenging.

Taking down the jib was a hoot.  We actually took it down without any problem at all.  This in comparison to seemingly having a glitch with just about everything else.  The way the jib is held on is fascinating and simple.  There is an extruded aluminum pole that the sail slides into.  Simple and effective.

The plan now is to get these last squawks fixed and cast off.  We need to go have some fun.

We left.  We broke. Same tune second verse.

As we were leaving the marina, the cable from the helm to the engine on the starboard side broke.  It got stuck in reverse.  It took me climbing into the engine compartment with a hammer and "whanging" the linkage with a hammer to get it in and out of gear.  We finally got her back to the dock and spent the rest of Saturday getting a new cable from West Marine and getting it installed.

Sunday we set out again with Captain Norm and finally got to clear the coast and get to sail.  To get to the Gulf from our marina we have to travel North up the Intercoastal Waterway and have to clear through 3 bascule bridges.  Takes about an hour to an hour and a half.  Got to go down the middle to keep the top of our 71 foot mast from hitting the bridge.

We had a great day of sailing, doing over 8 knots under sail with a boat loaded to the brim with fuel and water.  Pretty impressive.

Our plan was to sail south to Venice Florida, but when the wind died we detoured to a location closer to home.  We got lots of good experience and some great coaching.  The boat is better set up and we know how to properly reef the main.  We spent the night and I was freaked out when I thought we were dragging anchor.  It took three tries to get the anchor set.

Today we sailed back to the marina.  Got an up close view of a freighter coming into Tampa Bay;

  

We had to share the channel with the big boys, too shallow either side of the channel.  Pretty cool.  It was impressive sailing through the wake after it passed.

I got Call Me The Breeze back without running aground or hitting anything in the marina.  Progress.

Next step is TBD.

We leave in the morning.

Next is how to get wi-fi and get into a new routine on the boat.

Time to put some miles under our keels...

I want to dedicate this blog to our good friends, John and Julie Kish.
Our thoughts, love and prayers...

We did not leave...

As we were getting our final check out of the boat before we were to leave we found some issues we had to fix.  One was the air condition pump failed.  The other was the alternators were not charging properly.  And finally, the hot water heater was full of rust and gunk.

I replaced the a/c pump.  Took the alternators to get them checked out.  One bad one good.  Had the bad one rebuilt.  New hot water heater installed.

I think we are ready to go.

For those of you north of Florida, the weather has been great.  The picture below is of Gulfport Marina off the back of the boat.

Hopefully Call Me The Breeze is ready for a few thousand miles of cruising.