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.