New Orleans

A quick revision to yesterdays blog, Jono told me our top speed was 11.9 not 11.5 coming from the Bahamas.

I’ve been looking at the map, and still have some deciding to do, but Clearwater to New Orleans is looking like a good route to me.  Instead of 241 miles from here to Destin its another 100 miles but it saves a bunch of miles not having to go up to the panhandle.   Currently the weather looks benign as the Gulf of Mexico is sitting under a large high pressure system, we will study weather more tomorrow before making any decision.  I need to do some math and see how much fuel we need if we motor all the way and make sure its onboard before we strike out.

Today we both slept late, our projects include changing oil in the engines and getting ready for the next leg.  The long 340 mile route will include at least 2 nights at sea.  I don’t normally enjoy that long a trip, but the smooth seas make for great sightseeing on the still waters.  There will no doubt be endless dolphin encounters, flying fish and new sights galore.  The extra 100 miles will save us 2 or 3 days total on our semi race to get home before August 23rd.  Linda wants me home for my 60th birthday and I need to meet with people at work as soon as possible.  I’m considering a change of duty and need more information on the position before I decide.

The math tells me I need 4 more gas cans to have enough to motor all the way to Louisiana.  I thoroughly expect to have some sailing days, but its smart to have enough fuel to motor the offshore distance without wind power.  Jono wanted to go to Destin and we still might, but I’m liking the idea of a smooth water crossing to New Orleans quite a bit.  There are several factors that would quickly change my mind… the biggest being weather, but I’m off to do some research on currents and weather.

SYL  Rusty