The riggers were able to step our mast on Friday. There were a few moments of tension as the crane wouldn’t start. Once it did, there were other problems with it. They eventually got everything work, I pulled Odyssey into the haul out slip and our mast was mounted.
What took the most amount of time was tuning the rig. A turn here and a turn there on the turnbuckles. Someone always looking up to see if the mast is straight. And, using the halyard to check lengths. They were nice enough to put up with me while they worked and explained what they were doing and why along the way. A real educational experience for me.
Once the mast and boom were done, I took over. They offered to put the sail-pack, sails, and whisker pole on. I declined their help because I need to stay in practice. They were kind enough to hang around the yard just in case I got into trouble. And I did. I dropped a shackle in the water. Oops.
Now for the mistake. Sue and I have been staying at anchor and boat yards most of the trip. We thought it was time to splurge and spend a week at a nice posh marina. Again, bulldog Sue was on the case and found us a nice marina at a good price in the Destin FL area. A simple 1 day trip from Pensacola. We booked it and started flooding their office with Amazon deliveries.
While the mast was being put up, I happened to mention where our next stop was. They looked at me inquisitively and said I can’t make it. Huh? They pointed out there’s a bridge between Pensacola and Destin that I can’t clear and I can’t go out in the ocean because the Destin Cut has a 40 foot bridge. I was under the impression that all bridges on the ICW are 65 foot OR a lift bridge, except the famous one in Ft Lauderdale. They reminded me that the ICW is divided in sections. That’s the A-ICW (Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway). We’re on the G-ICW (Gulf Inter Coastal Waterway) where there are several bridges under 65 foot. Uh oh…
The only way around this was to sail from Pensacola to Panama City and then back track up the GICW to Destin. And, that’s exactly what we did. Our 40 mile leisurely trip turned into an overnight passage on the Gulf and all day backtracking 160 mile trip. I also didn’t want to make my shake down sail an overnight sail in the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s been 2 months of living the trawler life and not worrying about air draft. This was an important reminder. It won’t happen again.
More to come…
Kurt & Sue Sail 