Love for Sail: Day 4...or is it 3...or 5?

Tonight's blog is coming to you from our cat located at the South Seas Marina in Captiva Island. The days are kinda running together out here on our little 47 foot slice of heaven but we hear it's what the working stiffs call Thursday. Sigh. We only have a couple of days left on our sailing course and that's a bit sad. We've accomplished so much yet there's so much that we still want to accomplish. There's still so much that we want to perfect. So much we still want to master. But, we continue to stay on the right side of the water and we haven't even come close to falling off. Under our measure, that's what we consider the ultimate success!

Let's talk about docking versus dropping the hook today, shall we? Two nights ago we dropped the hook, or anchored as you might call it, in a lovely little place called Cabbage Key. We took a sunset dinghy ride over and had ourselves a few drinks and a few laughs. Last night, we once again dropped the hook - this time in an anchorage off the very scenic and ritzy Boca Grande. There, we dropped the anchor as we faced a westerly wind and though it took a couple of minutes to "bite", eventually the anchor dug in and we were stopped. However, as we came back from Boca Grande, the wind had changed into an easterly wind. Thankfully the anchor once again set nicely, even with the turn of the winds, and we settled in for a peaceful sleep. Except, we once again didn't sleep. I was worried about the anchor, as the last words from Mark as he departed was "who's got the first anchor watch?" Hmm. We hadn't had one of those yet and I wondered if that meant that we needed to stand guard. It turned out we didn't, as the anchor held superbly. A wonderful breeze eventually cooled the cabin and we were able to sleep a few hours in spite of my paranoia. This was us at anchor:

So, on the hook means that you are not at a dock or marina. At a marina, that is where you get your creature comforts such as air conditioning and an abundant supply of running water. On the hook means you are basically at an elaborate camp out where the only running water comes from a limited supply and there is absolutely no air conditioning. A word to those who are thinking about doing this trip - avoid the months of July, August and September. June is iffy, as well. Thankfully, this May trip has had superb weather.

Dropping the hook is just about as simple as it sounds. Drop hook. Splash. Ease back and make sure it holds. Nothing to it, right? Docking at a marina (where the AC, water and 110 volt outlets are) brings good things to the boat but boy what a process it is to tie up. As I was absolutely bathed in the most massive flop sweat I have ever felt, I was thinking "man, we didn't have to do this crap the last couple of days!" The process isn't all that complicated but it's certainly labor intensive unless you are the captain. The captain sits in the cockpit and watches you as you scurry from cleat to piling to cleat to piling to cleat to piling, etc. At the end of your time, your cat is snug as a bug but, my God, what it takes to get it that way is HOT in the summer. Did I mention not to do this in July? Whoa...

So, the pluses to dropping the hook are the ease, the serenity and the fact that the no-see-ums (tiny little bugs with a big bite similar to a mosquito) don't go out there to feed on human flesh. The down side is the lack of AC, 110 volts and abundant water. A marina has all those things but they charge by the foot and they supply a vast amount of no-see-ums that make it difficult to sit in the cabin and have a lovely evening dinner.

So, that's a comparison - I think Beth and I both prefer the hook, to be honest. Anyway, today we motorsailed most of the day and when we got to the resort here (which is spectacular, by the way), we practiced our docking maneuvers. Beth isn't a fan of boat traffic and Mark asked her to guide us into a narrow channel to dock the boat. Beth was able to overcome her fears and guided us in perfectly and then sat back and watched me run my own "special" version of a Chinese fire drill as I moved our lines around to tie up to the dock. Ahhh, good times....unless you were running the dock lines like I was! Afterwards, we hit the beach and enjoyed a lovely sunset...

Meanwhile, I have bounced back and become a champion knot maker! Not being able to do this was frustrating the crap out of me so I'm thankful for Mark for sitting down and working with me until it became second nature. Meanwhile, Beth has become quite adept at hitting her head hard on the bimini and her sailor talk is really rounding into form! :)

In our normal life, Beth and I make a great team and out here on the water, it's no different. In the few areas she is weak, I am strong and where I am weak, she is strong. Together, we feel as though we can accomplish anything and this week we have been challenged like never before and we have more than just succeeded!

Tomorrow, we'll sail back to the Pink Shell and we'll have to take two more tests. Mark is supremely confident that we'll pass and, honestly, I think we are, too! Best wishes to all - here is the English pub that our English captain took us too - big fun!