Training For The Loop, Day 3

Today was our last day of training with Chris and Alyse Caldwell of Captain Chris Yacht Services, and we can’t say enough about how useful it was, in addition to being fun.

We were ready to depart the dock by the time Chris and Alyse arrived, but almost immediately Cathryn noticed what she thought was some of Bob’s blood on the floor at the upper helm (he bleeds readily when he bumps into things). Chris, on the other hand, figured out immediately that it was a steering fluid leak, and therefore we had to change our plan for the day.  Instead of traveling to Hole in the Wall Island north of Vero Beach, we shortened our destination so we’d be closer to “home” in the event of an all-out failure of our steering.  While we now know how to steer the boat using the gears and throttles, we wouldn’t want to do that for a lengthy trip.

So we went to a nearby cove to practice anchoring again, traveled up the Intracoastal Waterway about half the distance planned, worked on our navigation and piloting skills, traded off helmsman and deckhand duties, practiced docking at at a private dock and  fuel dock, then returned to our marina for a little more docking practice.

Our last hour with Chris and Alyse was spent doing trip planning – learning what resources (charts and cruising guides) to use to plan a travel day, where to anchor or pull into a marina for the night, calculate how far and at what speed we can travel, and what obstacles might slow our progress, such as bridges that need to be opened or locks that need to be traversed.

Whew! It has been a fabulous three days, we’ve learned more than we expected, and we still think this was the best investment we’ve made to properly prepare us for the Great Loop trip. Chris and Alyse are wonderful instructors, and if we have problems when we set out on our own, you can bet we’ll be back for more help from them!

On another note, we’ve also seen some incredible marine life. For the first time ever, we saw Manatees! If you don’t know what they are, Google them, as our photos don’t do them justice. They are sweet, docile, and yes, ugly animals, though Cathryn thinks they’re so ugly they’re actually cute! And we’ve seen zillions and zillions of dolphins/porpoises! We’re not yet sure which is the correct name for them, but we think when they snag our bow wave and stick with us for awhile it is the coolest thing ever (sort of like zebras in the Serengeti, Lynn and David!)

Chris and Alyse are from New Orleans, the same place from which the “Subdudes” band hails. The Subdudes are the ones whose song “Next To Me”, which we consider to be “our song”, inspired the name of our Loop Boat.  So today, during a brief break from training, Bob put the song on the iPod/stereo system and briefly, we danced in the galley to the song “Next to Me” while Chris and Alyse laughed and documented the occasion.

Corny: yes      Happy and amused:  Yes too!