.... the adventure continues

July 20th 2015

Thankfully the service guy was able to sneak us in between other jobs and it was a quick fix. Somewhere along the line we were sold bad fuel. Summer Reign is back on the water! Fort Meyers bound. I cried as we unhooked shore power, bye bye a/c, but there's an awesome breeze though.

Made it to Sanibel Marina just before sunset.


July 21st 2015

I've seen more sunrises on this trip then I've seen in my entire life. I do believe I'm becoming a morning person. Got fuel for the boat and fuel for us- coffee! 7am was go time!

Wish we had more time to explore. Loved he lighthouse in Sanibel and I vow to return soon.

With the open water and the sun rising before us we set off once again.

8 hours in and I'm now ready to get off this boat. Thoughts of land danced in my head. Captain Paul was ready to continue on but after another 3 hours we were looking up the next marina. There was no way I wanted to anchor out as the waters were increasingly becoming angrier, and so was I.
We weren't making it home today. Sarasota was close and that's where we landed- I landed myself a broken finger. Entering the marina after hours there was no assistance, which was the case prior but with no incident. I didn't leave enough rope or space between the cleat and caught a few fingers in between, breaking one. At this point the sun has set, we were hungry, thirty, hot and tired. There was a restaurant there so we found a spot by the water and celebrated our victory thus far,  while icing my finger.

July 22nd 2015

Today we headed into the intercoastal for a smoother sail. Fine by me! Along the way we had encountered a few fixed bridges which raised my anxiety level. Now I'm not afraid to drive over them but going under is another story. It says so many feet and you know your mast is shorter but it looks deceiving. The draw bridges were fine, and I became familiar with talking on the radio to the bridge masters, learning the channels to use etc. Our stop for fuel at Bradenton Marina was interesting since our drive leg wasn't functioning properly making reverse null to void. So stressful.
Eventually we made it into Tampa Bay with the Skyway Bridge in our sights. This afternoon we arrived at St Petersburg with relief written all over our faces and smiles in our hearts. We made it!  Teamwork teamwork teamwork!

Overall our boating adventure was a huge success! So many enjoyable moments and memories made. I think I may have to write a book to share the many details still to tell. Summer Reign was a gem of a find. Moving aboard July 26th which opens up a whole new chapter in our life.

Be sure to follow along for more stories of the boat life!