What's Been Happening?

Thought I’d fill you all in on what’s been happening these last couple weeks. The guys have been far too busy to keep up with the blog.

Wiley, Jack, Rachel, Kelly & Scott took off from our house on Treasure Island at 7pm Saturday April 26. (Rachel is the good looking one – she only made it as far as the fuel dock!)

Since there were so many new systems on the boat and this was the first shakedown cruise, it was no surprise that a lot of things shook out. While they were still close enough to get some of the land crew down there, they put in at Marco Island to regroup. Michael and Ronnie drove down to help them out.

After sailing only two days on the boat the crew recognized the need for organization and off-loaded a number of things that no longer seemed so critical given the space constraints of a 34 foot boat with 4 people. They removed everything from the boat and reloaded it, documenting where everything was stowed. This turned out to be the first of many such exercises that continued whenever they touched land.

Michael & Ronnie helped deal with the issues and then returned to Treasure Island. Jack also left at that time. The crew did one more repacking and then they shoved off for the Keys.

They stopped in the Keys at Sombrero Reef for a leisurely lunch and an afternoon of snorkeling. See Kelly’s great movies.

Then they headed to St. Augustine. Those who watched their progress on the satellite tracking site could see that the going was tough. The wind was on the nose and the waves were against them so even motoring was slow. Those of us who were meeting them in St. Augustine decided that there was no hurry to get there, they would be lucky to get in before Saturday evening.

They surprised us and got there at noon Saturday May 3rd. This was the same day that Eric was arriving from Portland to join the crew. I drove up with Ronnie. Wiley’s mom, Susan, and his sister Allie, and his grandmother “Grammy” and Nancy, her friend from Wisconsin, were all there to say good-bye, as were Jan and Rachel. Wiley gets the prize for having the biggest fan club (they must like him)! Michael and his family drove up to mix a little family vacation with helping Scott handle some last minute electronic issues. I had fun with Michelle and the boys, playing miniature golf and eating ice cream.

Michael reviewed all the systems with Eric who was assigned the job of Ship’s Engineer. Kelly was named Chief Navigator and Wiley is the Sailing Master, he rules the sails, the winches, and the foredeck. (I won't mention going up the mast, since his mother might be reading this!)

Kelly parents, Jim & Liz arrived Sunday afternoon from Virginia and stayed until Severance left, which was invaluable since they did a lot of running around picking up supplies and provisioning. Scott is not shy about putting anyone to work and they are good workers. Good job on the drogue cones, Liz.

The crew finished up a number of projects in St Augustine including an unplanned install of a new water heater. Anyone who knows Scott knows that he thrives under pressure. (Anyone who knows me knows that I do not. I'm glad I was on the other side of the state.) Along with all the projects, they unloaded and repacked the ship several more times.

Wed. May 7, the day before leaving, a friend of ours from Michigan, Jim Sexton, flew down to say good bye. Jim and his wife Pat are planning on meeting Scott in Greece in the fall. Friends Mark & Susan Okkerse also drove down from Jeckell Island to see them off. Wed night while Eric & Kelly were installing a new water heater, Scott, Wiley, Jim, Mark, & Susan went to the Yacht Club reception for the ARC boats. There were only two boats leaving from St. Augustine, so it was a small reception. The mayor of St. Augustine gave a welcoming speech, which was a nice touch. As usual, the Severance crew was the last to leave the party.

Next day no one on the dock believed that they would make it by the 1:00 starting time. The boat was once again completely unloaded and spread over the dock. Eric & Kelly had finished installing the water heater at 4am Thursday morning. Somehow they got the boat repacked and off the dock and barely made the noon bridge opening.

I got one phone call before they were out of cell phone range. Now I’m watching the dots move as you all are. They obviously have had very favorable winds, plus a little help from the Gulf Stream because they are moving faster than the boat is capable of.

When they left they had still not worked out the satellite internet piece, but I am happy to say that tonight at 5pm est I received my first email communication from the satellite system, so all is well with the world.

Stay tuned and perhaps next time you will hear directly from them.