December 2006 Time to move again

After 4 months with Offshore Sailing School, completing my US Coast Guard Licence and receiving my US Sailing Instructor Certifications I got a promotion to Branch Manager down in the Florida Keys. Angela at this time was visiting Fort Myers about every other weekend, trying to sell her house and living with her sister Christy in the "big house". Both were getting a crash course in caring for a pool and dealing with "house issues". Luckily my dad and some other friends were there to help out.

We decided since I was moving to the Keys it was time to move the boat and go full time living aboard Hakuna Matata. The boat of course was land locked in Texas and had to be moved back to the ocean and then back across the Gulf of Mexico.

The boat loaded up to move to to Kemah and heading down the road.

When the boat got to Kemah I enlisted my dad, Rod Duncan and David Damm (friends and boat owners from Lake Texoma) and my old high school and college friend Chris Martin to help me move the boat across the gulf. It was a spirited ride but we made it across, seeing 20' waves throughout most of the trip and winds around 30 to 40 knots!

To the left is the sunset we had leaving Galveston Island. To the right is one of the many oil rigs we dodged throughout the day and night.....many of them which were not lit!

To the left Rod Duncan and Dave Damm relax on the back deck with harnesses attached in the middle of the gulf. To the right Chris Martin takes the helm on his first gulf crossing.

To the left sunset on the gulf and calmer seas. To the right Captain Craig re-fills diesel tanks after the first 500 miles.









To the left dad relaxes in the gulf with his safety harness....trip #2 for him so now he is an old salt! To the right Dave catches a Spanish mackerel and he and Rod fillet it and make the back deck look like a crime scene!


To the left Captain Craig on night watch the last night before we arrived in Florida. To the right is the boat safely tied in the Marina in Ft Myers after the 800 mile trip.





With the boat in Fort Myers the crew headed home and Angela came down for the final run from Fort Myers down to the Keys. Dad also stayed to help pack up the apartment, fix some things on the boat that we broke during the delivery, as well as move my truck down to Marathon.