Sea-Change

Ed. Note:  Sea-change or seachange, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means "a change wrought by the sea."  The term originally appears in William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  The term sea-change is most often used to mean a metamorphosis or significant alteration.
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We haven't posted on the blob in a while since we were wandering around Florida and you all (y'all for our Texas friends) have seen this Florida stuff before.

Long time blob readers recognize that our cruising plans often change and are, indeed ... chiseled in sand.  Our entire cruising plan has undergone a sea-change (metamorphosis seemed a bit pretentious ... particularly for us boat bums).

March 2016

We left Temptation, at the end of March 2016, in hurricane storage on the Okeechobee Waterway in Stuart, Florida.  She has been resting comfortably, out of the water and staked down since then.  Hurricane storage worked as advertised and was thoroughly tested since the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed within 40 miles of the storage location with no damage to Temptation. 











Our winter "Prime Directive" (nod to Star Trek) has been for Mike not to suffer cold, i.e. no snow nor any ice not in a cocktail glass.  So rather than South Florida, our sea-change has us heading to Southern California as the new home for Temptation and winter home for its crew.  This change makes complete sense for us since two of our five kids and all four of our grand kids live in Orange County, south of Los Angeles.  More than one person has asked why didn't I think of this sooner.  Duh!  

If you're wondering how Temptation will get to Southern California...hold that question.  Susan & I will fly the friendly skies.

In mid November we drove the 900+ miles to Florida, stayed at the Bass B&B in Fernandina Beach (thanks to Lin & Bill) and then on to Stuart where we got Temptation out of hurricane storage and put it in the water.  

On our drive down to Florida, we loaded up the car with so much stuff that we looked like the Clampetts.  If you look carefully, you can see Susan on the roof in a rocking chair.

Could I have a show of hands for whoever thinks I will pay dearly for the Granny reference?

The boat launching process is fairly interesting since they move the boat on a crawler and then to a lifting sling that lowers it into the water.  The crawler and lift are both operated with wireless control consoles.

After Temptation was in the water we recommissioned & tested all of its systems.  There were only a few minor problems, primarily with older electronics.

What the heck do you come to Florida for if not to boat and swim?

At this point, we were ready to start cruising and it's easy to tell you're back in Florida.

Leaving Stuart we cruised to Palm Beach (about 40 miles) where Susan cooked Thanksgiving dinner onboard.  A friend from Virginia Beach (Fred) who was there on his sailboat enroute to the Bahamas joined us for dinner.  

Army friends will recognize the M249 machine gun

From Palm Beach we were on to Fort Lauderdale (about 50 miles).  The President-elect was in Palm Beach for the holiday and it did cause a slight travel disruption when a Coast Guard patrol boat, complete with bow mounted machine gun, pulled alongside to give us instructions about approaching a bridge near Mar-a-Lago.

Waterway welcome

After we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, we had a few a few days to prep Temptation for ocean carriage before handing her over for loading on the M/S Arubaborg (NL) on December 1st.  We needed to get supplemental insurance from Lloyd's of London for the days at sea.

Arubaborg uses its cranes to snatch our boat out of the water and set it on deck

Temptation was the 2nd boat loaded.  Boat #1, about the same size, is shown going up in the sling.  Divers get under the boat to properly position the lifting slings.  Boats are set in a cradle on deck and strapped down for the voyage.

Wagenborg is the shipping company name

Arubaborg will carry Temptation thru the Panama Canal, up the Pacific coast of Central/North America and unload her in Ensenada, Mexico (~80 miles south of San Diego).  Remember, I asked you to hold the question about how Temptation got to Southern California.

The voyage requires 12 cruising days at 14 knots totalling 4,058 nautical miles (4,667 "road" miles at 16 mph to spare you the conversion).  Calendar time could be as long as 20 days due to loading/unloading delays at intermediate stops along the way or from back ups at the Panama Canal.

During the prep days, Susan found time to walk the Ft. Lauderdale beach.  It was windy but 80 deg F so who can complain.  Floridians go to great lengths to get in the Xmas spirit. Giant snowmen made from sand amid the palm trees are a fine example.

BTW: The type of pictures we take can give away our age.  Susan took this from across the street to give proper snowman size perspective.  Younger folks took selfies to prove they were actually there.







Getting back to the primary topic, Temptation should arrive in Ensenada by mid-December, "agw wp" as the shipping companies say, i.e. All Goes Well, Weather Permitting.  Susan & I will fly to LA and shlep ourselves to Ensenada to greet Arubaborg.  After it arrives, we then need to jump thru the various Mexican customs small, flaming hoops to enter and depart Mexico soon followed by US Customs small, flaming hoops to enter the US at San Diego.  We're starting a betting line on which country has the most annoying customs personnel (hint: the smart money is on the US).  

From San Diego  we will cruise Temptation ~ 120 miles to the Port of Los Angeles (Long Beach/San Pedro) where we are deciding between two marinas (upper right corner and lower left corner of the satellite pic).  The lower left corner marina (Cabrillo Way) is the lead candidate.

If you're not familiar with LA, this spot is halfway between Hollywood and San Juan Capistrano

Our current plan is to keep Temptation in the Long Beach area, pester our California children unmercifully and spoil our grandchildren for about five months each year.

We'll let you know how the ocean carriage and subsequent trip to Long Beach turned out in about 3 weeks.  If it doesn't go well, we'll welcome any friends courageous enough to stop by on visitors day at the La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico.