December 6, 2019
Home Free is preparing to lift off of BBC Russia as I type . . . as usual, things are seriously delayed, but the boat will go in the water very soon.
In a particularly surprising twist, I convinced my son Andrew to drive down with me and so the drive was a bit less taxing than normal. We are now on board Home Free and the boat is prepared for a quick run up to Palm Beach as soon as we hit the water. I hope everything works.
As usual, there are lots of delays. I was told that a delivery yesterday, with a different shipper, had a very large cache of cocaine tucked away in the keel, and so the arrival of BBC Russia seemed to warrant some extra attention. In any case, the boat was set to go in the water at 10 am, but BBC Russia only docked at 11. After a long wait for customs clearance, things got underway and I suspect we will be in the water around 5pm. Just in time for a nice overnight run to Palm Beach.
Having Andrew aboard will be helpful. I will be able to sleep while he keeps a lookout as we travel outside (not on the ICW) and then tuck in near Peanut Island until daybreak. Of course it may be daybreak before we get there at this rate . . . but we will go, just the same.
So that’s it for now. Arrival photo below . . . it looks the same as when she left, and that is a very good thing!
Perhaps a better update later.
I’m glad everything looks good with the boat and the trip to Palm Beach is stress free. The weather forecast looks good. David
Thank you David!! Other than the excitement caused by a fish out of water (or a guy used to cruising in the med arriving in the ICW), everything is good. Now James and his team can look over the boat and completely fix all of my guess work, assumptions and half fixes. (Just kidding, but it is nice to have experienced eyes looking over my work).
Hi Andrew!! See you all soon and safe travels <3