Planning the trip

Against the advice of my wife (Molli) and children I am planning to take Priority, our Island Packet 380, to Miami this fall. I will be single-handing down the ICW to Charleston where I"ll be joined by Bruce Gregory and one of his friends and we will then head off shore to Miami, heading for Dinner Key marina in Coconut Grove, Florida. I plan to leave the morning of Oct 13 and take 3 - 4 days going down the Chesapeake to Norfolk, then another 5 -6 days to Beaufort, NC, then another 6-7 days to Charleston. But this schedule assumes good weather which is probably not realistic, but at least that is the plan.

In preparation for this trip I added a Bow Thruster, replaced the aging (it actually fell apart as it was removed) Simpson Lawrence 900 Windlass with a Tigres Lofrans 1500 windlass (I think it can pull the boat up a mountain), and replaced the CQR 45 anchor with a Rochna 55lb anchor. These changes should make it easier to dock as well as making it easier and more secure to anchor, especially when I am single-handing. I've also purchased a new dinghy (now stowed on the foredeck) in case I want to tour. New sails were added last year.
The life raft I purchased before the trip three years ago is still in pristine (and happily unused) condition. It will be sent for its 3 years repacking when I get to Florida (in preparation for the trip back in the spring)
I think the boat is almost ready to go.

This week the boat will be hauled and bottom painted, the oil and oil filter changed, the fuel filters changed, the transmission fluid changed and the antifreeze (orange stuff) changed.

Next week I start provisioning.

I'm excited, and to be honest a bit nervous, about the trip. My friend Rich Fieldhouse has been supportive, patiently answering my many naive questions and offering sage advice - mostly along the lines of "be sure to enjoy the trip..try to suppress the drive to push on aggressively"..but of course that has been the story of my life. I hope I can change!

I'm doing this trip for several reasons.

• First, to have a place to escape to in Florida if it gets as cold this winter as it did last winter. 
• Second to overcome and put behind me the disastrous trip three years ago when I first moved Priority to Florida.
• Third, it may well be my "last hurrah"
• Fourth, I want to see if I can do it...do I still have it (what ever it is).

Through the good graces of ATT and Verizon I should be able to have constant communication via  cell phone and wifi, even underway. I'll try to be good about taking and posting pictures and perhaps we can even do "Facetime" or Skype so i can share my trip real time if anyone would like.

We'll see  how it goes.

--Reuben