Achievement is in MIAMI!

Am talking to Dad & Bobby right now! Here's what they have to say:

Got in the afternoon about 3PM. Patrick and Victor met them at the dock. Channel 10 sent a helicopter out and shot them coming in. There's a news crew coming out tomorrow morning to do a "live bit" according to Dad.

Dad says "we're going to be world famous!"

They're at Captain's Jim's having a birthday dinner for Bobby.

Bobby says they were followed in by dolphins. Bobby also apologizes for his facial expression in the photos, but the sun was in his eyes. Nothing more.

Bobby's having a great birthday, and has enjoyed the experience. He promises more pictures and more posts to come. Don't forget, I also have a video and Dad promises to keep up the news.

Bobby and Aunt Mair are staying on the boat, but apparently Dad is going to retreat to his apartment for a well deserved rest!

New post via Ilonka

Received another email from Ilonka yesterday. Sorry for the delay in posting, but here it is...

Hi there…just spoke to Bobby again, they anchored this afternoon around 1 or 2 pm in Riviera Beach (Palm Beach) on the ICW. They plan to head on the outside tomorrow (hope to get an early start) and then head in over at Haulover. Bobby did a bit of snorkeling to check out the bottom of the boat and they have seen plenty of manatee. They’re trying to cook all food they have aboard. Hope to get in around 2 pm tomorrow. That’s it for now…talk to you later.

Cathy here again: Happy Birthday Bobby!

February 4th. – Sunday

Wow! Our time on the boat is just slipping away. We should complete the journey on Thursday the 8^th. Not sure when I’ll get to send this – wireless signal is pretty weak. We are now at Ft. Myers City Marina. The welcome here was excellent. The Dock Master was a true professional, knew how to handle the lines and made docking very easy. Now that we are winding down it is a bittersweet time. Bobby, Gerry, Rhonda and Max are joining us for the last few days of the trip. Patrick and Victor graciously gave up their quarters so Gerry could experience part of the journey. Them leaving makes it even more apparent that this wonderful adventure is about to end. Makes me a little sad. (Nah! Very sad) But we still have four or more days to go and the memories for a lifetime!

Our entrance into the marina at Clearwater was nothing less than spectacular. We ran hard aground! Certainly not anything the Captain and crew needed after pulling an overnight passage. However, Bob with is usual expertise got Achievement off and moving so in no time we were snuggled up to the dock. After having met such great people along the way, it was a disappointing welcome at Clearwater Municipal Marina. The reception made one feel as if the dock help were providing a huge favor rather than a service to a customer. Personally, I think they are used to mega yachts and was treating our Achievement as if she were not worthy. You know – some people just do not get it! I am quite sure that will not be one of Achievement’s future stops.

Despite the cool welcome and lack of help at the Marina – our visit was wonderful. Cathy (yes – our very own blog master) came to stay with us. She and George (one of the friendliest dogs and her baby) spent the night. What a great visit! She and I volunteered to hunt down fuel filters for Rita and Louise – and YES! You should send a woman to do a man’s job. The Napa store and its manager were more than helpful. The filters and other parts we needed were not in stock, but he not only found where there was a supply, but also had his drivers pick them up for us. He was another of our Angels. Kinda of cute too! I tried to get Cathy to suggest they go for coffee or something – we gave him the blog address - so if you are reading this give her a call.

Dale joined us for breakfast and brought with her some calorie free pastry (Just what our growing waistlines needed), her sunny personality and excitement over out adventure. Even with the trip winding down the up side has been visiting with wonderful family and friends now that we are closer to home.

The trip between Clearwater and Ft. Myers (where we are currently) was terrific. No mishaps, Rita, Louise and Mercedes all behaved like the wonderful ladies they are. We saw loads of porpoise, white pelicans, osprey nests with little ones and whole families. We even had sunshine and I wore shorts for the first time in over two months. Hooray! But alas! The sun was not to last. It’s been cloudy and cool, we had to change our plans – trekking the outside had to be delayed so Key West is out of the question.

Latest Update

Got word from Ilonka today because the crew is without internet access and cannot send blog entries since Patrick & Victor headed home over land. The word is that they are going the Lake Okeechobee route. They found out that the Sanibel Island bridge would not open until 7 pm tonight, they considered that route and going through the night but decided against it. The weather is windy and overcast but hope that the winds will eventually die down. They plan to do about 60 miles today, the lake is 25 miles across. If it’s going to take too long, they may decide to leave the boat at the lake until later.

Bobby says it's cold, but they are trucking along.

I have more pictures to upload, and some video I'm editing that shows the interior of the boat, as well as the crew's departure from Tampa, and I have the beginnings of a log from my time on board. So stay tuned!

Super Bowl Sunday

We are still tied up in Fort Myers. Our new crew members have arrived and are getting a feel for the boat. It has been none stop tours since we docked Friday. Every where we go we are asked if we are the crew from the big steel boat and could we take a closer look. Lionel has become the official tour guide. He has developed a rhythm that we have grown accustomed to. We can tell by the dialogue exactly where he is on the tour. "We are walking, we are walking…." Does it sound familiar?

The local art show is very nice. I am going to pick up a painting for the sun room. It's been decided that the sun room has to be painted a shade of yellow. We have seen a few accent pieces at the show that would look good in there.

There is still a chance we can get across the lake. Hull #1 of the Blue water 65 series pulled in behind us yesterday. The V.P. was on board; he is taking the boat to the Miami boat show. He came aboard and did the tour. He is going across the lake today and is going to call us with first hand readings of water depth. We have been told that with the wind out of the north, and the current rain that the level should rise. We don’t need much more then we have now, but we do need more.

Well that's about all I have for now. See you all in Miami.

Capt. Bob

Fort Myers City Yacht Basin

We had to change plans. That front that just killed so many people came through right on our heels. We got across Sarasota Bay a few hours before it hit there. We spent the night in Pine Island Sound and rethought our plans. It was out of the question to make for Key West. The seas were too high and the winds were cranking.

We decided to hole up in Fort Myers for a couple of days. Enjoy the local climate and move on when things died down. We thought about going across the lake but the water level is way too low. Our only option is to wait for calmer weather and take the yacht channel from Cape Sable across Florida Bay into Marathon and on up the ICW to Miami. It shouldn't delay our arrival any and there is an art festival in town this weekend as well as a few Super Bowl parties.

This will probably be my last entry until we get home. Pat and Victor have volunteered to give up their state room to Gerry and Rhonda so they can make the last leg of the trip. And it's their phone card we have been using to get on line.

It's been 6 weeks today since we started this trip. One more week to go. I just wish we could go on and on. Oh well. All good things must come to an end. Sooner or later.

Capt . Bob

Pine Island Sound

The hook is down in Pine Island Sound. We made 82 miles today. Not bad considering we had to buck the tide and a 20-25 knot wind all day as well as put up with some really sorry bridge tenders. I just wish there was a bridge tender school we could send them to when ever we wanted to. If they screw up it's off to remedial school. No questions asked.

We sat below the Tom Adams Bridge for a good twenty minutes calling on the radio, honking our horn (and we have a very loud horn) all to no avail. There was a marina on shore and they answered us and suggested the tender was probably down below changing a light bulb. Then when he finally answered the radio he wanted to know how much clearance we needed. Like we couldn't read the sign board on the side of the bridge. That's it off to remedial school for him!

We are hoping the wind drops off by tomorrow afternoon. We have about 20 or so miles left on the inside then we have to go out. The rest of the way to Key West is in the Gulf. It smells like dinner is almost ready. Mair has the wine open (thanks again Sha for the fine selection) I'm sipping on a Jameson. Life is good.

Capt. Bob