I fully believe in both, in the poetry and in the dissection.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Naturalist,” 1834
If a picture is truly worth 1,000 words then this post will roughly equal the 85,000-word Heeling is Healing in value. Given my internet/satellite connectivity situation, allow me present a whole series pictures from our Ft. Lauderdale to Bermuda passage in this post—call it “the dissection.” Via satellite tracker I’ll catch up with the missives (the “poetry”).
Hazel departing Cooley’s Landing MarinaApproaching the Ft. Lauderdale SE 17th St Bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway (no fear, we have about 5’ of clearance).Sailing!US Navy sub seen soon after.My son Jack’s commercial swordfishing vessel The General approaching the evening of day 1.The General closing in.The General alongside. Fishing buoys line her decks.I’m feelin’ good.Iconic shot taken by friend Bryan.The General heading out to the swordfishing grounds.Freighter taking our stern several days later.Nice sunset (trusty EPIRB [Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon] in upper right).Freighter off our beam that eventually passed in front of us. When I saw it, it wasn’t transmitting AIS…yikes! There’s a story behind that encounter—and a valuable lesson.Glorious sunrise.White-tailed tropic bird close to Hazel (it’s worth zooming in to see just how beautiful a bird this is).
The white-tailed tropic bird is my favorite species. I first saw them on my passage from The Bahamas to the Virgin Islands and I wrote about them in this post.
If you look carefully, flock of five white-tailed tropic birds that circled us for hours.If you look very carefully…Land Ho!Q flag (yellow square quarantine flag) flying in Hazel’s rigging as we approach Bermuda. Entering Town Cut, St. George’s Harbour.That evening, Hazel sitting peacefully at Her Majesty’s Customs and Immigration dock after clearing in to the country. Note Bermudian courtesy flag I just raised in her rigging. The bright green light at her bow is her starboard-side running light.Full moonrise in St. George’s Harbour (wreck in the foreground).Bermudian houses off Hazel’s stern while we are at anchor. The distinctive clinker style roofs are designed to catch and harvest every drop of rainwater. There’s a good lesson for South Florida in that. Experts say that South Florida will run out of freshwater long before it is inundated by seawater. View from Hazel at anchor toward the town of St. George.
With the exception of a half hour at customs and immigration, I haven’t been ashore yet. I’ve focused my initial time here on resting, sleeping and tiding up Hazel. I plan to launch Lil’ Dinghy this afternoon and get ashore for a stroll and a dinner.
And finally, thanks to all of you for reading and following along. As I’ve been able to tell a few friends and family, making daily satellite posts was very helpful to my emotional state. Just knowing that loved ones were there and listening helped me keep it all in perspective.
Every morning we opened our iPads while having coffee to check on your progress. Thanks for letting us “sail” with you. We are looking forward to the next phase of your journey. Cheers…S&D
Hello Dan,
I’m so sorry I never got with you all before you left on your trip.
We got sort of busy with life!
Looks like you made a safe voyage across to Bermuda. I’ve always loved Bermuda been partial to it.
Very little poverty and friendly people.
Enjoy and I will continue to follow your travels! Lots of love and safe sailing, Kathy
PS is Rhett with you? Give her my best!!
Glad you’re safely in Burmuda and that Sunny is getting good care as well! Max & I had dinner with Neron & Abby & their families Saturday night and got their company tickets to the Braves game Sunday – good times! JoAnne is headed to Cairo on 7/3; let us know if you have any contacts there!
Congratulations on the passage! It’s been a blast reading your daily posts each morning, Dan. Hope you and Hazel enjoy some downtime and restocking in Bermuda.
Every morning we opened our iPads while having coffee to check on your progress. Thanks for letting us “sail” with you. We are looking forward to the next phase of your journey. Cheers…S&D
Love the pics and the journey! Can’t wait to read the book. Hope to see you soon. TW
Hello Dan,
I’m so sorry I never got with you all before you left on your trip.
We got sort of busy with life!
Looks like you made a safe voyage across to Bermuda. I’ve always loved Bermuda been partial to it.
Very little poverty and friendly people.
Enjoy and I will continue to follow your travels! Lots of love and safe sailing, Kathy
PS is Rhett with you? Give her my best!!
Wonderful to see all these pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Thank for taking us along on your adventure
Great pictures.
Dan, Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It’s inspiring to see a man explore Both inside and out.
Peace be with you my friend
I like that inside and out exploration metaphor Steve. I’ll have to play with that one. Hmmm it gives me so many ideas. Take care.
Glad you’re safely in Burmuda and that Sunny is getting good care as well! Max & I had dinner with Neron & Abby & their families Saturday night and got their company tickets to the Braves game Sunday – good times! JoAnne is headed to Cairo on 7/3; let us know if you have any contacts there!
Lamarr, So good to hear from you! Glad thangs are going well. No contacts in Cairo sorry. What a trip though. That should be fantastic.
Hey brother, some of us might not comment often enough but we’re always tracking your journey be it on land or sea. Great pics by the way.
Thanks DW!
Congratulations on the passage! It’s been a blast reading your daily posts each morning, Dan. Hope you and Hazel enjoy some downtime and restocking in Bermuda.