The crew before departure. Photo courtesy of s/v Smitty Well, I’ve just returned from 1000+ miles and 8 days on Asante transiting from St. Thomas USVI all the way to Fort Lauderdale, FL. TeddyJ managed to put together a skilled crew consisting of Jesse from S/V Smitty, Brett from Life in the Key of Sea, Brandy, and myself for the delivery and shakedown cruise. I arrived late Thursday night and met Teddy, Jesse, and Stacey at Tickles. They were kind enough to wait up for me and have a couple drinks. Teddy and I were dropped off on Asante for the night so we could get a little sleep for the next day.
The next morning we were up bright and early. Teddy and Jesse went running around the island finding items to outfit the boat (boat brush, cushions, spare parts, filters, etc.). I stayed aboard to replace a water pump for the raw water cooled freezer so we could store frozen meals on the trip to Florida. As with all pre-departure work it wasn’t always smooth. Teddy was driving from store to store to get everything needed for the day and his late morning/early afternoon return for lunch was closer to dinner time. This worked out for me as it gave me time to get familiar with the boats plumbing and work on the pump. Of course the replacement was larger than the old pump so getting it to fit was a struggle. I secured it temporarily with zip ties and hooked up the wires and hose. It did manage to make it throughout the entire trip. Teddy soon returned and we were off for a bite to eat then head back to the boat to start packing things away before our final two crewmembers arrived.
Brett and Brandy arrived that night, we got their bags settled on Asante and set out to the grocery store for some big provisioning. The five of us piled into the rental car and headed out. It was a little cramped on the way there, so when we came back with the five of us and 4 cartloads full of food it was even cozier. An hour or so after returning to the boat the food was stored and then it was time to prepare for bed.
An early morning sunrise saw Asante releasing her mooring ball and motoring over to the fuel dock to fill up on diesel and water. Once the tanks were topped off and the bills paid we let go the docklines and it would be the last time we touched land for over 1000 miles. We exited Baye de Grigri and were off under full sail.
We were fortunate with the winds and seas. The winds seemed to always blow from East Southeast driving us steadily to our final destination. The waves were never very rough, even when crossing currents that pushed us past 8 knots at times. Like most passages the days were marked by starting your watch or preparing meals for the crew. Jesse, Brett, Teddy, and I were all having a great time taking turns at the wheel or working on deck getting the pole out for some wing on wing sailing.
Of course it was a shakedown cruise so not everything went according to plan. Check back next week to see what things went wrong and our final approach into Fort Lauderdale where we finally tied up.
The next morning we were up bright and early. Teddy and Jesse went running around the island finding items to outfit the boat (boat brush, cushions, spare parts, filters, etc.). I stayed aboard to replace a water pump for the raw water cooled freezer so we could store frozen meals on the trip to Florida. As with all pre-departure work it wasn’t always smooth. Teddy was driving from store to store to get everything needed for the day and his late morning/early afternoon return for lunch was closer to dinner time. This worked out for me as it gave me time to get familiar with the boats plumbing and work on the pump. Of course the replacement was larger than the old pump so getting it to fit was a struggle. I secured it temporarily with zip ties and hooked up the wires and hose. It did manage to make it throughout the entire trip. Teddy soon returned and we were off for a bite to eat then head back to the boat to start packing things away before our final two crewmembers arrived.
Brett and Brandy arrived that night, we got their bags settled on Asante and set out to the grocery store for some big provisioning. The five of us piled into the rental car and headed out. It was a little cramped on the way there, so when we came back with the five of us and 4 cartloads full of food it was even cozier. An hour or so after returning to the boat the food was stored and then it was time to prepare for bed.
An early morning sunrise saw Asante releasing her mooring ball and motoring over to the fuel dock to fill up on diesel and water. Once the tanks were topped off and the bills paid we let go the docklines and it would be the last time we touched land for over 1000 miles. We exited Baye de Grigri and were off under full sail.
We were fortunate with the winds and seas. The winds seemed to always blow from East Southeast driving us steadily to our final destination. The waves were never very rough, even when crossing currents that pushed us past 8 knots at times. Like most passages the days were marked by starting your watch or preparing meals for the crew. Jesse, Brett, Teddy, and I were all having a great time taking turns at the wheel or working on deck getting the pole out for some wing on wing sailing.
Of course it was a shakedown cruise so not everything went according to plan. Check back next week to see what things went wrong and our final approach into Fort Lauderdale where we finally tied up.
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