Happy Anniversary Josa! It’s our 15th and I wish you were here. Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor.  The peepers are peeping still at 7:30 a.m. It’s been light for a while now. We had a few cocktails last night, Jay style. Slept well but wondered at times what I am doing down here. I am really looking forward to getting under way.

So, my flight down was uneventful. Had empty seat next to me on both flights which was nice. Boy it is tough to travel with Parkinson’s – you are at 50% or maybe it’s 60%. I don’t know yet. People want to move and move fast and here I am tripping over stuff on my way to Bermuda to sail a boat back home. What am I thinking? Getting off the plane I stumbled and stepped on a woman’s handbag. I apologized and people behind me grew impatient. But what can you do?

10:20 a.m.
Lifted anchor. The winds are blowing at 8 – 10 knots judging from the sound of wind generator – the wind indicator is not working.

3:45 p.m.
We’ve made about 32 miles now. Needless to say, Bermuda has disappeared. The wind is steady at about 10 – 12 knots in flat seas. What a great sail! Jay and I were thinking this is the best sail ever. Ever! I am at the helm we are doing 6-7 knots, just what the doctor ordered! I am glad to be here. All the doubts have passed for now. We’ve chucked a lure off the stern, hoping for a dinner of Mahi Mahi or Tuna. Saw a couple of dolphins ahead, it doesn’t get much better. I would love to be able to call home right now and share this with Josa.

My arms are getting a little red from the sun. We’re checking in with Herb in a few to find out if our winds will die or if we’ll have a great sail through the night. We know there is a low front building to our Northwest.

As I had mentioned, we had a few last night. It started with a beer at St. George’s Dingy Clubhouse Bar, couple on the boat, and back to the club for a nightcap where we had a great time swapping jokes. Here’s one of my favorites:

So a guy walks into a bar. Orders a drink and notices a fish bowl full of one hundred dollar bills on the bar. He asks the bartender “What’s the deal with the fish bowl full of one hundred dollar bills on the bar?”  The bartender replies “Put a hundred dollars in and I’ll tell you what you have to do to win the whole bowl.”
The guy thinks about it awhile and has another drink. “What the hell” He says and puts a hundred dollars in the fish bowl, “OK. What do I have to do?”

“Well” says the bartender, “see that bouncer by the door? You need to knock him out with one punch.” The guy looks over to see a 6’3″ brute. The bartender continues, “Next, see that waitress by the table?” The guy looks over to see a worn 60 year old hag with a cigarette dangling from her lips. “You need to pleasure her like she’s never been pleasured before. And lastly,” he says, “I have a Pit Bull out back that needs a tooth pulled.”

“All right then” the guy says as he gets up and walks purposefully toward the bouncer and knocks him out with one punch. The bar goes silent. No one had ever gotten that far. The guy walks with confidence out the back door to the Pit Bull. The door closes behind him and the dog starts in with terrible howling and barking. The sound of garbage cans crashing slowly comes to a halt and the door opens. The guy is bleeding and his clothes are torn. He looks up and says “Now, where is that waitress who needs a tooth pulled?”

5:30 p.m.
Making 6.5 knots and Jay is cookin’ up some pasta with hot sausage. Herb says we should see building winds tonight into tomorrow as a low passes to our north. He advised that we head a bit westerly to hit a good way point on the Gulf Stream and duck under a low coming off Hatteras.