Sailing Last Mango

12/6/18     Leaving Illinois to spend our winter in Florida aboard Last Mango this year happened a bit later than normal. According to Karen we stayed up north way too long as it seemed that the cold weather came far too soon then followed by several days of snow the last one amounting to 14 inches in our little town of Kingston. Not missing this at all. When leaving our home Karen was overjoyed because the sun showed itself after almost a week of nothing but clouds. Approaching Bloomington the clouds returned and soon the sleet and snow started, by the time we reached Effingham it appeared we were in a winter wonderland with the ground and trees cover in white. It was very pretty but luckily the roads stayed clear and only wet. We had left later in the morning after attending a doctors appointment with my parents. Plans were to drive to southern Illinois or Kentucky and spend the night and get a good nights sleep. The little town of Metropolis did the...

3-1-18 This morning at 6:45 Karen motored out of the south anchorage of Fort Jefferson while I was on deck securing the anchor to Mango’s bow. We chose this morning to leave because all of the wind forecasts we could obtain from fellow cruisers with SSB radios and sat phones stated “leave today or wait several days to a week”. Morning winds were easterly at 15 to 17 with the promise of veering to ESE and then south until they die out late in the day. Mango chose to use a north route to Key West verses the south route that two other cruisers chose. We chose the north route acknowledging that Mango can’t point as close to the winds as the 2 other boats.   After a charting and navigating snafu by yours truly we had the sails set beating into 3 foot seas speeding along at 5.5 to 7 knots, the sail trim has never been set so perfect as today. We knew we needed at least 70 miles to make it to Key West and had chosen Boca Grande as a stop off point for the night. M...

2-20-18 January 9 Karen and I arrived here in Marathon aboard Mango chomping at the bit wanting to sail to the Bahamas. Our normal traveling partners aboard S/V Fracas left for the Bahamas before Karen and I were ready. There was a somewhat short weather window and Fracas has the good fortune of being able to move through the water much faster than Mango. Greg and ML have since reported that the crossing was the best they’ve ever had. Oh Well, we can always hope that we get blessed with great weather also. Mango’s still located at mooring ball S7 and since then we have witnessed many sunrises over Mango’s bow and many sunsets over her stern. I reference the bow and stern because the wind direction and speed has been relentless. Each morning when we wake Mango is pointing east into the wind with almost the same compass heading as the day before. The wind has been great for producing power this year since the addition of the Marine Kinetix wind generator. We’ve bee...

2-1-18 It has taken me 3 days to muster the strength to type again after we hosted a little get-together with the crews of S/V English Martha and S/V Christinaki. When I think about what happened and who to blame (Current American Condition) other than myself I can only think of Greg, the captain of S/V Fracas. Even though Fracas had left Florida water last week and sprinted across the gulf stream to the Bahamas he left behind the seed that zapped my strength for days and made my hands shake while waking up Tuesday morning. You see last year I was without a ball cap and Greg happily (I noticed a slight grin on his face) gave me one of his to use. I had not noticed the seed planted inside the cap until late last week. While wearing the cap I noted the seeds printed inside the cap and they started to sprout in the liquor section of the local Publix grocery store. This is where I procured the fertilizer to made the seeds grow fast and strong.   The fertilizer consisted of the fo...

1-3-18     I’m not sure if any of you noticed but it’s flipping cold outside. I know that I have very little right to bitch and complain too much since what I’m complaining about is Florida cold and not true northern cold. The problems with our Florida cold is that Mango is absent a true heating source resulting in overnight temperatures reaching the 30’s. Not having a heating source Karen and I are learning several things during this last cold snap.   The New Year arriving as seen from Fort Myers Beach rooftop hotel bar. Cell phones and computers don’t appear to like prolonged temperatures below 40. It makes sense to go to bed fully clothed and peel off layers of clothes after the bed linens have warmed a tad. Our brass lantern when lit not only looks great but also doubles as a great hand warmer. Laying clothes out in the morning sun for a while gives us the feeling as they just came out of the clothes drier when getting dressed. Stay...

12-29-17     Many people state that they like to be alone and that’s all well and good. I can say that Karen and I agree on the fact that we like to be around people. I do like a little “Me Time” every once in a while but for the most part I’m a people person. Many people also say that they like to live life impulsively. I can say that is not Karen but it does describe me. Does this mean that Karen and I argue about this often?   Sometimes but not usually, I just let her plan our itinerary when she can and I’m fine with that. I would be the type of person to fly off somewhere and look for the hotel once I arrive. Karen on the other hand needs to know where her head is going to lay at night.   My friend the Brown Pelican. Snack time for my buddy We arrived in Fort Myers Beach on the 19th and after an overnight night planned to sail straight to Key West to have a surprise visit with Maury and...