Serenity Heads South

This morning dawned clear and bright - a very welcome change from our most recent weather, that's for sure.  It was a perfect morning for a boat ride - without me aboard!  Tom and helper captain Mike were taking Serenity to Stuart, FL for her winter vacation.

After several weeks of preparation, Serenity was ready for her trip.  Her fuel tanks were brimming with immaculate fuel thanks to her ESI fuel polishing system (the captain LOVES this system).  You may remember that this is the system that caused us to be towed by Sea Tow on one of our trips aboard our 1st KKY, For Us.   The captain was so enamored, he forgot to re-open the valve after the polishing was done, effectively starving the engine of fuel.  We don't talk about that much.  There were enough provisions on board, both food and liquid, to feed a crew of 100.   I spent several hours yesterday cleaning, polishing and primping our girl for her trip.  That's amusing seeing I pay someone to do that for our home.

I brought bagels and pumpkin Dunkin' Donuts coffee to the crew to give them a jump start on what would be a long day.  That gesture by the way, along with my offer to help with the lines, was a thinly veiled attempt to get aboard one last time.  You have to understand my feelings here.  Serenity was our shelter during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the snowy nor'easter that blasted through our region on Thursday.  After spending 10 days aboard, I was more in love with her than ever before  - how is that possible?  She was our respite, a warm and snug cocoon that took care of our every need.  All too soon, the last line was off, Tom and I were hugging and kissing goodbye and she was off.

As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I followed her progress with my camera..

I've never seen her heading away from the dock before, so I was a bit mesmerized.  What a gorgeous girl she is!  I warned the men not to trash her while they used her as their "man cave".  The thought makes me shudder.  I kept walking down the dock until I got this final picture of her heading away from me...

 My consolation is that the men will let me know several days before Serenity nears either the Charleston, SC or Jacksonville, FL inlets.  At that point, I'll be hopping on the next Southwest flight that will get me there.  I have the animals and house sitters on standby, informed my employer of this plan and told both Tom and Mike that my bag is already packed and that "I WILL BE ON THAT BOAT".  It will be a wonderful opportunity to get some helm time, probably in the ICW, and pick up some tips from Captain Mike (we all know how it is to try to learn from a husband).  Hopefully, we'll have a day or two to get Serenity settled in her new slip and introduced to her new Krogen friends at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart.  We'll be taking monthly trips to visit her starting in either December or January until the first week of April, when she comes home to us.

In the meantime, I have to placate myself with photos of my girl, and line up hair, manicure and pedicure appointments so I'm ready to go when I get that signal.   I'm going to miss my trips to the marina, friends in tow, but at least Serenity will warm during the winter and not wrapped up like a ghost.  Mike's SPOT tracker will keep me tuned in to their whereabouts - those updates will be the highlights of the next week!

Bon Voyage sweet Serenity!