Blewtooth

My solo trip was great. I was very lucky to have had such good weather and should be thankful that my worst problems were getting becalmed almost daily. When I was off of Canaveral was the worst of it but also the most interesting. I got buzzed twice by a Navy jet. . . looked like an old A6 but man it was impressive! He was moving so fast that he was already turning low around me before I heard the thunder of the engines. Also got looked at close by an Orion I think. Got to listen to the radio chatter from all of the war ships announcing there presence to each other all around me though I only saw the destroyers and escorts off on the horizon. Also saw a pyrotechnic launch off of Canaveral: two bright lights, like flairs off to the west for only a few seconds and then they were gone. Dolphins came to play around the hull and it was like they were playing peek-a-boo with me from one side of the boat to the other. The water was so clear that I could see their entire form just lolling about under the rudder. The third day I saw a huge whale breaching about a half mile away. His fin was as long as the boat. Then, there was this little gull. There were actually two of them. The first one looked like a common ring bill or herring gull and ate crackers that I tossed. He was on the second day. The other one on came later and was brown and white, a different species and would eat nothing I offered. He just seemed to enjoy my company. When the wind would pick up he would paddle after me but never flap his wings until the boat began to outpace him. Then he would fly away and I would not see him until I was becalmed again.
I have finally figured a way to post videos! So I will one here since this is the first to go live on Google's site.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5669746148904000171&q=rocko+delray I also saw more than several sea turtles. The second day and the last day were probably the most stressful. On the second I ran into a line of squalls in the late afternoon and they seemed to last all evening and to make maters worse I seemed to be in one of the shipping lanes because several freighter passed very close by. I wound up getting slightly nauseous probably from the stress more than anything. I don't think the seas ever got over 6' at anytime during the voyage. It was interesting, learning how to heave to. At first I was too excited/nervous to sleep but I was getting used to it by the third night and managed to get at least five hours one time. I made it to the last Navy Tower: Spag 1 and my state of mind emproved greatly. Here is a video of it: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9001593740210657266&q=Rocko+Delray
Pay no attention to my unkempt appearance. The last night was definitely the worst because I had to spend it anchored off of the first buoy to Tybee Roads. I got hit by several squalls as I was approaching and I became just too tired to attempt going in that night. I was so anxious to get in that I was getting ready to pay Sea Tow to come out and get me after I had trouble starting the motor. I even called them. Luckily I came to my senses and canceled. The next morning was dead calm and I just motored through the markers and into the Savannah River. I was glad to be able to get through to Bull River Marina on the last day and they were nice enough to call my family for me and let them know that I was all right. When I was delayed for the last night at Tybee Roads late in the evening I called the Coast Guard and asked them to call my family again to let them know that it would be the next day before I would be there and they too were nice enough to do it for me. Great people and a great trip.

Well, I just got back from my first night on the town in a long time. As usual lately, it was solo, just like everything else in my life but because I got so bored early on I didn't drink too much and left early enough to write in this blog.
Now, dear readers, you will be treated to the distillation of my musings while sitting on a bar stool at the standard Irish Pub. Not much going on there. A wedding party came in and they were all way too young for me even to try to converse with so I spent the next hour gazing at the girls faces. They were all beautiful. Ok, that's it for the bar. All too young, etc.. . And besides that, there were only a few girls in a bar full of guys. I think women actually become physically more beautiful when they know they have ten guys just ogling them for doing nothing more than walking into the room.
Ahem.... well, I was thinking about buoys there tonight as well. Not BOYS but buoys. Yes. .
NOAA has a great web site, It gives wave height and frequency and wind speed from many buoys scattered about the oceans of the world. I know this doesn't sound too interesting but it can be when you imagine what's really going on out there while we go about our everyday business. During hurricane Dennis I noticed that the Sombrero Key buoy recorded winds of over 70 knots. No weatherman said anything about Sombrero Key. All of the other buoys and towers around Florida Bay recorded no wind even close to that and yet Sombrero is on the far east side of the lower keys. Dennis past well to the west of Key West. Here is the URL: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=SMKF1
Then, there is the buoys and towers in the North Atlantic and North Sea. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that one of them recorded a 49 foot wave. Station 64045 - K5 Buoy http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=64045 Imagine it! If you look at the picture of one of the platforms there in the North Sea it shows a huge sea: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=63104 I shudder to think of being in that one.
But sometimes it seems like the entire world is at peace out there. Some nights I can find no buoy showing more than 6' seas and winds almost calm all over the world.

Station SKMG1 - U.S. Navy Tower M2R6
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=SKMG1
Has huge wind generators and a solar panel and helo pad but there is nobody living on it; all automated. I sailed by it on my way to Savannah and have a video of it but have not completed the upload to the Google download site. It should be live soon. Please pay no attention to my unkempt appearance when you do see it.

Why do I talk about these two subjects in the same post? Splended desolation, I guess.

Rocko Delray logs 320 nautical miles. Getting close to Blue Water Sailor status.

5 days at sea. Going solo. Left Lake Worth inlet and headed for N 27.34.305, W 079.40.300. Stayed out there meandering northward, and wandering westward again after passing Canaveral. Passing by the NOAA buoys and then making for Tybee Roads. Finally there after 4 days. Had to spend the night at the first marker before getting in to dockside at Whitmarsh Island on Saturday, July 2. It was beautiful. Next blue water will be for Baltimore.