Our boat, Liberty, has been across Lake Michigan many times, as well as back and forth to the Caribbean several times. Sans Angie. I’m always the one who flies in to meet my husband on the other side.
Liberty
However, at 5 a.m. on December 26, 2020, I joined my husband on my first open ocean passage. Pre-trip, there was a little misunderstanding about whether I had said that I “would” crew the voyage, or whether I “wanted” to make the 72 mile trip. Either way, there I was, suiting up! It was a cool and breezy morning in West Palm Beach. I switched out my shorts and t-shirt for blue jeans and a sweatshirt. I was a little surprised when Bill suggested that I wear a rain jacket, but he was right, I really did need the windbreak. Even though the temperature was a normally-pleasant 73 degrees, that feels pretty cold in the windy open ocean, at least until the sun comes out!
I have a tendency toward sea sickness when the water is rough, so I took a ginger pill before we departed. I have found ginger pills to be helpful, so I try to remember to take one if I expect to be on rough water (although I never really plan to be on rough water)!
I am technically the First Mate, and I have several t-shirts to prove it courtesy of my daughter, but truth-be-told, I wasn’t really a lot of help to my husband on this passage. I spent half of the day concentrating on not getting sick and the other half looking around for dolphins. However, I did take the helm a few times while Bill tended to sheets and lines, checked the course, or fixed himself a sandwich. I intentionally didn’t eat or drink all day. Of course, I spent the next few days recovering from the dehydration, but at least I was successful in my pursuit of evading sea sickness on the passage.
My husband picked a great day to make this passage, the weather really couldn’t have been much more perfect. He is also very (maybe overly) safety conscious, so I knew all was going to be well. Offshore everyone has to wear life jackets and be tethered in. This was my first time in a tether. I didn’t do a lot of moving around the boat, so I was relatively unaffected, but even with the bit of a hassle tethering is a must on the open ocean.
I have to tell you about the best part of my day-several hours into the voyage, my 6 year old grandson texted to ask me if I was doing ok. He knew there was a possibility that I could be sea sick so he was checking up on me! How sweet is that? Grandkids are the greatest.
Following 12 hours of smooth sailing, while the sun was beginning to set, we found ourselves nearing our destination. Hello Key Biscayne!
We rounded the southern tip of Key Biscayne at sundown, then made our way up the west side of the island to anchor outside No Name Harbor.
Cape Florida Lighthouse 
Stiltsville
Now, I’m not ready to admit that I’ll agree to make the passage back home to Jacksonville at the end of this adventure, but I’m almost ready to sail on over to Bimini from here!