HD arrived in Naples 12/10 after another overnight sail. This one was all good-in fact it was perfect! Left Marathon in the Keys at noon timing the tides high enough to get out of the harbor to clear the shoals and then low enough to clear another "65 foot"bridge as we entered into the Gulf. Fortunately, HD had no more instruments left atop her mast to clip off so all went well. The winds were moderate so we sailed the whole 100+NM on a beautiful moonlit night. We arrived Naples Harbor around 6AM and because of the "beautiful moon" we had to wait until the tide came back in so we could have enough water to get to the City Dock. Anchored outside the entrance, napped and made a successful entry a few hours later.
HD was all alone for at a mooring for four nights while the crew packed up our shore side condo belongings so we could close on the sale by the 21st. The Captain worked day and night packing all our "stuff" while the first mate did "Christmas" shopping, ran errands and went dumpster diving for boxes. What alot of work-no more homes to move out of anymore-we're officially "homeless", but happy!.
Sunday night, the crew was fortunate enough to catch the last showing of the "Living Christmas Tree" production at the first mate's church in her home town, a family Christmas tradition.
Put us right into the spirit. Beautiful...
The crew took a break from packing the fifth night and moved HD to the dock so she could have her auto helm installed correctly (which will eliminate the annoying noise it made) and to host our friends Mary and Al for a Christmas/birthday dinner. Lovely...
After leaving some treasures on HD rescued from being boxed and stored away, we were back to the moving business later that night. Tara joined us from Boca on Thursday, and was a big help to the first mate, especially when it was "cleaning time" at the end! The condo was ready for the movers to do their thing on the 16th and all fit including the Harley into yet another storage unit.
Happily, the crew is back home with HD after a full week of work, scheduled doctor visits for the first mate and 4 trips to the chiropractor for the captain. The crew, including Tara, celebrated with dinner and coffee aboard, complete with our official HD mobile Christmas tree and decorations.
Tomorrow HD (decorated in her Christmas trim) heads to her last scheduled stop of 2011; St. Pete to be with family for Christmas...
With love, in the true Spirit of Christmas...
Blessings to you all!
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