4:52 am

Getting woken up by Dad in the middle of the night is never a good sign when you’re at anchor. The Explorer Navigation platform we use allows us to set an anchor radius. If we were to drift out of that radius, a loud alarm sounds on my Dad’s iPad. Well, it’s our second night at anchor and the alarm went off. Our radius was set to 200 ft around the boat. When the alarm sounded, this means we drifted outside of the 200 ft radius and something was wrong. Thank goodness for this technology, as we were slowly making our way towards other boats.

Dad immediately woke Dylan and I up. Within 2 minutes, we jumped on deck and released the anchor bridle. Next step was to pull up the anchor and try again. Our next attempt to anchor was successful and we decided to let out more chain then last time.

Although this wasn’t a big issue, it taught me the importance of being prepared for anything to go wrong. Both my Dad and I keep VHF’s plugged in next to our beds, with Channel 16 (USCG) locked in. Each side of the boat has its own first aid kit to access in an emergency. Moreover, we practice man overboard by performing drills. Family lessons about jack lines, inflatable life jackets, the Life Cell and EPIRB are also at our highest priority.

Later today we leave for the 🇧🇸, finally. We will go about 24 hours without seeing land. Our goal is to leave at night time so we can arrive during the day. The Bahamas are very shallow, making it hard to navigate at night on a boat that draws 5 ft. Family will be social media silent as we cross the gulf stream, stay tuned for our arrival. Talk soon.