I'm Getting Ready to Go. Wait! This isn't Amalia! What's up?

S/V Dutchess, CSY 44, Center Cockpit

Whoa!  What happened?

Well, its a long story and I'll give you whole story.

My venerable, 50-year old, Cal 30 Amalia was being prepared all season to make this same trip and the plan was to leave (coincidentally) in about the same timeframe.

But, due to not having accomplished all of the desired upgrades and improvements - although certainly everything that was absolutely necessary - I got to thinking about the schedule and realized there was a big hole in my logic.

The trip from Muskegon would have been to Chicago, into the Chicago River and down the Illinois River to the Mississippi.  From there, downstream to the Ohio, upstream to the Tennessee or Cumberland and then down the Tenessee to the Tenn-Tom waterway to Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.  The trip is usually made from mid-September to Mid-November to avoid most of the river flood stages and work a compromise between beautiful fall days in the North and the pending colder weather.  It also conveniently keeps on on the interior rivers during hurricane season.

So what was the problem?  it was simply my realization that my tentative plan to come home for the winter and go back after the house was on the market next spring had a major flaw.  What is Vickie doesn't retire July 1?  Even if she did, what about paying for all that storage in Mobile and going back in May or June to sail alone, endure oppressive Florida heat in June-August and then needing to store again during hurricane season?  It didn't make any sense to get the boat to the Gulf and then let is sit until fall.

So, I regretfully decided that I would need to postpone my trip down until early next summer - at the earliest.  Since I have had the mast removed for deck work all season, there would be no sailing this year.  Might as well rig up the boat for another long winter's nap.

But, then came the post on the AGLCA Website classified section requesting a crew to sign on to help the owner bring his boat from Chicago to Mobile in the same timeframe.

So, I contacted him and am packing today to depart tomorrow (Sunday, 9/27/15) for Hammond, Indiana where the skipper and S/V Dutchess has been waiting for the past few weeks awaiting crew.

Dutchess is a CSY 44 (Caribbean Sailing Yacht) with a center cockpit displacing 38,000 pounds.