Journey's End: Church Creek to Naples 2014

Day #27: Bligh was right, the crew did indeed jump ship (ok, so what if Ken and Pat did have non refundable airline tickets back to LA). In their two weeks aboard, Nellie covered 600nm and most of 3 states. Pat's meals kept the crew happy and Ken's helmsmanship kept us off the bottom (mostly). Even though Bligh only scowls when asked, they were good shipmates.

As the trip began, so it ended with John rejoining Nellie and me. Departing the mooring ball John cast off as I took the helm. It's not a difficult departure. A little left rudder and a little power should swing the bow clear. It didn't. I added more left rudder, confirmed that it was hard over with the rudder angle indicator, and again goosed the power. Nothing happened. I quickly switch to a mental diagnostic mode. What's the problem? Transmission linkage; hydraulic failure; prop shaft decoupled; then again, maybe the helmsman simply forgot to engage the transmission... This boating stuff can be so humbling.

It was a bumpy but uneventful 30nm from Ft Myers Beach to Naples. Fortunately the 20kt winds and 3-4' waves were astern and so pushed us along. Nellie was rewarded for her good behavior over the past 27 days with a new home in a covered slip. The total for this trip was 1153nm and 182 engine hours. DBH.