Miss Daisy 2018

March-December 2018  •  260 days

It has been a long time dream of ours to someday do the Great Loop (http://www.captainjohn.org/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Loop). This became a possibility in 2017. We began looking for a boat. It was love at first sight when we saw this 42-foot Grand Banks Classic trawler in North Palm Beach, Fl., July 16, 2017. We purchased it and took possession August 10th after surveys and one engine repair. August 11 – 14 we brought her home to the Waterline Marina in Melbourne. September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit as a category 2 rather than predicted 5. We had spent a hectic week learning how and securing Miss Daisy, our name for her, in every possible manner. She rode the storm well; we only lost one hatch cover. We are most thankful! Waterline is a safe Marina. Many repairs and upgrades began. Bringing the new refrigerator and freezer in thru the stern window is an example of the work-arounds needed. This is only one of many challenges we face. On October 28, 2017 we and 26 friends, celebrated with a re-naming party. We had tours, champagne, the official burying at sea of the old name and our new name board uncovered. We had spent hours getting the board prepared and name applied. We still had much work to do on the boat and things to purchase—including a dinghy and motor. During this time, we occasionally “drove” Miss Daisy into the Indian River to practice backing, coming along-side makeshift buoys we had placed to represent a dock and the like. John does the coming into marinas. The weekend of November 4th we took an overnight to Cape Canaveral to practice the lock there. A beautiful full moon blessed our night out. Over the holidays we were able to take both Chris and family and later Darryl and girlfriend out for a brief ride and lunch. Weather wise it was a wonderful day for Chris, but very windy for Darryl. We learned what 30 mph wind is like with Darryl. We continue to work to the goal of leaving to start the Loop mid-March. Progress is being made but it seems so slow at times. To that end, we will take a check-out cruise for about a week down toward Lake Okeechobee, leaving on or around February 13.