I have finally made it out of Manatee pocket. If you have been following along with my Island Packet 27 you know that I have been down to the boat a few time getting it ready to start moving it further south first and then turning around and heading back to points further north. Specifically Rhode Island first where Integrity will nestle in on its slip and then onto points further north where I can enjoy sailing it in the Maine Islands and rough seaside landscapes.
The trip has started out on April 6th 2026. My sister and I flew down to the boat to get things ready and to start the grand adventure of getting this 27’ sea worthy sailboat actually worthy of making it to the Keys. We had grand plans, but Mother Nature said we had to wait. So we spent the week prepping, organizing things, and waiting out the worst of the weather. Once we had a window, we started making our way south. We decided to start out on the ICW and run the engine so that we could see how it was going to behave. I have not really had a chance to run the engine on this much yet so this was a good experiment. I did an oil change before we left and I checked the belts and coolant. Everything seems good to my limited diesel knowledge. Off we go! Our first ever bridge on the ICW was Hobe Sound bridge. It’s a bit nerve racking at first to call into the unknown and hope that someone is listening and that they even know what you are saying. Lo and behold we got a response and they actually opened the bridge! Success.
We then slogged the slow path down the ICW stopping in Hobe Sound, then West Palm Beach, and a night in Wyman Lake. Today we are in a nice marina called Loggerhead. It’s right in Hollywood Florida. We’re going to spend a couple of nights here giving us the opportunity to shower, do some laundry and rest up from the 77miles at 4 knots and 29 bridges we have passed under. We are expecting the weather to settle down and for the small craft advisories to subside by Wednesday and then we will venture out into the Atlantic for some real sailing to get down to Miami. Im hoping that we can get out there sooner rather than later. The slow slog inside is ok, but Im more inspired and motivated by the sailing.
Next Stop: Biscayne Bay!
