2019 Life Logs, Day 361: Where in the World is Windbird?
Date: Friday, December 27, 2019
Weather: Overcast, but Warm; High 52, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
A number of people have asked me where in the world Windbird is these days and whether or not I will be sailing with Sam and Dawn this winter. So, I’ll bring you up-to-date. Windbird spent the summer tucked away in Curacao in the southern Caribbean, while Sam and Dawn lived with friends in the Pacific Northwest during Sam’s working summer months. Their plan was to return to Curacao in November, get Windbird ready for another sailing season, and then spend time in the San Blas in Panama and slowly work their way up through the western Caribbean. I had hoped to join them, maybe in the San Blas. They planned to end the season in New York City where they planned to live aboard for a couple of years. Some of those plans changed abruptly in late October when they bought a 2.3 acre lot on an airstrip at the top of the Kitsap peninsula, 15 miles west of Seattle. “ It’s just trees & grass taxiways now, but in a few years we’ll build our Northwoods dream nest, a hangar, a shop, a yard for Piper to run around…. We’ve enjoyed our life on the water and will continue to live & cruise aboard Windbird for a few years, but in the meantime we’re also building our land & air future together!” This purchase changed the immediate plans as Sam now needs to get back to work to pay for this. So, they decided to sail Windbird from Curacao to Bonaire and then make a quick run back to Florida where they will live aboard this winter so Sam can get back to work. On December 3, they left Bonaire and arrived in Fort Pierce, Florida on December 13. 
Sam posted on Facebook: “We did it! Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles to Fort Pierce, Florida, 1293 nautical miles in 8 days 19 hours 30 minutes (plus a 31-hour pause for weather in Grand Bahama), a fast-for-us average of 6.11 knots. We had a couple patches of rougher seas – including last night in the Gulf Stream – but Windbird handled them with aplomb and never missed a beat. With this passage the Caribbean cruising chapter of our life ends, but other adventures await. Tomorrow we’ll arrive at our winter home of Cocoa Village Marina where we’ll stay as I finish 737 Captain training & get on the line, then we’ll move Windbird up to New York City for the summer!” That’s update on where in the world Windbird is these days.
The update from here is not so rosy. My cold is no better. I actually started the day feeling a bit better, but then I couldn’t resist spending part of the afternoon outside as it was in the 50’s. Shadow and I enjoyed our time outside, but when we came in, I started coughing and felt lousy. Other than an early morning trip to the veterinarian for Shadow’s first rabies shot, we spent the rest of the day being couch potatoes . . . again. Maybe tomorrow.
