And Off He Goes!

Dave is now headed to Hope Town to help out and try to salvage what he can from our apartment, after Hurricane Dorian blew off the roof and collapsed one of the walls. He is also going to try and sell our boats. We already have buyers for both Walkabout and Dandy, so hopefully those deals can be closed on. In order to be over in Abaco, everyone needs to be self sufficient since the islands are still in clean up and recovery mode. The best way to do that is to go over in a large boat with plenty of food, water, and fuel. Our friends Ted and Claire on the s/v Another Life kindly offered a berth on their Irwin 52 to cross the gulf stream and anchor in Hope Town Harbour for about 10 days. Today the boat arrived in Manatee Pocket and Dave boarded to head over.

We had already loaded many supplies for Hope Town on the boat when it was in Ft. Pierce and it is packed to the hilt with provisions to remain independent. Another Life is a huge boat though and can handle it.

In Stuart, Ted filled up with diesel while Dave filled up the auxiliary cans with gas for the dinghy.

Once the holding tanks were empty and the fuel tanks full, they were off the dock with Dave helping out as crew.

Hopefully they will have a nice calm trip. I know Dave will have tons of photos and many tales to tell of his adventures on both the boat and in Hope Town, once he returns.

If you are wondering how he is getting back, after helping out with the recovery efforts, he will be hopping on a 1943 DC 3 plane to Ft. Pierce. This is a wonderful service that Missionary Flights International has been providing for disaster relief personnel going to and from hurricane hit areas. Since they only have a few people returning to the States on his flight, he has been offered way more than normal baggage allowance. It will be interesting to see how much Dave can find in the rubble to bring back.

No matter what, this whole trip will be an experience of a lifetime...and hopefully one he won't ever have to repeat.