Day #1 - Friday: Meet Rainbows End

      Anytime you try to move nine people from multiple source locations and get them a thousand miles away, there absolutely will be transportation issues and snafus.  It would be nearly midnight before every one of my crew was finally aboard.  Already, my meticulously-planned itinerary was one nightly stop behind.  We would need to stay here in this marina tonight.

at Key Largo Marina

      I, Jeremy, Kat, Doug, and Michelle got to Key Largo at mid-afternoon.  There, we met up with Capt. Joe, the skipper and technician extraordinaire from 360 Yachting, and his assistant Edgar.  The girls took off to the grocery store for provisions, and Capt. Joe began the arduous task of familiarizing us guys with Rainbows End and its vast array of mind-bogglingly complex systems.  This took over two hours.  And since my First Mate, Tim, was not here, I had to digest all this without him.  But fortunately Doug, with his limitless information-absorbing sponge for a brain, was able to retain the vast bulk of it all.  I told him that I was already REAL close to demoting Tim down to Cabin Boy or something, and promoting Doug up to First Mate.  But Doug did become our de-facto electrical engineer for the rest of the trip.

       Then I whipped out my maps, and Joe and & I discussed my itinerary.  Joe was surprised, and a bit skeptical, of my plans to go up the Gulf side.  He said that nearly all their charterers go up the Atlantic side.  But my intricate and detailed explanations of my plans seemed to convince him that I knew what I was doing and that the boat would be safe going that way.

Looking up at the mainsail

      Rainbows End was definitely a first-class vessel!  It was incredibly spacious and roomy, and had all the latest bells & whistles and gadgets & gizmos.  The propulsion system consisted of a single diesel that recharged the propulsion batteries, which in turn powered two individually-controlled electric motors, one on each hull.  There was also an auxiliary diesel engine for the air conditioner and other house systems.

       The galley was immense.  On the starboard side of the boat was a luxurious master suite with a queen-sized bed cabin, a "parlor" with a desk and loveseat, a private head with separate shower, and closets galore.  Tim, Theresa, and Lindsey would get this side of the boat.  On the port size were two queen-sized cabins, two heads, and also lots of closets and cubbies.  Jeremy & Kat took the aft cabin; Doug & Michelle, forward.

Jeremy definitely likes the galley

     The cockpit, also big and roomy, included a wet bar, with its own refrigerator, separate from the galley fridge.  On each side of the cockpit were stairs leading up to the bridge, which was large enough to accommodate several people on its wide bench.  Instruments included a Raymarine GPS-integrated chartplotter with a full-sized color screen, and a handheld VHF radio.  There were switches for electric winches.  Plus a big map-holder with a hinged Plexiglas cover.  Up on the bridge, looking out over the foredeck, it felt like you were on a ship.

      The disappointment were the "single cabins", at the forepeak of each hull, where supposedly  a crewman could sleep.  There were more like tombs; to enter them, you open an overhead hatch and descend a very long, narrow ladder.  Inside, they were dark, dank, dirty, windowless dungeons.   A good place perhaps for cargo, but not people.  Mitch and I would need to find another place to sleep.

New Orleans Saints flag flies high

      There were davits at the stern for raising the dinghy.  We won't have to tow it, like we did on Charisma.  But it only had a wimpy little 4 HP motor.

      At dusk, it starts to rain.  And it rains all night long.  One of the hatches above the galley leaks.  O boy.   Is it going to be like this all week?