Long Time, No Write

Firstly, we are fine and the boat is fine...for a 63 year old boat.
We suffered a cataclysmic breakdown just as we were exiting the very lock that held us up. Lock 13. Thank God that Jake (and Sarah aboard Prospero) were feeling up to the challenge of towing us 63 miles (in 3 days) to get to Waterford, were we could relax and get to the bottom of things.  The tow went really well, even had the sign of God's promise to never EVER again wipe all of mankind out...by a flood. I'll take it! Jake and Sarah, thanks for bringing good cheer and being such terrific friends.
We stayed in company with Prospero until New York City, had many great dinners and good times with her crew. The transit was going well and we were making good mileage, even while Jim learned all about replacing our fuel injector pump and all its pump-y bits. The weather has been a little tough, cold and windy, but onward we go.
We introduced fair Dolphin to salt water and ocean waves on a NE 15-20 knot wind and hoisted those beautiful sails, not including the one that Jim cut down and re-made into a lapper. She "heeled over and got on the rails" as Chuck B had put it, and we were off and flying into the wind. Yahoo! Never had a boat that could 7 knots into the wind! Then the primary bilge pump came on. Then it came on again. And again. Then it began short cycling, spewing out salt water. Sorry, Dolphin!
The upshot is that we have found the place in her garboard where she opens up a teeny bit when we have the sails up and working hard. The fact that she tightens back up afterwards is comforting. Her interior is very lightweight and gives in to the twisting motion of the hull in a cross sea, too. She's what I would call "chatty".
So no more 20 knot winds on the nose. We have been able to sail her on most days through the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW), and have come all the way to Florida without sinking. The next few days call for 10-15 knots, so we'll consider going out to St. Augustine.
In the meantime, I have found all this transiting has been hard work, full of long running days and long, dark evenings. Jim is in his glory, planning, planning and more planning. Engine maintenance, determining routes and anchorages and keeping the ship moving. We're in bed by 8:30-9 o'clock, and up before sunrise, getting weather reports and slurping coffee. Soon we'll be staged to make the hop over to the northern Bahamas. If we make it to the cruiser's Christmas potluck on Green Turtle Cay, we'll be very happy.