The Eve of Deprarture AGAIN

Problem Solving

The problems with the depth sounder are fixed and I have to say the NEXUS tech support was pretty helpful.  They were pretty proactive to find solutions that were affordable.  The equipment was 5 years old and 3 years out of warranty. They worked out an exchange where they will credit me when I return the defective parts.  Additionally they are sending a spare depth transducer because they thought the one they sent was the incorrect one.  They said they were sending a 52mm transducer however when I measured the transducer on the boat it measured about 41mm.  In order to swap the transducers I would have to haul the boat out of the water.  They agreed that was an excessive fix and agreed to send another.

Weather

Right now we are waiting out the weather that is to pass thru today Monday (Oct 13, 2014) and will leave tomorrow morning.  It is blowing 25 knots with higher gusts and based on the speed of the front I would expect 50 knot wind during the passage of the front.  Looking out the porthole I see the clouds building to the north and expect the worst storms to hit in about and hour.  The actual front is expect to pass at about 1PM. 
Right now it is sunny and very breezy but I see high clouds to the north bearing down on us at 30 knots.

Waiting on parts

Even though the depth sounder is fixed we are still waiting on parts to show up that it turned out we did not need.  We will need to return them for credit.  The marina store is closed on Mondays and I and the 1st mate are taking watches up at the store.  Cindy the store manager and Bob the harbor master agreed to loan us a key to the store so we could hide inside  when condition worsened.  I got the first watch from 8 to 10AM and it is nearly 10 now so my relief is due shortly. 

Leaving port after a front.

Here on the western Gulf coast there is actually very little tide.  It typically only ranges about 1 ft.  However the water level ranges 4 to 6 feet during the passage of a front due to wind blown tides and barometric pressure.  In this area of the Gulf and in particular in the shallow coastal bays the average water depth is 8 to 10 feet and the lost of 4 feet can stop a sailboat from leaving the slip.  We are hoping that the fact high tide is in the AM and our 5 foot draft will let us sneak out into the ship channel and point south.  Additionally the morning temperature is expected to be in the high 40's has the 1st mate and I looking for some warmer close for the AM departure tomorrow. 
On the plus side the wind should be from a favorable angle for sailing to our first destination at Laguna Point where we will tie up for the night.

Outside Conditions