Long Beach, MS to Panama City, FL

Friday May 6, 2016  10:30 am

Once out of the harbor we set sails and enter the Gulf of Mexico between Cat and Ship Islands at 1130am. It is a beautiful sunny day, winds NNE 5-10 kts and seas 2-3ft. Set a heading of 110 degrees at 6kts keeping us 20 to 30 miles off shore. This first leg is about 193 mi and will take us 36 hours.

We have been listening to a may-day transmission since we left. It is from a Shrimp boat with a MOB (man over board) unresponsive, possible heart attack, there is a lot of panic and confusion, it appears to be the captains father. They are 50 mi out and heading to Pascagula, Coast Guard has acknowledged and is responding.
It is now 6pm we are 25mi south east of Petit Bois I. and we see the Coast Guard intercept with Shrimp boat. Hope all is well with the crew, but this serves as stark reminder of the risks we take out here and the need for all our preparation, safety gear and knowing what you are doing. OK, we got the first two, but working on the last one :)
Lets see, 7hrs to get to you, 2hr misc, 3hrs to definitive care - that's 12 hrs after your heart attack.... Ooops!
And I just remembered, today is Friday, old sailor superstition never set sail on a Friday.....Ooops!

We can't over think this kind of stuff because God just sent us the most beautiful, colorful sun set, 10 kts of wind and 2ft seas, yes we are in heaven. How wonderful God's creation.
  
We settled into our night time routine, life jackets and tethers, navigation lights on (we are not over thinking this, just in case), lay back and wonder as you look into the stars above, with the gentle slap of the waves on the hull...
OK, OK, spoiler alert and if it makes you feel better, we will be pitching and rolling in 5 to 6 foot waves and 15kt winds in a couple of hours. Have a good night ya all.