Delivery Route

All times noted are CST.
21 Jan:  Captain and Mate linked up with owners at the vessel and began preparations departure o/a Sat. 23 Jan.
22 Jan:  Preparations continue to include refueling , provisioning, picking up life raft and shaft alignment.  6:01 PM  Captain receives weather forecast for first five days of the delivery.  Conditions forecasted for Monday/Tuesday are not favorable for the near shore run from Marathon to Clearwater, FL.  Captain reviewed options and decided to route via the Okeechobee Waterway instead and planned to depart tomorrow around noon.
23 Jan:  At 5:26 PM captain provided following report --  We left CRYC at 1200 PM, went out Port Everglades channel, clearing Sea Buoy at 1:00  PM with plans to ride the Gulf Stream to Stuart, FL.  Stream was running close in and we were doing 11 knots speed over ground (SOG) while making turns for 8 knots.   East wind at 15-20 started and kicked up East seas to 6' and building. Went back to Port Everglades after we all agreed this was no fun!  Ran north up Intracoastal reaching Boca Raton around 1600 while idling waiting for bridge, throttle failed.  Able to maneuver to safe anchorage. Throttle, Gear Shift, Steering all driven from same hydraulic system. Shift/Steering still worked. Diagnosed problem to hydraulic side but cannot resolve. Attempted to bleed of hydraulic actuator and stripped O ring creating slow leak and loss of pressure.  Made it back to Light House Marina, Pampano Beach, FL and secured at 6:30 PM.  Mechanic contacted and will be at the boat tomorrow at 7:00 AM.
24 Jan:  Captain reported the mechanic showed up at 7:00 AM (on a Sunday morning!!!), repaired the hydraulic problem and they were underway at 11:00 AM.  Today's destination is Stuart, FL.  At 5:42 PM captain reported they proceeded north via the ICW.  Offshore routing would have been preferable over this route to miss the many bridges but conditions were too rough.  They secured for the night at anchor near the Lake Worth Inlet. 
25 Jan:  Captain reports they had a pleasant, breezy night at anchor and were underway at 6:30 AM.  At 4:40 PM captain reported they docked at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart  under clear blue skies and crisp cool breeze. Plan to leave tomorrow to head to and across lake Okeechobee. 
26 Jan:  At 7:01 PM captain called and reported they made it across the Okeechobee and secured at Moorehaven.  Depths were as reported by the Corps of Engineers and they saw plenty of wildlife to include one very large gator.  Plan for tomorrow is to continue on the waterway to an anchorage on the west coast of Florida near Pine Island.
27 Jan:  At 8:48 captain e-mailed following report:  Got started at 6:30 AM.  Just cleared Ortona locks.  Now making 8knots SOG so hoping to make anchorage tonight.  Weather today: what we call in Florida a "Chamber of Commerce day"!  4:37 PM Chris Parker provided five day forecast. 7:28 PM captain e-mailed following report:  We anchored at Useppa at 3:30 PM.  Nice run across state.  Forecast agrees exactly with ours. We plan to get underway around 2:30 Am tomorrow, stop in Venice FL to top up fuel/water/food and hope to get underway for Carabelle, FL by 0900. We plan to make turns for at least 8kn which should put us at East Pass around 11:00 am Friday.  For those tracking us: Great dolphin show today with two adults and two babies running under our bow for a half hour then another one leaping out of the water multiple times right off our bow!
28 Jan:  At 8:26 AM captain e-mailed following report:  We just finished bunkering in Venice, FL and will heading out in a few minutes.  11:10 AM captain calls they were passing Long Boat Key Pass enroute to Carabelle, FL with ETA around 9 AM tomorrow.  Next update upon arrival into Carabelle.
29 Jan:  At  9:20 AM captain e-mailed following report:  Cleared East Cape at 8:55 AM.  Heading West in ICW. If tomorrow Front not too bad and no weather issues coming week then still have chance of making Kemah by Wed afternoon. At 10:21 AM received following SPOT position report from captain:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.68981,-84.85076&ll=29.68981,-84.85076&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 At 5:16 PM received following SPOT position report from captain: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.08568,-85.51206&ll=30.08568,-85.51206&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1  At 5:45 PM  captain e-mailed following report:  We're just East of Panama City.  Looks like Front will go through tonight.  We are in nice snug anchorage.  No traffic on ICW except we had to throttle back to sudden stop to avoid hitting a deer swimming across ICW!
30 Jan:  At 10:27 AM captain sent following SPOT position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.21867,-85.73464&ll=30.21867,-85.73464&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1   3:18 PM SPOT position report: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.43698,-86.32256&ll=30.43698,-86.32256&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1   7:12 PM SPOT position report: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.40365,-86.81482&ll=30.40365,-86.81482&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1   7:54 PM captain e-mailed following report:  Mele Kai Anchored for the Night.  Ran ICW for about 2hours after dark. Taking great deal of concentration with not much room for error and high penalty for a "miss". Found anchorage .25nm North of marker "81" . Brrrr with wind chill cold out but nice and snug inside Mele Kai. Plan to get started at dawn tomorrow.  Big success for today was getting AIS working with SeaClear. Got to test it with tug&tow "Yangsee Peterson".
31 Jan:  At 6:45 captain e-mails following report:  Mele Kai Underway 6:30 AM.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!! 
8:56 AM SPOT position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.33994,-87.17278&ll=30.33994,-87.17278&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
2:09 PM SPOT position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.16046,-87.95255&ll=30.16046,-87.95255&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
4:30 PM SPOT Position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.17933,-88.35503&ll=30.17933,-88.35503&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
1 Feb:  2:55 AM SPOT position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.24271,-89.08515&ll=30.24271,-89.08515&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
7:00 AM captain e-mails following report:  Pulled over at 9:00 PM last night for a cat nap behind Cat Island and to time arrival at Rigolets at dawn.   Underway again at 2:20 AM. Now approaching marker "15". AIS proving a wonderful aid for night running with tug traffic. Will send SPOT position report in a moment. Chance of making Houma, LA tonight.
7:04 AM SPOT position report:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.14426,-89.5719&ll=30.14426,-89.5719&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
6:43 PM captain e-mails following report:  Locked in/out MS river (Harvey) no trouble at all. Tied up about 5nm S of ICW on Barataria Waterway at C&M Marine. Took on 200 gal fuel, topped off water tanks and gave her a good scrub.  Captain and Mate booked on 1:30 PM flight tomorrow New Orleans to Tampa. Owner of C&M marine giving us a ride to airport.  Everyone in good spirits. 
2 Feb:  9:34 AM crew calls in with a recap of the trip.  Owners will proceed from here or their own and provide daily updates on their progress which will be posted here.
Owner calls and reports they secured at the Houma City Marina at 4:30 PM and enjoyed dinner with friends.  Plan is to depart at first light tomorrow morning and make Intracoastal City.
3 Feb:  At 2:06 PM owner called and reported they were delayed for an hour at the Bayou Beouff locks and could not make Intracoastal City.  They secured for the day at the Morgan City Municipal Marina at 1:00 PM.  Plan for tomorrow is to depart at first light and make Intracoastal City.  Owner watching frontal system that should pass tonight.
4 Feb:  Owner reported they waited for the weather to lift and departed at 8:00 AM this morning and secured at Intracoastal City/Shell Morgan at 3:30 PM. 
5 Feb:  Owner reported they departed this morning at 6:45 AM and secured at the Bowtie Marine in Lake Charles, LA just before dark at 6:15 PM.
6 Feb:  Spoke with owner at 8:50 AM.  They departed at 7:00 AM and are going offshore out the Calcasieu River to the Gulf of Mexico to the Galveston Jetties.  Walter will give me a call later in the day with a progress report and ETA into Waterford Harbor.   At 6:45 PM Walter called their ETA at the entrance to the Galveston Jetties is 9:15 PM.  They have had a great run, had rigs along the way but did not have to deviate course.  Plenty of sunshine and seas in the six inch range.  A great day to be offshore.  Walter will call me when he secures for the night at the Galveston Yacht Basin.  At 10:00 PM Walter called and said they were dropping the hook at the Galveston Yacht Basin.
7 Feb:  Walter called that the adventure was over.  They departed the Galveston Yacht Basin anchorage at 8:15 AM and secured at Waterford Harbor Marin at 12:15 PM.

Deliveries Booked:
+  360 Sea Ray motor yacht training delivery from St. Thomas, USVI to Fajardo, PR.  Florida based captain selected -- RE.  Departure Feb. 2010

Deliveries Planned:

52 ft. Powerboat delivery from Ensenada, Mexico to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Seattle based captain selected -- TF.  Departure TBD.
47 ft. Power catamaran delivery from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Tortola, BVI.  Florida based captain selected -- RE.  Departure TBD.
38 ft. Powerboat delivery from San Francisco, CA to Seattle, WA.  Seattle based captain selected -- GB.  Departure May 2010
32 ft. Sailing Catamaran delivery from Dauphin Island, AL to Key West, FL.  Florida based captain selected -- DG.  Departure Mar. 2010


Some of our Many Testimonials: 

  Sailboat Delivery --  "I am extremely pleased with the professionalism, local knowledge and trouble shooting abilities of the Global Delivery Service captain and crew.  On a scale of 1 to 10 my satisfaction level is a high 12.  I will recommend Global Delivery Service to my boating friends."  Owner 42 ft. sailboat Seattle, WA to Kodiak, AK delivery.
  Powerboat Delivery -- "Your recommendation of Global Delivery Service to captain our boat for the 600 miles back to Florida was excellent.  The captain made our trip safe, informative and enjoyable.  From start to finish, this was one of the most enjoyable buying processes we have ever experienced...".   Owner 42 ft. powerboat Kemah, TX to Destin, FL delivery.
  Sailboat Delivery -- " I asked GDS to help me deliver my new boat to Connecticut.  They were very responsive and provided a captain who knew the local waters and conditions.  We had a great trip.  GDS is a professional operation.  I would recommend GDS to my boating friends and would use their services again."   Owner 27 ft. sailboat, Nova Scotia to Connecticut delivery
  Powerboat Delivery -- " I was totally satisfied with The Global Delivery Service team.  It was a professional operation from start to finish.   They provided an accurate estimate, quickly got my boat underway, kept me informed of her progress and delivered my boat in great shape.  I highly recommend GDS."   Owner 63 ft Motor Yacht Florida to Connecticut delivery.
  Sailboat Delivery --  "GDS was aces, absolutely top shelf service."  Owner of a 37 ft. sailboat Hampton, VA to Tortola participating in the Caribbean 1500 Rally.  GDS provided captain, crew, and safety equipment for the vessel (life-raft, EPIRB and Sat Phone).
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