Trip Planning

My lovely wife and I are heading down the Florida Keys for a week. We are leaving the sailboat behind because we want to check out some campgrounds we used to go to. However, the inflatable kayak is packed. We've driven to the Keys a number of times, so we have a fair idea how to go about it.

Instead of worrying about our camping trip, we've started to plan for our next sailing adventure. We've been using Active Captain to plan our sailing trips. https://activecaptain.com/ It's one of the most useful planning and navigation tools we use. I've even got it on my iphone so I can use on on the boat. However, it been really nice to use my dad's desktop computer with a big screen display. Maybe I need to put my reading glasses on.

So how do we plan? Plans and schedules can be very dangerous things on the water. Yet, one has to have some idea where they are going. My lovely wife and I look at options. Do we take the inside on the ICW? (Intra Coastal Waterway) or do we head out in the open ocean? Do we cut across the state on the Okeechobee Waterway or do we sail down to Florida Bay? What do we if the weather suddenly turns bad? Do we have safe harbors we can duck in? Heck, do we change our plans completely and sail to Texas?

By the time we launch, we'll have our first destination planned, subject to change as conditions dictate. We've looked over enough alternate routes that we can pick them as they come. That's pretty much how we navigate life in general.

Of course, the map is not the territory. Planning only gets you so far. The unexpected is always out there. That just adds a bit of spice to life.

-Sixbears