Good news, bad news.... Persistence splashed today and we took her home. Before leaving Punta Gorda Marina we double checked all thru-hulls and checked all hose connections that were worked on. After running though our check list we headed out to Peace River and once in Charlotte Harbor we hit wide open throttle(WOT). Persistence responded like the good old days, jumped up on plane (okay didn't exactly jump but still moved pretty well for a 30 year old gal) and topped out at 21. On the way home we ran her through the paces. Engine temperature at WOT stabilized at 190 for both engines. The new alternator was doing its thing and all gauges read normal. Punta Gorda Marina did a great job on all counts and I give them a big thumbs up.

About half way back to the mouth of Alligator creek the generator quit. We confirmed raw water with exhaust before leaving the marina. After arriving at the dock I restarted the generator and found no raw water flow. I suspect either an impeller or a broken or loose belt. We'll know when it open the sound enclosure tomorrow and then make the repair.

The bottom line is that Persistence ran well. All repairs made at the marina performed as expected. I'll take care of the generator and we will still plan to leave on Sunday.

We made some progress today in the repair yard. The Alternator was removed and bench tested and found to be okay. The pigtail to the alternator will be replaced and we should be operational again. They found two through-hull valves that will be replaced and the remaining through-hull valves have been lubricated. The valves are on order and should be here by Wednesday.

We made a number of calls today regarding transient space and fuel cost and made a number of changes in the float plan. We eliminated the Suwanee River from the plan. We learned from a few phone calls that the river is too shallow and cannot support more than 3 ft. draft. Fuel prices were generally around $2.20/gal. but Clearwater City Marina was $1.73/gal. with a Boat US card.

Unfortunately we did not make much progress today. Persistence is still sitting on blocks in the yard. Hopefully parts have been ordered and should be in early next week. We also decided to pull the starboard alternator to get it rebuilt. Richard from Freestyle Canvas came by to do some repairs. We have two aft side curtains that became a bit funky in that the stratoglass became sticky after cleaning it with obviously the wrong stuff. Richard also took a flybridge side panel that had a small crack in the glass to repair. He called later in the day to tell us that he could polish the sticky glass and the helm side panel will be easy. He has promised a Wednesday delivery. After the boat is splashed and is back on our home dock we have just a few remaining mechanical items to resolve, stuff the boat and then we'll be off.

Mary and I hope this journal of our cruise from Punta Gorda, FL to Ft Loudon Marina near Knoxville, TN will allow friends and family to follow our adventures and provide useful information for others who may take a similar journey. When this trip is completed and combined with our cruise in 2002 from Boston to Punta Gorda we will have completed nearly two thirds of the Great Loop.

We have been preparing Persistence for the trip and as usual we expected to find and fix potential problems before we start heading north. Over the last two weeks we have made several improvements and repairs. Persistence today had a full marine survey and she passed with flying colors. The surveyor found no problems but did make a few recommendations including the lubrication of through hull valves while the boat is hauled out. Persistence is currently out of the water for a day or two in the Punta Gorda Marina. We pressure washed the bottom (looks great), and we will do some minor bottom paint touch up. It does not require a full bottom paint at this time. The valves will be lubricated and we decided to replace one valve completely. When she splashes again, she'll head home for some more engine related work (rebuild alternator) and then she'll be ready to go. We still have to provision the boat, load all our clothes and other supplies and then shut down the condo for the summer.

Our travel plans include cruising north along the Gulf coast, around the big bend area and the FL panhandle. We will cruise along Alabama into Mobile Bay where we will transition into fresh water in the Mobile River that connects to the Tenn-Tom Waterway. The Tenn-Tom Waterway then connects with the Tennessee River heading east toward Knoxville. Our playground for the summer will the lakes of the Tennessee River including our home Tellico Lake bordering the Tellico Village. We have created a detailed float plan in spreadsheet format that is available on request by e-mail at tom.murphy1@yahoo.com. In this blog we will provide you with frequent lat/long information so you can follow our progress using Google Earth allowing you to zoom in on our anchorage or Marina. While we have a detailed float plan and a schedule we expect to modify our plan as we go, lingering in great places an extra day and bypassing others if we have reason to do so. If by chance you cease to see updates in the blog over a protracted period, the float plan will allow searchers to check our last known location and the next location or two in the plan. We don't expect Somali pirates, or a remake of Deliverance but you never know. We do expect that there will be days when we cannot connect to the Internet because of a remote location so be patient.

There will be much more to come in the days ahead.