We left Sarasota at nine am, the sun streaming down and the weather mild. Thanking the bascule bridge tenders once again, Faith left fair Sarasota in her wake. We ran New Pass channel like old hands, grinding on the sand not once. The wind was with us (miracles do occur) lending us a pleasant run fifty miles down the coast to Boca Grande. The first Marina we found was shut down for the night so we tied up at the gas dock and wandered around the neighborhood, no doubt decreasing property values with every step. "Every step" eventually brought us to a ramshackle marina a few blocks away. I'm not being dramatic or stretching the truth for effect here: Whitten's Marina had a pig living in a pen out front � sign on the pigpen: This pig can make it to the gate in five seconds�Can you?" � orchids blooming on the gas dock next to the live bait, an open air shower, a nautical oddities museum, and were on the National Register of Historic Places as of 1926. "That marina you're at," cautioned the woman behind the counter, "charges up to five bucks a foot. Had a guy in a thirty five foot boat cost him 175 bucks for one night. We only charge, oh, a dollar-eighty. Sorry�we don't get that many transients here�"
Brian rightfully figured that it was worth the effort of moving the Faith. "If they're telling the truth," he explained, "then that other place is a rip off. And if they're liars and pirates, they're our kind of people." As it turned out they were our kind of people. We received stern admonitions not to smoke on the gas dock and were otherwise give free run of the place. The boat was tidied up for the arrival of our father, Captain Joe Faul, who ended up getting a late start driving from Naples (leave earlier next time, Dad!) and decided to meet up with us in the morning. We put the lights out and went to sleep to the respiteful grunting of the pig and the breeze in the orchids. Rest easy.
Day 29: Family is Forever
The elder of the Faul clan called early, bringing back our not-entirely-painless childhood memories of a chipper voice singing us out of our beds to get ready for a WONDERFUL day at school�.to this day I have an abject aversion to morning people. Given, however, our schedules of late, wakefulness charging in on the sublime serenity of dream laden repose was no worse than usual. Also, he brought donuts. We sipped our coffee while Pop and Ruthie (Dad's companion) appraised the vessel, finding it satisfactory. Hence did we proudly sail forth, our heading set on Naples, Florida. And hence did be proudly remain insistent that we would eventually arrive�.at least a few minutes before the trumpets heralding the end of eternity sounded�. Now, I'm sure you've heard the expression "as the crow flies." Well, were we given wings we'd have reached Naples in roughly the same amount of time it took us to get from Sarasota to Boca Grande � about nine hours. As a wind-dependent entity, on the other hand, we were much more akin to a parachutist on a blustery day: you end up were the gusts decide they want you. The movement of the air for most of the day could be described as drafty, at best. We were induced to tack far out onto the gulf to find anything resembling a flutter. It was getting dark as we studied the charts, noting that we had come only halfway along the route. OK, fine, Dad and Ruthie, you guys alright? Sure, sure. Here, eat something. You might need the energy�. All in all they held up fantastically, especially considering that Dad is almost 80. Ruthie, I don't think, will let him get another boat, though....
Eric was the first to notice the weird, blazingly bright object rising from the landward horizon into the swarthy, star speckled sky. "Hey! I think I see a comet!" Eric exclaimed. "No," I counseled, "comets don't just pop up like that. I think it's a flare. Never seen one like that before�" The glowing, hazy-tailed enigma was rising fast. Missile? I pondered to myself. I hope those idiots haven't started World War Three, I'm enjoying this trip� Brian came topside to see what all the fuss was about just as realization broke upon us in tandem with the booster rockets breaking away from the fuselage of what turned out to be a Titan 4B rocket delivering a satellite payload into space! We were watching the busiest ground-to-space highway on the planet in action! It's truly amazing what human beings are capable of conceiving and creating. And I'm especially glad it wasn't missiles�.we haven't even made it to Mexico yet!
At long last, after a grueling 18 hours, we arrived in the port of Naples to deliver our own precious payload � a rather tired but thoroughly satisfied Dad and Ruthie. So satisfied were they, I think, that they won't need to go sailing again for a year or two�
We the crew were satisfied as well and dropped gratefully into our bunks.