I took the 2.5 mile trek out of Key West up the northwest channel. As soon as I rounded that turn I programmed Sarasota into my GPS. Barely off a variable wind and carrying 33 gallons of gas, at 12:21, I was on my way. Three to five foot waves kept at my bow. That night, as the sun set, I was feeling a little queasy and thought I'd sleep outside in the cockpit with the sails up. That would be the first time I would to decide to do that. More than 30 miles off shore and no boats or land in site, I thought - why knot.

Just as I put my head down I wondered if I was going to get sick and then heard a snap from the rudder. The three stainless steel bolts holding the lower gudgeon to the transom cleanly snapped off. Quickly, I lowered the sails. The rudder was now pivoting wildly on the upper gudgeon, threatening to rip it right off. Trying to calm her down in order to get the rod out was no easy task. Knuckles were banged and bruises were being positioned.

With a flashlight in my mouth, I got that rod out. With one hand on the tiller I quickly retrieved the gudgeon before it could sink into the gulf. A wave hit that caused me to loose grip of the tiller and if it were not for the lanyard that I set before I left East Hampton, both the rudder and the tiller with an autopilot arm would be lost.

No pieces lost and no steering was to be had. Everything from the ex-engine compartment was now in the cockpit. Below I found the other half of the bolts to be limiting the amount of water coming in. I did have 3 spare bolts in my tool box but needed to remove the backing plate to get in there. After I backed-out the 7/16 bolts water poured in through the three holes. All the while on my back and reaching in a hard to get at area, I pried the backing plate off lighting the scene with my oral flashlight now with custom teeth groves. The waves played their part knocking me about and sending me upwards to relieve my nauseous head and stomach.

Noticing the bilge pump light illuminate, I was sure I could finish my business before going below to tend to the water flow. I went back down with silicone and when the tube was opened the smell had me come right back up for another round of heaves. I shook it off, gave myself a little pep talk and headed back into the lazarette. Silicone, squeezed directly into the three breaches, did the trick.

Still recovering from the motion sickness, I dropped the anchor. In 68 feet of water I'm not sure what good 150 feet of rode will do but I needed to lay down, period. I opened my eyes near 0500 and thought to repair the steering. As not to loose it, I tied a lanyard to the lower gudgeon and slipped the spare bolts through the transom. It was a bit tricky to fasten it without another person on the outside but one manages when one needs to. Lower gudgeon secured, time to set the rudder in place. The top was manageable but I got no cooperation from the bottom. The waves and current kept the rudder in motion, sometimes violently slapping the outboard. Hours were spent attempting to line up the holes in order to slip the rod through the gudgeons that for a brief second might have had the rudder in the correct place to do so. The weather won as the top half of the upper gudgeon broke off. For a second I admitted defeat when the fix came to me. I pushed the rod through the rudder and the remaining half of the upper gudgeon. I then took the fattest stainless steel bolt and married the lower fasteners together.

Badabing badaboom, I'm on my way. Put the sails up around 0830 Monday morning and didn't take them down until I was just outside Sarasota Bay, Tuesday evening around 2030 with a gallon of gas to spare. Mike and Sally were waiting for me at the dock. 240 miles in 2 1/2 days.

I'm back in NY right now on a bus out to Long Island to record music for the Key West video pieces.