About ten years ago, we bought a 44 ft. catamaran. My husband and I had decided to retire (the first time) and live on this beautiful, ocean-going sailboat. Purchased in St. Maartin from a French couple, my husband flew down there and with the help of another person, sailed her back to St. Marys Georgia. While my husband was preparing her for our adventure, I waited back home until our first grandson was born. After his birth, I joined my husband in St. Marys and eagerly waited for November 1st, the official end of hurricane season. After much consideration, we named her “Hodos”, which is Greek for, “The Way”. On October 31t, we had a boat christening with some friends, and set sail on November 1st down the Florida coast.
We were seasoned power boaters, having been active in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for 15 years on inland lakes. We had never spent anytime on this large of a sailboat, let along navigating the open ocean. We had all the fancy gadgets, GPS, radar, depth finder, weather, and autopilot. One disadvantage was that the mast was taller than most catamarans. This meant that we were unable to sail under many bridges along the Intracoastal Waterway, unless it was a drawbridge.
Our choice was to find anchorage each night to avoid sailing through the night. Our first overnighter was St. Augustine. The Hodos was hard to maneuver through small channels beause of 26 ft width, but with God’s grace, we made it.
The next day, we continued down the east coast of Florida. We would sail for the greater part of the day, and make sure we were at an anchorage or dock before dark. Being in November, the days were getting shorter. As we got closer to Port Canaveral I called several marinas. None of them are outside the bridge, which was fixed and we could not pass under it. We were off shore and there was no place to anchor for the night. So we had no choice but to sail through the night.
It started out pleasant enough. There was a shuttle launch scheduled the next day at Cape Canaveral and the whole area was lit up. It served as a beacon for us. Unfortunately , the winds picked up and it started raining, a lot of wind and a lot of rain. We had to lower our sail and continue under power. There was not a lot of boat traffic that night, but it was pitch dark after we rounded Cape Canaveral. There was a lone light in the distance, we thought from another boat, and it seemed that we were traveling the same direction. My husband was steering on the flybridge and asked me to go to the lower outside deck for safety. He would call me it he need me.
The boat was tossing up and down and I prayed that we would have a save journey. Sometime in the night a white bird, starting flying with us from the back of the boat. Strange as it was for a lone bird to be flying in the dark and in the storm, I felt peace. I felt like the bird was from God. We neared the shipping lanes for the big freighters at dawn. The rain has stopped and the winds had died down. I went topside an asked my husband where was the boat that we had followed. He said that when dawn arrived, the light had disappeared. I told him about the bird that followed us. We believed that the Lord had provided a guiding light (and the bird) to navigate us through the storm.
That day, we sailed to Ft. Pierce and the city marina, thankfully was before their bridge, an we docked there for the night and had a time to rest and be thankful to the Lord for seeing us through the storm.
Psalm 107:23:32 Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, His impressive works on the deepest seas. He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered lis drunkards and are at their wit’s end. Lord, help” they cried in their trouble and He saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as He brought them safely in to harbor! Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonder things He has done for them. Let them exhalt Him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation. (NLT)
