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BACK IN THE SADDLE

11/29/2014

Posted by Monty

We moved the boat today to Melbourne, Florida.

I say it that way because we have not moved the boat for five nights in Titusville, Florida. We were waiting out (you guessed it!) another cold front. I’m not going to say it again. See previous whine. I did read four of Orson Scott Card’s books.

We are currently anchored and the temperature at sunset was 67 degrees with a light wind. It was not cold.

Tomorrow should find us in Vero Beach. It’s supposed to be a very cruiser friendly place, so we may stay a while. Cruisers call it “Velcro Beach” because so many people just get stuck there and never go any further. We need to think about making arrangements to keep the boat somewhere while we do the Christmas thing in Concord.

We grilled kielbasa with fried potatoes and green beans, and Carol is baking bread. Temperature tomorrow is supposed to top out in the mid-70s.

I didn’t work on Black Friday.

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SPACE COAST COOLER

11/24/2014

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Posted by Monty

Tonight finds us in Titusville, Florida, with Sea Bird swinging on a mooring ball. We are across the bay from the launch complex at Cape Kennedy. Unfortunately, there is no Space Shuttle on the launch pad. (Oh, wait. The United States can no longer put a man in space. We are paying the Russians taxi fare.) Sorry I missed EVERY ONE of the shuttle launches. There always seemed to be more time.

Lesson learned.

That's part of the reason I am here, on this boat, doing this thing. As Jack Bauer says, "There's no time." By the way, the only reason you are alive right now is that Jack Bauer does not want to carry you.

So we spent the last three nights in a marina in Port Orange. Carol was a little under the weather (nothing serious) and why travel when you are not feeling your best? And it's raining (again)? And you don't have to because there are no deadlines? Why not explore? So we did.

We walked up to the Publix for groceries, about a mile. Also, it was the Grand Reopening, as they had torn the building down and rebuilt it over the past nine months. It was a little crowded. But we got our stuff back to the boat, past the drive-in church. No kidding, with speakers on poles and everything. No screen, though. Sort of like listening on your computer, except you have to get in your car and actually GO there. Maybe that's the draw. I don't have a car, so I couldn't go.

We found this great little seafood place at the end of the pier where the fishing boats tie up (they call that a clue) and had lunch. Then we bought grouper fillet to take back to the boat and cook for dinner. It was excellent as well.

Also, we kind of broke the dock. We were on the boat when a huge boat passed on the ICW, that runs parallel. We started rocking pretty violently, and came up on the fenders that were shielding us from the dock. Carol inquired as to our status as I was going up to check. When I got on deck, I realized the piling we were tied to (bow line) had sheared off and was floating free. A quick trip to the marina to inform them of the problem, and soon we were tied off to a different piling and the dock was blocked with caution tape, as it was basically falling into the water. Glad that was not my problem to solve ($$$).

We left Port Orange this morning about 7:15 and arrived here about 2:30. I had planned an anchorage next to the bridge, but there appears to be a channel there now leading to a hotel or condo complex they are building. We need to spend a couple of nights waiting out weather (again) so we decided to pick up a mooring ball (kind of like a permanent anchor you rent) and wait out weather.

Speaking of weather, it was pretty nice today. High in the mid 80s and low not too bad tonight. I steered in shorts and a hoodie. On average, I was fine. It's supposed to be mid 40s Wednesday night, but warm back up after that. We may try to make Melbourne on Wednesday and possibly Vero Beach on Thursday. We'll see.

I looked longingly at my flops today. Almost put them on. Soon...

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HAPPY ANNiVERSARY- ONE MONTH IN

11/20/2014

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Posted by Monty

We have been "on the road" for one month. Of course, we have been living on the boat since April (unless you count the boat that sunk. We moved aboard that one in January.)

We spent the last three nights in St. Augustine Municipal Marina, right downtown. We got very little sightseeing done, as we were plugged into the power grid and heating the boat.

That seems to be a recurring theme.

We left Point Marina behind the curve. We knew it was late in the year, but the weather held through our journey down to Morehead City. It really was not bad through Myrtle Beach. Then the forecast turned. It was going to be cold.

We hid out in Charleston, to the tune of a week. While it was not cold all that week, the biggest reason we went to the marina was to hide from the approaching cold front. We had a couple of warm days midweek, and left in the cold again.

It warmed a little on the way through Hilton Head, but turned back chilly just in time for our 24 hour offshore adventure. We ducked behind Cumberland Island and waited out another three nights of cold weather. After which followed the aforementioned stint in St Augustine.

We left this morning in the high 30 degree range, with a ten mph wind, and shivered our way down to Daytona Beach, where we are anchored for the night. Tomorrow we have our sights set on Titusville, where the temperature threatens to moderate, perhaps with the left hand digit showing a seven. I hope so.

I know, the whole country is cold. I got it. Last winter was cold, too. I remember nights on the boat in Oriental where the low was 14 degrees. I'm willing to pay my dues, but really? Isn't this a little much?

OK, enough whining. Some random thoughts about how it's going so far:

The scenery is amazing.

Dolphins are really cool. We see them most every day now, and I never tire of it.

The boat is performing (knock on teak) pretty well. Except for replacing the house battery bank, no systems have required my emergency attention. (This will not last.) I took advantage of the time at dock in St Augustine to perform some routine maintenance.

Carol is amazing in her ability to put up with me.

After our offshore adventure, we are leaning toward The Bahamas instead of the Florida Keys. We'll see after we come back from spending Christmas with the family.

I am losing my flip flop tan.

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IT'S ALL A MATTER OF DEGREE(S)

11/17/2014

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Posted by Monty

Today's run, a short one, finds us at dock beside the Bridge of Lyons in St Augustine. The weather has...improved. Carol is much more comfortable. While I have yet to produce clear water, the temperatures are starting to moderate. And while chocolate is not specifically being consumed, it must still always be readily to hand.

I like this town. We may spend a couple of nights here. I have to do some engine maintenance and Carol wants to do some housekeeping. Plus, the weather at night is still going to be cool, and while we have shore power, we have heat.

And that's not a bad thing.

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SEA BIRD AND THE ARTIC VORTEX

11/16/2014

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or...since mankind heated the World, who turned on the air conditioning?

Posted by Monty

So we got to the anchorage and crashed. The weather turned sour. Artic Vortex was the term. We had it better than most of the country, but most of the country also has heat. We do not.

Carol was not amused.

I kept things tolerable with hot chocolate, coffee, and more chocolate. The kind that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

Also, we ran out of bread. She baked more. We had it with pimento cheese. Pauley's Island. Go buy it. Now.

Good job there.

So after three nights on the hook at Cumberland Island, which has been described to us as a "jewel" (and seeing none of it) we pulled up anchor today to head further south before the weather catches up to us again. After a good day's run, we are anchored just north of St Augustine and plan to stop there tomorrow night to provision, wait out some stormy weather, and refill the propane tank. It would not do to be unable to make coffee in the morning. Also, Carol wants a cheeseburger.

This is our anchorage for tonight. Great view.

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ROOKIES ON THE LOOSE

11/13/2014

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Posted by Monty

As I type this, we are anchored behind Cumberland Island, just north of the Sunshine State. We left Skull Creek yesterday morning about 8:30am after topping off the diesel tank on Sea Bird, and departed for Saint Mary's sound. Just under 100nm later we dropped anchor after our first "offshore" passage. (Real sailors will raise their eyebrows at this. That's fine. It was our first time in the ocean when I couldn't see land. Not even on my radar.) No real problems, no major hiccups, and there be no dragons. I even had to slow down (?).

It was cold.
Really cold.

As I think about it, that is the major takeaway. We have started this project much too late in the season (to suit our thin blood).

Carol has been worried about this event since before we bought the boat that sunk. Most of her concern has been seasickness. So I tried to pick a weather window that included as steady a sea state as possible. This one seemed perfect. Winds from 15 and diminishing, waves no more than three feet with a period of around 10 seconds. It just doesn't get much better than that, unless it's all of that and lows around 78 degrees. The low was not 78 degrees, and we are in the elements. Even with the diminished wind, what wind there was came basically slightly off of forward, and we added the wind we generated into the equation. It made for a long night.

The slowing down part? Poor planning on my part. I thought the passage was around 24 hours, based on several people who had done similar passages. I never did the math.

Sea Bird motors at a comfortable 6 knot cruising speed. After we left Skull Creek, I set the throttle at that speed. Currents took some of it off, but then we reached the ocean, cleared the inlet, and set up on our rhumb line for St. Mary's. Since we left around 8:30, I thought the next morning around the same time would be a perfect time to arrive, as I didn't want to enter an unfamiliar port in the dark. My GPS kindly did the figuring for me and told me excitedly that my arrival time at current speed would be around 1:00. In the morning. Hummm...

So I decreased speed to five knots. That would put us there around 6:00am, hopefully just after sunrise (another thing I didn't check). It did add five hours to our time behind the wheel. Oh, and it conserved diesel. Rookie.

On the wildlife front, Carol saw loggerhead turtles, a herd(?) of jellyfish, and dolphin came out to say hello, swimming right beside the boat.

We still got there before sunrise and spent about an hour waiting for the sunrise. Carol got some spectacular shots.

The night was spent alternating two hour watches. Between radar, snacks, coffee, chicken and dumplings and autopilot, we got through it pretty well. I think we made a pretty good team. I don't think, however, we will be doing that again anytime soon, at least at that temperature setting. I'm too old.

So we have decided we are tired of being behind the temperature curve, and we are going to get ahead of it. We have plotted a course that should put us in Ft Lauderdale in the next four days or so. That should put us in the weather sweet spot.

Pictures are below.

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THANKFUL FOR THE BIG THINGS

11/10/2014

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Posted by Monty

We didn't bang around Beaufort. Instead, we replaced the house battery bank.

Actually, I did bang aroungd Beaufort. More on that later.

The house bank consists of two 12v batteries. I use them for everything, including starting the engine. I have a separate starter battery dedicated for that, but my plan is to use it as an emergency battery only. While we don't have a very big house bank, relatively speaking, we do have a solar panel that replenishes it during the day. As our refrigeration is engine driven, as opposed to 12v running from the house bank, the biggest load is removed and all the house bank has to do, really, is run some lights. Anchor, cabin illumination, and navigation. Also instruments while we are sailing at night. We haven't done that yet so I don't know what that will require.

Anyway, when we were anchored in Cow House Creek (remember Earle and Linda and Rob?) we had to use the starting battery for the very first time. I chalked it up to turning the anchor light on earlier than we usually do as we were leaving the boat. The problem, however, has gotten worse since then. Last night I charged the batteries after dusk and they were at 10.5 volts this morning running only the anchor light all night. Not acceptable.

Break out the dinghy.

I removed the batteries and loaded them in. We then transported them over to Lady's Island Marina, where I carried them across the street to Butler Marine, where I had previously spoken to Julie by phone to verify they had replacements in stock. When we arrived, the dimensions of the batteries I wanted were questionable, so we took a ride back to the boat to verify. Sure enough, the higher capacity batteries I had in mind would not fit, and so we went with plan B. Loading our new power supply onto the dinghy, we took another chilly ride back to the boat, where I installed them in their new home. I finished before lunch. Pretty good for a boat project, they usually take all day.

I felt so good about the progress we had made that I decided we should go into town. Carol, however, had enough of riding in a cold dinghy for the day, so I went by myself. Nice town, and I brought back wings for dinner as a reward to my bride for all her hard work. She promptly spilled her tea when I came alongside with the dinghy and knocked on the hull. Oh well.

Turn the page...

One of the projects that I had not completed before we left was the matter of a flag. The Coast Guard is tasked, along with safety and rescue at sea, the burden of GUARDING our COAST (especially after the events of 9/11/01). A vessel at sea is required to display a flag of the country it is from. I have neglected to do this, as various other projects have seemed to take precedence, and I have not been in international waters. That is about to change.

Also, it's Veteran's Day.

Sunset at Beaufort, SC with Old Glory flying off the stern of Sea Bird.

Thank you to my father, my brother, and all of their Brothers in Arms that have, through their sacrifice, provided me with this opportunity to live the dream I am living, free and proud.

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SURPRISE...THE WEATHER DIDN'T HOLD

11/9/2014

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Posted by Monty

Regular followers will not be surprised.

Looks like a low has developed off the Florida coast. Not a big deal, for salty sailors. But I refuse to take Sea Bird and her untried crew to sea in anything but near ideal conditions. My first mate will surely mutiny. And having no Marines on board, will surely be successful. Looks like the new plan (here we go again) has us moving to the Skull Creek staging area on Tuesday for a Wednesday departure and Thursday arrival in Florida.

So we spent a cloudy day in Beaufort at anchor and watching movies.

The Fantastic Four pulled through in both. I was worried about the Silver Surfer, as memories from my childhood were unclear as to his motives. It still doesn't seem quite right to me, but I have to trust Stan Lee.

Back on board, the house batteries seem to be an issue. They are depleted in the mornings to the point where the engine will not start, even after only running the anchor light, some house lights (mostly LED or fluorescent which are low power draw) and the fresh water pump at night. Also, they don't seem to be charging like they used to from the solar panel. I did research today and charged them from the engine tonight just before sundown. If they are not up to snuff in the morning, I will replace them here, at anchor, before I take this problem out to sea.

Dinner tonight was grilled pimento cheese sandwiches made with Pauley's Island Pimento Cheese. This stuff just might turn me into a foodie. Usually food is not that big a deal to me, but this stuff is the bomb. Go find it and buy it. Pay the extra $2.00 premium. Do it. Trust me. We have three or four on board in our limited refrigerator space.

We plan to spend tomorrow banging around in Beaufort. The weather should be nice. Maybe we can find Carol some ice cream.

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SKIPPING STATES

11/8/2014

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Posted by Monty

Yesterday, we left Charleston behind after a week, good times with friends, and no regrets. Pulled out of the Charleston Maritime Center after fuel and a pump out of the holding tank. (Hey, stuff goes in the boat...stuff comes out. I keep telling Carol she is a real person.)

Had a cold and blustery motor down the ICW, with a few sections of skinny water. I don't think I crushed any crabs this time, but I listened to the depth alarm much longer than I wanted to. We then anchored in a lovely spot in the South Edisto river just off the ICW. Had it all to ourselves. After the hustle and bustle, noise, and wakes rocking the boat in Charleston Harbor, it was quiet.

Too Quiet.

As it was fresh water, we didn't even have the "Rice Krispy" shrimp serenading us to sleep. Serenading me, I should say, as Carol seemed oblivious to the noise. These are a species of shrimp that stun their prey by snapping their claws in such a way that it actually cavitates the water and gives off a sound in the 200db range. What it sounds like through the hull is Snap, Crackle, and Pop. We slept well, even though the temperature outside fell into the low 40's. The internal boat temperature this morning was 55 degrees. We need to get south ASAP.

Executing that plan, we traveled today to Beaufort, SC, where we are anchored tonight just north of the bridge.

On the weekends, it opens on demand. No complaining from you automobile types (of which I have been most of my life) as boats were here before automobiles, and technically have the right of way.

We needed to get fuel filters and a flag, so I called a marina just up the creek from where we were anchored. The dock master told me to tender over to his dock, where we could walk across the street to a business that had the filters we needed, so we loaded into the dinghy. Upon arriving at the business about 2:40pm, we discovered it closed at 2:00 on Saturday. No problem, the dock master simply lent us his car and gave us directions to the nearest West Marine. Didn't even ask my name. What generosity.

The plan (here we go again) is to bump down to Hilton Head and lurk in or around Skull Creek tomorrow. Then, if the weather (and my nerve) holds, we are going to bump out into the Atlantic and do an overnight sail down to Fernadina Beach on Monday/Tuesday. We are fleeing the "vortex" that is due the end of the week (more about this in my future column on man made global warming). While we will not be in the warm part of Florida, at least we will have skipped a state and will be closer to my promise to Carol of "warm weather and clear water".

We did see more dolphin playing beside the boat today, so that helped.

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MY TURN FOR VISITORS

11/6/2014

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Posted by Monty

Today was my turn. An old (but not yet decrepit) friend stopped by on the way to his college reunion. We were originally going to leave today but decided to wait out the cold front that is (supposedly) blasting through here this evening. That opened up a window for a visit from Stevie (not his real name. Don't ask.).

It was good to see him. Sorry his wife could not come as well. We spent some time on Sea Bird and in a local bar where he met some of his college buddies, one of which I knew from my days in the Christmas Tree business, many moons ago.

A good friend. See you soon.

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