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PATIENCE

12/14/2016

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As I write this I am comfortably aware of my surroundings. Across the cabin a ceramic heater hums quietly. It's 72 degrees inside the cabin. Sea Bird rests at the dock in Oriental, NC. I am at my usual spot, in the settee, one foot resting on the mast. Feeling her heartbeat. Talking with her, silently. Sensing her mood.

She is not quite as comfortable as am I. Currently it's 47 degrees outside. The forecast tonight calls for 39 for the low. Tomorrow will be worse at 24 with 15-20 mph winds from the north (I really should convert that into knots, but I seem to have lost the capacity to automatically do so). I can feel her react to the breezes. The lines snubbing her, keeping her centered in her slip. Limiting her. This is not what she was built for. She wants to go, to leave this place where she is held captive to the cold and the wet. To be free, flying before the wind, warm salty spray on deck, playing with the ocean like a puppy plays with its mother. To have dolphins once again riding her bow wave. Resting at anchor with nothing around but sea grass and oyster beds. Exploring new places. Revisiting old ones.

As they say in the islands, "come soon".

Everyone (not really everyone, just my wife and my friend Al) has been telling me I should update this blog. And looking at the statistics, there are a surprising number of people still stopping by. I don't know who you are, but here we go.

The time we have spent back "home" has been productive. Some things have worked out well, some have not. We tried our best in all areas, and that, in the end, is all you can do. Carol has relished the time in her garden and with children and grandchildren. (OK, so have I.) But after being at home for a couple of months, I realized that for the first time in my life, I was becoming concerned about the appearance of... my grass? And that's not me. (Don't get me wrong, I love that guy who mows his grass three times a week. His grass looks amazing. It's just that I have never been that guy). I decided that the FBI would call that a clue. I started driving for Uber. It's a HOOT! Carol has taken a contract job that will keep her occupied until about September of next year. Thanksgiving was fun, and we are now looking forward to Christmas with the family, with a real wood fire burning in the fireplace.

In in the spring, I intend to start to work on Sea Bird. She has been neglected, and I need to apologize. And repair. And upgrade. Because in the fall, after Carols contract ends, we intend to take her south once again, where we will leave her someplace warmer than here for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. And then, in Janurary, the coldest part of the season, perhaps we will venture to the Bahamas, where the warm winds will spirit her between the islands. And we will explore new lands, together. Again.

Patience, lady.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE FAMILY

12/21/2015

3 Comments

 
Posted by Monty
Well, it's been a bit.

For both of you still following this blog, I guess it's time to catch up.

Just to recap, we stopped in Oriental in May of this year, with the intention of staying for a couple of weeks to visit family back in Charlotte, NC. 

We are still here.  There are a couple of reasons for that.

Carol has two great passions in her life.  One is that she loves to garden.  She is most happy planting, weeding, watering, and doing all manner of work in her yard.  Over the years she has spent much time and effort in the patch of yard just outside our back door.  She calls it "Duloc".  (See the cartoon movie "Shrek".)  It has paths through it and many varied plants, flowers, and shrubs.  I don't know what they are, but they are pretty.  And she loves to garden. 

And you can't feed that beast on a sailboat (sorry Sea Bird!).

The other reason is family.  One of our children was struggling.  She was facing the prospect of raising three children alone, with limited resources and finances.  While I don't agree with all of the choices that have been made in her life, this is family, and one doesn't turn one's back.  Especially when grandchildren are involved. 

And you can't feed that beast from a remote location (sorry Boot Key!). 

It all started innocently enough.  We were staying at a friend's house that they had generously offered while we visited with family.  (Our house was leased.)  You may recall we had sold all of our cars except for Carol's.  As the house we were staying at was about a 30 minute drive from where our daughter (and, more importantly, grandchildren) were, we made do with differing agendas and schedules as best we could.  After all, it's only for a couple of weeks, right? But those couple of weeks drug on into June.

And the lease on the house wasn't really working out.  And it was set to expire in August.

Somewhere around late June (we are back for two weeks, remember?) and without any mention of going back to the boat, I floated a trial balloon.  "I'm getting tired of  sharing a car.  If we stay here much longer, I'm going to need my own car."

"OK, get one that can tow a trailer and haul mulch."

In the FBI, they call that a clue.  I bought a used Jeep Grand Cherokee, and installed a trailer hitch.  We moved back into the house and Carol set about bringing Duloc up to snuff.  We formulated a plan for the struggling ones.

I always knew this was a Real and Present Danger.  Carol is a family person.  Not than I'm not, but she has it in spades.  It's one of the reasons we work well together.  And it's why we did not head south with the rest of the gypsy clan this year.

And so I threw in with my lovely bride, and whipped the house back into shape, as she had done with me and  Sea Bird.  I rebuilt what needed rebuilding, brought power tools to bear against what was overgrown, and even hauled mulch.  We brought our daughter and her children into our home, to give respite, solace, and healing to that family.  Thanksgiving was once again a time to give thanks with family close at hand, instead of a time to try and stay warm on a mooring ball in a cold and windy Titusville.  And as much as I enjoyed Christmas in Boot Key Harbor with newfound friends, in a few days I am looking forward to spending it with our five children, seven grandchildren, and the rest of the family and friends.

Our future plans?  Who knows?  Sea Bird is a little beat up, as I mentioned.  I have discovered a broken bracket that both acts as an engine mount and supports the compressor for the engine driven refrigeration.  As usual, on a boat, this project snowballs.  I wanted to replace the engine driven refrigeration with 12 volt so we can leave the boat for more than a day.  BUT FIRST, I have to rebuild or reinsulate the icebox, so I can remove all of the existing components, install the new ones, replace all of the engine mounts, possibly install another solar panel to keep up with the load, replace the impeller, and, since I will have to decouple the propeller shaft anyway, this would be a great time to rebuild the transmission to get rid of that rough shift problem.  My intention is to start on all of this after the first of the year.  Maybe Carol will get enough of a garden fix, and I will get enough projects done on Sea Bird, that we can leave in the fall for the Bahamas.

I do miss the sunsets.

Merry Christmas!
3 Comments

OF BOATS, CARDBOARD, AND HYDRODYNAMICS

7/6/2015

1 Comment

 
Posted by Monty
Missed me?

We've been busy.  More on that later.

In the meantime, Paradise Cove Marina in Merritt, NC (close to Point Marina, where Sea Bird is docked) had a cardboard boat race.  We attended the inaugural event last year while preparing the boat, and it was a blast.  This year, I vowed to participate.  Drafting my eldest grandson, Dillon, we sat about engineering the perfect winning entry.  It was going to be epic.

The rules were simple.  The only building materials allowed were cardboard and duct tape.  Paint was allowed if fully cured before the entry was splashed (no painting on race day).  Propulsion was to be by paddle, and the contestants were to be timed around a course.  Best time wins.

The designs were mostly (flimsy) versions of your standard runabout.  What most people think of when they think "boat".  This design is fine when executed in something strong, light, and stiff like fiberglass (also water resistant).  The problem is that cardboard is not very strong over a span.  It needs some support, and that is where most people have trouble.

I, on the other hand, had a secret weapon.  People. 

One of the last jobs I had right after the economy tanked, early during the recent recession (that they tell me ended some time ago) was at Lowe's Home Improvement.  I spent some time in the appliance department, and while unpacking the merchandise, was struck by the many and varied bits of preformed cardboard that went into keeping the appliances scratch and dent free.  This stuff has remarkable strength to weight ratio, is not available to the general public, and became the backbone of my design.  Also, it was free, because I know the right people.  And, of course, no one else knows the people I do, or is as cunning as I. 

Right.

I chose a catamaran design.  The boat was to be built in Concord, NC and designed so it could be hauled to Merritt, NC in pieces, with final assembly to be completed there.  There would be no need to test the design.  As there were two paddlers, the power to weight ratio alone would assure our victory.  And so, we set to work.

We named our creation Warship 2981.  Warship is reminiscent of passage into our last inlet, where we encountered an actual Warship.  2981 is the store number of the Lowe's that actually supplied the building materials for the project (thanks to everyone!). 

And so it began.  We left Concord at 7:00am for the five hour drive to Paradise Cove and the race at 2:00pm.  We completed final assembly there, and Carol did the pre race interview.  Also, the race footage. 

It did not go as planned.

In spite of our DNF, a good time was had by all.  Video is available on my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/monty.brumbles


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THE END OF THE BEGINNING

5/6/2015

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Posted by Monty
We are back in Oriental, NC.  Where it all began. 

Where we bought South Star and moved aboard in a cold January to start work.  Where it almost ended with the sinking of South Star.  Where new life was breathed into the dream when we found Sea Bird.  Where we made new friends who encouraged us in ways they cannot know.  Where we spent so much time that this started to feel like a second home.

We pulled anchor this morning in Cape Lookout at around 7:45 to catch the incoming tide at Beaufort Inlet.  Everyone was leaving Cape Lookout at the same time, as there is some weather coming in (Tropical Depression?  AGAIN?) and there is really no protection from the wind in Lookout Bight.  After a relatively uneventful motor sail into the inlet (there was that thing with Warship 24 calling the Coast Guard on us) we slipped onto the tee dock at Point Marina around 3:15 this afternoon.  Our car had been delivered the day before by my father (thanks, Dad!) so after we secured the boat we hopped into the car and went out to eat.  A car at your disposal is sure handy.  A few pictures:
And so, here we are.  After we put the boat to bed, it's time to do some visiting.  Grandchildren, children, friends and relatives await our company, and we are anxious to see them as well.  We will take some time and revisit our life as it used to be.  We will also take some time to decide where all this is going from here.

Is this the end of our journey?

No.

We don't know where we will go from here, or what form it will take.  We may decide to do some traveling over land.  We may decide to do some actual work that someone pays us for.  Sea Bird needs some attention.  She is not beat up very badly, but she could use a little TLC, especially if we decide to take her to the Bahamas in the fall.  So this is not the end of the journey.  It is not even the beginning of the end. 

But it is the end of the beginning.
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MOVING FAST

5/5/2015

1 Comment

 
Posted by Monty
Has it been a while since my last post?  It's been busy.

We left Charleston in a hurry so we could meet up with my good friend Rob and see our mutual friends Earle and Linda at Murrell's Inlet.  See the previous post regarding scheduling.  Suffice it to say a good time was had by all.
After leaving the anchorage at Cow House Creek, we picked up my father for the day trip north to Lightkeeper's Marina.  Once there, we left Sea Bird to her own devices and had steaks cooked up on an old fashioned charcoal grill at dad's house.  Doesn't get any better than that and the company was wonderful. 
After leaving Lightkeeper's, we made our way to Wilmington, where we met up with my mother and brother.  We spent the weekend banging around town, eating ice cream and visiting the farmer's market.  We really enjoyed this visit as well, and Sea Bird got to see a new port of call. 
After Wilmington, we traveled back down the Cape Fear to Carolina Beach State Park.  We had stopped here on the way down where we met up with the good ship Tarwathie and her crew, who have inspired us on our journey.  This stop was for fuel only, and we continued north to anchor in Wrightsville Beach.
After a quiet night, we arose early and motor sailed out the Masonboro Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Lookout, where we anchored for the night.  We spent today shelling and walking the beach in one of "the most beautiful places on earth" (a comment from Active Captain.  I agree.)  Carol collected enough shells to affect Sea Bird's waterline.
Tomorrow the plan is to be moving north once again to Point Marina, our old haunt in Oriental, NC.  The internet connection here is limited, so pictures will have to wait.  We are looking forward to seeing friends there, and being back in "home" waters.
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GEORGIA (GA).  "GO AROUND"

4/23/2015

1 Comment

 
Posted by Monty
That's what it means.  And that's what we did.

Nothing against the great State of Georgia, but it's convoluted waterways and shoals are not suited for Sea Bird's 5"1" draft.  So we both changed into adult clothes (where are mine?) and went outside from Fernandina Beach to Charleston, SC.  This is our longest outside passage to date.  The weather forecast called for calm seas and light and variable winds.  At one point it was blowing over 20 with higher gusts and waves were at least four feet on the beam (side) of the boat.  It made for an uncomfortable passage for Sea Bird's crew (Sea Bird handled it, as always, with aplomb).  Not too horrible, just not what we were expecting.  We left the fuel dock in Fernandina  Beach at 10:00 am and a short 29 hours later, we pulled into the Charleston Maritime Center docks.  Very little sleep was had by either the Captain or the Admiral, so after a quick visit to Tommy Condon's Irish Pub, we crashed about 8:00pm for some well deserved rest.

Overnight passages at sea are awe inspiring.  The stars are amazing, like being in a real life planetarium.  (Wait.  We were.)  Sunsets are spectacular, and when the sun comes back around, sunrises are equally so.  Hours alone with your thoughts while the off watch sleeps, in the midst of grandeur.  Just amazing.

Today was spent on the ICW.  It's pretty in it's own right.  We arose early.  In a whirlwind flurry of activity, we rinsed the salt off of Sea Bird (salt spray had encrusted everything), washed some clothes, fueled up, and headed out against the incoming tide.  This particular section just north of Charleston is known for shoaling and so must be taken near high tide.  I wanted to get there just before high tide, so if we ran aground we could simply wait for the rising water to float us off, instead of being panicked because the water was falling.  We made it through just fine, and anchored in our old spot near mile marker 450, just far enough north to make an overnight run to Murrells Inlet where we were to meet up with friends the next day.

Then I realized my mistake.  We were actually too far south to make it in one day.

After some consternation and some phone calls (What?  You won't be there until WHEN?) we pulled anchor and went several more miles north to get a start on tomorrow's run. 

So today, we anchored twice.  I think we can make it from here.  And I promise to pay more attention to the navigator from here on.

Here are some pictures.

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CUMBERLAND WRAPUP/FERNANDINA

4/20/2015

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Posted by Monty
We spent a second day on Cumberland Island, after waiting out a stormy day on the boat.  I spent the time trying to fix our wash-down pump, which had stopped washing things down in Pine Island.  This pump pulls seawater through a strainer and pumps it into a garden hose type nozzle in the anchor locker, so I can wash the mud, weeds, and shells off the anchor and (more importantly) anchor chain (which goes below decks through a hawse pipe and resides, basically, just under the foot of our bed.)  Not washing the primordial ooze off of it creates a very unique scent.  Maybe one day I can tell where we are from the smell of the bottom mud. 

I was unsuccessful in getting it going, after cleaning the strainer and verifying a clear path to the suction side of the pump.  I also disassembled the pump itself and could find no fault with it, so I shelved the project for another day.

Back to Cumberland Island.  We were blown away again.  Here are some more pictures.  They don't do justice.  Again.
The next day, we left our anchorage behind Cumberland Island and motored the short distance back south to Fernandina Beach Marina, where we picked up a mooring ball.  We were waiting for some weather to move through, and we wanted to explore this town.  So we did.  It's a really neat little town with shops and some good restaurants (and some not so good ones.)  We also needed to wash clothes and provision for the trip north.  We did that, too.  And, I needed to fix the wash-down pump problem.

Before we left Oriental, we were visited by my good friend Rob.  A sailboat owner himself, he brought several things with him that he never used on his boat that he hoped would prove useful on mine.  Thanks, Rob!

Among these were a diaphragm pump that he bought as a deck wash-down that proved too cumbersome to use in his application.  The pump has been sitting in the deep recesses of Sea Bird's bilge since then.  So I went bilge diving.  It turns out it is the exact same model number as the pump I now suspected of being bad.  (I have three copies of this pump on board, doing different things.)  So I swapped the pump out, thinking that would solve the problem.

No joy.

OK.  No way two pumps are bad.  After double checking everything else, I finally did the hardest thing a mechanic does.  I sat down and thought.  (This is much less rewarding than doing things with screwdrivers and wrenches, but sometimes is more efficient.) 

Not much suction on the inlet side.  It's a diaphragm pump.  Hummm.  I took the pump back off and poured some water in it to prime it.  That was all it needed, and it now works like a champ.  So now that's done, too.

We have had some wild thunderstorms roll through here, complete with tornado warnings attached.  Winds have been clocked at over 45 knots, boats have been blown ashore, and I watched as a dinghy took a Walter Middy and went off to pursue a secret life.  It was returned.
So tomorrow, the plan is to escape the confines of Florida and indeed, North America, and head out into the Atlantic for the journey northward to Charleston, SC.  Should be about a 24 hour trip on the outside, providing the weather holds.  We will drop the lines that tie us to the mooring ball (and the earth), fuel up, water up, and pump out.  And with the tanks full and empty, as is appropriate, we will head out.

No storms are predicted.  Hopefully it will be smooth sailing. 

As the saying goes, Red sky at night...
Picture
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INTO ANOTHER WORLD

4/15/2015

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Posted by Monty
Here are some shots that should have been in the previous post, of our trip from St Augustine to Cumberland Island.
I'm not going to try to describe Cumberland Island to you.  Suffice it to say that Carol took about 200 pictures.  And that they do the place absolutely no justice.  It was like stepping into a real life Pandora.
Picture
At the end of the day, we returned to Sea Bird lying peacefully at anchor.  Our little self contained starship that takes us to some really amazing places.
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MOVING QUICKLY.  AND STOPPING SUDDENLY

4/13/2015

1 Comment

 
Posted by Monty
St. Augustine was great.  We showed up in the middle of a week of offshore sailing races.  Who knew?  I walked around town like I had just won the biggest one of all. 

We took a trolley tour.  I never realized how much history was packed into this town.  Pirates, Catholics, industrialists, Tiffany windows, Martin Luther King, Thomas Edison, miniature castles, and the ever present Mr. Flagler all packed into one town.  We spent two days soaking it in while eating great pizza and touring a distillery.  No bourbon yet, it's still ageing.  I'll wait.

Yesterday we left for a short run to Pine Island, where we spent the night and readied ourselves for the big push today to Cumberland Island.  53 miles up the waterway. 

I was feeling pretty good about things.  We left at the end of the flood (high) tide this morning, fighting a light current.  By the time we got to the inlet, we were cruising with the current draining the water out of the waterway and blasting along.  On the other side of the inlet, the tide had turned so we were still making good time with the flood filling the water back in.  I was grinning from ear to ear.

Then, we...stopped.

Ran aground in the middle of the channel.  DIRECTLY in the middle, and I have the GPS track to prove it.  HARD aground, not just a gentle bump.

The first thing I did was look around to see if anyone saw me do it.  (This is the first thing I always do when I do something stupid.)  No such luck.  Between me and the sailboat I had passed at the drawbridge was a trawler, coming up fast.  Then there was the boat full of fishermen a couple hundred feet off my bow (I suspect they were there to watch the show.  They might have created the shoal for that purpose).  So there was no way I was going to pretend this did not happen.  But that trawler might prove useful.

I spun the boat on her keel as much as I could.  When the trawler passed, I gunned the diesel and...bump...bump...and we were off the shoal!  I was back up to speed before the sailboat caught up.

The rest of the trip proved uneventful.  Eight and one half short hours after we started, we dropped the hook behind Cumberland Island.  Home to a national park featuring deer, horses, unspoiled beaches, and Dungeness, the abandoned Carnegie Steel estate, complete with castles, fountains and gardens being reclaimed by the land.  Should be a good couple of days while we wait for the weather to make a decision as to which way we will go around the great State of Georgia, with it's too convoluted Inland Waterway.

Tonight we grilled chicken and are listening to the rain.  Should be good sleeping.  And, I'm tired.

We have been having trouble with the camera.  If it works, I promise pictures.
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SPACE COAST

4/6/2015

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Posted by Monty
So I was right, Vero is a great beach.  We even found a way to take the dinghy to the park that is right across the street from the beach, then walk over, thereby freeing us from the bus schedule.  Brilliant.  But after so much beach time, Carol was ready to move on.

We left Vero Beach after a stop for fuel and water, and anchored in the town of Melbourne.  Florida, not Australia.  We stayed at the same anchorage we did on the way down.  Good holding.  (Land dwellers  would be surprised at how much peace of mind thick mud and a claw anchor provides.)  Rode out a couple of showers, had a late breakfast, and then it was on the road again to Titusville.  This is very near the NASA launch facility, which I had resolved to tour.  It's been on my list since before High School, way back when the original Star Trek was on TV.  I remember I used to go into a trance watching that show, only coming out when it was over.  Sometimes I would "wake up" to a house full of people who were not there at the beginning of the show.  It was disorienting.

I have been by this place many times over the years, by car, airplane, cruise ship, and even once before on the deck of my own boat, but never took the time to go see it.  I even posted on Facebook about it.  Then, I did some research.

The admission (for two people) is about $100.00.  That just gets you into the facility, and lets you view some of the exhibits.  Then the tours start.  They are separate, and at least what the price of admission is.  Then there is transportation to and from.  It is actually cheaper to rent a car for the day than to take a taxi.  No bus service.  (I realize I was just in Vero Beach, where the bus is a free service.  No, I don't expect that everywhere.  And I know that bus service, generally, is a money loser for the taxpayers.  But still.) And there is the question of lunch on premises... 

So I took a decision.  Is this worth $300.00 or more?

No.

Especially since NASA is way past it's prime.  I won't debate (here, at least.  If you want a debate, call me) the circumstances why we, as a country, no longer have the capability to put a man in space.  Or that we are now paying the Russians an extortionate amount to PLEASE do it for us?  Can we catch a ride to the Space Station in your car?  I now have Russian friends, after all, and it's not their fault, it's ours. 

I can see a Space Shuttle (the truck that WE made that actually hauled the Space Station into orbit, and is now retired, with no replacement) at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.  It's a place I want to go by boat anyway, and has much more to see.  I think there is also a Saturn Rocket booster there (you know, the one WE used to put men on the moon?) as well as other American "firsts" that are now relegated to history.

So on we go.  I am now making my own history.

We have a day tomorrow of "chores".  Prescription refills, boat maintenance (I am replacing a belt on the refrigerator compressor with one researched and specified by my friend Linda.  Hope it works.), and mailing off tax returns (and checks.  Blah.).

Daytona Beach next, then St Augustine, where Carol wants to spend a few days.  Onward Ho!
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