Tampa Bay to Port St. Joe, FL

November 22 - 23, 2008

The most amazing thing happened today, we woke up before dawn and went back to sleep for another hour. The next thing we did was start the engine, which actually cranked over just fine relieving me greatly as I had dreamed that I had tried to start the engine and the engine battery was dead as a doornail, not that I actually know anything about the specifics of doornails and their afterlife.
This wouldn’t be so bad except that when we woke up before dawn the space heater we had been running when we went to bed was off. The reason it was off was not because someone had turned it off but because the house batteries had dropped to a low enough voltage that the inverter shut itself down.
Seems like the only time we really sleep well is when we are moored to a dock with our power cords plugged in along with cable TV and of course the ever popular wireless connection for the laptops.
When in doubt we always start the big engine first (the Yanmar) as it always starts immediately. With it running we crank up the Westerbeke which runs the big generator and then turn off the Yanmar.
The Westerbeke provides 8000 watts of power which is more than enough for the coffee pot and the microwave plus whatever. It also charges the batteries thru the inverter at 125 amps plus another 50 or so amps with it’s own alternator, which is enough to get them topped off in about ½ hour.
With this done I took Ziggy to shore to do his thing while Julie made coffee and stowed everything. Back on board we weighed anchor and motored out to leave the Tampa Bay area for the 4th or was it the 40th time. On the way thru the bay we rigged the staysail and our makeshift plastic tarp bimini top which in conjunction with the original plastic windows, that were not destroyed in a storm a month ago, provide decent enough protection from the winds and occasional waves.
Leaving the harbor we had to follow a channel west for about 6 miles to clear the shoals that lie to the north and west of the harbor mouth. The winds where on our beam (side of the boat) so we set the staysail and main to help us along. A little while later we set the new genoa and started to move along at over 8 knots, we cut the engine and settled in at 6 ½ knots which is a little over our target of 6 knots.
When we reached the last marker and hardened up ( sailed closer to the direction that the wind was coming from) we were on course. The winds were about 12 knots and we were close reaching at 7 to 7 ½ knots; fair sailing indeed.
The forecasted high for the day on shore was 70 degrees, offshore where we were the high was going to be in the low 60’s and with the wind it seemed much cooler. So we were bundled up in fleeces and foul weather jackets with hats and gloves.
We wanted to keep warm as this was going to be our longest leg by far on the trip. Our destination was up near the panhandle of Florida, a city called Port St. Joe which was 200 miles away. At our target speed of 6 knots we would be wailing, I mean sailing, for 33 hours and should get into the harbor before sunset tomorrow.
We had intended to stay near shore (no more than 20 miles out) but this was going to add several hours to the trip. But with more faith in the boat than our ability to dock at night we decided to cut straight across. This, as the crow flies, route would take us 70 miles off shore but we felt good about the boat and our abilities plus the forecast was for reaching (wind from the side) blowing 10-15 knots with 2-4 foot waves, perfect conditions for this boat. If all went to hell we have our emergency satellite transponder that sends our location out if activated. We also have our dinghy plus a 6 man inflatable life raft made by a company named Winslow which is supposed to be the very best. Buying the life raft and satellite transponder is kind of like buying insurance, you hate to spend the money but you wouldn’t be without it.
As we sailed north we were greeted by 5 dolphins that stayed with us for over ½ hour, which was by far the longest we have had a group stay with us. They would swim next to the boat alone and in groups then they all migrated towards the bow (front). They would swerve and weave from side to side moving at what appeared to be twice our speed of 7 knots.
Quite often one of them would swim about a foot below the water directly in front of the bow with it’s tail almost touching it as it moved up and down thru the waves. After a minute or so the dolphin would move off to the side to catch a breath with a telltale snort as they sucked air in thru their blowhole.
The curious thing is that one would move away from the bow to catch a breath, another would move right in to take it’s place, this must be the cool spot to hang out.
After the dolphins took off we decided to try to catch some fish for dinner. We had tried fishing in the past but at the speeds we travel all the lure seems to do is dance along the surface where no respectable fish would hang out. Julie suggested using the 5 lb lead weight that came with the boat as a sinker but I was afraid it would break the fishing line.
Just for grins I took about 30 feet of 1/8” nylon line and tied it to the weight along with another lure on a short fishing line. This rig sunk about 2 feet in the water but was so close to the boat I figured we had a better chance of clubbing a fish than catching it.
But this little trial provided the inspiration for something that ultimately would work. We took the lure off of the weight and the 1/8 line and tied a simple overhand knot around the fishing line near the weight. We lowered the 5 lb weight into the water which dragged the fishing line down with it. Looking back, the lure had disappeared and by our best guess was running about 5 feet deep. This had potential as our sonar/fish finder showed fish at about this depth.
About 2 hours later while I was typing this I heard the sound of the fishing reel run so I jumped up, set the drag and 5 minutes later landed what we thought was an 8 lb tuna
Sure wish I had watched a fish cleaning video on You-Tube, it’s been over 30 years since I’ve cleaned a fish and I didn’t do that many.

The good news is we have a book on cruising cooking and the author highly recommends cooking Tuna as a steak cut, I can do that. We figured it would be better to clean the fish in port. Sharp knives and big waves don’t make for fun times.

We had Dinty Moore stew for dinner (a favorite of our sailing buddy Lee) cooked in the microwave, add some crackers and it is a feast fit for a king. That and it warmed us up and filled our stomachs for the long night ahead which is important ‘cause there aren’t any White Castle’s or Denny’s where we can stop in to grab a bite.
The sun set around 6:00 with only a cloud or 2 to be seen which was a good sign. Around 6:30 we saw a boat in the distance ahead of us so we turned on the radar to see where it was heading. The radar has a function where you can draw a line on the map towards a target and you can watch which direction it is moving relative to your movement. After about 10 minutes we were able to figure out that it was moving to the left about 3 miles ahead of us and that it was probably as close as it would get.
The radar is great for night sailing especially if the visibility is poor. There is another function that allows you to create arcs or circles around the boat at distance that you can define. If anything shows up on the radar in these areas an alarm goes off notifying you that a boat or land is in this area.
Tonight the visibility is to the horizon so we will only turn the radar on every ½ hour or so since it draws so much power. Just did the Radar check and nothing to be seen out to 16 miles.
It is also important to do a visible check every 20 minutes or so to see if something is sneaking up on you like a freighter, which can travel 2 miles in about 10 minutes. it’s also a great opportunity to peak out from under the “bimini” and see the stars.
There are 2 brilliant stars or most likely planets setting to the west. The first one is about 10 degrees above the horizon, the second one is about 5 degrees above the horizon and a little to the right. On the horizon directly in line with these to planets is the freighter we saw earlier.
It is a strange thing to be sailing out here like this. I have sailed the Mackinac race 12 times and Julie has 2 under her belt. Lake Michigan at it’s widest point is about 100 miles wide so you can be 50 miles from shore in this race. At night with a little haze or fog it may seem like you are the only boat out there, all alone with your crew of 8 or so.
When the dawn breaks and the haze burns off you can always see a half dozen or so of your competitors and maybe even the Coast Guard cutter that herds it’s flock of sailboats up the lake.
As I am writing this we are 61 miles from the nearest land, about 80 miles from the nearest Coast Guard base which is in Tampa and probably 20 miles away from the freighter that passed in front of us 2 hours ago.
Not that we need any help but it is a little odd and maybe unnerving to be out this far so alone. I suspect as we grow more experienced and confident in the boat this uneasiness will subside but I don’t know if it will ever go away.
Fear is not always a bad thing. If we didn’t fear harm we would be far more likely to walk into traffic. If I didn’t have an underlying fear of what could go wrong I wouldn’t check the things that need to be checked on a regular basis. It is this checking that keeps us safe on our way by preventing the things we fear.
It is 8:48 pm, Julie is sleeping, the sky is full of stars and my favorite constellation Orion just showed up to the east. The wind is blowing about 13 knots directly off of our beam, the waves are 2-3 feet and we are close reaching with the Main, Full Genoa and Staysail at over 7 knots. This is has to be some of the best sailing I’ve done since we started this journey which according to the trip odometer on the Garmin has taken us 1228 nautical miles. I almost wrote knotical miles which would have been wrong which reminded me of the following true story.
While rebuilding the house in Las Cruces that we currently have for sale we built some cabinets and “built ins” out of a wood called Knotty Alder. Knotty Alder has a warmth similar to Hickory along with some knots that give it character so it is a popular wood these days, it is also cheap. The local lumber yard sells this by the board foot so there is no SKU or bar code for it. You just tell them what kind of wood it is and how many board feet you have and they look it up and charge you accordingly.
I went in to purchase a few boards to finish up a piece we were working on and brought them up to the check out where a new “girl” was working. She was in her mid 20’s and had only been there a week so I didn’t think she would identify the wood so I said I had 15 board foot of Knotty Alder. She looked at me with this confused look and said “Naughty Elder, is that an account name?” I managed to not say anything crude or laugh as I explained about the Knotty Alder and went on my way.
Back to the boat, it is just eating it’s way thru the waves with power rhythm and authority. It kind of reminded me of riding a thoroughbred at a gallop. We had the good fortune of strong steady winds all night with average speeds of over 7 knots. Late into the night the waves did pick up and the wind favored us with about two hours of speeds between 8 ½ -9 ½ knots. A little disconcerting when you can’t see a thing. We are taking turns sleeping. With only two of us, we both have to be on deck, in case something goes wrong. It is cold but thankfully our friend Rick left his sleeping bag.
Sometime about 3 in the morning I noticed some strange waves next to the boat and spotted a large flash of silver just below the water. At first I thought it was the Loch Ness monster then I remembered I wasn’t in Scotland.
As I watched I realized it was a group of dolphins and my initial reaction was that they were a bunch of teenage hoodlum dolphins that were trying to steal our hubcaps. I wasn’t worried because unbeknownst to these young punks the wheels had come off this baby a long time ago.
The sun came up and we had already put over 120 miles behind us but still had another 80 miles to go. The wind slowed and came in from the south warming things up so we showered and relaxed in the cockpit in shorts and T-shirts while the autopilot dutifully guided us along.
The day has been fun but it really started to cool down around 1:00 as the wind filled in from the north, the good news is there are no waves and we have a full suit of sails up along with a little engine assist doing ~ 8 knots to get to the dock in Port St Joseph, FL before sunset.
After 33 hours on the water with only a few hours of sleep we’re getting a little goofy, singing along with the XM - Summer Love from the musical Grease and dancing with the dog.
Sorry if this went on so long but this is the first real-time blog that I’ve had a chance to write. All the rest have been recollections, some as old as 2 weeks but this was pretty much written while it happened.
By the way I want everyone to know that I write this but Julie embellishes, edits, corrects and punctuates.

And as I (Julie) am currently embellishing, I have to say that his Johnson isn’t as big and impressive as it looks. The camera does add ten pounds you know. And occasionally, no matter how many times you pull it, it just won’t start!

Tampa Boatyard

Tampa Bay boatyard
We didn’t go to a boatyard in Tampa or even in the bay but we ended up about 5 miles down the ICW from Tampa Bay at a place called Snead Island Boat Works. We decided to go there because they actually had a crane. We needed a crane because after our last sail with the mast “shrinking” again we decided that there was a problem not with the hull or mast step but with the mast itself and it needed to come out.
We had talked to several boat yards and Snead Island was the only one that had their own crane, they were also highly recommended on several websites. I talked to the yard manager on the phone before we arrived and told him that we needed to have the mast pulled and that I wanted to do some of the work myself. After a bit of chit chat and telling him that I had worked in a boat yard for 5 years he said this would be OK. Quite a few boat yards won’t let you do any major repairs on your own boats, I think the main reason for this is because of liability issues.
We arrived late in the afternoon and softly ran aground trying to dock on the wall outside off the marina. One of the yard managers came out and told us that we needed to come into the basin and dock on the wall that was just thru the entrance and 10 feet to the left where it was deeper. We spun back into the open bay and slowly approached the narrow entrance to their marina and put the boat into reverse, which we had recently discovered pushed the stern to starboard and the bow to port. (which means the back of the boat went right and the front went left).
Julie was standing at the middle of the boat with a line that she threw to the man waiting on shore who wrapped it around a cleat and stopped us.
The yard manger, Steve, came over and talked to us about everything we needed to do to get ready to pull the mast in the morning. Julie and I spent the next 2 hours loosening shrouds, removing the boom and other hardware plus disconnecting wires for the instruments and lights that are on the mast.
8:30 the next morning we heard the crane pull up and we grabbed Ziggy and got off of the boat. Being a person that is not capable of staying away from “the action” I ended up back on the boat to help the yard manager, Steve, attach the cable from the crane to a piece of webbing which was wrapped around the mast. Next we tied a rope thru the webbing and the crane operator reeled in the cable which slid the webbing up the mast to a point a little more than half way up the mast. We then tied the rope onto the winches on the mast which kept the webbing from sliding any further up the mast.
I volunteered to go below to help guide the mast thru the cabin to keep it from banging in to things. Next there was discussion between Steve and the crane operator such as “boom up”, swing left” to get the crane lined up with the mast and then “cable up” which is the command to start the process of lifting the mast out of the boat.
The mast stuck a little as the crane started to lift it. You could tell because the boat lifted just a little maybe an inch and then when the mast “popped”. In a previous life working in a boat yard I helped pull to a hundred masts but had never had this happen. As the mast came out from the darkness of the bilge I could see that the base of it was jagged, looking kind of like piece of torn paper. This would explain everything, the shortening of the mast causing the loose rigging without the base of the mast moving down. When the mast was pulled up thru the deck I asked Steve if he had ever seen this before. He told me that he had a handful of times and that it was not that uncommon on older boats. The crane swung the mast over to the side and it was laid down on saw horses.




















Mast out of the boat


With the mast laying down we were able to look into it and saw that the aluminum on the inside of the mast had never been painted or treated in any manor from the factory. This lack of any protective coating allowed saltwater to attack and finally corrode enough of it away so that it was weaker than the loads generated when we ran aground causing it to crumble. The mast was pitted and pretty heavily corroded up to about 4” inside the mast.
A little later I found a piece of the original mast about 1 ½” tall and 1/3 of the original diameter on the ground next to where the mast was set down. It must have been wedged inside when the mast crumbled and fell out as it was being lowered. It was very corroded and by my estimation weighed less than half of what it should have.
Looking inside of the mast step I found a mixture of sludge and crumbled aluminum about 3 inches deep. I scooped it out, cleaned the step which is an oval shaped stainless steel plate with vertical collar welded to it in the shape of the mast. There were six ½” bolts sticking up out of the bottom of the bilge that were used to hold the mast step in place.
Steve said the way to fix it was to cut off the bad part of the mast and build the mast step up the amount that we cut off of the mast. Cutting off everything that was bad would leave a strong mast, building up the area under the mast step would leave the mast the same height. This made sense and I agreed to the idea, he said he would stop by later with a Skilsaw to chop the mast base down and take a look to see what could be done to build the mast step up.



















Mast chunk on left - Chopped off piece on right



I had worked thru a couple of ideas and called my very good friend and long time sailing and boat modifying buddy Jack to bounce a couple of ideas off of him. I asked him what he thought the load on the mast was and he guessed 30,000 lbs after I gave him the size and weight of the boat.
With that guess under our belt Jack asked for the dimensions of the mast cross section and the thickness of the mast (for those of you that don‘t know, aluminum masts on boats are not solid, they are hollow) our mast is 9” from front to back, 7” wide and 3/16” thick.
Jack calculated the total number of square inches and multiplied it by the strength of aluminum and divided by 3 for the safety margin designers put in “just in case” all in his head and came up with a number that was close to his original guess.
This information was important so I could use a material strong enough so that it wouldn’t compress under the loads of the mast. 30,000 pounds is quite a force but the base of the stainless steel mast step is oval measuring 11” by 13”. Roughly, the base of the step has an area of 140 square inches. Dividing 30,000 lbs by 140 square inches gives 214 lbs per square inch. To put this number in perspective, if a 120lb woman wearing high heels puts all of her weight on one heel that is ½” by ½” she is asserting 480lbs per square inch on the floor (½ X ½ = ¼ Square inch with 120 lbs of force on it, multiply this 120 by 4 to get the force generated on 1 square inch and you get 480 lbs per square inch). This was not an insurmountable task.
Steve showed up on his lunch hour and cut the mast base off which took a few minutes, he then came below and looked at the mast step. He suggested using pieces of mahogany marine plywood with waterproof glue stacked up with layers of fiberglass matte (which is kind of like felt) between each layer.
I agreed and he had his ship’s carpenter cut me enough pieces to account for the 5 ½ “ of mast that was gone.
I cleaned out the bilge and ground away the surface of the fiberglass where the plywood was going to be stacked to give a good clean bond area and since it was now 6:00 we called it a day.
When we first arrived at the yard we told them we were going to have the mast pulled and go anchor in the harbor to work on the boat. They suggest we just stay on their seawall and use their facilities, we took them up on this without a second thought.
We had dinner and went off to their shower facilities which were quite nice. We have a shower on the boat that works just fine. The water is heated via a 20 gallon or so water heater in the bilge which is heated thru the “radiator” on the engine or by regular old 120V AC. But showering on most boats is kind of like showering in a closet that also has the head ( toilet) and sink, so showering on shore is always a treat.
The next morning I laid down 3 layers of fiberglass cloth on the bottom of the bilge where the new plywood base was going to go plus an additional 4 inches around the area to tie the new mast step into the hull, these 3 layers were about 3/16” total. I bolted down the first layer of plywood and plenty of epoxy oozed out ensuring a good solid bas and bond. Each additional piece of plywood was coated on all sides with epoxy to keep water out and another layer of fiberglass matte was place between each layer to ensure the strongest buildup possible. I secured each layer to the one below with matte and epoxy with 20 drywall screws.
With 8 layers of the Okum marine plywood installed I had regained the 5 ½ “ that had been cut off of the mast. I added 4 layers of fiberglass ( 8 oz biaxial with matte if you really must know) to make a solid bed for the stainless steel mast step and called it a day.
We were low on provisions so I grabbed my back pack and hiked 2.8 miles to the meat market and another ¼ mile to the produce stand and returned to the boat almost 2 hours later with 20 pounds of great stuff and demanded a back rub. Yes I can be quite the whiner.
Around 10:00 the next morning they re-stepped the mast and we spent most of the rest of the day reattaching shroud, electronics and the rest of the stuff that goes in and around the mast. We finished up around 3 in the afternoon and decided to stay until the morning, just so we could relax a little bit and use their showers again.
We had installed a 4 cubic foot fridge/freezer which is about 3 times the size of a dorm fridge while we were here. We used about 15lbs of ice per day at about $4.00 per day so spending $178.00 at Lowes for this fridge had a fairly quick payback. The fridge was about 1” too wide to get down below so we gut off some of the main hatch trim and glued it back on after we got the fridge down. There is a seat in the hallway heading back towards the aft cabin that was a waste of space and fortunately the fridge fit in the space with about ¼” to spare.
The next morning I remembered that our stuffing box was still leaking, I talked to Steve about borrowing a couple of 3” open end wrenches ( aka huge mongo wrenches) to adjust the stuffing box. He chuckled and said “you don’t do it that way, I’ll send someone over to show you”. 30 minutes later one of the mechanics stopped by with a pair of Channel Locks ( great big pliers ) and a hammer.
This guy whacked the lock nut a few times with the hammer and it broke free from the cap nut, he then spun the cap nut down until it stopped leaking. It took him 3 minutes with $30.00 worth of tools to do what I had not been able to accomplish over 3 hours with $50.00 worth of tools I had purchased for the job. So much for what I know.
With the mast and stuffing box done we were excited to get going, our problems were behind us and the forecast was great. Julie turned the key to start the engine and nothing happened.
I asked if she had turned the key and she gave me that look. I asked her to turn it again and when nothing happened again I almost snapped or maybe I did.
We had just spent 3 days repairing the collapsed mast base. Just before that we had rebuilt the starter on the gen-set. Before that we had replaced the headsail that tore itself up in Charleston. Before that we had replaced the alternator on the Yanmar diesel. Before that we had replaced the batteries. Before that we had repainted the boat. Before that we had rebuilt the rudder.
We were going thru money like a drunk sailor. Coincidence????? I think not.
Going back to being a kid working on cars with my dad, I decided to start with some of the basics: a starter is nothing but an electric motor that turns the engine fast enough to get the pistons to start firing, at which time the engine is running and you step on the gas and go.
I went to the engine room and had Julie turn the key again. I heard the distinct click of the solenoid, or Bendix, pulling in, which should provide the required power to make the starter run. The next step was to check the power cables coming in to the starter to see if they were loose. Great news, the first wire I wiggled, the main wire to the starter was incredibly loose.
I found the right wrench, tightened it up and confidently asked Julie to start the engine. Nothing happened.
This time I really lost it, going on about pieces of poop and not catching a break. Julie was wondering about my sanity (even more than usual) and asked what was going on.
I explained that if tightening the wire hadn’t worked the problem was most likely that the starter itself was burned out, probably because of the loose connection and it would take 2-5 days and several hundred dollars at least to have it rebuilt or replaced.
After my “little” tirade I asked her to try to start it a couple more times. I heard the sound of an electrical arc that was away from the starter at the back of the engine. It turned out that the main engine ground cable was corroded where it attached to the engine block. After the 5 minutes it took to clean and reassemble everything the engine started flawlessly and we where on our merry way.
We chose to cross Tampa Bay and exit there instead of exiting thru the channel where we had run aground 4 days earlier. It was a little further but the Tampa Bay channel was deep enough for ocean going ships and there was no chance for us to run aground here.
We felt bad about the time and money it took to repair the mast after grounding but on the other hand felt pretty good as similar loads could be generated on the mast while sailing in high winds and pounding seas. If we were sailing with 40 knots of wind and 20 foot waves and the mast base collapsed, loosening the shrouds the way it did, the mast would have certainly fallen. Now imagine if this happened in the middle of a stormy night, 80 miles from land.
Our little mishap was probably a blessing in disguise.

Sunset from the boatyard.

Sarasota to Tampa Inlet and Back Again

We got up just about dawn and started our morning ritual, take Ziggy ashore, make coffee, check the engine for oil, clean up, store everything, weigh anchor and motor away. Our destination that evening was Clearwater, FL which was about a 40 mile trip. This was going to be our jumping off point for the 180 mile trip up to the panhandle of Florida.
The channels in and out of Sarasota harbor were too shallow for us to pass thru so we started up the ICW towards Longboat pass which showed plenty of depth for us to exit. The trip up was about 10 miles so we enjoyed the scenery and warm weather.
About ½ way on our little journey we ran aground in the center of the ICW and had to spin the boat and motor back towards a side to get going again. This was not the first time we had gotten stuck and by far not the worst.
Coming out of Dismal key we got stuck so badly we ended up using the dinghy tied to a halyard (one of the lines that pulls sails up to the top of the mast) to lean the boat over far enough to get the keel out of the sand so we could go. I had the 9.9 horsepower outboard at full throttle and the boat leaned about 25 degrees lifting the keel up by a foot or so. After it started to move I still kept pulling until we had a foot or two of water beneath the keel.
The ICW is supposed to be a minimum of 10 feet deep along this stretch but there is always drifting of sand and mud along the way. Federal funding to keep the ICW has been cut in the past few decades and they do the best they can to keep it safe, having us get stuck occasionally is lower on their priority list.
We got down to Longboat pass, hailed the bridge tender over our marine radio and he told us he would have it opened up right when we got there, which he did.

Bridge at Longboat Pass

We passed thru and we motored down the channel at about 7 knots to fight the 3 foot waves coming at us, following the buoys out about 3 miles to where we could turn north and head for Clearwater.
Julie turned north a few hundred yards past the last buoy in 20 feet of water and I went below. About 15 seconds later the boat slammed so hard I was thrown to my knees, we had run aground. I got up and ran back up top where Julie was throttling up the diesel to full power and trying to turn back to where we had come from.
At first we stayed put rising up and slamming on the hard sand bottom with each wave. At one point we were over so far that a large wave broke over our port aft (back left) quarter and splashed up into the raised cockpit.
I was getting pretty frightened at this point. Boats sink occasionally but I suspect more are swamped while being dragged sideways up on a beach or rocks. The 40 some foot boat that we saw on it’s side at Marco Island was swamped after it swung on it’s anchor into shallow water at high tide. When the tide went out, a difference of about 4 feet, it laid over so far that water came in the hatches and filled it up. It was totaled in virtually no wind or waves.
We were out in 3 foot waves and about 15 knots of wind, being pushed towards the beach. Fortunately we had not put our sails up yet which would have driven us on shore. Thankfully the 100 horsepower, inter-cooled, turbocharged Yanmar diesel screaming at full speed was able to push us towards deeper water. At first we only moved a foot or two at a time as we raised up on a wave, only to crash back down on the sand, but after about 30 seconds we were back in deeper water.
We both looked at the map and buoys and everything said we should have been in 25 feet of water but apparently a recent hurricane had move the shoal further out. Hurricanes and currents change the contour of sandy bottoms, especially near inlets, on a regular basis. Quite often maps and guide books warn of this. Usually, however, the Coast Guard, NOAA or maybe it’s the buoy police move them to prevent mariners from hitting obstructions.
We regrouped, pointed the boat north, still motoring and Julie insisted that something was wrong with the “feel” of the boat. I assured her all was well and told her that she was just a little shaken up from our grounding. It was then that both of us noticed that the shrouds that hold the mast up were all loose and that the mast was flopping around like crazy. This was not good at all.
I grabbed a couple of heavy dock lines and laced them around the shrouds from side to side to tighten them up. When I got done it looked like a spider had made a giant blue web at the base of the mast, but it was no longer flopping around.
We turned back around and headed for the drawbridge and the ICW where we could find an anchorage and assess the damage. We found a spot to anchor near a marina and restaurant about 3 miles from the draw bridge.

Drying Laundry While Waiting

I could only think of 3 reasons why the mast would have “shrunk” like it did. 1) The mast step collapsed. 2) The chain plates or tangs that the shrouds attach to at the deck pulled up. 3) The hull was damaged and the keel and mast step that sits on top of it had moved down. Julie thought that the mast might have been collapsing in on itself, I didn’t think that this was possible.
I spent 5 minutes with my head in the bilge (crawlspace) studying the mast step (cup that the base of the mast sits in) and the surrounding fiberglass to see if the mast step had collapsed, but could not see a sign of damage. Option 1, the mast step collapsing had been ruled out.
Next I looked at where the chain plates attached to the fiberglass bulkheads (supporting walls) inside the boat and found no sign of movement or damage. Had the chain plates pulled up there would have been dents where the washers on the back had been for the last 30 years, but as far as I could tell they hadn’t move 1/16th of an inch let alone the 1 inch or so the shrouds had loosened. Option 2, the chain plates pulling up had also been ruled out.
After we ran aground, one of the first things I did immediately after the mast was tied in place was go below and look in the bilge to see if we were taking on water. The fact that there was no water leaking into the boat indicated that the hull was intact. Once we were at anchor, I donned my snorkel gear and dove in. Visibility was not very good here so I ran my hands over the bottom of the keel and over the entire area where the keel met the hull top to bottom several feet “looking” for a crack or some sign of damage, there was nothing. This ruled out Option 3, meaning there was nothing wrong.
OK, something was definitely wrong. but I had not figured it out. I looked around for other clues and saw the stainless steel cable that runs from the mast step to the mast collar, which is bolted to the bottom of the deck. I put my hand on it and it seemed to be just as tight as it was previously, I asked Julie to feel it and she agreed with my observation.
I realized that if the mast step had moved down causing the rigging to slacken this cable would be incredibly tight, trying to pull the cabin top down 1 inch. This meant the mast step had not moved at all, which was a very good thing.
But something had moved and the only thing that I could think of was that the last time the mast was stepped something was in between the mast and the bottom of the step keeping it up until we hit bottom so hard. I really couldn’t think of what could have held it up, a piece of wood, some misplaced bolt, I didn’t know. What I did know was that the previous owners had done a lot of goofy things and this was probably just one more.
We tightened the rig up, did some other maintenance on the boat, had dinner and went to bed.
We awoke the next morning and the weather forecast had changed to crappy, so we decided to rest up do some shopping and do some more work on the boat.
We were anchored off of Anna Maria Island which turns out has a free trolley, so we hopped on board and went about 3 miles up where there was a grocery store, a hardware store and the ever popular West Marine. We got everything we needed and headed back to the boat via the trolley.
Since we were anchored we did not have shore power to charge the batteries so about 2:00 I tried to start the Westerbeke generator to charge everything up. When I flipped the start switch all I heard was a click, not the sound of the starter motor. I tried a few more times and still no starter, only a click.
As a kid I used to help my dad work on the family cars and back in the 60’s and 70’s starters were not near as reliable as they are nowadays, so I got to learn a fair amount about starters.
The fact that there was a click meant that the solenoid that pushes the starter gear in and closes the contacts to provide the starter motor with the 70 or so amps of current that it needs was working. The next thing to do was to check the power wire coming into the solenoid, it was fine, the wire going out to the motor wiggled easily and I realized that the wire was completely gone, only the insulation was left.
It was easy enough to fix this problem, it only took an hour to get to the hardware store to get a soldering iron and some heavy wire and another hour to completely disassemble the starter and solder the new wire in place.
The next morning we decided to take the ICW up another 9 miles or so into Tampa Bay and exit thru a shipping channel so there was no chance of running aground again. We motored across the bay and raised the new headsail and the mainsail when we got far enough out into the channel . With about 10 knots of wind and 2 foot seas we reached along at about 6 knots admiring our pretty new sail.
About 10 minutes later I raised the staysail and got my camera to take a couple of pictures of our baby with her full suit of sails slicing thru the water.
When I was done I put the camera below and came up to find Julie asking “Why are the shrouds loose again?”. I told her to spin into the wind and start the engine but only go fast enough to keep the boat pointed into the wind. While she did this I dropped the staysail and rolled up the main and genoa (headsail) reduce the strain on the mast and rigging. We turned around and headed back towards the protected waters of Tampa Bay.

Our Beautiful New Sails

Ponce de Leon to Sarasota

11-11-2008

Diesels are wonderful engines; they develop more power per gallon of fuel than gas engines and they have no spark plugs and the associated electronics required to operate them. Another good thing about diesel is that it does not burn, quite unlike gasoline so it is much safer.
So if the engine was sputtering occasionally the only real problem it could be was the fuel. I had already changed the fuel filter and there was no improvement which meant it was either a faulty fuel pump or air in the line. So I did something that no man should ever do, I read the directions.
Turns out there is a bleed pump for air on the engine with a drain hose so I grabbed a jar and bled the system, quite a bit of air came out.
We pulled the anchor and motored out of Ponce de Leon bay and the motor ran flawlessly.
Our next destination was about 40 miles up the coast, a spot where we could anchor for the night called Dismal Key. A name like that conjures up visions of deep dark mangrove swamps and even more NoSeeums (the nasty little biting mites that drive you crazy). When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised. The keys here were covered with a low jungle canopy with beautiful sandy beaches.
We anchored behind a key that would give us the most protection, donned our swim suits and hopped in the dinghy to go over to a beautiful beach on the next island. About 100 feet from the shore we ran aground so everyone got out, except for Ziggy and pulled the dinghy up to the beach.
We spent the better part of an hour (If most of an hour is called the “better part”, what is the worst part?) walking in the water along the beach which was knee deep 150 feet out. We were looking for shells, fish and watching Ziggy go crazy running in the shallows. He would run in water 6” deep and while trying to drink water that he splashed up, which is not a good thing since he tends to get sick when he drinks anything but tap water or wine.
The next morning I took Ziggy ashore just after dawn and started hearing strange noises in the “jungle” not terribly far away. It was kind of strange and made me think of the TV series “Lost”. A minute later about 100 small egret or heron looking birds flew out of the tree tops about 100 feet away and swooped out to the water directly over my head.
We weighed anchor and headed up towards Marco Island which was only a few ours north. We motored into the bay thru a twisty channel which appeared to go over land in a coupe of places. As we got near the marina we were going to stay we saw a large sailboat laid on it’s side, half submerged in the shallows, it was an eerie sight.














Half sunk boat Marco Island


We docked and John ran off to get a rental car so we could do some shopping, he was going to drive to Miami the next day to catch a flight back home.
Early the next morning John took off, it had been great having him with us again. His help on the boat and steering had been invaluable. After hugs and farewells he walked down the dock and Julie and I were alone.
The forecast was for strong winds and waves so we decided to wait a day for better weather and work on the boat some more. One of the 2nd tier projects that had been on the list had moved it’s way all the way to the top with John’s departure – fix the autopilot.
I had looked at the autopilot previously and all of the components were in place and connected to the controller but it would not power up. I traced the power wires and found that the positive wire had been connected to the engine battery but the crimp connector was broken.
This was one of those bad news good news things. The bad news was that the connector was broken the good news was that if it wasn’t I never would have found out that it was connected to the engine battery. Autopilots use a DC motor to steer the boat and in heavy weather can draw quite a bit of power.
On a boat with 2 sets of batteries the starter battery is supposed to be isolated from everything but the engine starter. This way you can run lights, stereos and anything else on the “house” batteries until it is stone dead and with the flip of a switch you can still start the engine to recharge the house battery.
By having the autopilot hooked to the engine battery we had a very real opportunity of being out on the ocean without lights or the ability to start the engine.
I found a spare breaker on the house power system, flipped the switch, adjusted the course on the autopilot and watched the rudder turn, success!
The next day we headed out of the bay and turned north to Sarasota.
We talked to someone at the marina we wanted to stay at and they suggested that we get into the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) at Venice Inlet since none of the entrances to Sarasota Bay were deep enough.
We got in the ICW and had to wait for 2 draw bridges and a swing bridge.














Swing bridge on ICW


We motored thru Sarasota harbor and arrived at the marina around 3:00 in the afternoon.
I ran some errands and when I got back Julie took the dinghy from the boat and met me at the Marina Jack bar. We waited about 45 minutes and Scott from Atlantic Sail Traders arrived with our new used headsail.
As our original sail was trashed in Charleston we had purchased a 3 year old sail and had it modified with a new bolt rope and roller furling cover all for under $1,000 where a new sail would cost at least $4,000. The sail had draft stripes and 2 telltale windows which are racing features and many serious racers replace their sales every few seasons. After a few seasons the material may have stretched a little and may not have the perfect shape. For cruising, a sail like this will last another 5 years.
We had dinner on the boat and went to bed, our plan for tomorrow was to head up the ICW and sneak out into the Gulf at the first opportunity.

A man's home is his castle really..........

Hitchhikers on the way

Key Largo to Ponce De Leon Bay

11-8-2008



We left Key Largo headed for Marathon Florida which is on Vaca Key about a 30 mile jaunt. Our original plans were to go to Marathon for provisions etc.., spend the night and head down to Key West where we intended to see the sights and relax for a couple of days. Unfortunately these plans changed because of a hurricane brewing near Cuba.
Paloma was a tropical storm that briefly became a hurricane and then regressed into a tropical storm after crossing Cuba on it’s way north east. It was supposed to miss Key West by over a hundred miles and it did but there was a chance of it veering north and hitting the keys in a few days so we decided to cross over to the Gulf Coast at Marathon and run north as fast as we could like scared, or as I like to say cautious little children.
We stayed at a funky little marina in Marathon, we couldn’t get into the city mooring area because of the overhead power lines. As it was, the marina worked out well. They had showers, a small store, fuel, a restaurant and a bar; we utilized all of them.
We only set foot on 2 of the many Keys but there was a consistent theme on these two, laid back. There was kind of a hippy, Bohemian culture that ran from the old to the young. Dreadlocks and beards were common on both men and women, more so the beards on men but still….
The boat next to us was being painted by some old grey haired bearded guy who was more than happy to give us advice on products and techniques for applying non-skid to our decks. He told us where to get the glass beads used in pavement striping saying we should use it instead of silica sand because it sparkled when the paint wore off whereas silica sand made the deck look dirty. He also said the glass beads were much cheaper than any typical marine store non-skid additives.
For those of you that don’t know what non-skid is, it is a form of texture used on a boat deck where you would typically walk. This is not so important when you’re sitting at a dock but as soon as the deck gets wet and you are healing (tipping) any smooth surface becomes like ice.
That afternoon we took the dinghy up to West Marine (kind of an Ace Hardware for boaters and priced accordingly) to pick up some pieces and parts and line we needed. On the way we realized that we were almost out of gas for the Johnson so we went as slow as possible to conserve. When we got back to the boat we had the gas tank tilted so the fuel pickup was at the very bottom and we had about a tablespoon of gas left.
Later I took a cab to Lowe’s to get some hardware, paint stuff and a 2nd huge pipe wrench to use to tighten the stuffing box. Some of you might ask why I would need a pipe wrench for the stuffing box and most of you will ask, “What is a stuffing box?”. A stuffing box is fitting where the propeller shaft exit’s the boat that keeps water from coming into the boat. It consists of a threaded flange with a cup shaped nut that has a hole in it to let the shaft go thru and a lock nut that tightens against the cup shaped shaft to keep it from spinning loose. There is some waxed thread that goes around the shaft and is compressed onto the threaded flange by the cup shaped nut that when tightened properly acts as a seal to prevent the water from rushing in. Ideally it should leak approximately 3 drops of water per minute (or 180 drops per hour) thru the shaft to keep this waxed rope lubricated enough so that it does not overheat while motoring.
Our stuffing box was never going to overheat, we were leaking at about 3 gallons per hour and the sound of dripping which was clearly audible while lying in bed combined with the bilge pump turning on repeatedly was getting on our nerves.
With 2 big pipe wrenches John and I struggled to get the wrenches on the two 3” nuts thru the 8” wide opening which was ½ under our dresser and rotate them opposite directions to break the lock nut free. 20 minutes later we quit. We had done nothing but bang our knuckles while contorting around each other looking like we were playing twister and the lock nut wouldn’t budge. We were pushing so hard that the flange was flexing in the hull and were genuinely concerned that we might break it resulting in a trip to the boat yard to have the boat pulled out so we could pull the prop shaft and replace the flange.
This wouldn’t be all bad though, the replacement stuffing box would have a new lock nut.
We ate dinner at the restaurant, had a couple of beers listening to the live music and relaxed.
The next morning we got up, showered, filled up our diesel tanks and filled the gas tank for the outboard.
With this done we shoved off and headed out of the harbor towards the bridge that runs the length of the Keys to Key West. We had to go under the bridge and then straight north about 40 miles. The bridge was reported to have a clearance of 65 feet while our mast is 64 feet tall. Add antennas and wind instruments to the top of the mast and we should be at about 66 feet from the water.
To get some additional clearance we tied a loop on the end of the boom that John stood on and swung the boom straight out, Julie stood on the side of the boat holding the shrouds and leaning out to tip the boat as much as we could. We motored under the bridge as slowly as possible and cleared it by a foot or so.
















65 foot tall bridge

















What are you laughing at???


The wind was directly on our nose and sailing was not an option. The engine was stuttering again.
After a worrisome day of motoring, we motored into Ponce de Leone Bay dodging shallows with the Garmin chart plotter and sonar (depth sounder/fish finder). Approaching land we’re peering forward to see where we were (anyone notice that I used were, where and we’re properly in the same sentence???) going to penetrate the dark mass of mangroves and underbrush to find the channel that was shown at 8’ depth.
While still out in the Gulf we followed the Garmin/Game Boy thru a series of channels that reminded me of the paper mazes you find on the back of Denny’s placemats that kids try to conquer while their parents try to have a civil discussion, and it never failed us. It showed .2 feet ( ~ 3 inches ) below the keel so I decided to check the depth with a stainless steel rod that we had. And figured that the water was about 9 feet deep. The keel is 7 feet deep and the depth sounder is supposed to be calibrated to show 0 feet when the water is 8 feet deep or 1 foot below the keel, fortunately there is 1 foot error on the safe side.
Ponce de Leone Bay is located in the Everglades National Park which based on memory starts near Miami and covers a half a billion square miles of Florida extending to the west 2 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. inland
We chased dozens and dozens of white Egrets and a handful of Herons down the channel as we motored. We have seen these species before and they never run before, apparently these birds don’t often see people or boats.
After some investigation we decided to anchor off to the side of the main channel where 5 rivers joined in to flow to and from the sea. The charts showed 6-7 feet depth but we we’re sitting in 9 foot plus water with our big anchor and it’s recently added 3/8” chain holding us in place.
John and I dropped the dinghy off the davits and got Ziggy loaded up for his landfall that he so looks forward to after each of these trips. We looked around the mangroves for a suitable place to pull ashore and saw a small area that was not completely overgrown with the knee like roots of the mangrove trees.
Pulling ashore we realized the bank was a soft clay with crawfish holes every 8 inches. Ziggy jumped ashore and tried to walk into the “woods” which had a floor of broken branches and roots about 1 foot above the ground with weeds and other small plants and shoots everywhere. Ziggy had a very hard time walking around but finally found a place where he was stable enough to do his thing.
By the time this was all done we were being swarmed by no-see-ums which are tiny flying mites found near beaches and marshes throughout the south. These little creatures are almost invisible but bite like they have piranha teeth. We sped back to the boat and got below as soon as possible.
A little later the wind picked up and scared some of them away but it was still tough to stay outside for more than a few minutes to see the sunset and take some pictures.
Being in the middle of a National Park was a bit odd as we had no cell service or internet on any of our wireless cards but we still had XM which was part of our Garmin plotter weather service.
We snacked on smoked gouda, apple slices and crackers and later had some awesome homemade chili for dinner. We sat around talking, played cards with real cards instead of with a computer. I played a game of solitaire and wondered if I was violating some copyright law that Microsoft had. Good night don‘t let the bed bugs bite :) .















Birds in the Mangroves Ponce de Leon Bay

Sunset in the mangrove swamp Everglades National Forest