A Tale of Two Campers

Jan/Lynn's 5th wheel on left. Our van on the right. We 
are the smallest, as usual ...

Raindrops keep falling on my boat

Raindrops keep falling on my boat.
But that's no reason why my boat won't float.
Cryin's not for me.
Cause I ain't gonna stop the rain by complaining...

Storm in Naples

Mega-squall. Lightening. Thunder. Pouring. Rain. Gin & Tonics. But no problem here on land in their trailer. Until the big bad cell in the Gulf hits soon.

safe ashore in Naples

Decommissioning, Day Seven –

... and Road Trip, day one.

Really easy day.  A little more dishwashing and boat vinegarizing and unloading.

Less water coming into the bilge!  Maybe (MAYBE) it is just left-over water from previous leaks?  If so, we don't have to replace the main fresh water tank.  Cancelled the boatyard repair guy, who hasn't bothered to show up for a week now, who might have pressure-tested the system.  We will just drain the tank for the summer, and check it out again when we get back in October-ish. If the tank doesn't haul water then, we will go to another repair yard that will do the work.

part of the PEX tubing, for the boat's fresh water supply system

Drove to Naples today in our camper/van. Staying with Jan & Lynn for the weekend.  Good to get away from the work on the boat.  Nice trip across Florida, through the Everglades on Alligator Alley.

girl of the 'glades

in the Everglades

Haulout will be on Tuesday. We're just about ready – maybe pull the cushions etc, and the dodger, and put this and a little more stuff in the storage locker.  After haulout: Boat cover, augurs, strap down the boat, close-up & lock-up, leave.

Interesting living in a 17' camper after ao 30' boat.

our other boat, in a marina in Naples, Florida

Back to the boat on Monday, to finish up.

Decommissioning, Day Six

Arranged for haulout next Tuesday morning (April Fool's Day). 

Met with the local boatyard's Volvo Penta Engine certified repair guy – he found the fluid leak in the saildrive, in just a few minutes. Easy, inexpensive repair.  He will do it before we return in the fall, including appropriate engine and transmission oils.  This guy knew which fluid to use in our V-P saildrive, the same info we found on-line, and different from the clown from the last storage place we were at, who both didn't know which fluid he was supposed to put in, and didn't know what he actually put in. Nice to have found a professional who knows his stuff, and will actually get the work done.

Removed bimini and connector; still have to do the dodger (a 10 minute job).

Still waiting for the local boatyard's mechanic to show up and test our water leak; don't have much hope he will show up while the boat is still in the water and has fresh (hose) water available.  And I don't care any more about them doing the work. We know where the leak is now, and especially where it is not (it's the main tank if there really is a leak), and can deal with it as soon as we get back in the fall. Either they have it fixed here (unlikely), or we go someplace that will do it. 

Delayed checking service batteries for capacity; would not replace them until fall anyway.

Refrigerator / freezer / battery killer – turned off, emptied, defrosted, prepared for several months of abandoned boat. More food and stuff removal & cleaning – Ilona washed and bleached or vinegared, and dried all dishes, utensils, cooking gear, etc. Extra food taken to food shelf (stuff we don't want to store for the summer). Boat is now about ready to be left for the spring and summer.

Bought augurs at Home Depot, to strap the boat down for hurricane season.

We plan to get out of here tomorrow. Road trip for the weekend, to visit brother and SIL, in Naples.  Nice to get away from the boat and all that work. 

Only a few things left to do when we get back here to the boat on Monday (or Tuesday AM before haulout).  Then, after haulout: boat cover on, 2" trucker straps on, fasten to the ground with big augurs.  And we will be done!

Decommissioning, Day Five

More emptying boat and cleaning for summer storage.

Trying to set up meetings with mechanics, to 1) diagnose and fix the FWL (i.e. the Water Leak), 2) check saildrive for fluid leak, change oil and gear fluid.

Installed remaining PEX tubing, to faucet in head. Now, ALL tubing and fittings are either visible or have been replaced with new tubing.  The water pump does NOT run unless the faucets are drawing water.  Of course, there is still water in the bilge that came from the main fresh water tank (or possibly the hot water tank, although that tank is completely visible and does not seem to be leaking.) SO: we need to get the main water tank replaced. There is nothing else left to change or fix in the entire fresh water system!

Transferred diesel fluid from jerry cans, to fill up main diesel tank for the summer. Transferred gasoline from the small portable red plastic tanks, to the van gas tank.

Got outboard motor back from L B Marine Services – excellent job, well worth having them do the complete maintenance service.

The Ilona cleaned and organized the huge locker (under the starboard bench in the cockpit), and is cleaning, washing, and bleaching everything left in the boat – to be continued …

Tied up the rafter for the foredeck (support of boat cover), and removed and tied down our Rocna anchor.

Off to Old Port Cove, North Palm Beach, for dinner with Joan and Laurence Wright of s/v-Tranquility (which, I just learned, has only one "L" – my bad…)

Decommissioning, Day Four

Bob's Clothing, tools, papers & manuals, & Rx's – found, assembled, and sorted: 1. Bring home, 2. Leave in storage locker, 3. Put into camper for trip home, or 4. Throw away. Food on boat also sorted: 1. Put in camper, 2. Leave on boat, 3. Bring to food shelf, 4. Eat now.

We hauled more stuff to our storage locker. Another van full. And almost a storage locker full too.

Arranged with Mr. Honda Outboard Engine Repair Guy to pick up and service the 2.3hp Honda outboard – should be done by tomorrow so we can get out of Dodge sometime soon.

And yet another day searching for the water leak. We put green food coloring in the main freshwater tank to test for leaks.  And there is still another fucking leak – we got green water in the bilge!  It is not / cannot be / any of the tubing downstream of the pump – I either replaced or capped-off all of the tubing.  ALL fittings are visible and not leaking. But there IS now green water in the bilge.  That leaves either the main fresh water tank or the hot water heater tank – most likely the former.  We arranged to talk to the service manager here tomorrow morning – so here goes another couple of Boat Units. Maybe they can fix it while we are gone for the summer – I refuse to deal with it in the fall when we return. Maybe, just maybe, replacing EVERYTHING in the fresh water system will stop the leaks. Maybe. No sense fishtaping to replace some more of the leaking PEX tubing, as it is capped off and we have bigger problems here.

We are thinking about purchasing augurs, to strap the boat down securely when on-the-hard to prevent it blowing away in the [coming for sure this year, with our luck] hurricane. Also thinking about not doing this and hoping the boat is gone when we return [see Fucking Leak, above].

Scheduled: Tomorrow=Wednesday, 7am – meet with service manager about having someone (not us) find and fix the water leak.  12pm – Outboard motor returns, serviced and ready for next season. Thursday, 12:30 – haulout, blocking on jackstands, install boat cover, final boat prep.

Ilona's been busy sorting, moving, and especially cleaning the boat. Day One of wiping everything down with vinegar solution to prevent mildew – it does get a bit humid here during the summer …

Decommissioning, Day Three

Discuss work orders with boatyard (most are DIY or not needed – or can wait until just before relaunch in October-ish). Dinghy washed – salt and crud removed. Outboard motor stowed on pushpit (the hell with servicing it now). Kayak also decrudded, left on shore in case The Ilona wants to go for another ride.  Ilona's clothing sorted (ship home, or bring in camper). Extra books packed for shipping. Most other books, cruising guides and charts packed and moved to storage locker. 30-mile road trip to Riviera Beach [West Palm Beach], to Boat Owners Warehouse [better price, inventory, and knowledge than Worst Marine], to buy replacement PEX tubing [too expensive and too long delay to have it shipped to Stuart where there isn't any available] and miscellaneous PEX fittings. While we were down there, lunch at Cod & Capers, in North Palm Beach – also scallops purchased for later. Also stopped at Home Depot, to buy stuff like step stool to help put cover on boat later. Second PEX tube replaced by threading it from the quarter-berth, under the stove compartment, and to the galley sink; we now have new hot and cold tubing for this sink.  The other two tubings (to the head sink – hot water is capped off, cold doesn't leak yet) - waiting for fishtaping and threading under the built-in head compartment, maybe tomorrow. Bilge drained, again – for another leak check. We now have water at the faucets (no hot in head). Still checking for leaks - this should do it, but then again it IS a boat! Raining lightly in AM; heavier in latter part of afternoon – good day for road trip and indoor work. Enough for one day.

Decommissioning, Day Two

Challah prepared by The Ilona as Eggy-toast for brunch - delicious! Sails rinsed with fresh water, dried and stowed.  Chain, rode, chain locker - also washed, dried, and stowed. Sunburn and heat stroke – in progress. List of repairs and projects for the boatyard and for us – prepared and printed. Snorkeling stuff (wet suits, face masks, fins, snorkels, dry bags, etc.) washed, dried, stowed.

Decommissioning, Day One

On the dock at American Custom Yachts, up the river from Stuart FL - Definitely, finally, found the water leaks! It's not the main fresh water storage tank. It's not the hot water heater.  There are 4 water lines that disappear as they travel through the boat: hot and cold, to galley (under the built-in stove cabinet) and to head sink (under the built-in head compartment).  One line gushes water - I replaced it. Two others have slow leaks.  Solution: Replace ALL 15mm tubing in the boat and be done with it.  Now to get the parts.  ALSO:  Six big machines full of laundry, preparing stuff for storage locker, shipping home, or into the camper van.  ALSO: Load number one went into the storage locker.

From water to land

Now we have it all - boat, camper/van, bicycles - and of course we can provision and travel without using dinghy and/or walking.  Nice.

Moved the boat up the St. Lucie River (aka Okeechobee Waterway) this morning.  Five miles. One hour. Easy motoring.  Now docked up at American Custom Yachts, east of Stuart, between the I-95 freeway and Florida's (not so free) Turnpike.  Arranged for mechanics to finally find and fix the damn fresh water leak next week.

Taxied to Indiantown and retrieved our van / camper. Checked out of the Indiantown Marina, said goodbye to some of the people who work there - we will miss the sailing community there, a little - but needed to find a place that can and will actually do the boat repairs we need. Closed the Indiantown climate-controlled storage locker and rented another, closer to this new boatyard. 

This weekend we get to transfer stuff from the boat to the locker or the van.  Then haulout sometime next week, and we become full-time RVers.  Checked out the local campgrounds - a couple of nice ones ashore at the St. Lucie Lock. 

We can sleep in our van (or boat) here at ACY, until haulout.  Accessible 24/7, locked and guardhoused gate. It's a boatyard, not a marina.

Today we motored (van, not boat) to Publix, etc. Restocked with beer, bought a challah - and hauled it home really easily.  This having wheels can really spoil us; forgot how easy people ashore have it.

Stuart!

Stuart! Done with up the ICW, got a mooring ball for tonight. Great meal at the Sailors Return (how appropriate!) Restaurant at the Sunset Bay Marina. 

Tomorrow we motor 5 miles up the Okeechobee Waterway to repair, decommission and haulout for the Summer. Will be sad to leave the boat, but then we get the camper/van and can see friends and sights in Florida, without having to take the dinghy. And then no weather worries.

Motoring up Hobe Sound on the ICW, between Jupiter & Stuart

The world is alive, with the Sound of Hobe ...

Boat repair while stuck in Fort Lauderdale

Still in Fort Lauderdale. Still waiting (a week now) for winds to subside so we can travel up the ditch to Stuart - and no chance before Wednesday. We need 3 days motoring to get to Stuart. Two days if we go outside in the Atlantic, but it better calm down a lot for us to go back out there again.

Will probably leave the boat somewhere in Stuart for the summer.

Meanwhile, we have been spending the last few days trying to find the leak in the fresh water system - it looks like it probably is in or under the 40-gallon fresh water tank, which is built in to the hull of the boat, is under the not-removable aft cabin wood under the mattress, and is made of unsealable plastic. Not in something easy to fix like the tubing or the water pump.

This could cost us a lot to repair. Got a guy coming to look at it today - might get it fixed here in Fort Lauderdale, or in the place we leave the boat in Stuart. Wondering if it would be cheaper at this point just to sell the boat.

You might say I am getting overwhelmed with the amount of time and money and work and frustration I am spending on boat repair. I, of course, can't say that - I have to look at the brighter side: I am learning a lot about boat repair and maintenance.

This is a lot like fixing an airplane engine while in-flight. We have to tear the boat apart while trying to live in it. So it goes ...

St. Urho's Day

Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen

Happy St. Urho's Day

Saint Urho - Saint Urho's Day March 16th

www.sainturho.com

St. Urho - Legendary Patron Saint of Finland

St. Urho was a Finnish lad,

A blue eyed, blond hair poika,

St. Urho, bashful suomalainen

Ate grapes and kala mojakkaa.

He chased those big green bugs away,

"Heinäsirkka, mene pois!"

He said it loudly, just one time ---

Tose 'hoppers had no choice!

And so the Finns are here right now,

To celebrate Dear Urho,

And sing and dance in temperatures…..

It's always way 'plo zero!

Then in snowbanks deep and rivers iced,

To our saunas we will go, oh!

Cuz' Urho is our hero, now,

As all good Finns must know!

Happy Purim

Happy Purim tonight and tomorrow. May you get so drunk that you cannot tell Blessed Haman from Evil Mordecai (or something like that...)

Where the girls (and boys) are

No longer the slave of ambition

I laugh at the world and its shams

As I think of my pleasant condition

Surrounded by acres of college spring breakers barely wearing bikinis ...

[Old Settler's Song, slightly modified]

The buddy boats are scattered all over the Bahamas & Florida

Flotilla status: Ihana @ Fort Lauderdale. Tranquillity @ Nassau. Utopia @ Little Farmers Cay, Exumas. Pelican @ Abaco, or still on Eleuthera. Time & Tide @ Great Harbor Cay, Berries. Rag Doll @ George Town. Nothing like traveling together with buddy boats ...

Sushi dinner at Fort Lauderdale Beach

If you knew Sushi, like I know Sushi, oh! oh! Oh what a meal! I took the Ilona out to dinner at the new beachfront sushi bar, here in Fort Lauderdale. Wonderful place, outstanding food (and beer). And I didn't have to do the dishes.

Dessert - mango mousse with berries

Sushi Bar across from the beach

Looking toward the beach from inside the Sushi Bar

Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale. Looks like we will be here for awhile. Too windy & wavey & swelly to go outside for the jump to Lake Worth Inlet, then Stuart. And we can't go up the ICW on the weekend - too many boats then. It's spring break time - surrounded by too many acres of teeny bikinis and drunk guys. Well, we have trolleys, boat outfitters, Publix groceries, restaurants, crowds. Not a bad place to be, actually. Will try to make Stuart (Hinckley) for boat service and repairs within a week; maybe put Ihana on the hard there for this coming summer.

Point of No Return

This photo of Ihana's chartplotter shows the track of our Gulf Stream crossing last monday.  The original intention was to continue on our Course To Steer of 322M; as we entered the strongest current of the northerly-flowing gulf stream, the set and drift would bring us farther north, so as to arrive at the Lake Worth inlet without changing our heading - and in the minimum time.

See previous posting, about the details of what happened to us. As you can see, mid-crossing was when the winds backed to the north and strengthened, making the crossing extremely unpleasant at best, and extremely dangerous at worst.

This happened just after we passed the Point of No Return - the point in the crossing where it would have been harder to turn back to Bimini then to continue on to Florida.

The course change is obvious on this track, as we took the shortest route and headed directly to Fort Lauderdale.  This got us out of the Gulf Stream the fastest, and since we had no way of telling how bad the conditions were going to get, the safest and smartest "course of action" (literally) was to abort Plan A = Lake Worth.

Note that the rhumb line directions and the courses to steer were pre-set and visible, for either destination.  Good planning.

According to Wikipedia: "The point of no return is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous. A particular irreversible action (e.g., setting off an explosion or signing a contract) can be a point of no return, but the point of no return can also be a calculated point during a continuous action (such as in aviation)."

Pictures - Leaving Bimini

Sunrise over Bimini, as we left to cross the Gulf Stream to Florida

Bob at the helm

YOU CAN'T CHANGE COURSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM.

We are in FLORIDA.  Left Bimini just before sunrise. Gulf Stream crossing was supposed to be with Light & Variable winds.

Well, they got the Variable part right.  Fairly smooth the first third of the way, until we got to midstream. Then the winds BACKED to the NE, N, then NW.  Everyone says you must NEVER be in the Gulf Stream when the winds are out of the north. And they are right!  Marching Elephants, Pouncing Pachyderms, whatever they call them – went from SE tailwinds with 1' swells, 10 sec period, (no problem) - to OMG almost square waves when wind opposed the current.  Of course, this was when we were almost halfway across.

We aborted the NE course to Lake Worth Inlet (75 miles, 10 hours), and went with Plan B – turned west to Fort Lauderdale (50 miles, 8 hours) and hung on.  Was "challenging" for several hours; calmed down to reasonable (i.e. possible) the last 2 hours.  So, we are safely docked at Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale.

Memo to Bob – you never want to cross the Stream ever again.  Please remember this.  Ignore all weather forecasts.

Have a case of culture shock – floating docks, hot showers, reasonable dockage fees, restaurants (coming real soon), real food, good beer (coming now), provisioning (coming later), boat repair (ditto – later).

More later – gotta finish off the Kalik Bahamian "Beer", then get some good old American food.

One of these days we still have to head up north.  Maybe in the ditch - bridge openings beat stream closings. Any day. Stay tuned.

The Gulf Stream today

No crossing today. Obviously.  Maybe Monday?

Looking west from Bimini, towards Florida

The Bimini Entrance - note the red nav aid

Bimini & Brown's Marina

Brown's Marina - We are the 4th mast from the left (the shortest one).
Boat is too short to see.

at Brown's Marina

Big John's, next door to the marina. Hey, mon - no joints in dis joint?

on North Bimini Island

View from end of our dock, Bimini

We are docked in North Bimini (marked on radar picture below). First squall hit already; pretty wild out here. Sails lashed down, eight docklines and all fenders deployed. Actually wore my heavy-weather foulie during the downpour. Damn- we even had to cancel the ad-hoc potluck supper here at Brown's Marina.

Bimini

We arrived in Bimini - Browns Marina on North Bimini - an hour ago.  We had a wonderful but exhausting 2-day transit from Nassau.

Yesterday: Rough leaving Nassau for a few hours, then it settled down and we were in Force-1 flat water, as we left the Tongue of the Ocean and got onto the Great Bahama Banks.  Stopped before sunset, anchored in absolutely the middle of nowhere - no land in sight - in 17 feet of water and calm winds and no waves or swells.  Slept like a bobby ...  Buddy Boated with Jon & Marilyn of sv-Escapade.

Wind came up overnight; up to 5 knots or so - nothing serious; no chance of dragging anchor even thought the light winds went from south to north overnight.  Slept throught it. no way was the Rocna anchor going to drag in these light winds - 100 feet of chain, and bridle. This was the anchorage I was most worried about this trip, and it turned out to be the best and calmest.

Today: Woke up to some light waves and 5 knot winds.  No problem.  Another 60 miles & 10 hours today. I took a nap, midday (Ilona at the helm). Woke up to some small waves on the banks, wind up to 5-10 knots. So after i had some coffee, we threw out the full genoa and motored at 7 knots for a couple of hours - all the way to Bimini. 

Tomorrow, etc: sitting tight here. Supposed to be another cold front (norther) on Thursday-Friday, but we are safe in port and there are lots of restaurants (& BARS) here on the island, or Cay, or whatever this place is. Looking forward to getting off the boat after 2 days, and eating out.

Chris Parker says *maybe* next Sunday-Monday will be a very mild crossing day for the Gulf Stream to Florida, if we don't mind motoring (we don't!).  So we may be in Florida by early next week.  After what we have been through, a 50-75 mile crossing of the Gulf Stream sounds like easy - especially after a good sleep and time on-land. We can wait for a really smooth weather window; no rush at all; it's still winter back home.

No way (NO WAY!) are we going back to MInnesnowta until we are sure it is over up there. (May?) Might cruise around Florida in our van - have friends and family in Dania, Naples, Sebring, Cape Coral; and the cruising community in St. Augustine. And would be nice to spend a day or 2 in Savannah and/or Charleston again before heading north.  No rush!  And imagine shopping without having to haul stuff home in the dinghy!

Dont know where we will park the boat for the coming summer.  Probably Indiantown again, although I would like a place with a mechanic we can trust.  People suggest St. Marys (GA), St. Augustine or Jacksonville (FL), or whatever.  Something to deal with when we get back across the Gulf Stream (next week?).  Not now.

We (finally!) have free internet and can Skype!  Civilization at last (sort of).

Voyage Plan - west from Nassau

Voyage Plan for sv-Ihana (assuming favorable winds and seas)

Traveling with buddy boat = sv-Escapade (at least to Bimini)

Monday Mar3 - leave Nassau, head NW, anchor on the Banks overnight
Tuesday Mar4 - continue Westbound
   a. Arrive Bimini (Alice Town); marina overnight (probably Brown's Marina, maybe Blue Water Marina) - if still daylight
   b. OR: anchor another night on the banks, just east of North Bimini; then arrive marinas (above) Wednesday

Then sit out possible bad weather on Thursday & Friday.

After that: Wait for a good weather window for the Gulf Stream Crossing - 48 miles to Fort Lauderdale, or 75 miles to Palm Beach / Lake Worth.

will be without Internet access until we reach Bimini; maybe there too, unless the internet there is better than it has been in the rest of the Bahamas.