Independence

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us. (29years)

We made preparations to climb the mizzen mast on Wednesday, but found some chaff in the halyard (rope) that we were going to use to haul me up. It probably would have done fine but, without a second safety line available, I didn’t want to take chances. Yesterday we walked to West Marine to purchase some new line and I put it up this morning. We’ll try climbing the mast this morning to put on the new (to us) radar.

I talked to the supplier of the fuel pump yesterday who said it was shipped on Tuesday. Once it gets in and installed we’ll be ready to take advantage of the next weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. It’s been frustrating to watch good weather windows come and go while we wait for packages and such. There has been a near perfect window stating yesterday lasting through Saturday. We watched 5 boats leave this morning. Even when the next window approaches we’ll have to make a vet appointment to get Buddy’s health certificate for entering the Bahamas. We are also making appointments for ourselves to get prescriptions and hopefully get on a mail-in prescription program. I guess in the grand scheme of things we’re really not in a big hurry and it’s been very pleasant here in Marathon.

The cruisers had a potluck at marina’s tiki hut on Christmas eve with a really nice turnout. The following day (Christmas) we went to another potluck at Dock Side, a waterfront bar and grill at the end of the harbor. They provided several hams and the rest of the food was brought but folks from their boats. It was a really nice time. We played a parlor game for several hours that was created by a cruising couple. We liked it so much we bought one from them.

The mystery is solved on the dinghy motor. The first problem was the ethanol fuel, which ate up the diaphragm in the fuel pump. Then the little specs of rubber from the fuel pump plugged up the carburetor jets. I’ve got a new fuel pump on order, but it will take at least a week to get here. In the meantime I have cleaned the carburetor and bypassed the old fuel pump with a second fuel filter. We can now get around until the pump gets here, using the fuel tank’s primer bulb to pump the fuel by hand. It’s a little mickey mouse but works fine.

Lots of boats leaving over the last couple of days. At least 6 left this morning. Some were heading north to wait for a crossing window, while a couple left to cross directly from Marathon. We’re still waiting on a package that’s been delayed and may not be able to leave until after Christmas. There is a great weather window shaping up for the 27th which looks like it will last 3 or 4 days. The windows start getting more frequent and longer lasting in January and we’re getting pretty close.

I finished remounting the solar panels yesterday and am real happy with it. It is a much stronger install now and both panels are facing the same direction. When the new controller gets here we should be able to go without running the engine to charge batteries. At the least we’ll be running it a lot less.

I tested the radar today and it’s working fine. We’ll install it tomorrow or the next day…which means climbing the mast. It appears this radome will fit right on the bracket from the old radar so the install should be fairly easy once I get up there. The unit we’re putting in is matched to our navigation equipment so it’s pretty much plug and play. We got this unit at the cruisers flee market in Melbourne early November. He was trying to sell it, but then offered to just give it to us at the end of the day….sweet!!!

The dinghy is giving me headaches…or more properly put, the outboard is. Sometimes it runs like a champ but more frequently it’s having trouble running at lower speeds. I’m afraid the ethanol fuel I used ate up the seals in the carburetor, which means sending it to the shop. Oh well…better her than after we’ve left for the Bahamas.

This morning I didn’t get up until about 8:00. I heated some coffee and sat on the deck with Buddy until just before 9:00 when I went to wake Vicky for the cruiser’s net. During a portion or the cruiser’s net (trivia) I put out the question of who was the first territorial governor of Nevada. Now I had always thought it was Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) and was pretty tickled that nobody could come up with the answer. Well there’s a reason nobody guessed Mark Twain…it wasn’t him. It started bother me that no one could make the guess so I went down and looked it up after the net. In fact, one cruiser did have the right answer (Isaac Roop) and I proudly announced “Nope”. I guess tomorrow I’ll eat crow and announce the correct answer.

A newcomer arrived next to us in a power boat this evening. They looked like they were having trouble catching the mooring ball. His boat hook was too short to reach the mooring ball and she was driving too fast making it impossible to catch it. I climbed into the dinghy to help them out by handing him the tether from the mooring ball on their next pass. He was appreciative and told me it was their first time mooring. I suppose it could have gone the other way where he’d take my gesture as an insult, so I’m glad it worked out.

The rest of the day was, as I said, pretty lazy. I did some research on aligning or adding a pulley to the alternator, bought Vicky’s Christmas present, and took a nap. Later in the evening I added 15 gallons of water to the tanks, finished installing two 12 volt outlets, and re-installed a panel in the hallway. Sounds like a lot but really only 30 or so minutes to get it done.

Perhaps we can be productive tomorrow….or not.

This morning I fooled around with the SSB radio to see if I could improve reception. I have a static hiss that just won’t go away. The first rule is to turn everything electrical off or disconnect it, and then turn it back until the static returns so you can tell what’s producing the interference. The problem is that the hiss remained when everything was turned off. Now I was thinking it might be a problem with the radio or installation. I went back to doing research and learned that a marina is a bad place to isolate a static hiss because the boats around us are all producing interference as well…not to mention the electric plant and substation next to the marina. Guess we’ll wait till we go to sea again to do my testing.

In the afternoon Vicky and I went ashore for showers etc… and went out under the trees to chat with other cruiser. Lots of good conversation and enjoyed doing more of the listening than the talking (what an odd twist). Latter in the evening we walked up to Home Depot to pick up a new water hose and some electric connectors. We also made a junk food run to Wendy’s before heading back.

We needed to gas up the dinghy today so we took a little joy ride up the channel and back to the harbor entrance where the fuel docks are. After fueling, we stopped into the Chiki Tiki bar and grill for lunch. Not really impressive, but it filled the void. After lunch we walked out to U.S. 1 to get our bearings. During the walk it became really obvious that this is a pretty depressed area with lots of old trailers and yards filled with junk; not well kept at all. There is a sizable Cuban population here and, I’m guessing, not enough work to go around. There were several groups just hanging on the edge of the street or on the corner drinking beer and playing Cuban music. Somehow it reminded me of the back streets in the Philippines I used to go to when in the Navy. Everyone we passed was very pleasant, but appeared curious as to why we were there.

We had been looking all week at a possible weather window for crossing on Wednesday or today (Thursday), but it seemed to deteriorate by Tuesday so I quite watching it. Well, this morning I saw 3 boats leave at sunrise and listened to them on the radio as they headed to the Bahamas. II went down and checked the weather charts and, sure enough, there is a gorgeous weather window for the next 2 days that will follow them right into the Exumas (our destination). I would have pulled up and left, but II had just ordered some packages when the window deteriorated that won’t be in till Monday. It looks like another week before there’s another chance. That’s okay though, ‘cause we kind of like it here.

Once again I have been delinquent in getting my journals entries written and uploaded to the web site. I would be truly remorseful but, then again…I’m retired. As of this entry I am caught up!!

A couple of days after we Norris left we headed back north (actually east) to Marathon Florida. We were again racing to try and catch a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream on Wednesday night, the 7th (leaving at night ensures you arrive in daylight and helps you avoid coral reefs). We also made a veterinary appointment for Buddy for Wednesday morning as you must have your pet checked out within forty eight hours of arriving in the Bahamas. We left early and bee lined it to Marathon, making it in 9 hours and arriving at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon. As it turned out, the weather window came and went on Tuesday instead of Wednesday so we cancelled the vet appointment and settled in at Marathon to wait for the next window.

We’ve been in Marathon for over a week now and it has been a real enjoyable stay. The anchorage (mooring field) is nicely set up, the folks are all real friendly, and there is lots to do. Every morning start our day by listening to the ‘Cruiser’s Net’ on the VHF radio. They have sessions to welcome new boats to the area, say good bye to boats leaving, an announcements piece, and my favorite, a session for folks to ask for help or advice. Finally there is a buy, sell, trade or giveaway session.

Since arriving in Marathon I have wired in the solar panels (which almost keep up with our electricity use), installed the SSB radio, disassembled and removed the washing machine (not much use for it with a 140 gallon water tank), and relocated the new freezer to where the washer was.

We are getting a lot of walking in. The Home Depot and grocery stores are over a mile to the north while West Marine and the marine electrical supply are a mile to the south. One day I had to visit each end and figure I walked between 4 and 5 miles.

That’s about a wrap. The next weather window looks like Monday or Tuesday next week. We’ll fuel up and provision over the weekend and get Buddy a vet appointment for Monday morning. The window looks good right now so maybe this is the one.

Today we had to say good bye to Norris when we took him to the Key West airport to return home. It was really great having him on board for the last couple of weeks. The races were great, the company was great, and the sailing was not half bad. Unfortunately we never got a weather window to take Norris across to the Bahamas. While not the original plan for our trip, Norris did travel with Independence for nearly 200 miles (that’s a long way on a sailboat). He was there the first time we had all sails up and were solely under wind power (awesome). He lived through the thrill of a breakdowns and repairs (alternator belt, dinghy), and he helped me install two solar panels. All this and we ate pretty well and drank some fine beer.

Hope to see you next year Norris, only next time we’ll meet in the tropics and forget about making the crossing.

It must be between 1 and 1/ 2 miles to shore in the dinghy. The water was choppy in some 17 mph winds and we all got soaked. We had so much water come over the bow that my bag of dry clothes got drenched as well. Next time it goes in a plastic bag. Once at the dinghy dock we found that the office was about a half mile away. I walked to the office to pay for the mooring ball and check out prices for renting scooters while Vicky and Norris waited at the dingy dock. The scooter rental was too expensive for what you got, so we decided to rent a car instead (at half the price). Once we had the car we drove into town for lunch at Turtle Kraal’s. After lunch we headed to West Marine to pick up a new fuel connector and bilge pump for the dinghy.

After West Marine we headed to Sunset Pier to partake in the Sunset Celebration. This is a nightly event where folks perform for tips. We watched a guy get out of a straight jacket and chains, another who did a pretty good juggling and tall unicycle act, and finally a guy that did an act jumping through a small hoop. Our last stop was at a pub with a gent singing and playing guitar.

The ride back was just as wet and in the dark. Vicky did the navigating and got us to the boat without hitting shallow water; there’s a lot of that here and it’s tough to see in the dark. We were back on the boat at about 10:00.

The ride today is only 15 miles to Key West. It’s a little choppy with seas coming at our beam (side), but the wind is cooperating and I was able to let out sail for most of the trip. The mooring field we’re aiming for is on the east end of Fleming Key.

When we got there we found the harbor has little wind protection and the mooring balls are tough to grab hold of. After sever attempts and 2 bent boat hooks I decided we might be better off if I lowered the dinghy and attached our lines to the mooring and then hand off the other end to Norris on the boat. Ta Da … we’re moored.

The office and shore are a long jaunt in the dinghy. The wind is blustery and the chop on the water is pretty bad. We decided to stay on the boat, play some poker (Norris won), and watch a movie.

We had intended on getting off to an early start and making it near 50 miles down the road to Key West. Oh well….the best of intentions. We took the dinghy in, got our showers, and turned in our key cards. So good so far…. But then the pull cord on the dinghy motor pulled out and wouldn’t rewind. I was able to borrow the wrench needed to pull the starting coil off, and was able to get it started. Once back the boat Norris and I pulled the motor off the dingy so I could work on it more, and we made ready to get underway. We left the mooring at about 10:30.

Since we were only making 5 to 6 mph, and only had about 6 hours of daylight I decided to go off shore and come back to land in Boca Chica. The trip out wasn’t too bad in 3 – 5 foot seas, but everyone got a little green just the same. I think the slow rolling seas get me worse than the choppier stuff.

Boca Chica is a marina on the Naval Air Station Key West, just about 15 miles north (east) of Key West proper. We made there at about 5:15. The office was closed, but we arranged for a slip and can take care of it tomorrow. We had for people waiting for us on the dock to help us tie up. They couldn’t have been nicer. Once comfortable, we took off to the Navigator, a small pub and eatery on base.

We’re puttering done the ICW more slowly now. We made it to Marathon (also called Boot Key) and latched on to a mooring ball. We were going to do laundry tonight, but decided to wait till tomorrow and just stay an extra day. I walked to Home Depot to get some stainless steel bolts and also stopped in to a barber shop for my biannual haircut.

We spent the night at Shell Key on a mooring ball. There are 5 mooring balls here provided by the local parks and recreation department at no cost. Nothing exciting to report other than a nice mooring field and a good night’s sleep.

Today we started for another leisure day of sailing, waiting for a weather window to head to the Bahamas. Sailing was just okay, but for the most part the wind was in the wrong direction. Independence is a cruising boat that doesn’t do so well heading into the wind. Toward the end of the day we started up the engine and the alternator belt gave up the ghost (again). With the batteries pretty much discharged and sunset on the horizon we didn’t have much option but to get it to a place for anchoring and let the engine room cool enough to replace the belt. I got the belt replaced just after sunset, but not in time to move to a nicer anchorage. Holding was good where we were, but not much wind protection…another noisy night with quite a bit of rocking.

We had all of the sails up today. After nearly 4 months this was the very first time we had all the sails up and the engine off. Independence sailed much better than I expected for a cruising tank and at one point were doing 9 mph+. I’m glad Norris with there to share this and see the grin on my face.

We settled in at Angelfish Creek, just north of North Key Largo. The holding was good, but the current and wind were bad all night making for a lousy night of sleep.

Thanksgiving day and Vicky did a wonderful job of putting on a great spread from our little galley. We had the usual turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, sweet potatoes and a salad. Maybe not all the trimmings we’re accustom to, but it was good and nobody was left hungry. All this while we we’re underway toward the Florida Keys. We pulled in to No Name Harbor (south of Miami) and anchored just before sunset. The anchorage was packed but we managed to squeeze in and the holding was good. This was Norris’ first day underway with us and we were able to let out the head sail for a while to speed things up. Tomorrow we should be able to put up all the sails and shut down the engine.

We stayed hanging around Hollywood, FL waiting for packages to arrive and in hopes of getting the SSB radio and new Solar panels installed and working before setting off. Norris and I got the solar panels mounted but not wired. One of them needs to be reversed (read…we installed in backwards), but the foundation is there and it shouldn’t take long to fix. The wrong cables came in for the SSB radio so I’m contacting the company to either exchange them or modify them to make them work.

The races were great. The weather held for the most part with just a couple of rain delays. The top contenders for the Sprint Cup (and my favorites) where the leaders in the final race, and in the end came in first and second. It made for an exciting race even though my number 1 guy (Carl Edwards) didn’t take it home.

We peddled just as fast as we could, but didn’t make it to Homestead in time to meet Norris for the Nascar race. He’s going to meet us here in Hollywood, FL, and we’ll drive to the races. We thought about trying to squeeze getting the boat to Homestead in between races, but the weather isn’t cooperating and the distance is just too far to make in a partial day.

The GAM was a good experience. We’re we able to take in a couple of seminars and meet lots of other cruisers. One couple we met, Roy and Mary from the vessel Gideon, had been trekking down the ICW just ahead of us. We even anchored just behind them one night on the Wahoo river. The last day of the GAM there is a flea market. We walked away with a radar dome, and an AIS (automatic ship identification system), and ordered a ground plane system for our SSB radio.

We anchored in Melbourne at about 1:30 on the south side of the bridge. The GAM is on the north side had a long dinghy ride in windy weather with choppy seas. To put it mildly…we were soaked by the time we got there. ….Tomorrow we’ll weather our fowl weather gear.

The pump came in at about 10:30 and I had it installed shortly after noon. It’s a late start today but we should be able to Make Melbourne in time for the GAM on the 11th. A GAM is a gathering of mariners. Nobody really seems to no the origin of the word GAM, but it’s thought that it was first used in by whaling seamen to describe their gatherings.

As we prepared to get underway and started the engine we discovered the raw water pump bearings had gone out. The raw water put gets sea water to the engine’s heat exchanger where fresh water is circulated through the engine to keep it cool. In other words “We ain’t goin’ nowhere” till it’s fixed. Lucky for us, we have oodles of spare parts, including all we need to rebuild the pump…or so we thought. The bearings in our spares were the wrong ones and wouldn’t fit over the shaft. After much contemplation and searching the Internet for a local source to buy the right bearings, we called The tow boat and were pulled for two hours to a marina in Jacksonville Beach. I found a new water pump on the Internet but can’t order it till Monday (this is Friday), so we’ll be here for a few days.

The wind howled horribly last night and the current was really strong in St Mary’s. We put out 2 anchors when we stopped so were able to sleep fairly well without worry. The wind continued to blow and it was cold, so we were going to stay another day in St. Marys rather than brave the wind. All weather reports told us it wasn’t going to get any better so we decided to pull anchore and get at least another 20 miles down the ICW. With the stong current and wind it took nearly an hour to get both anchors up, but we’re glad we did. While a little cold and windy, the ride for the next 30 miles wasn’t too bad.

We’re anchored just north of the Sisters Creek swing bridge and are the only boat here. There is a lovely park across from us with a nice public dock to dinghy into. There are also facilities to pump out and fill the water tanks, so we’ll pull in and do that in the morning

We left St Simmons at about 8:30AM and decided to take this leg of our passage on the oceans. We mad good time to the St Mary’s entrance, but it was a rolling ride most of the way. Vicky was a little green through the day but recovered nicely. At the end of the day we anchored in St Mary’s River. We took the dinghy into town and had dinner and a couple of drinks at the Shark’s Bite while listening to some good oldies music. St.Mary’s is a cute bay front town. There is supposed to be more to it, but not within walking distance and we couldn’t see taking a cab into town as late as it was.

We left the Wahoo River at just after 8:00 AM. The trip to St Simmons Island took about 8 hours. We anchored there and went into shore to do laundry and have dinner. After dinner we returned to the boat to find that the anchor has dragged just enough to put her in the shallows. The boat was grounded, but just on the nose and not hard. We used the dinghy to pull her off, but the river current was more than the dinghy could fight. Independence drifted into the docks just behind her, where we stayed until the tide shifted (at 2:30AM) to make pulling her off the docks easier. We anchored again (this time a lot further out), and slept in the next morning.

Don’t you just love a parade? With all the boats heading south it’s kind of like a flock of geese.

We left turner creek at about 8:30 this morning on our way to an anchorage in the Wahoo River about 50 miles downstream. On the way down we had a visit from a small bird (a sparrow maybe?) that road with us for about 4 hours. He was quite sociable hanging out near us in the cockpit and even sitting on our arms and shoulders. We’ve also seen lots of dolphins, but none are actually following the boat or riding our bow wave. We finished the days journey anchoring about 2 mile up the Wahoo river at about 5:10. A milestone made today at 12:41 we passed the 1000 mile mark in our journey.

Just prior to anchoring Vicky was on the phone with Katie (our daughter) to wish her a happy birthday. I couldn’t talk at the moment as I had traffic coming up on me and needed to turn up river. An hour later at anchorage, we discovered we had no cell phone coverage or internet (just 2 miles from where Vicky was talking to her). I’ll have to wish her a belated happy birthday tomorrow.

We decided to spend one more day in Turner creek. Our neighbors from England have a mountain climbing harness they’re willing to sell (for climbing the mast). They told me I should try it first to see if I could use it, as it didn’t work out well for them. Well…after nearly 3 hours of fussing with it and ending up nearly upside down at one point and pulling my back out, I decided it wasn’t going to work out too well for us either. Oh well…it was worth a try. I’ll just limp around for the next couple of days truly humbled.

We met some really nice folks from England today (Jerry and Jeffery) who have been living on their 40 foot Bowman for about 10 years. We went aboard their boat for a visit that turned into dinner (really good pasta) and wine, with 2 or 3 hours of good conversation. It was interesting to discuss American politics with folks from overseas and we enjoyed it immensely.

A lazy day so far. We are just on the outskirts of Savannah in Turner Creek and can get there by transit bus. We’ll likely spend the rest of the day in Savannah and perhaps some time tomorrow. We can enter Florida in 5 days and still be in keeping with the requirements of our insurance. It’s only about 100 mile to Florida so we can take our time.

We left our anchorage at about 10:00 this morning for the short run into Savannah. We opted not to go up the Savannah River but, instead, traveled down the Wilmington River and anchor in Turner Creek. The entrance to the creek is only 4 feet deep at low tide so we had to park on the Wilmington for a couple of hours to wait for the tide to come up. Before turning in we went to a small martini bar just a short walk from Hogan’s Marina where we tied up the dinghy. This was a cute little place with a lounge type atmosphere where we could sip our drinks and watch a bit of television (can’t do that on the boat). It was a little expensive with a $34 tab (plus tip) for just 2 drinks apiece.

We got underway from Beaufort, SC at about 11:00 this morning and made our way south toward Savannah, GA. It was a pleasant trip and we even got to put a sail out for a little bit. For the most part the channels are too narrow for sailing or the wind is blow the wrong direction or not at all. Independence does not sail well into a head wind so it’s not really worth the effort. We saw several dolphins (porpoises) along the way but none stayed to play. Buddy hid in a cubby the entire time the engine was running, but came out as soon as we anchored and shut it down. We are anchored in the New River, just off the Inter Coastal Waterway in South Carolina. We can see Savannah from where we are anchored.

I got a call from Al this morning, who wanted to take us up on our invite to come see the boat. Since we had to take Independence in for fuel, water and pump out, we met them at the dock rather than dinghy them out. Again we had a lot of good conversation and proudly showed them out floating home. After they left, we moved over to the fuel pier to take care of business before putting her back out to anchor. Afterwards we took the dinghy back to shore to do some shopping. Tomorrow we’re going to church and will get rready to set sail on Monday for Savannah, GA.

Another quiet day. I did some boat chores in the morning and we didn’t get off the boat until about 3:30. Later in the afternoon we headed back to Luther’s and met a real nice couple (Al and Linda) so had good company and conversation (and beer).

The weather is promising to give us another night of strong winds so we decided to stay put another night. No sense in messing with a sure thing. This morning we weighed anchor headed for Beaufort, SC. The wind was a little nasty in the Coosaw River, but that only lasted for about 8 miles before we were in more protected water. We arrived in Beaufort at about 1:30 and were anchored and off the boat a short time late. Beaufort is another quaint little town with lots of history from the civil war days. We must have walked 5 or more miles as we took in the sights. We went to Luther’s Pharmacy (a bar) and had pizza and a few beers before returning to the boat. When we got to the boat I found that the anchor had dragged a little so spent the night hour or so trying to get it reset. The bottom was soft mud that gave way too easy so it took me four tries to get the anchor set well. Even then I slept with one eye open.

Way wrong!!! The wind came back up and howled most of the night. They were a fairly consistent 30+ mph most of the night. The good news is that the anchorage we picked had land on all sides keeping rocking and rolling to a minimum. The sticky mud bottom was also great for holding the anchor. We spent the day on board just relaxing and taking care of a few boat chores.

We got underway from Charleston, SC at 7:00 AM with Beaufort, SC as our hopeful destination. Unfortunately we ended up waiting an hour and a half for the first draw bridge to open. We made good time most of the way, but not enough to pull into Beaufort before dark. At about 4:30 PM we ran into some weather and fog, so we ducked into Bull River to hunker down for the night. The anchor was set at 6:15…20 minutes before sunset. Now that we’re here, the weather has seetled down and it looks as though it will be a nice quiet night.

Well we had to make another hardware and West Marine run and pick up the last of the groceries, but at 3:30 this afternoon we left the docks. We didn’t go far, just to the Charleston City Marina to fuel up and fill our water tanks. Then we moved across the harbor to spend our first night at anchor. AT LAST.

Finishing up last minute preparations for getting underway. It seems like every time we check something off the list…2 more items appear.

The life raft arrived yesterday and I installed it on the deck today. The toughest part was deciding where to mount it. We ended up mounting it on the foredeck just in front of the main mast.

I double checked with the boatyard today to make sure we could stay and take delivery of the life raft on Thursday. The folks here have been more than gracious letting us stay after the work was complete, but I worry about wearing out our welcome.I double checked with the boatyard today to make sure we could stay and take delivery of the life raft on Thursday. The folks here have been more than gracious letting us stay after the work was complete, but I worry about wearing out our welcome.

Arrived at the boat just after 6:00AM. We slept the day away.

The boat show was great. The exhibits were about the same as those in Seattle’s boat show, but they had a lot more boats. We bought 2 hats, a light bulb (LED) and a life raft. The amount we saved on the life raft more than paid for the trip. After a long day at the boat show we headed back to the boat, planning to arrive at about 5:00AM.The boat show was great. The exhibits were about the same as those in Seattle’s boat show, but they had a lot more boats. We bought 2 hats, a light bulb (LED) and a life raft. The amount we saved on the life raft more than paid for the trip. After a long day at the boat show we headed back to the boat, planning to arrive at about 5:00 AM.

We’ve flip flopped on whether or not to go to the boat show in Annapolis, MD, and just made the decision to go today. Buddy will stay home. It’s a 9 hour drive from the boatyard and we didn’t leave until after noon. We pulled in to our hotel in Baltimore at about 10:30.

We got up early today (well…earlier than usual) to take advantage of the early morning calm and put the main sail back on. Before starting, I went ashore to see if Buddy would come when called. He popped out from under a storage shed and was ready to head to the boat for breakfast. I think he is just uncomfortable walking the docks by himself.

It was the 22nd of August that we took all of the sails down in preparation for Irene, and we did it in a hurry without paying enough attention to how they came off. All in all the project went smoother than expected. Enough so that we decided to put the head sail on too. No sooner did we get started and we found a small tear at the top where it threads into the furler. Off to the store we go to buy a sewing awl. Vicky dropped e off at the boat so he could get started on the sail repair while she ran some more errands. The repair took just a few minutes and I was able to put the sail up by myself.

Vicky went to do laundry today at the base. Their machines are much less expensive than in town and there are always machines available. I was a bum most of the day just doing odds and ends around the boat and I took a nap. I also walked up and down the dock with Buddy. He’s really uncomfortable on the docks, but seemed to be getting used to it. I left him on shore for a while, but when he didn’t come back I had to go coax him to return to the boat. A while later I watched him head to shore on his own, But he never came back. I went to get hime later but he never showed. We had a pretty sleepless night wondering where he was.

We ate at a restaurant called Bricca Bracco, in Mt. Pleasant, this evening. I highly recommend this place. It wasn’t cheap, but not out of this world expensive either….and the food was marvelous. I had a spicy pasta and Italian sausage dish that was exquisite (big word for a retired guy). It had roasted bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, sweet/hot cherry peppers and of course the spicy sausage. Vicky had a local shrimp and white fish dish in a cheese sauce over angel hair pasta…also an excellent meal.

The boatyard crew knocked on the side of the boat at 7:45 this morning to let me know they would be back in 15 minutes to put independence in the water. They hoisted the boat up on the travel lift and applied bottom paint where the keel had rested on the blocks. A couple of hours later Independence was lowered into the water. We checked the thru-hulls to make sure nothing was leaking before removing the straps and walking her out. We had a pretty stiff current, so I was asked to start her up and drive her to the dock. She started right up and purred like a kitten (well…as much as a diesel can purr). Once she was tied up I purged the lines and started the A/C. Now the work begins to get her ready for sea (again).

We left Mark and Arlene’s at about 2:00. This was a little later than planned, but it’s so hard to leave good friends. To Mark and Arlene…You guys were great host and we especially enjoyed the fellowship….Thanks bunches.

It’s the Mayberry Days celebration in Mt. Airy. Our friend’s son Uriah was the band drum major in the parade and did an excellent job. Barney Fife lookalikes were all over the place as well as a few Andys, Loyd the barber, Gomers and Goobers. It was an enjoyable day…I can remember the last time I went to a parade.

I went over to the boatyard office at 7:30 AM to see when they wanted to start work. They said they wanted to start at 8:00. We really had to scramble to get the salon and galley cleared out before leaving. We didn’t get done until about 9:00 and they were right behind us stating the work. We left the boatyard and headed for breakfast before making the 5 ½ hour drive to Mt Airy.

We arrived in Mt Airy at about 4:30. This is a great little town. It was the town where Andy Griffith grew up and the town that the TV town of Mayberry is modeled after. There’s even a Floyd’s barber shop. We stopped at the Blue Bird Diner for dinner…when was the last time you saw fountain drinks on the menu for a dollar? The food was good and very inexpensive.

After supper we headed over to Mark and Arlene’s house. They won’t be home until Wednesday, but their two boys were there and did a great job of making us feel welcome.

The boatyard will begin work on the boat tomorrow morning. The work of grinding and laying near fiberglass is too messy for us to remain on board, so we’ll be leaving for Mt Airy, NC to visit friends while the work is being done.

I spent most of the day working on the computer navigation program charting routes to Norfolk, VA and Georgetown, SC. We know our next destination will be Georgetown, but may not go much further north from there. It all depends on when the boat repair is complete and how much time we have left before turning south.

I spent the morning on boat chores. Went through all of the charts and got rid of the older versions. Separated the rest into charts we’ll use in the next few months and those that can be stowed. Also went through the ditch bag (a bag full of supplies in the event of abandoning the boat). It’s in pretty good shape, but a few items have just expired and I want to add a couple of things.

We went to Folly Beach yesterday evening and beat against the surf for an hour or so. Good surf, refreshing water, warm air…can’t beat it.

The estimate on the boat repair is done and will be sent out tomorrow. Once the insurance company approves it we can begin work.

GOOD NEWS…the current estimated repair time is down to 2 weeks.

I remember 10 years ago. I was getting ready for work and tuned into a live telecast where a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. While I thought of the devastation and the fear those victims must be facing, terrorism was nowhere on my mind…until I watched the second plane hit…

As we pray for the victims and families of this deadly attack, and for those that have sacrificed since the attack, let us also remember how, for a very short time, we came together as a nation. Just for one day, let us put our political difference aside and use this day to remember those that have suffered and sacrificed since 8:46 on September 11, 2001.

This will be a quiet day for us.

Vicky is still enroute but should be home (at Independence) tonight. While she’s gone I’ve begun working on an inventory database to track parts, tools and provisions. There are so many cubbies and places to put things it is tough to remember where they are when you need them. So far the database has all the item data, including reorder information, and a picture of the actual item. When I use material for maintenance or repairs I just input the stuff I use to give me a list of what’s needed on the next shopping trip. This also gives me a tools to use in tracking the actual cost of living this lifestyle. Several folks have done it before, but the latest information I could find when gearing up for this was 5 or 6 years old.

Vicky pulled in at about 8:00 PM. We went out to a nearby restaurant for a beer and something to eat. This place (Blues) is the closest eating establishment to us but we hadn’t gone before. The food wass great, beer was cold, and the prices very reasonable. Should have gone earlier.

The surveyor had another boat to do before getting to ours. When he did arrive in the afternoon he looked it all over and agreed that the repairs need to be done. The boatyard folks came out to take notes on what was required, but their fiberglass guy won’t be available to do an estimate until Monday. The work will be messy and the boatyard folks advised us we won’t be able to live on the boat during the work. The surveyor has an apartment in his basement and was nice enough to offer it to us at no charge.

Once again I am reminded of one reason we’re out here. Most of the folks in this boating community are just so amazingly friendly and always seem to be ready to lend a helping hand or needed advice.

The surveyor will be here tomorrow.

We have to return the rental car today as it’s getting pretty expensive. Since it will be 3 – 4 weeks to get the repairs done, Vicky is leaving for Key West today to get our car. I’ll drop her off at the bus station on the way to return the rental car.

You know…there are times you should just listen to your gut. The surveyor insisted the boat had no damage and we were good to go, but I knew we hit pretty hard and suspected damage. Sometimes I just hate being right. While clearing out some compartments to expose the inside of the hull (I was replacing a depth sounder sending unit), I found considerable damage where the hull had separated from interior bracing. Looking closer into another compartment I found some more…and some more… Altogether there are four sections where the fiberglass tabbing has separated from the interior structures. These are not truly structural defects that would keep the boat from going to sea, but they do add some stiffening to the hull and need to be fixed. Oh…and it will be expensive…

The last of the bottom painting was done today and we were supposed to splash tomorrow. I had to call the office and cancel the splash. I sent pictures to the insurance company and am waiting for a response….again….

Note…we kept the rental car another couple of days.

It’s getting really difficult to write anything interesting or amusing while we’re living in a boatyard. It’s kind of like living in a tree house. We can cook meals, but we can’t use the sinks or the heads (restrooms). You want to do the dishes?... put ‘em in a bucket and climb down the ladder. Want to take a shower?....down the ladder you go. To made it a little less pleasing, the water here is from a well with what smells to be very high sulfur content. You actually come out of the shower smelling worse than when you went in. Oh well…not much longer. The second coat of bottom paint was applied today. Tomorrow they move the pads and paint where the were.

We’ve had a rental car for the past 2 weeks so have been able to get out seeing the sights, hitting the beach, and making shopping or dining trips. It goes back today (the car) so we’re stranded at the yard till we get underway.

We’ve spent most of the weekend shopping for things to get the boat ready. We dropped a shackle in the water while taking down the jib (head sail). That little sucker costs $60 (I was thinking $10). Today we picked up some bilge cleaning supplies and updated safety gear (like new flares) to get us Coast Guard compliant. Tomorrow we’ll wash the boat down and maybe put the head sail back on if hurricane Katia continues to veer away. (Now who told us to leave Florida to avoid the hurricanes???)

The yard staff began bottom painting the boat today. They’ll put 1 coat on today and a second coat on Tuesday after the holiday. On Wednesday they’ll move the jack stands and paint where they where with two coats in the same day. We also took the sail covers to the canvas shop to have them restitched. The UV rays really tear up the thread in no time.

Hopefully we’ll get everything done and be ready to launch Wednesday afternoon and get underway Thursday morning.

GREAT NEWS!!! The surveyor inspected Independence this morning and found no damage. We do have to replace the engine temperature gauge that had broken from the jar, but all else is fine. We instructed the yard to proceed with the bottom painting job, and we’ll be back to our journey Wednesday or Thursday next week. Yahoooo!!!

The insurance policy was emailed to us this morning so that’s a load off. A surveyor has also been hired by the insurance company and will be out in the morning. Hopefully we’ll have a better idea on extent of damage and where we go from here.

It’s going to be a hot night so we went back in the mode of finding an A/C unit. We had to go to the base in Charleston to pick up prescriptions and do thee surveyor laundry. On the way out we stopped by the Exchange and they had exactly the A/C unit we were looking for. Two hours and $99 later our cabin was cool. I even had to turn it down to keep from freezing at night.

I checked with the boatyard this morning and they have not received any calls from the adjusters. He said it usually goes that way…taking their time. I called the adjuster’s office and she (my point of contact is off today. Go figure… We’ve been here over a week now.

Broke down and went shopping for an air conditioner today (window unit). The A/C on the boat is cooled by sea water so it won’t work while we’re in the yard. Unfortunately there are no small units available anywhere in the Charleston area. Only a 5000 or 6000 btu unit will fit and the smallest I could find was 8000. Oh well…it’s cooler tonight.

Buddy pretty much has the run of the boat and comes and goes as he pleases while we're in the yard. He took off one day when we weren't looking, and we thought he was gone. He came back later that night (bringing a friend with him). He's come and gone several time since, usually making it back arount 10:30PM. He has to climb the ladder to get on and off the boat, but I guess he knows where the food bowl is...

The boat was heating up like a sauna so we decided to go on a road trip to Savanna GA. It was about a 3 hour drive down there and we didn’t take off till about 11:30. When we arrived we took a trolley tour to see the historic parts of downtown. This area was largely founded as an experimental set of gardens to see what crops would grow best in this climate. Most of the crops failed, but this is wear they came up with growing peaches and cotton. There are 25 squares in town, or small grassy parks with benches and monuments. The Methodist church was founded here. We ate at The Pirate House restaurant for dinner. Pricey, but really good food with great stories (mostly about ghosts of the pirates). We got back to the boat at about 10:00 PM. Still like a sauna, sleeping was rough. At about 3:00AM there was a rain squall with lots of lightning and thunder less than a half mile off. With rain coming in the hatches we had to button her up. Once the rain stopped and we opened the hatches it was cooler again and sleeping was easier. One of the first improvements on the boat will be to put in some dorade vents. These are boxes that allow air in, but drain water off from the bottom and will allow better air circulation even when water pours over the boat..

Well…we did head back to Folly beach today and had a blast. Of course we spent a couple hours shopping the little stores. We had lunch at the South Carolina Shrimp Company. I’m guessing if you’re going to eat shrimp SC is the place to do it. We had a heap of chilled peel and eat shrimp followed by some grilled shrimp with buffalo sauce (Vicky had teriyaki). Of course the shrimp were chased with a couple of beers.

Nah...not me on the board...but I think I'm going to give it a try.

We walked on down to the beach and I’ll bet we spent 3 hours in the surf. The water was perfect…not to warm, not too cold, and the surf was great. Now this is the way to get your exercise. We’re gonna be sore tomorrow

I bet the wind didn’t get much over 20 mph last night and the rain was minimal. I wish I could say the same for those to the north of us as it looks like they’re getting hammered now. The weather in Charleston is actually quite nice today, so we’ll take advantage of it and see some of the sights. After all, that’s really what we’re supposed to be doing isn’t it?

We had to return to the boat just long enough to drop of Buddy and turn the power back on. Gary had turned it off for the storm, but it has to be on for the refrigerator to work. Nearly 24 hours after we left with the power out the refer and its contents are still cold. That’s good to know.

Fort Sumter was the first battle of the civil war, so we thought we would go out for a look see. Actually, the only way to get to Fort Sumter is by boat, but you can get a good view and some of its history going to Fort Moultrie, where they also have the Fort Sumter National Monument. Fort Moultrie was an impressive example of the U. S. seacoast defense systems that dates back to just after the revolution. As you toured the site you saw the evolution of this fort and its gun batteries from 1794 until just after World War I.

Vicky in front of Fort Moultrie

Irene is still on her way, but it looks like more of a tropical storm for our area. The folks at the boatyard are hustling to get everything put away so they can get out of here early. We have just a few things left to do and then we’ll go get a hotel room for the night just to be safe. Vicky and I bought a bunch of junk food and just plan to watch movies and veg out until the storm passes. I guess we won’t watch too many movies if the power goes out but we’ll see.

Irene (the hurricane) looks like she’s veering off to the east a bit and won’t hit us as hard. Just the same the boatyard wants us to take down the rest of our sails and all of our canvas in preparation for a tropical storm. We got everything down in a little over 3 hours and have all the sails folded neatly and in their sail bags. We spent additional time getting everything else secured to the deck or down below. The motor had to be pulled off the dingy and stowed and we secured the dingy well on the davits so it won’t bang around.

We decided to get a rental car for a week while we wait out the storm. The boatyard is 5 miles from anything and without transportation we’ll starve or die from boredom. The boatyard offers a rental car but it’s quite expensive and it’s an older model car. Most boatyards I’ve seen offer a courtesy car for grocery runs etc… We decided to opt out of their car and have Enterprise pick us up. We got a 2012 Sonata for $10/day less than the boatyard offered. It was nice to get out of the yard for a while, drive around and dine out.

I replaced the alternator belt this morning and the systems are all back on line. There is a hurricane coming in so getting a haul out may be difficult, since many of the boatyards spend all their efforts hauling boats with priority reservations out of the water and don’t take on ‘new’ service jobs.

I was able to make arrangements with Charleston City Boatyard to get the boat hauled first thing in the morning. We’ll make the 3 hour trip up there this afternoon and tie up till morning. The boatyard is located up the Wando River.

We arrived at the boatyard at about 3:30 PM. After some discussion, they decided to go ahead and haul Independence this afternoon. Because the hurricane is coming, they insisted we take the genoa off its roller furling before pulling the boat out of the water. This was a new experience for both Vicky and I and there was wind, but we managed to get it off and folded (sort of) without going in the drink. Wish we had pictures or video of this! Hauling of the boat and putting her on stands went without event and we’re now parked at least until after the storm. The boatyard won’t do any work on the boat until hurricane Irene passes as they’re busy pulling other boats out of the water and getting the yard ready for the storm.

Independence 'On the Hard' at Charleston City Boa

It‘s about 2:00 AM and we have been following the coast up to Charleston when BANG, we hit some rocks. A wave came over into the boat, over Vicky, and we knew we were in trouble. We were only about 3 miles from shore. The charts did not indicate any rocky shoals, but trust me they were there. We bounced on the rocks a number of times before being able to get ourselves turned around and back track out to deeper water. The boat hit pretty hard and the temperature gauge even dislodged from its bracket. I can’t count the number of times I’ve told Vicky we are better off out from the coast in deep water with less things to run into. We made the exception and look what happens….no more close in cruising for us!!!

We pulled into Charleston City Marina at about 10:00 AM. After docking and taking showers we got some much needed rest. We’ll hang out here until Monday and then have the boat hauled to inspect for damage. Hauling the boat now is a good idea just the same, as we knew we needed to have the boat bottom painted so we’ll get that out of the way as well.

We began to pull into Savannah, GA at about 7:00 PM. There were rock jetties on both sides af the channel and lots of rocks and surf in the middle as well. With it being nearly nightfall and with us being unfamiliar with the channel we opted to turn around and head north to take the next port in at Charleston, SC.

We left St Augustine at about 1:00 PM and continued north along the ICW toward Jacksonville. The homes along the channel are gorgeous with most of them being huge with really nice docks. We arrived at Jacksonville just before sunset and after some debate decided to leave the ICW and go back to sea. We had talked to a couple of captains in St. Augustine that advised against continuing along the ICW through Georgia since they were behind in dredging the channel. This would increase our chances of getting stuck in the mud along the way. The water was pretty choppy and rolling leaving Jacksonville and there were a ton of large ships to dodge on the way out. We had some wind and were able to unfurl the sails for about 3 hours making 6 or 7 knots. At about 10:00 PM we were dead into the wind so took down the sails and motored. Taking down the sails at sea at night in rolling/choppy water is an adventure unto itself. I was wearing my life vest and was tethered to the boat, but it’s still uncomfortable out on deck.

Fixed Bridge on the Inter Coastal Waterway - These are required to be 65 feet tall. Our mast is only 55 feet off the water but it's still spooky going under them.

We’ve been continuously underway since leaving Saturday evening. Most of the time has been spent motoring, but if there’s even a hint of wind we put the sails up. It’s a lot quieter, cooler and cheaper. Buddy (the cat) is doing just fine. The boat makes a wonderful playground for a cat with all the cubbies to crawl into and hide. He sleeps most of the day and comes out to the cockpit at night to be sociable.

We’ve been on the open water most of the trip, usually about 20-35 miles out. Today we decided to come in and cruise to Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) for a while. (It’s kind of a water based highway that leads up the coast but is inland). We entered from the Atlantic at Ponce De Leon inlet. This is a very skinny and winding path with lots of sand bars. YEP you guessed it…ran aground again (#2). More of a dull thud in the mud. (See why were not taking on guests just yet?). We’ll get the hang of this soon, but on the bright side, I’m pretty good at getting her free. But it's a tiring job......

Pulled into the Halifax City Marina to fuel up, pump out, and get some rest. The marina was closed so we just parked at the fuel dock for the night. We went for a walk to find a convenience store or the like, but could only find 1 bar open after walking 2 miles. Gave up, went in to drink a soda.

We left the fuel dock at about 8:00. She took 54 gallons of fuel after running 73 hours…not bad…. We continue to head up the ICW and will stop at St. Augustine tonight. I’ve reserved a slip so we’ll have air conditioning tonight. (Buddy insisted).

We stopped and stayed the night at St Augustine, Fl. This is one of those places we’ll want to stop and spend some time on the trip back southward. It’s a pretty town with lots of history and some beautiful old buildings. It a shame we’re in such a hurry to get north of Florida since it puts a lot of pressure on and really wears us down.

Vicky made several runs to the store while I set up SPOT (our tracking and distress signal device, reviewed charts and plotted our initial course through the keys. Much later than expected I took the car to its parking space and took a taxi back. We were ready to leave at about 5:00 PM after fueling up. I had told the harbor master he should get his video camera ready since this would be my first time piloting a full keel boat. He got real serious and suggested I might want to leave tomorrow when he’d have an army of line handlers available. We were intending on leaving and I think he was surprised I didn’t crash into the fuel dock. Actually everything went quite well and we were on way by 5:50.. Okay…true confessions,,,, I ran her aground in the 1st 20 minutes. You know what they say about excuses, but this was a tough harbor to make your way out of with very narrow channels and lots of zig sagging. At least I got that first run aground thing out of the way early….

We slept in the aft cabin again last night. MUCH BETTER with cold air. Continued preparing for departure now scheduled for tomorrow. We sold our utility trailer to one of the guys that works in the marina. For the most part this was another day off. We went to town for provisions, visited with neighbors and reviewed charts. I started the engine for the first time today. Purrs like a kitten.

Slept lousy….to hot. With everything on board and stowed, we’ve decided to just take the day off. Lounged around most of the day and took naps. It’s good to not be living out of a suitcase for a change. Poked around the boat checking out systems and tried to figure out the aft A/C. It looks like the problem may be in the controls. Looked all over (we think) and can’t find the SSB radio. The previous owner pointed to a cubby where it was stored, but we never took it out and looked at it and I can’t remember which cubby it was supposed to be in. Will try calling Michelle (PO) tonight and ask her about it. Plans are to get underway for Norfolk tomorrow, weather permitting. The papers for the boat and the 90 Florida cruising sticker were delivered tonight. Venessa, from the boat broker’s offer, suggested we wait until Saturday to leave. She also said we could park our car at her marina until we come back it November. Superstition has it that you never start a voyage on a Friday. Who am I to argue. Vicky found the SSB. Shortly afterward Michelle emailed us to tell us the SSB location and confirmed that sometimes the aft A/C had a problem with the thermostat cause the unit to blow hot air.

You know??? Sometimes you just get lucky. I fooled around with the aft A/C unit’s controls. I tried comparing it to the forward controls, but couldn’t make sense of it. The aft unit’s reverse cycle would come on regardless of where you set the thermostat control. It stood to reason that if I pull the right wire from the control I could disable the reverse cycle (heat) and get cold air instead of hot. GOT IT ON THE FIRST WIRE I tried. Like I said….Sometimes you just get lucky.

Sleeping was ‘okay’ the first night in the salon. We broke down the dinette and set up the air mattress. This isn’t going to work for any length of time. Finished unloading the trailer and put it up on Craig’s List to sell; also posted an ad in the marina store. Vicky has been doing a great job of finding cubbies and stowing everything. Gary was more in the ‘just get it on board and we’ll figure it out later’ mindset. I’m glad Vicky stuck to her guns as in the end it looks a lot better and we don’t have to shuffle things around while we’re underway. We’ll try sleeping in the aft cabin tonight without A/C.

Arrived in Key West at about 4:30 PM too take possession of Independence. This will be our first night on board and SURPRISE…the A/C unit for the aft cabin (our bedroom) isn’t working. It’s really warm in there so will have to sleep in the salon until we get it fixed. We got about half of the contents of the utility trailer loaded into the boat before calling it a night.

We arrived to visit good friends in Parkdale, AR at about 8 PM. Went fishing on the Bayou till nearly midnight and had a really greatvisit before leaving just past noon the following day. Odette and Arkansas were great hosts… thanksguys.

We didn’t leave Las Vegas until 6:00 PM on the 4th,but made it to Gallup, NM before calling it a night. Buddy, who has been so good for most of thetrip decided he would howl all the way there. He continued to howl all night in the hotel room making sleep in shortsupply for the next day. On the 5thwe left Gallup at about 10 AM and made it to Oklahoma City OK at about 11:30PM. Buddy was much better this leg ofthe trip and seems to be at home in the hotel room as I write this. Tomorrow we leave for Parkdale, AR for a sidetrip to see ‘Arkansas’ one of Gary’s best buds from the Navy. I haven’t seen Arkie in close to 30 years buthave kept in touch. Vicky has never methim, but has heard of our antics from younger days and looks forward to meetinghim. I also am looking forward to seeinghis wife Odette, whom I haven’t seen since 1978.

Our air conditioner died on the car so had to take it in for repair. Round one of the repair cost$1300 (ouch) but that wasn’t the end of it. We transferred our ‘stuff’ from the storage pod into a storage shed onthe second and then the A/C went out again on the car again. This time it was the compressor. On Tuesday evening (and $1100 later) the carwas fixed and we were on our way to Florida.

We flew to Florida and spent 2 weeks looking at boats allover the state. Most where the size wewere looking for, but those in our reduced budget needed a lot of work. Then we went to Key West to look at a Morgan41’ Ketch. While smaller than what wehad been looking at, this boat was/is in Bristol condition (reaaly nice) andnot in need of any repairs to start our journey. This is ‘THE ONE’. After negotiating the price on the boat and gettinga sales agreement in place we headed back to Vegas to get our car, our cat(Buddy) and the ‘stuff’ we were taking with us.

We closed on the house and finished moving out on the 27th of June packing most of our ‘stuff’ into a 7 X 8 moving pod that left for Las Vegas on the 24th. From there we spend several days with Vicky’s brother and sister in law in Bellevue, WA (thanks Jackie and Eric). We left Bellevue and headed to Newport Beach, CA to look at a 44’ Hudson Ketch. It was a lovely boat, but not set up for the kind of cruising we want to do. From there we headed to Las Vegas and spent the next several days visiting with relatives while staying with Vicky’s sister and Gary’s Brother. Thanks for your hospitality Jen, Bradd, Ken and Patty.