Hanging Out

This is the dinghy dock that we use. When we are anchored out we often just use the dinghy to come into shore but today we had to come in with Summer Snow. We had to come into the marina because of an electrical problem with one of our battery banks. Bank 1 was totally dead this morning and it should not have been down that far. We alternate banks each day and charge them every other day when anchored out. This has worked fine in the past but Brock and I are anchored out more and are using more electricity with both our computers running every night (Brock doing actual work and me on Netflix). While in the marina we plug into shore power so the duel bank charger takes over and should put them both up to the max. Tomorrow I will check each battery individually to make sure we don't have a bad cell or something.

Sue and Craig Donahue who used to be in Corny are here in West Palm Beach. We got together via email and phone today and they are also looking for a weather window for crossing to the southern Bahamas. They have a professional routing service that is generally very accurate in selecting the best weather window for off shore sailing. They report the same thing that we have been seeing from our weather service. The next good weather window will most probably not happen for at least another week.

Key West

Brock and I spent a few days in Key West and I finally got to tour the Hemingway House. It was very interesting and well worth the time. The picture here is Hemingway's writing room and is just as it was when he wrote some of his most famous novels. We also saw some of the 45 cats in the home that are descendants from Snow Ball, Hemingway's first 5 toe'd cat.

We also went to the Key West Cemetery which is famous for the unusual comments on some of the headstones. After a few beers at one of Hemingway's favorite watering holes we found a great little seafood place where everything was caught that morning (yum).

Brock went scuba diving and had a great time while I hung out at a really cool resort and read my Hemingway book.

Now we're back in Lake Worth and will start looking for the next weather window for crossing. We'll do some sailing out on the ocean while we wait.

Marina Move

We anchored out last night close to the ocean inlet. We still had hopes of crossing on Wednesday but the weather changed just enough to scuttle our plans. Crossing was still possible but not comfortable so we opted to run down to Key West for a few days. We pulled into Riviera Marina so Brock could snorkel and to provide security for Summer Snow.

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Fill-er-up?

This is off topic but I thought it was interesting. Most of the boats in this Marina are sports fishing boats. Most are big diesel inboards but a few are the smaller outboard type. The outboard type usually have two, three, or four gas outboard motors that range from 250 hp each to 350 hp each.

So this guy was filling his boat with fuel at the gas dock and I happen to be washing cloths at the office building. The guy says to the dock attendant, "cut her off at $400 for me will ya?" The dock guy starts counting, " 398 - 399 - 400, OK?" The boat guy says, "*#!, let's go to $500, I think I'll just fill one tank today, we're not going out far." I looked at the boat and he had 3 250 HP outboards, I wonder how much it costs to fill up a big boat?

Love my sailboat!

Njörðr

Njörðr is the name of the god of the wind in Norse paganism. When the old vikings went sailing they prayed to Njörðr for good winds and cast off their lines. Now days we pour over charts with isobars and radar images. We read NOAA's weather reports and predictions and listen to weather news on radio and TV. I'm not so sure these modern methods are any better that the Norse prayers.

Weather flows over the North American continent from west to east. What we sailors look at primarily are the high and low fronts that you see on the maps each evening on the local TV news and weather show. As we all know from Ben Franklin's experiments 200 years ago, rain storms and thunder storms suck, that is, they happen as a low pressure front crosses over us. Thus air rushes to fill the low (wind is out of the east because the front is approaching from the west) and we often have rain and/or unsettled weather.

We say that the wind is "clocking" around, that is, changing clockwise. So normally a north wind changes to NE and then east (watch out for rain now), then SE (this is when you start thinking about sailing east to Bahama) , then south, then SW, then west, then NW (you better be in a protected area or at least close because you know what's coming next), then North and it starts over. Of course if there is a big high pressure area close by who knows what will happen, it may just stall everything, cause the wind to back, and sailors beware.

Today the wind is out of the NE to east and I expect the wind to be out of the SE by Tuesday or so. This means that a window of opportunity for crossing will be here on Wednesday or Thursday. So if things go according to plan A, we'll spend Thanksgiving sailing and hopefully by next weekend be 150 miles east of Florida with anchors down. On the other hand, if Njörðr is feeling nasty, we may rent a car and go down to Key West and goof off for a few days.

Summer Snow is ready

Sailboat Summer Snow is ready to sail. You should understand that I did not shine and hide things like getting ready for a boat show. Instead this is how the boat looks as we wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas.

Catalina 30s are fun to sail. I believe it matches my sailing style and abilities. Boats do not grow in linear fashion but rather the cubic volume doubles for every 5 ft of length. Thus a 35 ft sailboat would be a very different sailing experience.

Larger volume means larger sails, more weight, and bigger lines. Bigger sails and bigger anchors requires either a stronger sailor and/or power winches or at least using winches more. I can raise Summer Snow's sails with no winch and raising the anchor is not a big deal. To each their own but I guess I'm liking simple when it comes to sailing.

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Jessica's Here

Mac left Friday afternoon, Jessica arrived Friday evening. It was sure great having Mac here and I am looking forward to all Jessica's plans because she is so good at finding fun things to see and do. Jessica had signed up for a 5 K run up at the Kennedy Space Center so we got up at 4:30 AM and drove to the race. There was a lot of people in the run and she finished 3rd! I had her camera and was suppose to take her picture as she finished but I didn't expect her to be finishing with the pros so I missed the photo op. She was very surprised to get an award and then we spent the day at the center. She is teaching a unit about space next semester so she got some new curriculum materials.

I spent most of today watching football at a sports bar and Jessica went hiking at a state park so it was kind of a rest day today.

The waves are still huge and will be until at least Tuesday so tomorrow we are going down to the keys and check out Hemingway's house. There is lots to do in Key West so it will be another full day.

North On The ICW

We went north on the ICW today. It's like motoring on a river but this river has tides. There were 5 bridges between us and our chosen destination. The first 3 bridges open at specific times. The Parker Bridge opens at quarter after and quarter to the hour, the PGA Bridge (pictured here) opens on the hour and half hour, and the Donald Ross Bridge also opens on the hour and half hour. So you radio the bridge operator when you are approaching the bridge on VHF 9 and give the type and name of your vessel. The bridge operator then tells you when the next opening is. When they open the bridge you pass through and radio back when you are clear of the bridge. The last two bridges open on demand so you call in and ask for a lift so you can pass and the operator decides when to lift for you. All went well while northbound until we passed under the Donald Ross Bridge. After that bridge we hit shoaling and went aground while still in the ICW. The ICW is suppose to be at least 12 ft deep at low tide but we hit bottom and were stuck. We hit reverse and powered back OK and then went over to the other side of the channel to get by. Then we started to run into more shoaling so decided to turn back. What we learned today is that we will need tide help to navigate the ICW in this area. Next time we go north it will have to be half before high tide to half after high tide which will limit our time to maybe 6 hours and therefore limit distance we can travel in a day. Going outside sounds better all the time because then we can sail, we won't have to wait for bridges, and we can stay in deep water.

Atlantic Sailing

We checked out of the marina this morning and motored south on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). I pointed out the interesting sights for Mac as we motored along. The picture is of Lou's boat which is also Lou's home. I met Lou at Cracker Boys boat yard and found him a very interesting and informative guy. He was very helpful in describing the ins and outs of surviving on the water while in the Lake Worth area. He has lived on this boat for years and appears very happy.
We then cruised out of the Lake Worth Inlet and experience being in the Atlantic Ocean. It was not scary and was not much different from being on Lake Superior. We saw dolphins and some ray type fish that were leaping out of the water. The breakers and the surf were big because the waves were running 2 - 4 feet at 7 sec. That means the waves were rollers rather than close together waves and thus easy to navigate in. What a fun day!
After experiencing the ocean we motored back in and anchored in 12 ft up at the north end. We dinghy-ed in to shore and went to Starbucks. It's brats on the grill tonight. Life just gets better and better.

Tourist

The weather has been poor for sailing so Mac and I have been doing the "tourist" stuff. On Sunday we went to Key West (5 hour drive) and had a very nice day. I got to check out Boot Key harbor and it looked very inviting although it would be a long sail to get there. Boot Key Harbor is located in Marathon about in the middle of the keys. The harbor has room for hundreds of boats and they rent mooring balls by the day, week, or month. They have a large dinghy dock, rec room, showers, and bike racks. It is right in the middle of town so shopping is easy. Key West also had a mooring ball field and seems to be a more interesting town with more to do. We went to the southern most point in the US, Hemingway's house, a great coffee shop, and a nice walk around the "historic district".

On Monday we went to the Kennedy Space Center (2 hour drive) which was very interesting. The displays and history were great as was the "space burger with rocket fries". Tomorrow we untie from the dock and head up the Intracoastal Waterway. I hope we can find an anchorage up a ways and then sail back on the outside on Wednesday. We'll see what the sea-state is on Wednesday before we commit.

North Palm Beach Marina

This morning I pulled up the anchor and motored over to the North Palm Beach Marina. The anchor rode was pretty grimy so I washed it as I brought it in. The wind was real strong so I had to motor ahead about 30 ft, cleat the rode, wash the 30 ft I just brought in, and then do it over again until I reached the chain. The 25 ft of chain came in clean and so did the anchor so I was able to just feed the chain into the anchor locker until the anchor came up on the roller. Then it was a mad dash back to engage the engine and turn toward the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway).
I had pre-tuned my handheld VHF radio to channel 8 which is the working channel for the marina so that I could call them when I was close. As I approached the marina (remember, the wind is howling at 15 to 20 nts) I called them and asked for help at the dock because I was coming in single handed. They were very nice and helpful and docking went without a hitch. This is a great marina with very nice facilities. I had an ice cold Coke and then finished securing Summer Snow.
Mac arrives tomorrow and since the weather is rough I will rent a car and we'll go see some sights.

Wednesday Post

It rained a little last night as it usually does. Seems like we get a short shower just before daybreak. They are predicting some rainy weather this weekend but looks like Tomas may miss us.
Another big Canadian boat came in yesterday. It must be 60+ ft long and real tall. I bet they had to go outside rather than the ICW due to the height of their mast. Those Canadians must really have the bucks!
Yesterday I finally finished my lifelines and today's project will be to mount my solar panel for charging the batteries. The projects go on and on. I think I better go to Starbucks this morning to think through this solar panel project ;>)