December 8th - Boot Key to Rodriguez Key
I put a video log up for the first time and you will likely see more of them. If you check the website from work then start sneaking headphones in. We had some engine issues yesterday but all is well now and hopefully in the future. Tonight is the big gulf stream crossing!
December 6th - "Preparations for Departure!"
Today is about 68, sunny and moderate wind. The cold front FINALLY came in last night bringing heavy rain and lots of wind. Today all the cruisers are complaining about how cold it is and how they need to get further south so they don't have to wear long sleeves anymore. Im still in boardshorts so I cant complain. Last couple of days some important things have happened. First thing we got our care package from Richard with the autopilot head and I immediatly went to work getting it hooked up and once again we have autopilot!! The second vital thing we were waiting on was the lewmar part (notice how the replacment part is solid stainless), which arrived Sat. I spent a good part of the day splicing our secondary anchor chain to the line so it can go through the windlass and its now our primary rode. I also spliced some 3/4" hawser lines to be used as bridals for anchoring in heavy weather, clearly some good lessons where learned in this incident and I plan to be ready for the next 35kt blow at anchor. Right now Liesel is cleaning the fridge and we are about to head out for our last USA grocery run for a while. In the morning we have to fill our diesel and freshwater tanks as well as pump out our holding tank and by 10AM or so I figure mike will come wandering up from Key West just in time to drop lines and head to Rodriguez cay or long cay, near Key Largo.
As far as the anchor goes we thought it might be years, or never, till we saw it again but our new cruising friends that we met in Fort Myers, Garry and Shirlene on s/v ZIPadedoda are heading south in a couple of weeks and are going to try to find the anchor and chain. Regardless, were looking forward to meeting up with them in the Exumas so you'll hear more of them in the future.
Weather for the crossing is still looking good, Tuesday is East at 11mph and Tuesday night is SE 11 mph for the the crossing. We plan to head into Alice Town, Bimini and spend a day or so then off to Chub cay in the Berry Islands. Right now there are favorable winds for sailing East (the direction were trying to get) through Friday night so we will likely be there for a couple of day before heading off to
Also a story to tell, I was pulling out all of the secondary anchor chain for the splice and what do I find laying down at the bottom of the locker? My finger tip! I put the pictures up on Shutterfly along with the photos from our second manatee sighting so check em out.
December 4th - Boot Key Harbor
Typing is slow, so this will likely be short. Things are coming along as we have the autopilot fixed !! We also ended up purchasing a new anchor after the boat we hired to recover the lost one had engine problems. So, we spent less money but have less chain, which is OK. The windlass part is on it's way, and we are getting the boat ready for sail again. We finally had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner and gave thanks for good food, family, friends, and that our current situation wasn't worse. We had a rain last night and all the leaks I fixed held up great. Today Liesel and I spent the day splicing line, washing clothes and seat cushion covers, installing the autopilot and putting things away for sailing, so we don't have to rush at the last minute. Saturday we will make a trip for final groceries and one last West Marine run. There's a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas on Tuesday night, and we are planning to be crossing the Gulf stream with it. It's a 60 mile run for us, and it can be easy or really hard depending on the wind direction. As the 3 knot current of the stream races Northward, any winds out of the North make it dangerously rough. Tuesday night is predicted to be 5 knots from the South, and if we don't make our window, it could mean another week waiting around. Got a call from Rich today that it was 34F and snowing in Houston/Galveston! To make my self feel better, I had to throw out the fact that I'm wearing board-shorts and topless, and the temperature is about 75-80F here. Currently, a cold front is stalled over north Florida, and it should finally push through here Saturday night bringing a low of 67F.
I posted some graphic pictures of my finger up, but I must warn you they are not for the weak stomach. On Thursday, we drove to Miami Beach to see a plastic surgeon, Dr. Gabe Salloum. He was referred to us by our family friend Dr. Donald Parks of Houston, and thank goodness because things were looking pretty grim for awhile there. We never did get a call back from the surgeon in Key West. Dr. Salloum took out some of the bone and placed a graft from my forearm on the tip. Due to his excellent handiwork and the remaining nail bed, I will at least have what resembles the former fingertip. It should be healed fairly well in 2-3 weeks time and ready for swimming in 4-5. There's clear water and good spear fishing about 2.5 miles from here, but I don't even want to go see it as there's no getting in for me.
I have started uploading all of our photos to Shutterfly, the link is also on the top left of the website. I will let everyone know when I add more photos as we go.
View Larger Map Thank-you to Matthew Gross for his idea of utilizing Google Earth for the site.
November 29th- The Incident & Boot Key Harbor-
Liesel writes:
Having yet to celebrate Thanksgiving, we headed out for Shark River in the Everglades on Thursday. Unfortunately, we were met by unexpected heavy seas and winds that continued to build. This day was supposed to contain calm winds and fair seas, but instead left us cold and tired with only visions of my mom's homemade dressing, baked turkey, and pecan pie that my sister, Alyssa, had texted us earlier.
At about 3am, the decision was made to anchor out as opposed to making our approach into the mouth of the river. Looking back fatigue was a major cloud hovering at the time of that decision. Between 3am and 6am, we got angrily tossed around by Mother Nature. At first light, Mark went to pull the anchor using the windlass. While I was steering the boat, I received some curse words flying downwind, the bad news came that a part in the windlass was broken. The anchor would have to be pulled up by hand which would require precise steering and communication between Mark and I. With the motor purring and winds howling, we used radios and hand signals. Long story short, in Mark's attempts to pull up the anchor, suffered an avulsion of his left ring fingertip-more curse words. The anchor line had come down pinning his finger between it and the cleat with such force that the fingertip was instantly ripped just slightly above the cuticle. And, then the presentation of his bloody finger to me . He contacted the coast guard while I bandaged his finger.
At this point, the anchor line had fully severed and was lost to the sea. Not until we noticed crab trap buoys appear that had not been there before had we realized that we were drifting. Mark started the motor and advised the coast guard of our intentions to head into Boot Key Harbor, 6 hours away. They advised us to stay near our original location but as we had just enough time to get into marathon before dark under our own power, mark advised the coast guard we would not alter our course and speed and griped to us that "they don't know s&$t they're just following protocol." About 1 1/2hr later, we were boarded by a coast guard EMT who evaluated and re-bandaged Mark. As we got closer, the seas and winds began to relent.
We pulled into the Marathon Marina just as the sun was setting, called a cab, and took Mark to the very small Fisherman's Hospital. I was a little dismayed at first because it seemed the lady at the front desk was more accustomed to working at a quilt shop rather than an emergency room. But, soon enough, he was called back to start the task of poking and prying.
The nurse cut off his glove, soaked off the bandages with saline and peroxide, gave a Dilaudid injection into Mark's cheek, and started him on IV antibiotics. The doctor scrubbed Mark's severed finger clean while Mark winced and cringed as I was presented with his bloody wedding ring. For those that can handle it, we will be posting pictures of the ordeal.
After the nurse bandaged him up, we paid the bill, ordered cheeseburgers and curly fries from Hurricane cafe, took them back to the marina for devouring, and quickly dozed off to much needed sleep.
After feeling quite defeated for the first day after the accident, Mark's spirits re-kindled and he began to look forward again. Then, we also excitedly had our first manatee sighting within the marina. So, now we moved to a mooring ball. And, the plan is to hire a diver and boat to reclaim the lost anchor and chain, make repairs to our morale and mainsail, and get Mark to a plastic surgeon in Key West on Monday to get his finger stitched. While we are in Key West, Mike wants to visit the famous Hog's Breath Saloon which will hopefully entail some more good photos opportunities and quotes. I'm also still hoping to formally celebrate Thanksgiving!
Captain's Side Note: It's true that things really do go slower on a boat. But, it's not all rest and relaxation. There are many projects that arise with the cruising lifestyle. Completing these necessary tasks often requires planning, networking, dinghy rides, walking, and more walking. That's all before starting. Though all in all, the completion of such tasks lends a sense of accomplishment and soundness of mind that you have maintained your vessel for continued sailing leisure. As we travel along and meet other cruisers, we note common themes of hard work, freedom, and fun.
November 25th still at Fort Meyer's
Scroll down and check out the video that was previously unavailable. It's linked to my YouTube page which I think will be the easiest way view it for now. Also, I will soon be posting most of our photos on a photo share site so ya'll can see ALL of the photos. Yesterday we all spent the day working and organizing the boat in order to depart on Wednesday, but now the weather is looking pretty sour as this low/cold front has been stationary right over us, bringing tons of rain for about 24 hours. So, now the plan is to head out Thanksgiving day for Little Shark River. We've decided to celebrate our Thanksgiving on Friday since it will be a more beautiful day compared to Thursday, and it will be more enjoyable in the Everglades. While Liesel cleaned and organized the living space, Mike installed the red LED light above the galley, and I cleaned out the fridge and did some work on the dink after its first use in cruising mode. I also got the saltwater wash-down hose ran to the back of the boat with quick connects so it can be easily removed for travel. It works great as its ran to the cockpit with a coil hose and makes for easy rough cleaning of pots and pans allows us to use less freshwater for washing dishes. Also, some bad news about the autopilot: after two days of cleaning and drying the motherboard, it is still erratic and unusable so its up to Simrad for a lengthy turnaround. Richard, after doing some calling around, may have found a not too expensive replacement for the head unit. So, let's cross our fingers at the thought of having auto for the Gulf stream crossing!
Last night Mike took us out for a night on the town and after some Margaritas and good food at the Smoking Oyster Brewery. Mike wanted to check out a bar across the channel. So, we hopped in the dink and puttered across. Well, apparently Mikes senior citizen radar was well-tuned as we stumbled upon a "geezers gone wild" karaoke session where Mike was a spring chicken compared to our surroundings. We had a blast enjoying some hilarious performers singing Jimmy Buffet tunes with walkers in hand.
Today the rain came and it's been steady all day; But, I guess Richard's optimistic attitude rubbed off on me as this rain has made us aware of all the leaks in the boat and we can get em fixed before having leaks underway in bad weather, which would surley make the entire cabin a wet mess. Unlike a house with a roof, a boat has hundreds of bolts, screws and windows stuck through it with goo that over time one here and there looses it's seal. So, we got one dried out, re-bedded and covered up to dry, but the others are in places that will have to wait for a dry day to fix. I also completed even more projects like building my weatherproof housing for my super wifi antenna. Now it can be put up in rain, when there's not much else to do but get on the internet. With the wifi card on my laptop I got 1-2 networks; with the antenna I put together, we get over 10! During these extensive contemplations and projects, Liesel made a healthy and delicious breakfast of strawberry cream cheese bagels!
November 23rd Fort Meyers beach Florida
So, we skirted out of Clearwater just before dark under motor with about 5kts of breeze. Finally headed South, morale was up and we were puttering south when the winds kicked up to 20 knots over the nose all night. Around 0300, I was on watch by myself when the autopilot went out. With the wind howling, I was working the boat at a slow clip toward our destination when I looked back and noticed the grill on the stern wobbling back and forth due to a loose screw. I brought Mike on deck to drive while I fixed the grill nearly loosing it to the sea. By midday, we had covered about 70 miles and decided to head into Fort meyers Beach for some R&R. Coming in the narrow channel at night wasn't great, but all went well. And, we picked up our first mooring ball of the trip for 13.80$ per night. Fort Meyers Beach is a tourist town and home to more derelict vessels than I have ever seen in one place. We dropped the dink in the water for the first of many times of the trip and buzzed over for some showers and hopefully the last of many expensive West Marine trips. We're hoping to head out by Tuesday in order to get to the secluded Everglades National Park for Thanksgiving, but an approaching cold front with strong winds and rain may keep us here for a few more days. Samson and I took a long dink ride while Liesel and Mike took a nap. It was neat to explore the mangroves, but I was afraid of venturing off too deep and getting lost. While the circuit board from the auto pilot dries, we're gonna get some drinks at the local watering hole. I re-loaded the video and it loaded for me in media player, so let me know if you have any trouble loading it. Also, let me know if it takes a long time to load etc, and if the suggestions are positive I'll try to post more videos. 
November 21st. 2nd day in Clearwater
So, we arrived yesterday and immediately started making repairs and completing unfinished projects. We had to modify the anchor locker to house both anchor rodes as well as make some changes to the saltwater wash-down so it could also be used to rough wash dishes over the side. Today was also the day that all the stinky sheets that accumulated over this last week were washed. And, a final super target run was made(which still cost almost $400) before reaching the Florida Keys where everything is more expensive. Tomorrow we head out, and by Tuesday we'll be anchored quietly in the Everglades where we'll spend a couple of days before setting off to the Keys. At this point, we're not sure if Thanksgiving will be in the Everglades or the Keys, but it does not really matter as we have plenty to give thanks for no matter our given location. Life has been busy, and I hope to post more photos and work out all the kinks in the website shortly, so stay tuned for what's to come next.
November 17th Tuesday, day 4 at sea.
As with most long bluewater passages, its been a circus show type of adventure trying to function in an enviroment that is constantly moving on all axis' and tilted over about 20 degress at the same time. On the other hand, we have seen the night sky so littered with stars it resembles something out of an imax film. There's something about seening the Milky Way glow with a brightness that most Americans will never see that gives you an appreciation for nature. I have a feeling this will be a recurring feeling over the next half a year.
Where to begin? Well, I guess with a sailing update. With 230 miles left to Tampa, tomorrow we'll cross into Florida waters and about 36 hours later we'll be having chesseburgers in Tampa.
Departure day wasn't until Friday around 2000 hours. When I returned to the boat Thursday night, we found it in disaray from last minute projects. At once glance, we knew it would be a minimum of 6 hours to get ready. So, I worked through the night packing and cleaning the boat, and at about 0530, I wandered to the Super Walmart for more grocieries. As I piled random items from my list into the cart, I remember thinking to my self that we had really pulled it off! We were finally heading East! After making wake up calls to the crew, we all started working on deck preparations for sea travel. As I finished the netting around the boat for Samson, Mike and Al put up the boards on the lifelines that will hold our fuel and water jugs. Meanwhile, Rich finished up the projects that had to be completed before shoving off. So, after eating fried chicken on the job, I loaded and lashed the dink on the deck, and we headed out of the Kemah channel for the last time this year.
Day 1 (The jib incident) turned out to be the day that wore us down the most. We made it well offshore the previous night and around 2300 Saturday night the jib broke loose with the familiar whacking sound of a sail out of control. We got the sail, made a quick assessment of the damage, and decided to motorsail with the main through the night and deal with it in the morning. After some morning coffee and a light breakfeast, we brainstormed a solution to what turned out to be the clew ring that holds the lines that control the sail. The stitching had come out of the straping that holds thousands of pounds of force. Unfortunately, there would be no re-sewing without an expensive heavy duty machine. Well, Rich, who is truly the great improvisor, came up with the idea of putting some hardware backed with a wooden backing plate to re-attach it. Out at sea, we turned the cockpit into a workshop and with the power inverters, we ran our drill and grinder to prepare the wood. The whole project took over 6 hours. Right as we finished, the wind and seas picked up and unfurled the sail as we were moving at about 5 knots.
Day 2 was the slowest day of the trip as heavy winds over our nose forced us to tack back and forth making only 3 knots per hour to Tampa. By the end of the day, we were all beat but continued to function and sail. On this day, Samson finally got used to the movement of the boat and used his high-priced false grass to do his business like he had practiced in the past week. At home, Samson requires a daily golf cart ride to keep him from going spastic, but just like us humans, the winds and waves were sufficient to wear him down. And, with a bit of tug-o-war and hide-and-seek with a plastic bottle each morning and evening, he was getting along just fine. In fact, I'm sure he wouldn't rather be anywhere else but on the bluewater passage with the boys. Each night he wanted to sleep up in the cockpit with whoever was on watch and acted as both entertainer and foot warmer.
Day 3 was the day that brought morale up as flat seas and moderate winds taking us strait to Tampa at 6 knots gave us all the energy to have a few long awaited boat drinks and toast to a great passage so far.
Day 4 is what one thinks of an offshore Gulf crossing. Right at midnight this morning, the winds went from Southeast to North as the cold front approached. I was sleeping in the cockpit with Al on watch, when I was awoken by seriously blackend skies and 25 knot winds from the North. We called all hands on deck to reduce sail area and get the boat back under control. With Al driving and Mike blowing the jib sheet, Rich and I heaved on the jib furler to roll in some sail so as to bring the boat under conrol. Al and I sailed all night, and at about 8 knots we were reminded of the ability of the power of harnessed wind to move a heavy boat so fast. With daylight came the ability to see the swells that these high winds had brought. With 5-8 foot seas all day, we clocked mile after mile under our keel and adjusted our predicted arrival date for Tampa to Thursday the 19th. By now, the bracing required on a moving boat to make any movement whatsoever has become natural for all of us. Even Samson has learned to brace himself between the dink and the lifeline to do his #2 business. Here's a video of us doing 7.5 knots in 20+ winds.
November 12th 2009 Kemah, departure day.
So, now it begins...we're heading out in about 5 hours for Tampa. Strait across the Gulf, we'll have some wind for a couple of days, then were gonna hit a high pressure which means beautiful weather but NO wind. We're gonna load up on diesel and hope for at least 10 knot winds and flat seas. We'll update next time we get internet! Everyone do a prayer for a fun and safe crossing and trip overall. Catch you in Florida!!
November 11th 2009 Galveston, 1-2 days to departure?
I'm starting to think that preparing a sailboat for cruising is kinda like having children (except that you can't sell your kids when you grow tired of them, at least in this country): You think it's gonna be great before it happens. Next, you wonder what you were thinking, and then you sit back and smile while they head off to college. Then, next thing you know you are watching the videos of the glory days after it's all over.
Well, I think CoolBreeze is demanding car keys and a bigger allowance because as we draw closer to departure one project turns to three and each takes about twice as long as expected. Soon though, it will all be fond memories that will have been worth the extensive commitments of time, money, and effort. Which will all comes into hindsight as we sip rum watching the sunset floating in clear waters.
This last week on the boat has been a balancing act of removing stuff from the boat and bringing twice as much on. In the meantime, three grown men try to dance around each other to complete projects while hopping between all the gear like an overweight ballerina at a dance recital.
Ok, enough of the violin concert. The real positive of the day is that the weather is starting to look favorable to jump straight offshore to Tampa without going through the intra-coastal And, so many of the projects that we have started over the last few months are being checked off the list in a scene reminiscent of captain Quint from Jaws before his faithful voyage.
Bearded Mike, one of our crew members for the crossing, has been battling for the last year with the permit people about his Ike damaged house. He now has a big meeting on the day of our scheduled departure. So, as Mike deals with them, and we deal with the boat, our departure of the 12th looks more and more like the 13th- 14th. This gives us an (much needed) extra 18 hour delay that we would much rather blame on Mike than admit to needing the extra time.
Fact about cruising sailboats is that if one allows the time to completely ready the boat for departure, that one will forever be the guy on the dock talking about sailing South to lower latitudes season after season while others drop lines and go. So, the decision must be made that we leave no later than the morning of the 14th wether all gets done or not. Food onboard, sails are strong, dink (dingy) is on deck, weather is good...we sail!
November 8th 2009 Galveston, 4 days to departure.
With only a short time left before we drop lines and head to Tampa, the feeling of excitement and the need to continue planning is gone. This feeling is replaced with a melencollie and serious tone of sorts. Meanwhile, the whole Tampa crew works steadily on the boat knowing that a large variety of tasks must be completed in a time frame much shorter than is preferred in order to get the boat ready for lift-off. I can't help but think that this is how the demeanor was during the early days of Apollo. When they too prepared a vessel for a trip to the unkown with the unspoken thoughts of what could go wrong, what needed to be done to prevent it, and what spare parts and tools should be onboard to make repairs that arise.
As I drive home from the boat with blues music playing on the ipod, the mood I feel is a familar one I've had in the past before setting out on my previous extended travels. A combination of to-do lists stream through my head like the fast moving ticker tape of the stock market. And, a feeling of overall satisfaction with the world as well as accomplishment in what has so far been completed to prepare for a trip to unkown places. The major difference is that this expedition has by far reqired more planning, work, preperation and money than any summer vacation backpacking adventure could require. The satisfaction I have felt getting to this point and knowing soon that we will head East through Louisiana enroute to Florida blankets any stress that is attempting to overwhelm me. I can honestly say that preparing a sailboat for extended comfortable cruising has proven to be the greatest project I have ever undertaken.
Enough about thoughts and preperation, let's talk a little weather. Miss hurricane Ida is well into the Southern Gulf by now and should be long gone by Thursday, but.. we have some light East winds predicted through the weekend which combined with the large leftover swells for Ida will make some very slow goings offshore. So, right now the plan is to motor Easterly through the Louisiana intracoastal waterway and keep working East until the North winds show up with the next cold front around Monday. This could make for a very scenic and flat trip thorugh the "baa-yous" and with a little luck on our side the front will roll through just as were ready to hop into the Gulf and sail the last 250 miles to Tampa. Two scenarios we don't want to see is: we either get hit by a strong frontal boundary offshore or have to sail against East winds and large swells come from the direction we are trying to get to. Until we look at everything on Wednesday, there's no telling what route we will take for sure.
November 6th 2009 Galveston, 6 days to departure
Well, the wedding went great and of course the honeymoon was relaxing. Now begins the process of sorting through the pile of presents that litter our living room like beer bottles in the yard of a frat house after finals. We are deciding what belongings can go away forever to those that will appreciate them and what needs to be stacked into boxes for our return. All of our great wedding presents are going into storage so we can open them up like a kid on Christmas day upon our return. I got the long awaited primary anchor from the boat yard and the pile of stuff-to-the-boat builds amongst the boxes in the living room. I completed some more work on the fridge adding insulating foam to every nook of dead space around it and put the divider which will seperate our fridge from freezer. I still have to make the insulating padding which will go atop the fridge to keep the cold air close to the food and not in the empty space above. Why so much work on the fridge you ask? On a sailboat, the 12 volt fridge is the largest consumer of electricity and making sure it is effiecient can mean many extra hours between battery charging.
On today's shopping list is pick up the EPIRB from the techs, get a new head (toilet), swing by Academy and get a solar shower and 5 jugs for hauling water from shore to the boat. We still have to install the outboard hoist and put the netting around the boat which will keep Samson and other items that get dropped, in the boat. We also have the salt and fresh water washdowns on the deck that still need to go in and alot more that likely won't get done in time for departure but that's ok. There's alot on the list between now and next week, so likely there will be few posts until we reach Florida. Also, we're watching this storm out there which will reach the Gulf next week. I don't think the storm will delay us much, as it should clear out by Thursday. The only concern is if she leaves large swell in the Gulf for a few more days past landfall, which will keep us from leaving on Thurs. Like Jimmy Buffet said, "only time will tell".
20 days till departure.
Richard and I are finally getting that feeling of preparedness in our vessel. Over the last year we have been sacrificing beautiful days of sailing in the bay in exchange for painfully upside down and sideways positions with channel locks, 4200, and drills in one hand and any sort of overpriced item that contains the word boat, in the other. This exchange of sweat, painfully sore backs, and equally sore wallets will reward us in the months to come with a sound vessel and hopefully less maintenance and more rum to sooth our sore backs while underway.
Some of the major projects have been to replace and rebed grab rails, windlass install, new bimini, XM radio, new chart plotter at the helm, new AGM batteries (330 house amp hours for all you sailors reading) more refrigeration work than we care to remember and about 100 little projects that turned into half day projects followed by a few rum sundowners that caused us to brainstorm more projects leading to more rum. With the patience of our beautiful wives we have completed most of the major projects on the list, and we will feel confident in our vessel when we drop lines in November. Of course not every item on the list will be completed due to either time or money constraints, but no omitions will stop us from leaving or even cause much reduction of comfort. Being modern sailors there were hoards of items on our list that would cause laughs and even some heckling and pointing from the salty sailors who completed adventures of the like 25 years ago.