2009 Log
11/16 to 11/30/2009
This is the current period of our log for 2009. At the bottom of the page are links to this year's pass weeks; our earlier voyages are in Prior Voyages.
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Updated on 12/06/2009
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11/16/09 - Beautiful morning. I helped Bradd replace a stanchion before we headed across the St Mary's River to Fernandina Beach for fuel and water. One nice feature of traveling offshore is that we use considerably less fuel sailing and motor sailing. Our best run is 120 miles on a gallon. We anchored at Fernandina to show Bradd & Maeve the town. In al their travels along the coast they'd never gone into town. While Bradd got his hair terraced (Maeve chickened out) Ruth and I visited Fred's (a store that offer foods and anything else you can imagine). I like Fernandina, it is a high class tourist trap... classy. We came back to AA and read late in the afternoon. Bradd & Maeve came by later and we agreed to leave at 7:30a tomorrow, offshore, for St. Augustine. Ruth did shrimp for dinner. A new recipe she found in the southern cookbooks we've bought on prior runs. She also did a batch of chili for offshore meals... mmmmmm! Tonight was a dinner theater, shrimp and a DVD. Sundown the last few days has meant Conch blowing... Bradd started it and we seconded; each night more boats join in - we're in the Bahamas bound group. 11/17/09 - Sunrise revealed a calm cloudless day. We headed out the St Mary's inlet at 7:30a, turning south for a seven hour motorboat ride. Fog bank we'd seen offshore moved in creating conditions that required we go to radar for vision beyond 1/8 mile. There are many shrimp trawlers in this area; they kept the radar screen lit up. Ruth is great at finding them as their dark shapes materialize from the grey fog. St Augustine's inlet is uncharted as it is a large sand delta that presents a shallow shifting channel. One looks for and follows the buoys. We came in at low slack tide, recording depths a low as 14' while watching the large swell create breaking waves to either side of the channel. I don't think I'd try this inlet in any significant seas. We hosted a pork tenderloin dinner on AA while we planned our next couple of days. Buddy was thrilled to have Bradd aboard for the evening. 11/18/09 - Up at dawn, anchor up by 7:15a and back out the inlet. Again no wind so we depended on the iron genoa to push us south. We don't save a lot of miles going offshore along this stretch of Florida but we miss a lot of shallow water and traffic on the ICW. Another new inlet for us, Ponce De Leon at New Smyrna Beach. Not a bad one, definitely not one I'd do in the dark though. We motored all day, or should I say trawled as Ruth had lures out. No bites though. We passed through a squadron of over 100 pelicans sitting on the water. They paid us no heed letting us get within yards of them before they paddled aside to let us pass. By 4:30p we were anchored off the ICW south of the bridge. Tomorrow will be a ICW day as we want to visit Rich & Carol's new home. We'll probably motor to Titusville for a short day for once. (by Cape Canaveral) Ruth created a new drink last night, Ginager. She was mixing Gin & Tonics and accidentally filled the glass with gin and white vinegar...(the tonic bottle and vinegar bottles were the same size and color) Fortunately, she noticed the writing on the bottle was different and realized her mistake after making the drinks but before serving them. Whew... even the ice rejected this mix. 11/19/09 - The east coast high continues to provide beautiful skies and no wind. We hauled anchor at 8am and proceeded south on the ICW. We motored south and through Haul-over bridge north of Cape Canaveral. We saw what we once thought were Flamingos and later learned were Rose Billed Ibis, they lack the black wing tips of the Flamingos. By luck we hit the RR bridge north of Titusville while it was open. Others behind us were help up 4 hours as the bridge is being repaired. We heard others comment they'd been held up a whole day by the bridge. By 4:30p we were anchored just north of the Banana River where we will go to visit Rich & Carol in their new Florida home tomorrow. Dinner was on Sampatecho: roast beef, carrots, potatoes.... uuummmmh! Traveling with them is like having your neighbors moving along with you. Like Miles & Laureen you don't spend each evening together but you know they are near if you feel like company. Speaking of Miles & Laureen they are in their South Beach Miami slip. Brad & Alice are just north of Puerto Rico enroute to the Virgin Islands... wow, 14 days at sea. We take our hats off to you! 11/20/09 - Anchor up at 8am, by 9am we were up the Banana River, anchored off The Great Catsby. We spent the day with Rich and Carol, touring their new townhouse (it's fab) and doing a little shopping. We had dinner with Rich & Carol and Bradd & Maeve at the former's townhouse. Great to be with these folks again! Ruth broke a filling at supper so we need to find her a dentist quick. Poor girl is falling apart, first a crown and now a filling. We need to get her rehabbed. 11/21/09 - We got to sleep in late today as we're staying by Rich & Carol's for a couple of days. The weather was sunny and in the low 80's, very nice. Talked to Brad Abbott via phone. He said their trip went well, the kids were great. They saw all types of seas and weather but fortunately avoid any tropical storms. Now they are enjoying the virgin Islands for a respite. We joined them about noon as they professed to have grilled cheeseburgers that needed to be eaten that day. Naturally we helped. We spent the afternoon on errands, beaching and soaking in their hot tub. Decadent! After Carols great seafood dinner we all watched Anger Management, a great Jack Nickelson flick. 11/22/09 - Looks like we are in for a few days of spotty showers. We did boat chores until noon. My primary task was the completion of a new snubber for our anchor chain. This little harness puts a 12' length of elastic rope from the boat to the anchor chain protecting the anchor from wave action of the boat. After lunch we went Rich & Carol's to watch some football. Unfortunately we couldn't get the Packer game or the Vikings. Great to see from the scoreboard that they both won. How about those Vikings at 9 & 1? Maeve & Bradd made dinner at the townhouse. Excellent grilled chicken and potatoes with Bradd's signature salad. Then on to movie night, a Freeman, Nicholson flick Basket List. Great! 11/23/09 - Another Florida morning greeted me when the alarm rang. Up early to measure and mark Rich's sail cover for conversion to a stack-pac like Sampatecho's. At 11am we headed out. A short delay to lasso a sign and set of pilings that had been knocked loose along the waterway. We used the dinghy to corral and tie them to another set of pilings so they wouldn't drift into the waterway. Jones Fruit Dock, north of Vero Beach. Richard Jones, 92, no longer meets you at the dock but entertained us on his front porch. His guests have included the likes of Walter Cronkite, William Buckley and many others. Movie night on AA, complete with popcorn. 11/24/09 - We're off on a turkey trot, running to make a Thanksgiving dinner invitation in Boca Raton. We also need to make a dentist appointment for Ruth as one of her molars cracked and broke apart. We're finally starting to see lots and lots of Ibis, cranes, pelicans and dolphins! Also our first day on "blue" ocean instead of greenish. No iguanas yet.... By evening we were anchored just north of the Jupiter Inlet. We grilled the last of the great steaks we got at Safeway in Annapolis. Some of the best beef we've ever tasted! 11/25/09 - Up with the sport fishermen, waiting for the sun to wake up. If the rain shower is any indication it might be a while. It poured all day with great displays of lightning (if you like that stuff). The ICW was full of windblown debris. Sampatecho picked up a palm frond on their prop shaft setting up a serious vibration. Bradd had to dive to clear it. By late afternoon we were in Marina Sol Bu in Boca Raton; just in time for dinner (thank you John & Nell). 11/26/09 - Happy Thanksgiving. It dawned hot, humid with the promise of rain. Ruth celebrated early, trying out her new small upholstery cleaner on the cockpit cushions. Very impressive! She said they looked soooo bad after I'd cleaned the black mildew off the dinghy with 3M's marvelous mildew remover. I didn't think the dinghy would ever be white again... nice surprise. Our next project will be the upholstery in the saloon. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at Rick & Marsha's along with their parents and a host of friends. What a great time and a wonderful meal of 2 turkeys, a variety of stuffing and potatoes and an embarrassment of desserts. We're really glad we got here in time to celebrate with the group. Tomorrow I really have to start my diet. 11/27/09 - Woke to a bright blue sky with a few cotton balls drifting across it... beautiful morning. I worked on laying out and specifying the plumbing for installing the watermaker. I think I finally have it all spec'd. Ruth cleaned bilges and compartments while I had them open to determine hose lengths. On a cleaning rip she went after our fenders, dirtied by the docks and locks we've encountered the past few months. I helped Bradd & John work on a new gate for John's fence while Ruthie did a wash. Ed came over with his kids and we had a chance to catch up with his family. The day flashed by. Ruth declared a movie night, popcorn and a DVD... then off to bed early. Great movie! 11/28/09 - Cool and sunny, beautiful way to start a day. We did a little shopping, looking for fittings to set up the watermaker and finding 1 out of the approximately 20 we need. We did get a few small things and some cleaning supplies. Not a great score as gatherers. Bradd & I assisted John in constructing his second gate. It's quite the work of art. We'll add photos. 11/29/09 - Weather wise a great day. Temperature in the mid-70's with a light breeze. The wind was so light we cancelled our plans to go sailing and instead I worked with Bradd & Maeve... installing 7 new ports (side windows) in the cabin of their boat leaving 3 more to be installed. What a difference the new windows make. You can actually see outside. One thing leads to another... now they'll need curtains. Ruth took advantage of the day to walk to a nearby mall for some groceries and Christmas stuff. She wrapped everything she had on the boat, getting prepared for shipment to WI. Financially we've decided I can afford to go back every other year and Ruth can travel annually. This year was unusual in that she went back twice for Pat. 11/30/09 - Beautiful sunrise, just a few cotton balls in the sky. We started out on a gathering trip. John, Bradd, Ruth & I left at 8:45 for breakfast with Ed Kary before touring his new hanger and reviewing progress on the hot carbon fiber 4 place pressurize plane he is building. Ed's meticulous and the plane is an engineered work of art. Next we went on our scavenger hunt. We visited marine stores, sail lofts, marine resale centers, Home Depot... you name it. By dusk we each had part of what we were looking for; but not all. I now have about 75% of the fittings needed to install the watermaker. Ruth prepared a delicious shrimp stir fry for dinner. We'd just finished when Patrick (Maeve's son) & Lara arrived for a visit. The yacht they are crewing on will be based out of Miami for the winter. |
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Divers shelling beside their ICW houseboat
Sunken sailboat or abandoned ironclad?
Another vessel resting on bottom
Someone keeps her painted but she never moves
Flowering tree bursts like fireworks
One hurricane too many, can't afford to rehab or tear down... Casa Raton?
Rich & Carol's new townhouse - way kewl!
Ruth with Adrian & Jan of S/V Squander, our English friends
This is their new vessel for a year or so - they are off skiing and looking for a new boat.
Nice picture so you can envision the house they are selling...
or... you could just look at the house
The beginning of the system layout for the water maker
The mega gate constructed over the frame of the original gate
John screws PVC foam back panel in place
John, Bradd & Ed move the gate to it's final home |
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