2009 Log
4/16 to 4/30/2009
This is the current period of our log for 2009; our earlier voyages are in Prior Voyages.
We plan to post and update at least weekly. We move the older portions of the log to history; pages accessible at the bottom of the page. Join our voyage!
Updated on 01/28/2011
|
4/16/08 - Ruth was up at dawn, nothing new on Pat. I collected e-mails before our service provider went off the air. Arrggghhh! Services here are sometimes unreliable. Ruth's was ready to go and going nuts waiting and not getting any updates. At 10am we pulled up to the StarPort fuel dock. Ruth headed for the airport with her luggage while I fueled the boat. After receiving permission from Harbor Control I transited and exited the harbor, setting my course for the Northwest Channel. Naturally the wind was right on the nose, so I motored to make sure I'd be on the Great Bahama Bank before dusk to anchor. Given that I saw only a couple of ships in my 6 hour trip I was surprised at the passage to have to coordinate with 2 ships and 4 sailboats to ensure we cleared each other. By 7pm I was anchored 1/4 mile from a ship waiting for high tide to cross the bank. I cooked a burger, read and went to bed as the boat bounced in 3 to 4 foot waves. Rockabye baby - big time. 4/17/09 - Up with the sun... Buddy was quiet, wondering where everyone went. I shared my breakfast cereal, had coffee and updated the log. I decided to run to Cat Cay. I believe it's a better place to wait for a weather window for crossing. Buddy and I had a great run under sail all the way. NE winds of 15-17 with gusts to 25 drove us along at 6 - 8 knots over ground. Only saw 3 boats all day - one well ahead of me and two going the other way. By 5pm I was anchored just east of Cat Cay. In the past two days I've covered 110 miles; half the trip in water 1,000's of feet deep and half in 8 - 10 feet - talk about contrasts. The last 3 miles to Cat Cay were in 8-9' of water on a 3' high tide - tight. No word on Pat, or if Ruth made it home. At least I found WIFI so I should know something tomorrow. 4/18/09 - After a bumpy night I woke to partially cloudy and windy - just as forecast. Don't know how windy as my wind indicator decided not to report wind speed today - persnickety beast. Looks like today's project. Got hailed on the VHF by S/V Preferred Stock last night. They are anchored about 1/2 mile away and saw me come in a drop my hook. Wondered if I was crossing and when. Related I thought Monday was the best chance based on current information. Boat day today as I can't move until the weather lets me. Spent the morning checking voltages to the wind indicator (ST60+), found them to be in spec. Finally I swapped the slave and master heads - they automatically reconfigure to their new role. When I was done I had wind speed again. It took 3 hours, hopefully it solved the problem. Right now its indicating 17 - 21 knots out of the east - not good for a crossing. Changed engine oil after lunch and reworked the harness for the WIFI antenna. Then on to domestic tasks; dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the grill - hey, it can't always be a glamorous life. E-mail from Amy related Ruth had headed to Madison in Laureen's car (thanks guys!). Jill sent a SkyMate as did Miles, Pat is awake and communicating with his eyes. His chances are improving! Weather reports indicate tomorrow is my safest bet. If I have problems things won't kick up until the following evening. 4/19/09 - Up at 5am to have breakfast before heading out at 6:30. S/V Preferred Stock left with me. They headed to Miami while I had a more northerly course to Port Everglades. The 6 hour crossing was uneventful. I had the sails up initially but the wind shifted to directly behind me and I ended up motoring most of the way. I radioed the USCG as I entered US waters learning that I don't have to do that anymore - last year it was required. Larger ships still apparently have to. I guess we can't carry enough insurgents to make an impact. At Ft Lauderdale I anchored in Lake Sylvia, following the path Bradd had shown us earlier this year. I called Customs and got a clearance number; tomorrow I need to go to their Port Everglades office with Buddy and finish clearing Customs and Immigration. Hard to believe you can sail in and anchor where you wish and no one checks the vessel. Feeling secure? Maybe illegal aliens glow in the dark of something so the Homeland Security knows they are here. Talked to Ruth, Pat is communicating with letters... when she asked him where he got the strep (they finally decided a strep infection had attacked his heart) he spelled out "Church". Didn't loose his sense of humor. Still in IC but improving steadily. The staff is calling him their miracle man. 4/20/09 - Woke to overcast skies that cleared within an hour. Unfortunate, this area is in a serious draught. I called Customs explaining I'd be instructed to appear to clear. I noted Miami said bring Buddy along to their office. The officer on the phone said "Forget the parrot. We're not the department of Agriculture (technically they are all part of the office of Homeland Defense). We don't know anything about birds. I took the dinghy to the Southport Raw Bar, paid $10 to park for the day, redeemable on food and drinks. After an interesting cab ride I got to the office and was quickly cleared. They noted I'd followed instructions and hadn't brought the parrot. I asked if they wanted to see her CITES and medical? They responded we don't do birds, forget about the parrot, we just want to see if your face matches your passport. We get a different story about Buddy in every port of entry. Finished, I went to find a cab. No luck, cabs don't go out there. A nice three mile hike got me back to the dinghy. Along the way I stopped at Boaters World, West Marine, CVS, Winn Dixie and had lunch at the Raw Bar - hey, more than one thing accomplished today. A front moved in about 2:30pm, this is the weather event that pushed me to cross yesterday. Windy and dark clouds but little rain. Talked to Ruth, Pat continues to improve but will need continued care when he leaves the hospital. The good news is that they are looking ahead. 4/21/09 - Woke at dawn to a grey day. Had breakfast, did e-mails learning that son Kyle's position had been eliminated (that's 3 kids out of 4 so far in this economy) and by 7am - headed up the ICW, doing the ditch. By the time I clear Lake Sylvia it was lightning and pouring. Man I hate lightning! I'm surprised more golfers than sailors get hit. I caught up with a 168 foot motor yacht, Gallant Lady, at the first bridge and followed her 3/4 of the way to Lake Boca before she eased into her mooring. Beautiful vessel, the helm station was about level with the top of my mast. Biiigggg boat! By 10:45am I was anchored in Lake Boca - the rain had stopped. I'll be varnishing teak on AA for a couple of days before starting on a small canvas project for Captain Boris. The day closed sunny, warm and breezy. I worked on an internet project for a couple hours before going topside to strip varnish off teak, about my favorite job. 4/22/05 - A beautiful clear day with only balmy breezes. I finished sanding and taping the teak before I took a dinghy ride to see John and review the seawall project he has underway at Marina Sol Bu. It is quite the undertaking involving 18 angled cement piling (batter pilings) that buttress the seawall. I returned to AA to apply a coat of epoxy on the teak... looking good. Gets a second coat then 3 initial coats of varnish. Talked to Ruth this afternoon; told her I'd started a list of the good points of being alone on the boat: don't have to share Buddy; I can snore at night and not get sore ribs; a bottle of wine lasts a week; a roll of toilet paper lasts a month; dinner for two is 2 meals.... of course they don't outweigh the negatives. She has quite a to-do list before we see her again. 4/23/09 - Another beautiful sunrise. Good for me, bad for Florida. Varnished one coat on the aft swim platform and the 4 sections of teak recently epoxied. Two more coats and that project is done. Worked with John a several projects along the dock. The pilings are all in and the dock is about ready to put back together. 4/24/09 - Up at dawn to join John on an airplane ride. We were guests of Steve & Caroline in their beautiful Piper Seneca HP II. John flew left seat as pilot and Steve served as co-pilot so John could log the 5 hours of flight time, keeping his license current. John's vast experience was evident in this smoothness. We flew to Lakeland for an air show quite similar to EAA to a little bit smaller. Heavy traffic inbound with a "no talking" pattern. Interesting experience. Lots of neat airplanes to examine and drool over. We cleared out just before the air show to avoid getting bound up in the aircraft traffic. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Ft Pierce just because we could. Returning home we mounted two new doors in Our Way creating closed gear lockers by the nav station. They turned out looking like original equipment. 4/25/09 - Blustery morning. Twenty knot winds with gusts to thirty. John is racing Our Way from Hillsboro to Palm beach today. He radioed to say they were having a bumpy ride with 5 - 9 foot waves and 27 knot winds. I had a quiet morning varnishing. Got the second coat on the new work and a third coat on some areas that needed another coat. Next big area is the cockpit floor. 4/26/09 - Last night was another windy one. I could heard it whistling above the trees and houses. I had finished the HBO video mini series Rome and went to bed late. I scuff sanded the cockpit floor as the job I'd scheduled for the day fell through. After sanding I applied a coat of varnish. Looks great. John asked if I'd assist him in reconnecting the dock water lines and electrical conduits. We worked until we ran out of parts, about 8pm. Got all but 4 joints completed. Nell had a great shrimp dinner prepared for us. David, their house sitter for the summer, joined us and I had the opportunity to get to know him. 4/27/09 - Ed picked me up around 9:30 and we started the job on his boat that had been scheduled for yesterday. We're sewing a cuddy and attaching a windshield. Should have the project done this week easily. Worked until 6:30, then had dinner with Ed. He cooks a mean steak. Great! I waddled back to the boat to call Ruth. She told me Pat walked, talked and ate his first solid foods today. A vast improvement from yesterday. Very nice to hear! 4/28/09 - A beautiful Florida morning. John dropped me off at Ed's about 8:30am and I went right to work. The project would be done tomorrow morning if I hadn't made an error ordering material and a design change that required more zippers. The material will arrive Thursday night and I'll finish Friday. I have projects on AA to fill the time. I'd left hatches on AA open and was surprised when it rained at Ed's late in the day. Luckily it didn't rain at John's dock. I still had a nice dry cabin and bed. 4/29/09 - Clouds at dawn gave way to a mostly sunny day. Waiting for materials for Ed's boat I went back to work on AA removing the main sail so I could replace broken sail slugs and restitch the zipper on the stack-pack. The boarding step was looking shabby so I sanded and applied a coat of epoxy to that too... AA is pretty much back to looking new. Wash day! Ruth had intended to catch up at Nassau but headed back to WI. I had access to Nell's washer and dryer so between projects I did 4 large loads. All caught up! Ariel arrived in Norfolk today - don't know how Miles does that from WI... autopilot? 4/30/09 - A beautiful day! I spent most of the morning working with John - varnishing boat doors, sewing on a sail slug, pulling wires with the electrician. The dock project was completed today. Doesn't look any different as the reinforcements are all hidden by the decking. From John's perspective he can sleep easier knowing the wall is reinforced. |
Click on photo to enlarge, use Back to return to this view Nasty trip... While crossing the Bahama Bank I picked up a rescue aircraft's conversation with the M/V Alfredo. I couldn't hear the boat's side of the conversation as they were using a handheld radio. They'd been adrift for 5 days after running out of diesel. When the aircraft found them they were running out of unspoiled food and water. When the engine stopped the GPS, radio and refrigeration drained the battery bank rendering everything unusable. Their only radio was a handheld that was also dying. As the rescue neared its conclusion they could only communicate with microphone clicks. I don't know why they were found... someone must have triggered a search when they failed to show up. The aircraft tried to find help for them, sticking around for 3 hours while a USCG cutter was directed to their position. Very luck folks. Makes me realize how lucky we are to have sails, solar and wind generation as we sure don't have folks expecting us anywhere at any time.
Cat Cay airport and marina viewed from anchorage
Gun Cay light marks my gateway to gulf stream and the US as soon as weather permits
Gone missing? Friday night and Saturday morning I listened to repeated requests for sightings of S/V Windsong, a small Cape Dory that had gone missing with one SOB while enroute from Grand Bahama to Key West. A strong reminder to use caution when dealing with the sea... particularly when sailing alone. Later Saturday the USCG reported the vessel had been found - he took shelter in a harbor along his route. Cab tips While attempting to get to the US Customs office in Ft Lauderdale I learned a few cab lessons worth passing on. On entering the cab ask:
My cabbie flunked all three. I told him 1800 Eller Drive, he replied "Holiday?". I said no, Eller. E l l e r, and gave him Google driving instructions and map. He pulled over, called dispatch and had a long discussion on how to get to Holiday at Port Everglades. I again yelled "Eller, Customs Office". Enroute I noticed the meter read $62.00+, whoops, he said "Oh, forget to turn off. You pay me $12.00?" A 3 mile trip with a driver from hell. He took me to the port, security waved him off. Wrong entrance, Customs is outside the port next exit south - right where the map says it is. Another mile and we were there (would have missed it If I hadn't seen the US Customs trucks and yelled stop. He dropped me beside the road, collected the fare and took off. If the cabbie doesn't pass the test, get out. More missing... The coast guard has been searching for two boats for the last four days. A 35' trawler and and 45' sailboat. Both went missing returning to Florida from the Bahamas. A lot of radio requests for all mariners to be on the lookout.
Teak trim by companionway
Foredeck teak with 1 layer of epoxy in place
Formation flight
John, Steve & Caroline, left to right
Pilots looked just a little older than our grandchildren
AA at docks in progress
Cap on a new batter pile
Amy sent this photo from her vacation shots - Boo Boo Hill
|
2009 Logs