Bye to Ian, and up to North Carolina

Bye to Ian, and up to North Carolina

It is cold in NC!

Blogging is not easy. If it were not for the readers who reached out to let us know they were readers, we would probably not do this… (Hint, hint)

We had a great time with Ian over the Christmas break, but it came to an end way too soon and events began crowding us again.

Christmas Eve day brought a beautiful calm morning. We took Goose into Peanut Island for a run, and headed back out to the boat with plans to go to the ocean beach on Singer Island. By the time we got there a cold front was beginning to roll in from the NW. A long ago lesson was remembered when we had walked halfway to the beach and begin to notice huge ominous black clouds rolling in. Since it was calm and nice when we left, every hatch and port was left open on Yume. If someone did not shut those and it rained hard, every bed, every settee cushion would be soaking wet.

So back I went, got the dingy and motored out to shut the boat up. Although it ended up not raining I felt much better about leaving this time. The wind had kicked up to 15 knots from the NW and it had become quite choppy in the anchorage.

I found the rest of the family at the beach park. We decided to eat and go on back as it had turned kinda yucky. A nice walk down the beach and back home ended our Palm Beach holiday.

We had been invited to a Christmas Eve party at Kathy and Jeff's house which meant a dingy ride in to be picked up and a dingy ride back in the dark.

In addition, due to previously documented issues with generator and charging problems our batteries were becoming very low, and the refrigeration was not able to keep cold. In the face of a weather forecast of rising winds and dropping temps, we decided to pack it in and find a marina for the night.

Of course finding a marina for dockage 5pm Christmas Eve is not easy! But like other things, the universe watches out for us and we were able to find the lake park municipal marina only a mile into the wind up the bay. By the time we got off the mooring and up to the marina entrance the wind was blowing 25 knots and it was a bit nasty.

The difference between motoring into a cold brisk wind and tied to the dock, plugged into power, with the refrigeration running, hot showers and laundry available made for a very pleasant evening.

We finished getting three loads of laundry into the dryers just in time to find some clothes other than shorts, and to be out on the street for our friend Sue to pick us all up for the party.

The party was loads of fun, with Ian and I having the opportunity to play some music for an appreciative sing along group around a fire! Great food (oh man those shrimp and pot roast sandwiches!), great people and the gift of anchor rode made for a wonderful evening.

It was also really cool to visit with the kids Ian had played with 18 years previously.

Christmas Day we motored before the wind back to Ft Lauderdale to an anchorage for the night. Then up and back on the road again at 9 for the final few miles up the new river again to a private dock on a canal behind a house where a family was kind enough to let us leave Yume safely for a week while we travel to NC for the memorial services.

I jumped on the bike and ran for a bilge pump switch, plus a plug for a shore power connector to make sure we could plug into the house. We got the boat all back together by 4 so we could pick up a rental car (upgraded to a charger!) and go out for a nice final dinner with Ian.

We were off by 830 Friday, dropped Ian at the WPB airport at 10, then drove through to Marion NC to arrive at 9pm.

Lot's of family here and as I write we are getting ready to head to the services then back here to try and make a dent in the food and drink that very kind people have brought.

We will be back on the road early Tuesday, and back on Yume that night.

Next project – haul out and bottom paint and get the repaired generator in the boat.

We would love to get Yume ready for some cruising so a trip to see friends in marathon in the Keys would be a possibility… Stay tuned to hear how that works out.

Everyone have a happy, prosperous and safe New Year!

 

My first post. Chain to rope splice.

My first post. Chain to rope splice.

Hello everybody! Ryan here, and today you will be reading my blog post. Recently, we noticed that our anchor only has 100 feet of chain. Which means we can only anchor in 20ft of water. (That's not very deep!) luckily one of my father's friend had 250 ft of anchor line at his disposal. So there we were, sitting around the table with our chain and the line. The gears in our heads were spinning faster and faster. We had to attach the line to the chain. Finally, it struck me like lightning as I stood up and shouted “We shall splice it!” (Everyone claps) Okay, it might not have gone quite like that. It was pretty close to the truth. Now it was up to me to attach this line to the anchor chain via splicing. I began reading the sailor books and watching videos on how to splice. Everysingle piece of information I found made it seem like a baby could do it. Let me tell you… This was a pain in the rear end. I'm not sure if it was the type of rope I had or just my general ignorance with following instruction. After 30 minutes of crying, frustration and sheer devotion I prevailed with the most beautiful splice you could possibly imagine. So the lesson of the day is. Buy a boat that has more than 100 feet of chain.

 

 

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

Ian arrived late Friday night. The cabbie was a bit surprised to be told to drop him off at the foot of the bridge!

We picked up the anchor Sat morning and headed the 7 miles north to Peanut Island at the WPB inlet to get some snorkeling in. Bridges made that trip much longer than necessary, but Yume ran well.

There is another small issue. As we have sailed it was clear the foresail, or genoa, which is on a roller furling system (instead of attaching and hauling up the sail) was not operating properly. It was very hard to roll out or in.

This can be dangerous In a strong wind, and leads to broken hardware and torn sails fron too much force used. So we dropped the sail to have a look, and of course found the sail torn at the top or the head of the sail. This repair cannot be put off as it will only get worse and cost more. Of course all the sail repair places are back in Ft Lauderdale!

The sail is now folded and stowed in a bag for sending to the sailmakers. The problem with the furling was insufficient tension on the forestay. When the sail was off it was easy to see poor maintenance and improper setup was easily remedied and could have been ugly…

The boys have all been in the water – snorkeling, jumping off the boat, and cleaning the bottom.

Saturday evening we motored in the dingy to Sailfish Marina to meet up with old friends Kathy and Sue. 19 years ago or so, the three girls shared the joys, trials and tribulations of learning how to be mothers at the same time and became very good friends. The reunion was emotional. The plan is to get together Christmas Eve when all the kids (who have not seen each other since they were three) together… Should be interesting!

As the holidays approach, we want to wish all our friends a very merry Christmas, a very happy New Year and the very best that life can offer. Thanks for your support!

 

Turn  Around And Head North

Turn Around And Head North

We are heading back to West Palm Beach.

After three days in the exact same marina yard where Shelly and I built our first boat Naiad in1989-90, we left just after lunchtime to come back down the New River which runs through downtown Ft Lauderdale and feeds back into the intercostal waterway – our road North to pick up Ian tomorrow night late for Christmas.

Let's back up and get caught up…

Monday we were up early and enjoyed a beautiful morning motor into and through Ft Lauderdale and right on up the New River.

When we were here in the 90's these were considered mega yachts. Now they are everywhere.

There was lots to see going up through town and Goose got all excited every time we got close to someone's yard…

There are four opening bridges, lots of boat traffic, and a railroad bridge so the capt had to be on the radio most of the time praying the engine was not going to quit.

The main reason to come here was to get as close to the generator repair place, and the marina mile where there are tons of businesses to supply the needs of the “yachting capital of the world”.

We were looking for solar panels, parts to fix the engine issues, and drop off the generator.

Calling around we found that Riverbend Marina was the cheaper place to dock (at $68 a night) so we headed that way, racking our brains to remember anyone from long ago that might still be around.

One of the couples we remembered were Vern and Yolanda who had lived a couple of boats down in Riverbend but a google search brought no results.

Pulling in to the very tight spaced boatyard, we were absolutely amazed to find the guy taking our lines was Vern from 24 years ago! He proved to be a godsend, lending a vehicle and his knowledge to help us immensely .

Vern lives in this old sailboat they put us next to while he is working (he commutes to his home in la Paz Mexico!) and he has a black cat that fascinated Goose.

As usual when we dock it's off to the races to get stuff done.

With money pouring down the drain for parts and supplies, we bought a 235 watt solar panel and all the material to mount it, engine parts, and more. (Like $115 for a laser temperature gun to be able to tell exactly what the engine temps are!) The solar panel and mounting will end up at around $750 but the headaches mounting and installing are worth four times that. It is still not finished.

I worked on it all afternoon and into the night to realize I had made some dumb calculation mistake and had to rethink it this morning – and go for more parts on the bicycle. Sometime I get in such a hurry to get done it does me no good at all!

This is me grinding the ss tubes after dark!

We finished up enough by noon to wash down the boat and get off the dock before getting charged for another day.

Time to get back to WPB and be ready for Ian who is flying in at 1045 pm Friday for his first Air Force leave. He will spend Christmas on the boat with us. We will probably go back to ft Lauderdale and look for somewhere to leave the boat while we rent a car and drive to North Carolina for Memorial services for Shelly's Dad who passed on to a better life earlier this week.

That gets us up to date… At anchor just off the intercoastal waterway, with an engine with good alarms, temp gauges that work, and a solar panel mounting but not yet hooked up. And a nice cool 68 degrees with a east breeze off the ocean blowing in the hatch over the bed!

We wish the most happy of holidays to all!

 

15 Miles from Ft Lauderdale Fla…

15 Miles from Ft Lauderdale Fla…

We can see the bottom!

When we left off, we were leaving Titusville heading south again. We were able to motor sail much of the day with the wind from the NE, and blowing just enough to help add a knot to our speed. ( A knot is 1.15 mph for you landlubbers…)

At 4pm we threaded our way almost to the ocean at a place called Sebastian's Inlet and dropped an anchor in the channel where there were boats everywhere fishing for flounder. Dropped the dink and motored out to look at the ocean – just for a sec cause it was rough!- and then turned around to a park area, dragged the dingy up on the sand and walked to the beach.

Ryan went swimming in the rough surf, and Goose got caught in a wave while chasing a sea gull. As soon as we took his leash off, he went crazy on the beach as he has been cooped up on the boat lately.

The beach was awesome as it seemed no one had been there in a long time.

We left early the 12th with the wind howling from the north gusting to 40 mph all day. The run was down a long bay open to the wind and we flew, passing any boat in our way…

After a short fuel stop, we made it to Jupiter Inlet trying to get out of the wind. The bridges really start becoming a nuisance here as they only open every 30 minutes and if you miss it by one minute you wait 29 for the next opening!

 

We slid through three bridges searching for somewhere to anchor, and finally found a spot just big and deep enough for one boat just out of the channel – and out of that wind!

Early on Friday the 13th we were underway and close to Palm Beach. We pulled into Old Port Cove at 1030 and dropped an anchor in the cove Shelly and I lived on Naiad with Ian when we came back from the Virgin Islands in 1992.

There sure are a lot of people in Palm Beach!

After a lot of walking, some grocery shopping, and repair parts we decided to head on down to Ft Lauderdale on Sunday for the week. This is the place to get some stuff fixed, and find some answers to power problems. We need solar or wind generation, and to fix the generator. I also realized the genoa roller furling needs some attention. The plan is to spend a couple of days there and turn around and come back for Ian on Friday.

Sat afternoon we pulled the anchor as the wind was blowing and kicking up some chop so we could move to Peanut Island, be closer and be more comfortable. Not ten minutes into this short trip the salt water circulating pump self destructed which means we have to shut down the engine! Bummer. Although I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know Yume intimately, it would be nice if she wasn't so intimate so often.

Fortunately there was a pump on board that did not work (of course) but parts could be and were scavenged to enable us to get underway withing an hour. The problem with these “issues” is that they make me very nervous thinking about what will go wrong next.

We anchored for the night behind a bridge on a beautiful calm night where we very much enjoyed sitting out in the cockpit with a glass or two. It's great how conversation returns when you turn off the electronics and sit under the moon!

This morning began with an alarm on the engine that set everyone's nerves on edge. Dropped an anchor and the mechanic went to work again to isolate the issue to a bad low oil pressure sender that was replaced just two weeks ago. Crap.

So tonight we are in this itty bitty lagoon with about 6 inches of water under the keel, but out of the wind that is supposed to start blowing again tonight.

We are only 25 miles from Ft Lauderdale.

Ryan is happy because someone in one of these houses all around us did not password their router and he is playing video games with his friends. BTW he and Goose went swimming today in clear ten feet of water that was 78 degrees!

Sorry for lack of pictures. Blame it on the crew. The capt/mechanic/blogger has been busy!

Oh, and we are getting ready for Christmas!

 

Our Christmas wish list from Santa? A wind generator, solar panels, a bottom paint job, repairs to the Westerbeke generator, nonspillable ice trays…