by miami | Apr 9, 2015
We are moving again. After a hectic last week of preparation, and visits, and goodbyes, we rented a car for a day to join the chaos in the big cities.
Early Friday we headed to Miami International airport to pick up Ian for a 6 day visit, then continued north to Ft Lauderdale airport to drop Ryan off to visit his buddy Sam and family in Atlanta for two weeks.
Then we turned around for the 3 hour drive back to Marathon, stopping at several places and spending all of our monthly allowance for provisions for the boat while we had a car to carry them.
Everyone only wanted a little more time together with both boys…
After a cool full blood red moon, and watching the space shuttle cross the night sky, Saturday was music and potluck at the Tiki Hut.It was a great night and very enjoyable to both listen to and play with Ian again.
Most everyone was appreciative and sorry to see us go. Sunday we hung around for the last softball game as most people have left to go north, and the Phillips are taking a third of a team!
We also made it out to Sombrero Key for some snorkeling (and a trial run for Yume). Although we rolled badly in the swell, we still had a swell time. Hehe
Monday morning we pulled out at daybreak into a choppy ocean with good strong winds. We stopped and tried spearfishing for supper but there were nothing but reef fish so we moved on to anchor at Smugglers Cove for the night on the inside of the bay to get out of the sloppy ocean.
Goose was not very happy to be back at sea. He has about 1250 miles to go.
Tuesday we made our way up the bay side to Key Biscayne Bay, and dropped an anchor at Adams Key. Shelly did some laundry for Ian, and we just hung out, played cards and took it easy. That is what you supposed to do when cruising!
Early Wednesday we pointed Yume out the really long Caeser’s Cut Channel to the ocean to see if we could dive on Pennekamp Reef but it was a bit too rough.
So we just headed towards Key Biscayne, flying along with the jib and mizzen. I cut in behind Key Biscayne channel to get into calmer water, and the bridge that leads right past downtown Miami and over to Venetian Isle.
We were there with the hook down by 130, and the crew was ready for shore leave!
Along the way, a dolphin with a missing piece of his fin joined us for about 30 minutes, just swimming at 6 knots beside the boat, and coming up for air every now and then. It drove Goose absolutely nuts! It’s times like these you really wish you could talk dolphin…
Ian had no trouble adapting to the slower cruising schedule, except when we ran out of cell tower. How is the world going to survive without Internet? Sheesh.
Yesterday was tourist day for us in South Miami Beach Beach. We walked for miles, drank in an Irish pub off the very costly main avenues, then found a cool place for dinner. Seafood of course.
I found an old friend Miss Piggy on the way home who asked for my support. Glad to help Ma’am!
Ian flies out today at lunch, and Shelly and I will make out way to West Palm Beach to pick Ryan up on the 12th. Then we will meander our way to DC to be there by September.
Plenty of time.
Come see us!
by miami | Mar 29, 2015
We start the countdown to Yume’s Marathon departure, and the beginning of our second trip back to DC up the east coast of America the Beautiful! We are ready!
In the flurry of last minute things, Shelly’s Mom and Aunt Joan came for a couple of days. The girls all went to Key West on the bus for a day and we heard a great time was had by all. No drinking anyone under the tables though…
We took them over to the bay side to The Fisheries for some fresh shrimp the first night. Yesterday we actually moved the boat off the mooring over to Burdines on the water so they could more easily get on and see the boat. The dock master was kind enough to let us sit on the dock while we ate fresh fish, fresh made tuna fish, and other delicacies, then they came down for a short visit. Nice.
On Friday we pick up a rental car, drive to Miami airport and pick up Ian who comes in at 1030am then we will grab a bite and let the brothers chat while we drive Ryan to the Ft Lauderdale airport for his 330pm flight to his buddy Sam’s house in Atlanta for 10 days.
Then we drive back the long (minimum 3 hours) trip with all the weekend ‘lets go to the Keys’ traffic back to Marathon.
We will probably hang around for the Saturday music playing at the Tikki hut so Ian can play some songs with me, then leave Sunday morning.
Two weeks ago, with the help of some friends we arranged an “Evening with Capt Jack” which was a lot of fun. A bunch of cruisers brought in pot luck for supper, then we gave Jack a microphone and I walked him through 94 years of life. It was fascinating!
We don’t see much of Ryan unless it is time for softball (we all play softball three times a week) or it is time to eat… It is easy to understand why with a pretty girl, and unlimited internet all day.
This all changes Friday as he flies out, then even more when we pick him up on the 12th and head north again. Back to school and animating on his new computer!
Goose found some baby chicks (doves we were told) that we mothered for a few days before they gave up the ghost. We either over fed or underfed them but they surely got lots of loving!
Yume has been testing me as usual. The generator turned out to be quite the project to stop the oil leaks and get the salt water pump working. I am tickled to report no oil leaks and I simply routed the air conditioning salt water pump to cool the motor until I can get a replacement pump. It is working even though this timing cover and I got very well acquainted.
This is what that hole looked like last year when I started – before the hot water heater was moved under the sink. No wonder no one ever fixed the generator!
The engine is still not exactly right, but close. I still have two small leaks from the oil pan, and now the transmission wants to leak at the rear seal. Drives me nuts, but all I have to do is remember what I would be fixing at the farm right about now and I just smile.
Last week, I was desperate for some generator parts that I could not find, when “coincidentally” an ad pooped up on Facebook for someone to come pull agenerator out of a boat about 40 miles away that looked very close to mine. Which meant I might get parts from it!
End result – a friend (David) drove us up last Friday and we removed a 500 pound generator from a trawler in about 5 hours and somehow got it in the back of his truck and back to Marathon. But the parts weren’t right so I put it up for sale.
Another cruiser moored two boats away from us traded me a great sewing machine we have wanted for a long time and 500 for it, then the boat right next to us bought our old Reads sewing machine the following day! Pretty cool.
We are really looking forward to Ian getting here this coming week, and getting underway again. Time has flown by so fast, and we have not been able to do all we wanted and visit as much as we would have liked.
Goose is ready too!
by miami | Mar 5, 2015
Although it seems like we have just been vegetating now that the temps are up in the 80’s every day, that is probably not the case.
After a month, we have actually made some progress on projects.
The Genoa sail was removed and taken in to Keith (who lives Moonlight Sue) for repairs and refit. He did a great job repairing the torn panel, shortening the sail by removing 18″ from just under the head, then replacing the sacrificial sunbrella on the leach with our last canvas upgrade! Hopefully next time I will see the stupid marker before I hit it. (See last post for more on that sorry subject)
We chose a sunflower yellow color for the sail to make it stand out from the blue and we think it looks great! Especially when seen from the stern with the yellow wind scoop, and the yellow spot on the stern with the Japanese characters painted by Shelly…
The generator salt water pump had been needing attention as it had been leaking progressively more water. I finally bit the bullet and paid an exorbinant amount of cash for a complete rebuild kit, and started in to get er done early one morning.
That job turned into a major production when it was discovered the aluminum timing gear cover had really bad corrosion that could not be seen until the whole thing was pulled off to see where the oil was leaking.
Westerbeke is super proud of their 30 year old engine parts as they have not made that engine for years – a new cover costed out at over $550. We were very (very) happy to find a used one on eBay for $60!
That should be here this week and we can put our main source of power back together…
In the last 30 days or so Shelly has been able to add 7-8 coats of varnish to the starboard and aft rails and is gleefully looking to start on the port side… She also sanded and varnished the inside of the main hatch and hatch doors and all looks nice!
The most fun things are the ones with instant gratification for not a lot of effort. We replaced all the foam floors and they look great! We really love these floors, but Goose does a number on them, so we will just replace them every year. Easy! We went with a little darker color this year to hide more dirt. Hehe
Of course there is softball three times a week, playing some music at the Tikki Hut Sat evenings, and walking Goose twice a day (at least).
Ryan has been spending most days in the marina with friends, (and his special new friend Shannon), and generally acting like it is summer vacation. This will change when we start north again in April.
He actually flies up to Atlanta and his second home with the Williams Family April 3rd. Ryan got his new computer two weeks ago and his ability to create his animations has soared. A very special thank you to all who helped!
BTW if anyone needs a mid to high level Thinkpad Lenovo laptop (two years new) please let us know!
Shelly and I are so worried about how we will ever manage without him! We are dreaming about actually going on a trip to the Dry Tortugas while he is gone. By ourselves – unless the Everetts hop on board. Check out a map of Key West to the Tortugas. It looks like a great trip!
This month is already filling up. The popular Marathon Seafood Festival is 3/14 and 3/15. This weekend is the Boot Key Harbor cleanup and party. Sunday is the softball party at one of the players homes. There is also a sailing regatta coming up.
This life is much more difficult to manage than you would think. I hope you are starting to feel sorry for us? Imagine having to sit outside with a cold beverage and watch this full moon come up over the harbor. We did have to put on a tshirt against the evening chill though.
And, although you probably don’t want details, we do actually work in between all this for paws4people foundation and a few other clients we have. (Thank you all!)
It’s hard to believe but we are already thinking about heading north again. Although we will not know for sure whether we return to DC until late April, we still are going to do some traveling towards the Chesapeake. We know we will be staying around Parris Island in Beaufort SC for a week or two setting up a charity golf tournament for spring of 2016. We need help if you have an interest or know someone who lives near there..
That should about do it until next time… Stay cool!
by miami | Feb 7, 2015
Yume is back in Marathon Key, 40 miles east of Key West, on a mooring ball for a couple of months.
It’s great to be back here, where we are sort of known, and slow down a bit after 1250 miles from DC to here in about 45 days – including a 14 day yard break, and a ten day layover in HHI for Christmas. That is averaging 60 miles a day for 21 days! No wonder I crashed when we got here!
The trip from St Augustine to here seemed to fly. We had lots and lots of wind as cold fronts kept barrelling down from the north every other day. At one point somewhere around Melbourne we were seeing almost 40mph winds. That is a lot of wind on the water!
We stopped overnight in a marina in Palm Beach so Shelly could have a night out with her long time friends Sue and Kathy – and we fueled and did laundry while the wind blew some more.
The next day we jumped out of Lake Worth Inlet on an absolutely beautiful day and sailed south. 75% of all the bridges across the waterway are between Palm Beach and Miami so we wanted to get outside into the ocean and sail around them.
We passed the inlet to Miami Beach around 3 in the afternoon with a goal of Hurricane Harbor in Key Biscayne by sunset.
The wind had increased during the day and the seas were getting a bit uncomfortable as we passed our Key to the south to come back up into the channel. It was good to pull into the harbor just as the pink glow of the sunset winked out into darkness. We were out first light and back at sea with two days to go.
We grabbed a couple of little mackerel on the way which were delicious! Goose loves fresh fish…
Once south of Biscayne we were officially in the keys. The wind was still blowing pretty hard from the NE so as we turned more to the west as we started passing keys we came under the lee of the islands which made for a much more peaceful sail. Too peaceful in fact.
We were out in Hawk Channel after lunch. The sun was out, the wind behind us, and we were sailing along at hull speed with few boats in sight about three miles from land. I was in the cockpit alternately reading a book and looking around to watch for boats and our course.
Then…
I saw four or five Cormorants fly left to right directly in front of the boat. That in itself was very strange as those birds usually do not fly that high, and are usually long gone by the time we get to them.
Our foresail is cut way too low and I cannot see under it very well, so out in the ocean I get lazy and do not bend down to check.
There was a piling with a marker that I did not notice on the chart, and had not seen.
The birds were sitting on it and flew off just before the sail caught the marker.
3 miles out in the ocean and I hit a marker. Bummer.
The noise was enough to wake the dead and scared me so badly I was still shaking 15 minutes after it happened.
And it happened so fast it was all over in less than 10 seconds as we were moving through the water at about 9 mph with a 28,000 pound boat!
Apparently, the foresail caught the wooden marker on the piling, which pulled the sheets very tight that control the sail. The sheets are lines that are 3/4 inch in diameter and very strong. One of those snapped in half, then a section of the sail about 3 ft along the leech and foot simply ripped away. Later I found that the block the sheet runs through was also mangled pretty badly and must be replaced.
Right about then, the boat hit the piling on the port stainless rubrail, ripped a 3 foot section right off, and left another 3 feet sticking straight out.
All this happened in just a few seconds. And we were still under full sail downwind with the main and mizzen, and the Genoa flapping like crazy free as a bird. I am holding the torn end of the sail with one sheet left on it, looking back at the piling rushing away from us and noticed that the marker was in the water.
I was sick to my stomach, and Shelly and Ryan are now on deck thinking we are sinking…
End result is I am very fortunate that we didn’t hit the damn thing head on, or that we didn’t catch the rigging and bring the mast down, or something like that.
I have known for a year that sail had to be fixed and couldn’t figure out how to afford the changes. Well, that has been decided for me. And now we get to finally get rid of the last of the old canvas color. The new Genoa sun protection canvas is going to be a beautiful bright yellow! It still made me physically sick, as well as very upset with myself.
After all that fun, we pulled in behind Indian Key about 430 and picked up a mooring at the state park. While Ryan and Shelly took Goose in, I dropped and folded the foresail, and cleaned up the lines and mess from the piling, again realizing how lucky I was to just tear the sail and a little rub rail. It could have been so much worse!
We pulled into Marathon around 1 pm last Thursday to find a backlog of boats in the harbor. Many boats come here before jumping over to the Bahamas or further south in the Carribean. The weather had not cooperated and many were waiting for a weather window to leave.
It took three days for one of the 300 moorings to free up. It took us a little longer to shift attitudes from traveling mode to stationary.
So now we are playing softball three times a week, stopping into the Hurricane Restaurant across the street for the $2 Gunniess happy hour, and playing some music on Saturday nights at the Tiki Hut.
Shelly got into maintenance mode and the varnish is getting an uplift. We ordered new floors as Goose has used these up. And I am trying to figure out how to stop these last couple of very annoying oil leaks on the engine.
And of course we are working on the sail.
Friends have made noises about coming to visit – so we plan on staying until about the first of March, then turning the bow north again.
Maybe we can see you along the way?
