We departed Marathon early on St. Patrick's Day. The forecast had wandered around from moderate to light and back again. It ended up closer to moderate than light but it wasn't too terrible a passage. Just 2ft seas forward of the beam. It was hot but with high overcast so we didn't cook our brains. Breeze kept it okay, too. We anchored at Tarpon Basin, Key Largo. I went in for a swim in the 80° water to check the depth sounders and the knotmeter. No issues but it was a good thing I checked. We had a light warp from a crab or lobster trap wrapped around our starboard propeller. Not tightly wrapped so the engine didn't jam but it would have eventually. Nice.
Of course the next day while getting underway I discovered the starboard exhaust mixing elbow separated from the exhaust manifold. Perhaps from vibration caused by the line on the prop. Just a guess. Maybe unrelated. The repair took 2 hours of sweat and pain. It lasted 30 minutes and failed again. After letting the engine cool for an hour it only took another 30 minutes to retighten again. It's temporary as the gasket is burnt and leaking some exhaust. A little. Probably won't die of CO poisoning. Maybe. The 2 hour repair involved looking, guessing and trying. The 30 minute repair was the result of the earlier experience. Just as soon pass on the experience of fixing things.
We ended up at Marine Stadium at Virginia Key, Miami. They were setting up a huge stage on land for a concert of groups we never heard of. Lucky to be missing it. Because of the weather we stayed 2 nights. At 0200 the first night a boat came in and blasted 'music' for about an hour before departing. While here we shopped for cheaper insurance and reviewed summer haul-out options. Changed our minds about summer storage (again) to go to Thunderbolt, GA instead of the Charleston, SC area. It's slightly cheaper, closer to where we are, but we will have a longer drive home. Still very expensive but we are limited in our choices due to our beam. South Carolina presented property tax issues for us. No thanks. The 2nd night in Miami was slightly quieter (not bad) but the concert venue was testing part of the light show. Flashing lights. Lasers. All night. Weird. Quiet anyway.
Winds were fairly light when we went out of Government Cut Inlet into the ocean the next day. Nearly on the nose, however, so we had about 1ft seas on top of 2-3ft swells. Not great but not all that uncomfortable. We went into Port Everglades Inlet (Fort Lauderdale) back onto the ICW then had to deal with all the bascule bridges. Not fun but more comfortable than north winds on the ocean. The VHF radio noise can drive you nuts, also. Too many bridges too close together and poor radio procedures. Floridiots.
We anchored in Lake Boca, Boca Raton. It was more crowded than any week day that we'd been here previously. Spring break crowds? Someone blasted part of a song at 1130 at night but otherwise it was quiet. Wasn't even a complete song before it went off. Weird.
The passage towards and beyond Palm Beach went well. Not too hot. Breeze on the stern and we made all the bridge schedules. We anchored at Peck's Lake near the north end of Jupiter Island for the first time. This made the next day's passage in the forecast rain a little shorter. It was still breezy when we got underway from Peck's Lake but as soon as we turned north it was fine as the wind was at our stern. This meant the rain was at our backs, too. It never rained too hard as the serious storms went south of us. Marathon and the Keys got seriously affected. The rain paused just as we got to the Vero Beach City Marina for fuel and to register for a mooring for the weekend. The wind picked up as the rain ended which made our raft-up to another catamaran a bit of a challenge. The wind was forecast to be more than it actually was but also forecast to crank way up later at night. It did. Overnight gusted to 50. Steady 30-35. Dock line stretching noises but otherwise all was fine. Slept through most of it. Our neighbors are new to boating and worried about the line stretching and other noises. Also our wind generator has taken to making noises above 35kts of wind. When we talked they were surprised to learn we slept through it all. Used to it. Worry about other things. Not sure if they were reassured by my lack of concern. There really wasn't an issue but you don't know until you have experienced it a time or two. Or a dozen. Or two dozen. Our time at Velcro Beach had wind and rain and cool weather but wasn't the washout that was predicted. Wasn't terrible but not quite the nicest.
Our passage from Vero was very fast due to a strong breeze being behind us. We put the genoa out and reduced engine RPMs and flew up the Indian River. Reduced fuel use, too. It was a little choppy, briefly up to 1 1/2ft seas, before easing to under 1 ft. We anchored just north of the Sally Ride Memorial bridge south of Titusville, FL. A little lumpy to start but it quieted overnight. There were 6 transient boats anchored in the spot. I had never seen more than one. The next day was slightly less windy but it picked up as we anchored at Daytona Beach after a brief fuel stop. Started gray but ended up a nice day and an easy passage. Once again the wind eased after sunset. Leaving Daytona was almost, but not quite, foggy. Wind was light but it was an all day gray day. Slightly cool because it just seemed damp. Not a bad day but it just seemed dull.
Passed by friends at Palm Coast. Former boat owners from Marathon.
No issues along the way and we stopped at St. Augustine Municipal Marina and got a mooring. The forecast was not good and had the potential to be horrible but we got ashore for showers before the rain started.
Nao Trinidad, a replica of Magellan's flagship, at St. Augustine.
The severe weather missed and we just got rain. The winds picked up after the rain on our second day as we were getting back to the boat after lunch and errands ashore. Jane Fulton took us around as Bob wasn't feeling well and couldn't join us. We were able to pick up a gasket we ordered for the exhaust manifold. We easily installed it after we were hauled out in Georgia. As we got back to the boat the wind pushed us into the folded up boarding ladder just right (just wrong) and we popped one of the inflated tubes. A very big rip. Wonderful. We've hit that point dozens of times without any issues. It wasn't all that hard an impact. @@%&$ happens. 🤬💩 We don't think we'll need the dinghy again before we are hauled out. It's repairable just a major pain in the 🍑. More repairs before layup. Grrrr.
It was cold when we left St. Auggie (54°) and a bit breezy. The wind was not an issue on the ICW but made tying up at the free dock at Sisters Creek, Jacksonville a little tricky but not awful. All big powerboats tied up with us this time. Unusual. While here we notified our insurance company of our location and our intention to haul the boat for hurricane season near Savannah, GA. As we will no longer be considered full time liveaboards our rates went down. Still outrageous but lower. We'll actually get a refund. It's something but it just means we overpaid. Still shopping for cheaper.
It was colder still when we left Jacksonville the next day. Turtleneck, sweatshirts, long pants. Socks!!! Got off the dock easily and had an easy day. The shallows near Amelia Island were negotiated with relative ease as it was almost to mid-tide. The shallows at the Cumberland Dividings had been dredged but the dredge working just past them made the passage a challenge briefly. The operator was very helpful in getting us by him. Had to hug the vessels very closely, however. We ended up in Umbrella Creek off of Jekyll Sound for the second time. An out of the way spot with no wind protection but deep and wide.
It was slightly warmer the next day but still cold. We got underway about an hour later than normal due to the tide and a shallow area in Jeckyll Creek, about 45 minutes away. We crawled slowly through the area and made it fine. Saw about 8ft at lowest. The rest of the day was reasonably easy. Fairly deep through the other shallow areas. There is a 6 to 8ft tide in Georgia so with planning (and luck) you can get through. Usually. We stopped early at Crescent, GA on the Crescent River because the next potential anchorage spot was 20 miles farther on. 2 to 3 hours farther on. No thanks.
Our last full cruising travel day was slightly warmer. Still long pants but fewer layers. Again it got to near 80° in the afternoon after a cool start. Our passage timing got us to Hell Gate after mid-tide so it went by with ease. We anchored in Herb River within sight of the marina where we will be hauled out. The Hell Gate in Georgia is completely different than Hells Gate in New York. Georgia's is very narrow and shallow connecting two rivers. It has little current. The New York version is much deeper and very swift due to the hydrologic difference between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean south and east of the City. It also has an S-curve to make it even more challenging. One you have to time the tide to have the current with you, the other (Georgia) you have to time the tide to have enough water under your keel(s).
Our last day underway didn't start until after 1230 and ended at 1315. We picked up the anchor, went out of the Herb River into the Wilmington River. From there it was only about 15 minutes to the marina. We drove right into the travellift without tying up and were hauled out. Four days of cleaning, repairing, oil changes, packing and moaning and groaning followed. I can't believe there is so much stuff! And we're not taking everything! We learned the marina does not allow people on boats on land to sleep on them overnight. We had to get a hotel room about 15 minutes away. By car. Oh, we don't have a car. This meant getting a Lyft each way every day ($$$) until we picked up the truck we rented to ship our stuff home. Or at least to Massapequa. The rental from the Savannah area was less than half the price as it would have been from Marathon. Same company. When we went to pick up the truck at a Home Depot they didn't have the one we reserved (cue the Seinfeld episode) so they gave us a larger truck. Made packing easier but it's a bit harder to maneuver and gets poorer gas milage. Parking is an adventure, too. We finished packing in mid-afternoon and got on the road for a couple of hours.
So, we drove home. The end of an era. Almost 15 years of the full time liveaboard life has come to an end. We may return in October to cruise back down to Marathon. May not. Boat may sell. May not. It's strange transitioning to a new lifestyle at this stage of our lives. Strange facing all this uncertainty at this stage of our lives. I know, it's all an adventure. If you been reading this blog for all these years you know what I think of adventures.
So. Hmmm. I guess this is the end. Maybe. No more need for a blog about the cruising liveaboard life. If the boat doesn't sell and we return in October maybe the blog will return. Maybe not.
Bye for now.
