On the way back to the Chesapeake

Well, we are on our way back... slowly toward Annapolis. We spent two days going to Miami from the Keys to pick up crew. Eventually we made our way off shore from Ft. Lauderdale going north in the Gulf Stream.

After 24 hours in pounding waves and very large swells due to a North Wind, Casey and I decided it is best to just head back toward Ft Pierce. Being met by the US Coast Guard, we found slightly smoother water and were on our way, following our sloooooow track "coastal" northward.

The morning of the fourth day, we found our way to the Fernandina Beach inlet (against the early morning current). Heavy winds, big boats, and a leaky water pump didn't dissuade the crew and we had a great arrival. Now everyone has gone their separate ways and Stacie and I are left to get the boat ready for the run to Charleston, SC and onward to North Carolina.

By the way, we did finish up our boat lettering. Here is what the finished product looks like:

Now that's more like it!

New lettering

Getting ready to head north up the coast. Decided to freshen up the transome with new lettering.

 

A step closer to Key West

Leaving with a new rig.
Our trip from Annapolis included the very real potential to replace the Standing Rigging. I had my mind made up to do the right thing and do this trip (Annapolis to Key West and back) with a new rig.
At some point we'd be heading off for a few days in the Gulf Stream; most likely on our return leg. Doing this with a 10 + year old rig was, in my opinion not the safest thing to do. So, here we are.

Sea Trials and Miami in sight!
After a month in Ft Lauderdale, we have a laundry list of new stuff and a much lighter bank account. Our tiller pilot (age unknown) gave up the ghost in Brunswick, GA, so we have a new Raymarine unit bought from eBay.

This is a SPX-5 tiller pilot, it sure is much nicer than the old Simrad that came with the boat. We will be able to use this tiller pilot in "track" or "windvane" mode. Making overnight ocean passages much easier. The SPX-5 came with a Course Computer, but no control head. So a few hundred dollars later, and a few scrapes and bruises we have a new p70 Autopilot Control unit.

 

Now we will have a second hand for those long tiresome days underway. Thankfully I think we will be able to control the tiller pilot from the e7D MFD / Plotter. As you can see here, we didn't have much room (or choice) to locate the Control Head. When the Engine is in gear and throttled up, the handle blocks the view of the Control Head display. Thankfully we'll be using it more sailing than motoring.

The Sea Trial continued with a nice sail!
Finally, with everything calibrated we tested out the Windvane mode on the new Tiller Pilot. Though it seemed a little sluggish, the tiller pilot basically kept the wind on the right side of the boat. Now all we need to do is learn to tack with the Tiller Pilot.

The rigging was initially tuned dockside, and I had some reservations about the quality of the tune. To my pleasant surprise the new rig looked great under sail, the leward shrouds barely sagging at all.
Lasata felt wonderful in 18Kts of wind.



Limbo in Lauderdale

Have a look at photos of the mast work @ http://sailinglasata.blogspot.com It's been two weeks, and we're still here. Not that I'm complaining; but seriously I'd have loved to made it to Miami by now. With the Miami Boat Show starting this coming Friday, it would have been nice to be within walking or scooter distance to the show. As it stands, we'll be there Friday and maybe Saturday. God knows I have a one or two more things to get before my systems are 100% on the boat.

That said, we are becoming very familiar with the area and Stacie may be getting a little too comfortable being here. It is a nice city for the most part, and the weather? What Can I say, it's been great! We've even had the opportunity to benefit culturally too, seeing Wicked and Cirque du Soleil - Totem.

Okay so now to answer the question... "So, what's taking you so long?" Well, a couple things. First, it took us nearly a week to have the mast pulled. Not that the actual work of it took that long, it was basically the logistics of getting the crane and riggers scheduled. It is a strange sight, watching my mast being lifted from the boat... Even stranger the boat being mast-less. I'm not sure if it was just my self-conscious nature, but it felt like everyone was staring at us as we motored back to the slip.

Here are a few pictures of the Mast work I'm doing. Basically the plan was to get down the ICW, going offshore a couple times, only when we had good weather (subjective) and during the day. Once we were in warm weather, we'd go ahead and have the Standing Rigging replaced and do some mast maintenance. After all It has been at least 12 years! And I've noticed the same European wiring in the mast... So, it is about time.

First; remove the boom and clear the running rigging

And there goes the Mast

 

Keeping Track of the wire?

As seen from the top. Note; Main halyard too fat!

Port & Stbd Shrouds

Where the Spinaker Halyards will be... Oh yeah, new Anchor light, VHF Antenna, & wire




Starbord Side of the Mast

Notice the Faded Spreader





New Spreader caps

Spreaders with Fresh Black Anodizing



Wrong size spreader boot!
 

Now all we need is to get the Standing Rigging done and installed, re-install the RADAR, run a new Main halyard (Pulling two new Spinaker chaser lines), replace the old Anchor light and Steaming light. The next update we'll be celebrating a new rig!

Still on the go.

January Update:

It's been a few more miles and a few more weeks since our last update. As we come closer to our winter destination our posts will obviously be a little less frequent. That said, here is a quick up date on our progress:

We began this leg, as our previous posting would indicate, from Vero Beach, FL. Our stay in Vero Beach was a little longer than I'd like, but the bus system and general feel of the place made it pleasurable none the less. Getting underway was quick easy and refreshing. We topped off our tanks, settled up with the marina and got underway for a short trip to Ft Peirce.

Finding ourselves in the company of a Catamaran and one other boat in a small anchorage we went in to the small dockside bar for a bite. Talking with the people from the Catamaran, we found they were new to this too and were going "outside" for their next leg. Unable to turn down an opportunity, I decided to challenge this 42 foot Catamaran to a race down the coast to the next inlet; looser buys the first round.

Up bright and early we were off and I thought the Catamaran "KatCanDo" might be off to a slow start, as they didn't seem to be stirring as we were pulling the anchor. The next thing I know, they're hot on our heals motoring out the Ft. Pierce inlet eventually passing us. We regained some confidence when we noticed they were heading due east for a much longer time than we were. It seemed like they were having difficulty getting thier sails up.

Heading south under full sail, we pulled away but this was not to remain. KatCanDo found their trim (or we lost ours) after lunch and pulled into Lake Worth inlet behind Peanut Island a half hour ahead of us. Upon calling to admit defeat and offer them the opportunity to collect on our debt, they sounded as if they were completely worn out. So, we were off the hook.. this time.

The next morning we woke to an anchor drag alarm and found ourselves 200-300 feet from where we went to bed. Lucky we didn't hit any of the boats nearby, however we did manage to wedge our anchor under something very big and heavy. Ultimately we needed to cut it loose to get under way, thankfully we didn't have a ton of chain.

Looking behind us occasionally, we eventually saw KatCanDo in the distance. Confirming it was them, we continued to press on. It seemed the race was still on?

The leg between Lake Worth and the Lauderdale inlet was full of strange surprises and a few angry fisherman. A first for us was the sight of some kites in the air flying off the back of a small fishing boat. Before we knew it, we were dangerously close to these "Fishing Kites" and had to take evasive maneuvers. These guys certainly were angry... In addition to this we ran across a few dive boats, some of them seeming to take up a large stretch with lots of little floating dive flags in the water arranged in a line or box shape.

All that aside, the winds were twice the strength as forecasted, and the waves were 50% higher than expected. We were getting banged around quite a bit, but it seemed the weather was keeping KatCanDo a good distance behind, and unable to catch up. About the time we knew we were cutting our arrival close, Stacie noticed the bilge pump hadn't been running for a few days. We had water on the floor below, and no way to pump it out (not automatically anyway).

Eventually making into the Lauderdale inlet, as a cruise ship was exiting as we were entering. It sure made our boat seem very very small. In fact thanks to the 17'th street bridge, we found we can fit under a 58 foot bridge comfortably. Finally docking at Las Olas Marina, we were 2 blocks from the beach and ready to begin making repairs once again.

On the list:

Repairs made or to be made on the boat before heading to the Keys are many but not extremely terrible. So, we've decided on a trip up the New River to Lauderdale Marine Center and are going to replace all the Standing-Rigging, install a new Tiller Pilot, repair the companionway hatch board, replace the water pump impeller, and provision the boat.

Hopefully we'll be out of here by the second week of February and moored in Boot Key Harbor. Stay tuned...

Happy New Year!

Minor mechanical issues, weather, & Holiday delays
Well here it is the first of the year and we're still not south of Miami (We are in Vero Beach, FL). After spending New Years Eve 2013 in Coco, FL we found ourselves yet again in the leisure Intracoastal Water Way. When ever I find myself complaining about the pace, I hear people say "It's the journey, not the destination". That may be true, except that after two months, I'm looking forward to settling into warm weather and crystal clear water.

The journey in this case was scenic as usual, with lots of small swampy looking islands and a plethora of small runabout boats and Jet-Ski's. Occasionally we'd get a nice chuckle from an odd looking box built on a flat bottom boat (wish we would have taken a picture). We've seen a few of these strange creations along the way, but the seemed to be more prevalent on the stretch of the ICW between Tittusville and Vero Beach.

I'll admit, it is January 8'th and I am walking around on deck in shorts. I think the forecast for today is Partly Cloudy and temperatures near 80 degrees F. That said, I guess I've made the first part of my goal; warm in January, now on to the second part which is sure to happen within the next couple weeks. I've received my parts, I'll be installing them on my trusty Yanmar Diesel Engine, then we'll be on our way most likely Friday or Saturday. Next stop Ft. Pierce or Lake Worth (depending on forecasts & going outside); hopeful to be in Marathon, FL in a couple weeks.

Christmas in Fernandina Beach, FL

Cooking Christmas dinner on the boat

It's our first really notable dinner on the boat as a married couple. Stacie did a great job of making her traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner, She even made a nice Pumpkin Pie. Too bad I was distracted by all the great smells, otherwise I'd have taken a few pictures to share.

Out on the town Christmas night

Trying to get a start on new traditions, Stacie and I decided to take a walk through the small downtown of Fernandina to see who was open. We didn't find much in the way of restaurants, but we did find a few bars open. O'Kanes Irish Pub had karaoke, Dog Star had an old school DJ, and finally at the Palace Saloon we found some pool tables.

Leaving for the jump down the coast

The next phase of our trip is to take a quick run down the coast, to either Cape Canaveral or Ponce Inlet. Because we are going to be running for a solid 30+ hours, a Friend of ours will be coming down for the offshore sail. We're hopeful for favorable winds and keeping those forecasted thunderstorms away from us.