We departed the Vero Beach mooring field a little after 0800. Wind has shifted around to the NE so we sail with the jib and pickup about 1 mph of speed at times. Near Sebastian Inlet, we really need the jib’s help running against the outgoing current. It’s a slow boring run to the Melbourne and we are consuming a lot more fuel than normal. We decide to push on past our scheduled anchorage at MM918, however the fuel tank is almost empty. I dump in the 5 gallons of backup fuel and we push onward hoping to make it to Titusville or thereabouts.
Near dusk, we decide to stop at Addison Point (MM885) and anchor in the south lee of the bridge there. There are seven other boats in the anchorage area. We do dinner and call it a day.
Location: Addison Point south of Titusville at MM 885. Boat distance traveled, 67 miles.
Day 4, Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The AM forecast still bad so we sit again.
Larry and Walter depart at 0700 hours. Whisper’s new 54 HP engine is going to get a workout today. Our little 18 HP engine will be no match for the wind today!
Oops! Found we have been using the “start” battery as the “house” the past two days. I need to design and install some kind of indicator system on the main panel.
Location: Stuck in Vero Beach.
Larry and Walter depart at 0700 hours. Whisper’s new 54 HP engine is going to get a workout today. Our little 18 HP engine will be no match for the wind today!
Oops! Found we have been using the “start” battery as the “house” the past two days. I need to design and install some kind of indicator system on the main panel.
Location: Stuck in Vero Beach.
Day 3, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 (Tax Day)
I awoke at 0600 to temperatures near 50°F and winds at 15 knots. The morning forecast calls for winds increasing to 30 from the north. We decided to stay put another day.
Around noon, we called Larry to see if he and Walter got underway leaving Stuart. Both were cold, but they were moving north, however, they were only making 4.5 mph against the wind. Their “plan” was to make approximately 70 miles today. I wished them luck, and Larry said he would call back when he was closer to Vero Beach.
About 1530 hours, Larry called and said he was within sight of the first bridge near us and he would be stopping for the night. After securing his boat to a mooring not far away, Larry and Walter dinghied over and invited us to diner aboard Whisper.
We enjoyed dinner with the “boys” and returned to Ninkasi at sundown. Weather check does not look favorable for Wednesday. Decided to check again in AM.
Started a new book and fell asleep reading.
Location: Still stuck in Vero Beach
Around noon, we called Larry to see if he and Walter got underway leaving Stuart. Both were cold, but they were moving north, however, they were only making 4.5 mph against the wind. Their “plan” was to make approximately 70 miles today. I wished them luck, and Larry said he would call back when he was closer to Vero Beach.
About 1530 hours, Larry called and said he was within sight of the first bridge near us and he would be stopping for the night. After securing his boat to a mooring not far away, Larry and Walter dinghied over and invited us to diner aboard Whisper.
We enjoyed dinner with the “boys” and returned to Ninkasi at sundown. Weather check does not look favorable for Wednesday. Decided to check again in AM.
Started a new book and fell asleep reading.
Location: Still stuck in Vero Beach
Day 2, Monday, April 14, 2008
Despite being up several times during the night, Dick was up at 0600 hours and started preparations to get underway. We are not ready to depart until almost 0800. After releasing all lines to the mooring and my neighbor’s boat, we discover we again have no propulsion. We quickly threw lines back to our neighbor and re-secured the boat. As usual, it takes a lot of relocating or rearranging of the stuff in the aft berth (a.k.a. “the garage”) to get to the transmission. Once that was accomplished I found the aluminum pin had “fallen out“. With winds expected to increase, I decided a proper key was in order before we started out again.
Local knowledge on where to get square stock to manufacture a key was sorely lacking. After many fruitless calls to, WM, hardware stores and a machine shop, I decided to head out to Lowes and search for something to make the key. We caught the local shuttle bus, transferred routes and made it to Lowes near the big mall. There was no square stock in Lowes inventory and the search for substitute material was fruitless too. We started walking towards the mall and passed a Michael’s Arts & Crafts store. We went in to look for substitute material and found a picture easel made of quarter inch mild steel. Search over, bought it and headed to the mall food court to have lunch and catch the return shuttle.
When we returned to the boat, I fashioned a key from the easel material and installed it in the coupling/shaft. We started the engine and tested forward and reverse operation and all looked good. Repacked the “garage” and settled back to enjoy a brew and check the weather forecast as the wind was increasing all afternoon. Forecast called for 15-20 in AM increasing to 20-25 PM and gusts to 30 from where else…the north. Decided to check forecast on Tuesday AM and decide what to do.
Dinner, TV, zonk as usual.
Location: Still stuck in Vero Beach, FL
Local knowledge on where to get square stock to manufacture a key was sorely lacking. After many fruitless calls to, WM, hardware stores and a machine shop, I decided to head out to Lowes and search for something to make the key. We caught the local shuttle bus, transferred routes and made it to Lowes near the big mall. There was no square stock in Lowes inventory and the search for substitute material was fruitless too. We started walking towards the mall and passed a Michael’s Arts & Crafts store. We went in to look for substitute material and found a picture easel made of quarter inch mild steel. Search over, bought it and headed to the mall food court to have lunch and catch the return shuttle.
When we returned to the boat, I fashioned a key from the easel material and installed it in the coupling/shaft. We started the engine and tested forward and reverse operation and all looked good. Repacked the “garage” and settled back to enjoy a brew and check the weather forecast as the wind was increasing all afternoon. Forecast called for 15-20 in AM increasing to 20-25 PM and gusts to 30 from where else…the north. Decided to check forecast on Tuesday AM and decide what to do.
Dinner, TV, zonk as usual.
Location: Still stuck in Vero Beach, FL
Day 1, Sunday, April 13, 2008
And so begins Dick & Donna’s ICW Adventure, Part II, The Return
We dropped the lines off the mooring ball at 0704 hours only to find we have no power to the prop. We did a quick anchor drop and began the process of diagnosing the problem. I found the shaft spinning inside the coupling and no sign of a key in the shaft/coupling or anywhere in the engine pan area. We searched the tool boxes and spare parts for a key or key material but found none. I did locate a round pin made of aluminum. I placed it in the keyway and drove it in. It looked like it was holding under load so we weighed anchor and got underway around 0800 hours. We motored 8 miles down the St. Lucie River and entered the ICW northbound. There was a light west wind so I rolled out the jib to give the motor a little assistance. We were making between 6.2 to 7.3 mph depending on the wind strength. When we reached Ft. Pierce, the wind piped up hard and came around on the nose. Wind and current kept us below 5 mph the remainder of the trip to Vero Beach. We pull into the municipal marina and share mooring #16 with two Canadian boats. Checked the weather forecast and it doesn’t look good for a few days. High, 20 -30 knot, northerly winds are expected to dominate. After dinner Buddy and I conched out leaving Donna to watch TV.
Location: Vero Beach moorings at MM 952. Boat distance traveled, 45 miles. Time in actual transit, 9 hours. Top speed 7.3 mph, average speed 7.0 mph
We dropped the lines off the mooring ball at 0704 hours only to find we have no power to the prop. We did a quick anchor drop and began the process of diagnosing the problem. I found the shaft spinning inside the coupling and no sign of a key in the shaft/coupling or anywhere in the engine pan area. We searched the tool boxes and spare parts for a key or key material but found none. I did locate a round pin made of aluminum. I placed it in the keyway and drove it in. It looked like it was holding under load so we weighed anchor and got underway around 0800 hours. We motored 8 miles down the St. Lucie River and entered the ICW northbound. There was a light west wind so I rolled out the jib to give the motor a little assistance. We were making between 6.2 to 7.3 mph depending on the wind strength. When we reached Ft. Pierce, the wind piped up hard and came around on the nose. Wind and current kept us below 5 mph the remainder of the trip to Vero Beach. We pull into the municipal marina and share mooring #16 with two Canadian boats. Checked the weather forecast and it doesn’t look good for a few days. High, 20 -30 knot, northerly winds are expected to dominate. After dinner Buddy and I conched out leaving Donna to watch TV.
Location: Vero Beach moorings at MM 952. Boat distance traveled, 45 miles. Time in actual transit, 9 hours. Top speed 7.3 mph, average speed 7.0 mph
Suddenly it's time to head home.
Time sort of gets away from you when you are having such a great time. Before we knew it April was upon us. Our winter home was scheduled to close for for a big renovation project at the end of April. All boats had to be gone from the anchorage. Our original plan had been to sail north to Daytona and stay awhile. Donna would fly home for the retreat, fly back and then we would continue the trip home to VA. Getting the car home with this plan complicated things.
A new 2 part plan developeds; part 1, sail to Daytona, rent a car, drive back to Stuart, retrieve our car and drive back to Daytona. Part 2 involved flying our friend Jan from VA to Daytona. Jan and Donna would play "touristas" for a few days in FL, drive to Savannah for more fun and then home for the retreat. After the retreat, Donna would then fly back to Daytona and we would continue our trip home aboard Ninkasi.
What about Me? Seems I am left abandoned all alone in sunny Daytona Beach for almost a month. Pulleeze, don't throw me in dat briar patch!!
A new 2 part plan developeds; part 1, sail to Daytona, rent a car, drive back to Stuart, retrieve our car and drive back to Daytona. Part 2 involved flying our friend Jan from VA to Daytona. Jan and Donna would play "touristas" for a few days in FL, drive to Savannah for more fun and then home for the retreat. After the retreat, Donna would then fly back to Daytona and we would continue our trip home aboard Ninkasi.
What about Me? Seems I am left abandoned all alone in sunny Daytona Beach for almost a month. Pulleeze, don't throw me in dat briar patch!!
The Life Style Changes
Back in FL, we begin to see our new lifestyle change. The almost daily routine of taking the dinghy to shore and socializing in the lounge remains, but activities with the car take us to new and more distant places. In some cases to places we had planned to visit by boat. We make trips to visit the parents of friends across the state in Fort Myers and Donna's old workmate friend in St Petersburg. Donna explored the shopping opportunities in Ft Lauderdale and Palm Beach. In February, we traveled to Miami and attended the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail.
We drove down to Marathon in the Keys to visit friends Kathy and Dutch and stayed aboard their catamaran Drifter III. We enjoyed the trip and our time with them so much we decided to make a second trip so we could visit Key West. On the second trip we rented a room at a small family resort and stayed for three days while we explored the area.
Life was good but our plans to sail beyond Stuart seemed to be usurped by the car. Our friends Larry, Walter and Maggie, and Terry and Kitty still wanted to sail to the Bahamas and finally settled on a departure in mid March. This late departure did not sit well with us because of Donna's commitment to be back in VA by mid April for an artists retreat. We decided to stay put and bid our friends adieu as they headed further south to wait for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas. About a week later, that decision led to another car trip south to visit those same friends stuck in Ft Lauderdale still waiting on a weather window. Two weeks later that same decision proved a good one as our friends abandoned their trip and returned to Stuart.
We drove down to Marathon in the Keys to visit friends Kathy and Dutch and stayed aboard their catamaran Drifter III. We enjoyed the trip and our time with them so much we decided to make a second trip so we could visit Key West. On the second trip we rented a room at a small family resort and stayed for three days while we explored the area.
Life was good but our plans to sail beyond Stuart seemed to be usurped by the car. Our friends Larry, Walter and Maggie, and Terry and Kitty still wanted to sail to the Bahamas and finally settled on a departure in mid March. This late departure did not sit well with us because of Donna's commitment to be back in VA by mid April for an artists retreat. We decided to stay put and bid our friends adieu as they headed further south to wait for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas. About a week later, that decision led to another car trip south to visit those same friends stuck in Ft Lauderdale still waiting on a weather window. Two weeks later that same decision proved a good one as our friends abandoned their trip and returned to Stuart.
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