Sunday, June 24, 2012
We are currently sitting in a cafe in Port Lacaya, Grand Bahama Island. We have been sailing for the past 22 days! The boat is really feeling lived in, from the smells to the towels that never seem to get dry.
The trip down the coast of Florida was more eventful than any of us imagined. We managed to be sailing down to the Ponce inlet (near Daytona) when several storms passed over. We were right outside the inlet's channel when a huge storm bombarded us, whipping us with over 30mph winds. We felt like everything was going to just blow overboard in an instant. The rain pelted down as Jack put up the gale sail and we had to reef the main. We decided to turn on the motor to help get us into the channel, come to find out that of course the motor no longer started. Also the GPS/depthsounder shut off and would not restart. We lost all power and were sailing blind through a storm that let us see barely 100ft in front of us. Our main landmark was the lighthouse on the coast, that we could sometimes make out. Eventually the rain lifted and we saw our channel markers on the horizon. We tacked up the narrow inlet against the wind with a rock jetty on one side and a shallow beach on the other. Which took a long time and was very challenging. We finally made it into the channel and anchored by several other boats. Turns out all three of our batteries were dead - we think we had been charging them with the solar panel as if they were sealed batteries instead of flooded batteries which most likely dehydrated them. One of the batteries we were able to bring back to life, but we had to buy two new batteries. The next morning a SeaTow guy had to tow us to the closest marina, and he said we must be v
We spent the past week sailing and exploring Bimini. There is not much to do in that town with one street, so we quickly explored to our hearts content. Contrary winds trapped us there for longer than planned. These tropical depressions have provided us with sprinkling showers most days, other days large thunder and lightning storms. It's all been very exciting. Things we did in Bimini: Snorkeled around a sunken oil tanker. Saw a lemon shark swimming right in front of us. Killed, skinned, and ate conch. Swam in one of the clearest beaches imaginable, with no one else around. Toured the Shark Research Lab. Met up with a group of boy scouts who were on a diving expedition (Savannah loved that..... :D) Also met up with a fellow Savannahite - who Jack knows, because he knows everyone - the world is smaller than we think.
When the winds finally turned favorable we sailed North to Freeport and docked in Sunrise Marina, a beautiful marina with swimming pool, TV's, ping pong and free bikes. We have spent the past four days here exploring the island via bicycle and watching the Euro Championship semifinals. We should be setting sail for the Berry Islands tomorrow if Debbie doesn't kick up too much wind in the wrong direction.
The Bahamas is suffering from a lack of American tourists. Everywhere we go people tell us to bring back friends. So think about it.
Much love from the Wind Mistress' crew,
Katherine, Jack, Savannah and Mary
Monday, June 4, 2012
Update 6/4/2012
Hey guys, just keeping the site updated with info as it comes in... hopefully Wind Mistress will upload some photos at the next sign of civilization, but who knows?
Text this afternoon: "East of Amelia. Heading south. 6.5 knots. Reefed main, full jib.
SPOT tracker still at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=01NsIilO033qWgmSXnOS0VePs30vKJIKX
Weather offshore looks pretty rough tonight so hopefully they find some nice waters to anchor up: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?map.x=246&map.y=157&site=jax&zmx=1&zmy=1.
Video of the launch below...
Matt
Text this afternoon: "East of Amelia. Heading south. 6.5 knots. Reefed main, full jib.
SPOT tracker still at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=01NsIilO033qWgmSXnOS0VePs30vKJIKX
Weather offshore looks pretty rough tonight so hopefully they find some nice waters to anchor up: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?map.x=246&map.y=157&site=jax&zmx=1&zmy=1.
Video of the launch below...
Matt
Friday, June 1, 2012
Matt has recently given us a new SPOT tracker. Now everyone can keep track of us as we sail through the Bahamas. Here's the link:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=01NsIilO033qWgmSXnOS0VePs30vKJIKX
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=01NsIilO033qWgmSXnOS0VePs30vKJIKX
Sunday, May 27, 2012
She's Ready to GO
With the help of Rusty and Karen, we fixed the fresh water system today. The problem: sediment at the base of the tank. It was no easy task. Lots of sweat, good-wholesome-cursing, and a few threats against Satan and humanity, and it was fixed. Actually, we disconnected the line to the bottom of the tank, which was very hard due to access, stuck a saw blade into the tank an banged it around until the water poured out. Then blew out the main line (also harder than it sounds) and then the water flowed.
Tomorrow we will pour a little bleach into the tank, run the tank nearly dry, and refill it.
Also, Erik Nordenhaug built us a sweet table that slides right into the wheel pedestal. It is a simple peice of plexiglass that holds itself in place.
Tomorrow we will pour a little bleach into the tank, run the tank nearly dry, and refill it.
Also, Erik Nordenhaug built us a sweet table that slides right into the wheel pedestal. It is a simple peice of plexiglass that holds itself in place.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Wind Mistress is Home
We sailed her home on her new bottom. She is very fast. We had the fat three bladed prop replaced with a thin two bladed prop. That change, the new bottom and the new mainsail all seemed to have a positive effect on her performance. Under motor she reached 6 knots at about 1200 rmp's. Under sail she reached 6 knots with only a light breeze.
We completed the Sail Harbor to Coffee Bluff trip in 2.5 hours, and that includes the 30 minutes we spent at the dock at Island of Hope Marina getting fuel and ice. This typically takes us 4-5 hours.
Other completed repairs:
>Aft potty fixed.
>Steaming light replaced - though I don't think this one will last long. It really sticks out and his hanging on by two tiny screws. The previous light was far stronger and was torn off by a flapping jib sheet. When this one goes, we may just operate sans steaming light.
>Solar panels mounted, hooked up and charging the batteries.
Last task:
>Repair the fresh water pump. We have until June 2nd to fix it. If we can't fix it, we sail with bottled water.
We completed the Sail Harbor to Coffee Bluff trip in 2.5 hours, and that includes the 30 minutes we spent at the dock at Island of Hope Marina getting fuel and ice. This typically takes us 4-5 hours.
Other completed repairs:
>Aft potty fixed.
>Steaming light replaced - though I don't think this one will last long. It really sticks out and his hanging on by two tiny screws. The previous light was far stronger and was torn off by a flapping jib sheet. When this one goes, we may just operate sans steaming light.
>Solar panels mounted, hooked up and charging the batteries.
Last task:
>Repair the fresh water pump. We have until June 2nd to fix it. If we can't fix it, we sail with bottled water.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Wind Mistress on Wilmington
Saturday (April 23) Matt Hazard, Katherine, Savannah, Mary, Jack and Soki sailed Wind Mistress from her home at Coffee Bluff Marina to Sail Harbor Marina on Wilmington Island.
We had Easterly winds, which meant we had to motor about half of the time. We stopped at Green Island on the way, anchored and swam ashore. There we saw a wild pig, walked about on the beach, and then swam back to the boat. The trip was mostly uneventful, which is always good on these types of trips.
We had Easterly winds, which meant we had to motor about half of the time. We stopped at Green Island on the way, anchored and swam ashore. There we saw a wild pig, walked about on the beach, and then swam back to the boat. The trip was mostly uneventful, which is always good on these types of trips.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
MORE THINGS GETTING DONE
Things done last weekend (April 14-15)
1. Installed LED lights navigation and anchor lights on masthead.
2. Figured out the alcohol stove.
Matt is visiting this weekend. He will travel with us to Sail Harbor (about 3-8 hour trip, depending how we make it) to have the boat pulled for painting.
That just leaves:
1. Install Solar Panels
2. Replace Steaming Light
3. Clean Water Tank
4. Check Fresh Water Pump
5. Fix Aft Potty
6. Track down a source of Compressed Natural Gas. Until then, we will use the alcohol stove, which will come along as a back up anyway, and the barbeque pit.
The bottom will be cleaned next week.
Hopefully the mainsail will arrive soon.
We are also waiting on the Georgia registration to go through. That has been a fiasco.
1. Installed LED lights navigation and anchor lights on masthead.
2. Figured out the alcohol stove.
Matt is visiting this weekend. He will travel with us to Sail Harbor (about 3-8 hour trip, depending how we make it) to have the boat pulled for painting.
That just leaves:
1. Install Solar Panels
2. Replace Steaming Light
3. Clean Water Tank
4. Check Fresh Water Pump
5. Fix Aft Potty
6. Track down a source of Compressed Natural Gas. Until then, we will use the alcohol stove, which will come along as a back up anyway, and the barbeque pit.
The bottom will be cleaned next week.
Hopefully the mainsail will arrive soon.
We are also waiting on the Georgia registration to go through. That has been a fiasco.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
St Simon's Island Trip
On April 6-April 8 we sailed from Savannah to St Simon's Island. We had planned to go to Cumberland Island but we left too late on Friday (noon) and couldn't get far enough Friday.
We stayed in the ICW Friday because there was lots of wind. We anchored easily and slept well, but discovered that the compressed natural gas was out. All our food for the trip was to be cooked, which left us a bit hungry.
Katherine and I got up early, raised the anchor and sailed to Doboy Sound. We ate cold oatmeal soaked in cold water. Then we sailed out the inlet into the ocean and the big waves. Katherine and the girls made ginger tea to calm the sea sickness, instead of dramamine. It didn't work. Katherine was horribly ill. We sailed all day in the rough seas until we went to St Simon's for dinner in the evening. We all ate, except Katherine, and then returned to Windmistress.
Katherine went to bed and Mary and I sailed up the ICW until 11:00PM, where we anchored.
Katherine and I got up early, raised the anchor and set sail for home. After a few mishaps, me reading the chart wrong and nearly running aground on some byway, we got out into the ocean through Altamaha Sound. Katherine took Dramamine and had no problems.
We sailed fast on a broad reach. When the wind shifted behind us we raised the spinnacker and sailed straight down wind at 6+ knots. The wind picked up and my jury rigged spinnacker set blew to pieces, but the crew was steady and we got her down.
We made our way into Ossabaw Sound (south channel) at low tide, which was tricky. Once the breeze was on our beam, we reached 10.2 knots sailing into the sound.
We passed through Hell's Gate under sail power at low tide (a miracle) and then Mary took the helm and sailed us home.
Everyone was very hungry, after eating only cold Ramin Noodles all day.
We stayed in the ICW Friday because there was lots of wind. We anchored easily and slept well, but discovered that the compressed natural gas was out. All our food for the trip was to be cooked, which left us a bit hungry.
Katherine and I got up early, raised the anchor and sailed to Doboy Sound. We ate cold oatmeal soaked in cold water. Then we sailed out the inlet into the ocean and the big waves. Katherine and the girls made ginger tea to calm the sea sickness, instead of dramamine. It didn't work. Katherine was horribly ill. We sailed all day in the rough seas until we went to St Simon's for dinner in the evening. We all ate, except Katherine, and then returned to Windmistress.
Katherine went to bed and Mary and I sailed up the ICW until 11:00PM, where we anchored.
Katherine and I got up early, raised the anchor and set sail for home. After a few mishaps, me reading the chart wrong and nearly running aground on some byway, we got out into the ocean through Altamaha Sound. Katherine took Dramamine and had no problems.
We sailed fast on a broad reach. When the wind shifted behind us we raised the spinnacker and sailed straight down wind at 6+ knots. The wind picked up and my jury rigged spinnacker set blew to pieces, but the crew was steady and we got her down.
We made our way into Ossabaw Sound (south channel) at low tide, which was tricky. Once the breeze was on our beam, we reached 10.2 knots sailing into the sound.
We passed through Hell's Gate under sail power at low tide (a miracle) and then Mary took the helm and sailed us home.
Everyone was very hungry, after eating only cold Ramin Noodles all day.
To Do List
The to do list is getting a little shorter.
In the last two weeks we:
1. finished the V-birth matress cover.
2. Removed most of the broken wind meter from the masthead.
3. Removed the Compressed Natural Gas cylinder from the boat for re-fill.
4. Got the windlass to operate and the fuse figured out. It takes a 30 amp fuse.
5. When up the mast I discovered that the masthead TRICOLOR and ANCHOR light can take LED lamps (bulbs). But the light itself is old and sunworn and it may be challenging just putting it all back together.
There is always some backsliding on this chores, and here we have it:
1. It does not seem that the Compressed Natural Gas cannot be refilled anyplace locally. So we will either have to figure something out, travel a long distance to have it refilled, or switch to propane. The switch to propane may be very challenging. I do not know.
2. Erik raised me up the mast, but the screw holding the windmeter would not budge. I ripped the thing off with my hand, leaving a jagged piece of metal bracket on the top of the mast and the data cable hanging. I need to go back up the mast, hack saw off the metal bracket and cut the data wire so that I can pull it back through and out of the mast.
In the last two weeks we:
1. finished the V-birth matress cover.
2. Removed most of the broken wind meter from the masthead.
3. Removed the Compressed Natural Gas cylinder from the boat for re-fill.
4. Got the windlass to operate and the fuse figured out. It takes a 30 amp fuse.
5. When up the mast I discovered that the masthead TRICOLOR and ANCHOR light can take LED lamps (bulbs). But the light itself is old and sunworn and it may be challenging just putting it all back together.
There is always some backsliding on this chores, and here we have it:
1. It does not seem that the Compressed Natural Gas cannot be refilled anyplace locally. So we will either have to figure something out, travel a long distance to have it refilled, or switch to propane. The switch to propane may be very challenging. I do not know.
2. Erik raised me up the mast, but the screw holding the windmeter would not budge. I ripped the thing off with my hand, leaving a jagged piece of metal bracket on the top of the mast and the data cable hanging. I need to go back up the mast, hack saw off the metal bracket and cut the data wire so that I can pull it back through and out of the mast.
Docking?
By now (April) you would think that we would have learned to dock this boat, but apparently not. In fact, we were quite good at it, but the last two efforts have left something to be desired. To describe these mishaps would require a lot of verbage. Suffice it to say that on each ocassion, something that typically goes smoothly, like Mary wrapping the stern line around the dock cleat, just didn't happen. But lest she not get the credit she deserves, she did stear the boat home safely while Greg and I fought with the windlass. Greg had contrived to wedge the anchor chain under the windlass while raising the anchor and it took all manner of effort to release it.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
PREPARING FOR 3 DAY CRUISE
FRIDAY SAIL
Friday afternoon we went sailing with Monica. We tacked out and picked up a crab trap and didn't let it go until we anchored. That slowed us down a bit. Savannah, Mary, Katherine and I swam. Monica refrained.
3 DAY CRUISE
Next weekend we plan to take a 3 day voyage. The boat is easily ready for the trip, and will be made a bit more comfortable with just a few little improvements. We recently:
Rewired the Windlass - it works! That will make raising the 35lb anchor and 20 feet of chain a lot easier. Doing it by hand was a chore.
Katherine sewed and installed the bimini top. It is still a little loose and needs a few grommits and stiches, but it is in place and working.
That just leaves:
1. Install Solar Panels
2. Sew Mattress Cover
3. Remove Broken Wind Meter bits and change out masthead lamps with LED lamps (lighting people note the terminology).
4. Replace Steaming Light
5. Change Interior Lamps for LED's
6. Clean Water Tank
7. Check Fresh Water Pump
8. Figure out how to operate Natural Gas Oven
9. Fix Aft Potty
10. Clean Bottom Again and install new prop.
None of these things are essential, but sewing the girls matress covers will make it more comfortable for them, and fixing the fresh water pump and cleaning the tank will mean not having to carry lots of bottled water. The solar panels are not essential for the three day trip, but will be essential for a longer voyage.
I have my fingers crossed that the new sail will arrive before we leave. The current mainsail is WAY too small for the boat, and makes her tough to tack. But she still scoots along quickly enough. Wind Mistress is very fast and will be a real flyer when her bottom is cleaned and her new mainsail arrives.
Friday afternoon we went sailing with Monica. We tacked out and picked up a crab trap and didn't let it go until we anchored. That slowed us down a bit. Savannah, Mary, Katherine and I swam. Monica refrained.
3 DAY CRUISE
Next weekend we plan to take a 3 day voyage. The boat is easily ready for the trip, and will be made a bit more comfortable with just a few little improvements. We recently:
Rewired the Windlass - it works! That will make raising the 35lb anchor and 20 feet of chain a lot easier. Doing it by hand was a chore.
Katherine sewed and installed the bimini top. It is still a little loose and needs a few grommits and stiches, but it is in place and working.
That just leaves:
1. Install Solar Panels
2. Sew Mattress Cover
3. Remove Broken Wind Meter bits and change out masthead lamps with LED lamps (lighting people note the terminology).
4. Replace Steaming Light
5. Change Interior Lamps for LED's
6. Clean Water Tank
7. Check Fresh Water Pump
8. Figure out how to operate Natural Gas Oven
9. Fix Aft Potty
10. Clean Bottom Again and install new prop.
None of these things are essential, but sewing the girls matress covers will make it more comfortable for them, and fixing the fresh water pump and cleaning the tank will mean not having to carry lots of bottled water. The solar panels are not essential for the three day trip, but will be essential for a longer voyage.
I have my fingers crossed that the new sail will arrive before we leave. The current mainsail is WAY too small for the boat, and makes her tough to tack. But she still scoots along quickly enough. Wind Mistress is very fast and will be a real flyer when her bottom is cleaned and her new mainsail arrives.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Generator Removal
Wow, that was one heavy diesel generator. We worked for about an hour disconnecting wires and generally practicing contortionist moves in order to unscrew and unbolt the thing from the boat. Then we had to drag it out onto the bed. Of course, it was too big to remove from the boat attached to its casing. So we had to unattach the casing, with the help of Lee (prospective buyer). Then Lee and I carried it to the gangway, were we tied a line to it and used a block on the boom to hoist it out of the cabin and into the cockpit. From there, we hoisted it higher, brought the boom over and dropped it on the dock. OK, it wasn't nearly that easy and this entire process took most of the day. That generator probably weighed less than 200 pounds, but not a lot less.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Chores, chores, chores...
Miscellaneous this and that...
1. Potty completely fixed. Had to get new hand pump after we got all the actual piping figured out. Works like a charm.
2. The diesel stopped working because of the salt water poured over it during our sinking episode.
We have since gotten that fixed. The starter was locked up and had to be rebuilt.
3. New Mainsail Ordered.
4. Jib Repaired
5. Mainsail cover repaired
6. New Sunshades
7. Compass/GPS Pedestal Rebuilt
8. Electrical for GPS rerun and hooked up to the VHF
9. VHF fixed
10. New Foam for Forward Mattress arrived and has been cut
11. Solar Panels Arrived in the Mail today.
12. Downington, PA scraped off, new letters ordered.
13. Anchor and windlass tested (they work!)
14. Bimini arch reconstructed, Katherine sewing actual bimini
15. Dodger removed
16. Navigation lamps replaced with LEDs
17. Ancient autopilot remains removed (way harder than it sounds)
18. Standing Rigging Inspected (Okayed!)
19. Ordered Gale Sail
To Do:
1. Take diesel generator off (tomorrow)
2. Sew Bimini Top
3. Install Solar Panels
4. Sew Mattress Cover
5. Remove Refrigerator
6. Remove Broken Wind Meter bits
7. Check Masthead Lights and Change out for LEDs if necessary
8. Replace Steaming Light
9. Change Interior Lamps for LED's
10. Clean Water Tank
11. Check Fresh Water Pump
12. Figure out how to operate Natural Gas Oven
13. Rewired Anchor Windlass
14. Fix Aft Potty
15. Clean Bottom Again
16. Select Best Prop and Install
Not that much more to do, but we'll be busy.
We've been sailing her a lot. She's fast and fun.
Planning a couple of expeditions for the near future.
1. Potty completely fixed. Had to get new hand pump after we got all the actual piping figured out. Works like a charm.
2. The diesel stopped working because of the salt water poured over it during our sinking episode.
We have since gotten that fixed. The starter was locked up and had to be rebuilt.
3. New Mainsail Ordered.
4. Jib Repaired
5. Mainsail cover repaired
6. New Sunshades
7. Compass/GPS Pedestal Rebuilt
8. Electrical for GPS rerun and hooked up to the VHF
9. VHF fixed
10. New Foam for Forward Mattress arrived and has been cut
11. Solar Panels Arrived in the Mail today.
12. Downington, PA scraped off, new letters ordered.
13. Anchor and windlass tested (they work!)
14. Bimini arch reconstructed, Katherine sewing actual bimini
15. Dodger removed
16. Navigation lamps replaced with LEDs
17. Ancient autopilot remains removed (way harder than it sounds)
18. Standing Rigging Inspected (Okayed!)
19. Ordered Gale Sail
To Do:
1. Take diesel generator off (tomorrow)
2. Sew Bimini Top
3. Install Solar Panels
4. Sew Mattress Cover
5. Remove Refrigerator
6. Remove Broken Wind Meter bits
7. Check Masthead Lights and Change out for LEDs if necessary
8. Replace Steaming Light
9. Change Interior Lamps for LED's
10. Clean Water Tank
11. Check Fresh Water Pump
12. Figure out how to operate Natural Gas Oven
13. Rewired Anchor Windlass
14. Fix Aft Potty
15. Clean Bottom Again
16. Select Best Prop and Install
Not that much more to do, but we'll be busy.
We've been sailing her a lot. She's fast and fun.
Planning a couple of expeditions for the near future.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Potty Problems
First chore on the ever-growing list. Fix the Forward Head.
We pulled a bunch of stuff off the boat, and got down to the business of fixing the head. All the plumbing in this area is clearly a "custom job". From what we could determine, there were three planned ways of emptying out waste. 1. Flushing waste into the holding tank where later it could be sucked out with a super vacuum at a marina (ours does not have one...) 2. Flushing waste into the holding tank and then hand pumping the waste out over the side with an installed pump. 3. Flushing the waste directly overboard. Only one of these ways was working, the first one.
Unfortunately, the first step for any solution to the problems listed above, was to clean out the holding tank. Which I will say nothing more of as not to disturb my readers with the unpleasantness of the task.
Bleach is your friend.
We also removed some decorative wood panneling that was hiding several pipes in order to provide us with more access. We repurposed the wood into a V-shelf for the girls. Next step is purchasing some foam for a new mattress and covering it.
Other miscellaneous tasks:
Hooks: We added some clothing/jacket hooks, and surprisingly that makes a huge difference. All our foul-weather gear is hung up out of the way.
Cleaning: Lots of cleaning of everything. Some rust stains cleaned, Teak oil rubbed in, bleaching on the counters, etc...
Inventory: I put in a tub all miscellaneous bits that were spread out throughout the boat. Took it home and began an inventory of spare parts.
New Sails: Both the jib and main were pretty ripped up after our windy ocean day. The mainsail is pretty much scrap sail, which we'll get rid of. Walt is fixing up the jib for us, and we should have it later this week. We borrowed from him a J-24 mainsail to put in place for the meantime, but surprsingly it is too big. It's small heightwise, but too long for our boom. So, we can still use it, but just double reefed. In the next week or so we should be ordering a new mainsail.
And the To-Do list is getting longer.
We pulled a bunch of stuff off the boat, and got down to the business of fixing the head. All the plumbing in this area is clearly a "custom job". From what we could determine, there were three planned ways of emptying out waste. 1. Flushing waste into the holding tank where later it could be sucked out with a super vacuum at a marina (ours does not have one...) 2. Flushing waste into the holding tank and then hand pumping the waste out over the side with an installed pump. 3. Flushing the waste directly overboard. Only one of these ways was working, the first one.
Unfortunately, the first step for any solution to the problems listed above, was to clean out the holding tank. Which I will say nothing more of as not to disturb my readers with the unpleasantness of the task.
Bleach is your friend.
We also removed some decorative wood panneling that was hiding several pipes in order to provide us with more access. We repurposed the wood into a V-shelf for the girls. Next step is purchasing some foam for a new mattress and covering it.
Other miscellaneous tasks:
Hooks: We added some clothing/jacket hooks, and surprisingly that makes a huge difference. All our foul-weather gear is hung up out of the way.
Cleaning: Lots of cleaning of everything. Some rust stains cleaned, Teak oil rubbed in, bleaching on the counters, etc...
Inventory: I put in a tub all miscellaneous bits that were spread out throughout the boat. Took it home and began an inventory of spare parts.
New Sails: Both the jib and main were pretty ripped up after our windy ocean day. The mainsail is pretty much scrap sail, which we'll get rid of. Walt is fixing up the jib for us, and we should have it later this week. We borrowed from him a J-24 mainsail to put in place for the meantime, but surprsingly it is too big. It's small heightwise, but too long for our boom. So, we can still use it, but just double reefed. In the next week or so we should be ordering a new mainsail.
And the To-Do list is getting longer.
The Journey Continued...
So... for those of you who haven't noticed - I'm bad at this whole updating of blogs thing... but here are the final days of our journey. Yes, days....
We left the boat at Two Way Fish Camp in Darien, Ga for the week. The plan quickly became that the following weekend, Jack and I would travel down to Darien and sail the boat back in a power day trip. Over the next couple of days Jack and I kept a keen eye on the wind patterns, and everything seemed favorable, that is until the day before we were supposed to leave. However, at this point, we were committed to leaving on Friday morning (I know bad sign from the beginning) mostly due to kidsitting arrangements.
Thursday afternoon:
Dee, Jack's mom, drove us down to Darien and dropped us off. We spent the quickly fading afternoon working on the roller furler and trying to shake the kinks out of the jib. Walt, local sail maker and friend, had supplied us with some ultra strength oil and advice on where the problems most likely lay. Unfortunately, those problems were sitting on top of a 50' mast. Out came the bosun's chair, and soon Jack was hoisting me up, yelling all the while about too many hamburgers and french fries. He supposed my anger at him would put my unease at the ever increasing height out of mind... I guess it worked... Although, being above the highway bridge right next to us was a little unnerving. I quickly greased up everything, and all equipment was looking in fine order. After I came down we pulled the jib all the way out and unclipped this footlong piece of metal that was joining the jib to its halyard. We oiled the roller mechanism and ensured that there was no buckling, sliding, or sticking of any parts. We threaded all the sheets and everything seemed to be in good working order. Our current theory is that there was too much slack at the top of the jib causing a wrap in the halyard and preventing the jib from rolling in and out correctly.
All that to say, we spent the night there in Darien with plans to leave the next morning bright and early.
It Was Friday Morning When We Set Sail and We Were Not Far From the Land When...
Katherine got seasick. We ran out of fuel. The GPS blinked out.
The wind was roaring in our face as we beat into big swells of ocean. The coast is surprisingly shallow through most of her inlets and is constantly shifting, making charts and markers look like abstract art rather than informative guides. It also didn't help that our GPS would decide to blink out at the most shallow and tricky spots.
Yes, I got seasick. Most entertaining, I'm sure. And no, we didn't have the dramamine, because that would have been the intelligent thing to do. Jack, as a result, was always at the helm, except for the times when he had to get up to check on the motor, as she was slowly slipping out of gear and then eventually died. Our stupidity again to blame - as we did not top off the fuel at the dock. Jack said it was like magic. Everytime Katherine would sit up to steer, she'd throw-up. I would sit there at the wheel, bucket between my legs, holding on for dear life, not so much steering as just trying not to capsize us. With no motor, we had to sail. Which was fine with the lots of wind, but not as fine with the wind in your face. We plotted our tacks and decided to enter Sapelo Sound, far south from Ossabaw Sound our original planned entrance point. With no GPS we were relying on our chart and eyeballs, which turned out to be more reliable anyway. We finally managed to enter the intracoastal waterway, where the waves were significantly smaller, and slowly and surely I managed to recover what was left of my sealegs. We had a spare couple of gallons of fuel in a tank onboard, and once we got into smaller waves we were able to put those in to the tank without spilling the diesel all over the deck. We then used the fuel sparingly and made our way to the first marina we could get to, Half Moon Marina below Colonel's Island. That little twisty river getting there was super tricky. The sandbars were shifted out and the marsh had changed so much it was near impossible finding the deep channel. The GPS and charts were again of little assistance. We almost ran aground numerous times. Eventually we made it, using the last of our fuel to motor up to the dock. We fueled up right away, but after our harrowing ordeal, we decided it best to hole up there for the night.
A full day of sailing to get not very much further. Hopefully, we have actually learned something from this trip.
Saturday Morning.
We set sail again, motoring along. The wind is much more favorable, the waters calm. We decide to motor out that twisty river, and even though we had managed to enter the river alright, we did not manage to get out of it. The tides being different, we struck ground not too far away from the dock. We rocked and let out sails and motored forward and backward, and eventually got off the sand bar. (This was my first time ever running aground - an accomplishment!) We take a deep breath and keep on moving. Then Jack hears the bilge pump kick in. Which is unusual, as Wind Mistress takes on almost no water. He shrugs it off, thinking that perhaps we took on a little water during the rocking we had just undergone. But, it keeps running. So, he goes down to take a look, and water is pouring into the bilge. I'm at the helm, and in Jack-fashion, he calmly pops up with a bucket full of riverwater and announces. "So, we're sinking."
"Excuse me... what?!"
He reassures me that we're not taking on more water than the bilge and he can pump out, but that might not last for long. Especially since the bilge pump is run off the battery - which as per our GPS blinking out yesterday due to the "low battery voltage" (despite charging for a week) we weren't sure how long that pump could run. So, we're sinking. My first thought is, "It's gonna be a cold swim back to that dock." Second thought quickly following, "Well, at least it was fun while we had her, although, how do I really explain boating as an investment to my parents after this?"
Meanwhile.... I keep steering, and Jack is hunting for the leak. I turn the motor down as we're approaching another shallow area, and Jack notices that the water pouring in slows down, a strong indicator that the leak is involved with the motor in some capacity. He's throwing stuff every which a way - because the boat is still filled with all our sleeping/camping crapola from the week before. And he's pumping out water, and he's searching for the leak all at the same time. Eventually, he finds it. A hose clamp has come loose on the intake coolant hose for the motor. This hose has just been opened up and is pouring the seawater that is supposed to cool the motor down all over the motor itself, and in turn into our boat. At least it's fixable. However, we're not really in the best spot to fix it. We can't sail through this particular area because it's so shallow. It's hard to find any moving room in the channel, and the channel is not very deep. I slow the motor back so we're going about 2.5knots, so the water pouring in slows way down, and we putter through the rest of the river. Eventually we make it out into deeper waters and back onto the intracoastal waterway. We have enough space to open up the sails and shut off the motor. Jack then tightens the hose clamp back into place, and we are now set to enjoy our beautiful day back to Savannah.
Early morning cocktails are in order, as the sun rises high in the sky over St. Catherine's sound.
We continue up the intracoastal, wary of the ocean's waves, despite the significant lessening of wind today. Easy and quick going today until we get close to our own home territory. We decided to forego Hell's Gate in favor of the Gap that's opened up close to Coffee Bluff. If it works it'll be a quick trip to the dock. If it works. The Gap is deep in the right places, but quickly gets shallow if you're not paying attention, or if the tides aren't right. Well, we didn't even make it to the Gap before we ran into shallow water problems. Just outside Ft. McCallister's marina, a place we frequently visit, but coming from the other direction, we could not get across the sandbar. The GPS, totally incorrect. The chart, obsolete. There are a bunch of bouys directing the channel, but they don't seem to be making any sense, or directing anything. We ran aground three or four times trying to cross from one side of the river to the other. There's a long sandbar stretching way out right down the middle of the river. Eventually, a good samaritan motors over in his zippy little fishing boat and guides us over the bar, saying, "The little green ball (the key marker for the channel) floated away a couple months ago..." Great.... Anyhow, we made it over with his guidance, and continued on to the Gap. Where, we surprisingly didn't have any difficulties. Although, we were blessed with high tide, and we figured that at low tide we would not be able to make it through.
Home Sweet Home!
There was Coffee Bluff waiting for us. Erik standing on the dock awaiting our lines as we pulled her in. Finally. Two weekends and lots of excitement, and now she's at her new home! Now we can set to work.
We left the boat at Two Way Fish Camp in Darien, Ga for the week. The plan quickly became that the following weekend, Jack and I would travel down to Darien and sail the boat back in a power day trip. Over the next couple of days Jack and I kept a keen eye on the wind patterns, and everything seemed favorable, that is until the day before we were supposed to leave. However, at this point, we were committed to leaving on Friday morning (I know bad sign from the beginning) mostly due to kidsitting arrangements.
Thursday afternoon:
Dee, Jack's mom, drove us down to Darien and dropped us off. We spent the quickly fading afternoon working on the roller furler and trying to shake the kinks out of the jib. Walt, local sail maker and friend, had supplied us with some ultra strength oil and advice on where the problems most likely lay. Unfortunately, those problems were sitting on top of a 50' mast. Out came the bosun's chair, and soon Jack was hoisting me up, yelling all the while about too many hamburgers and french fries. He supposed my anger at him would put my unease at the ever increasing height out of mind... I guess it worked... Although, being above the highway bridge right next to us was a little unnerving. I quickly greased up everything, and all equipment was looking in fine order. After I came down we pulled the jib all the way out and unclipped this footlong piece of metal that was joining the jib to its halyard. We oiled the roller mechanism and ensured that there was no buckling, sliding, or sticking of any parts. We threaded all the sheets and everything seemed to be in good working order. Our current theory is that there was too much slack at the top of the jib causing a wrap in the halyard and preventing the jib from rolling in and out correctly.
All that to say, we spent the night there in Darien with plans to leave the next morning bright and early.
It Was Friday Morning When We Set Sail and We Were Not Far From the Land When...
Katherine got seasick. We ran out of fuel. The GPS blinked out.
The wind was roaring in our face as we beat into big swells of ocean. The coast is surprisingly shallow through most of her inlets and is constantly shifting, making charts and markers look like abstract art rather than informative guides. It also didn't help that our GPS would decide to blink out at the most shallow and tricky spots.
Yes, I got seasick. Most entertaining, I'm sure. And no, we didn't have the dramamine, because that would have been the intelligent thing to do. Jack, as a result, was always at the helm, except for the times when he had to get up to check on the motor, as she was slowly slipping out of gear and then eventually died. Our stupidity again to blame - as we did not top off the fuel at the dock. Jack said it was like magic. Everytime Katherine would sit up to steer, she'd throw-up. I would sit there at the wheel, bucket between my legs, holding on for dear life, not so much steering as just trying not to capsize us. With no motor, we had to sail. Which was fine with the lots of wind, but not as fine with the wind in your face. We plotted our tacks and decided to enter Sapelo Sound, far south from Ossabaw Sound our original planned entrance point. With no GPS we were relying on our chart and eyeballs, which turned out to be more reliable anyway. We finally managed to enter the intracoastal waterway, where the waves were significantly smaller, and slowly and surely I managed to recover what was left of my sealegs. We had a spare couple of gallons of fuel in a tank onboard, and once we got into smaller waves we were able to put those in to the tank without spilling the diesel all over the deck. We then used the fuel sparingly and made our way to the first marina we could get to, Half Moon Marina below Colonel's Island. That little twisty river getting there was super tricky. The sandbars were shifted out and the marsh had changed so much it was near impossible finding the deep channel. The GPS and charts were again of little assistance. We almost ran aground numerous times. Eventually we made it, using the last of our fuel to motor up to the dock. We fueled up right away, but after our harrowing ordeal, we decided it best to hole up there for the night.
A full day of sailing to get not very much further. Hopefully, we have actually learned something from this trip.
Saturday Morning.
We set sail again, motoring along. The wind is much more favorable, the waters calm. We decide to motor out that twisty river, and even though we had managed to enter the river alright, we did not manage to get out of it. The tides being different, we struck ground not too far away from the dock. We rocked and let out sails and motored forward and backward, and eventually got off the sand bar. (This was my first time ever running aground - an accomplishment!) We take a deep breath and keep on moving. Then Jack hears the bilge pump kick in. Which is unusual, as Wind Mistress takes on almost no water. He shrugs it off, thinking that perhaps we took on a little water during the rocking we had just undergone. But, it keeps running. So, he goes down to take a look, and water is pouring into the bilge. I'm at the helm, and in Jack-fashion, he calmly pops up with a bucket full of riverwater and announces. "So, we're sinking."
"Excuse me... what?!"
He reassures me that we're not taking on more water than the bilge and he can pump out, but that might not last for long. Especially since the bilge pump is run off the battery - which as per our GPS blinking out yesterday due to the "low battery voltage" (despite charging for a week) we weren't sure how long that pump could run. So, we're sinking. My first thought is, "It's gonna be a cold swim back to that dock." Second thought quickly following, "Well, at least it was fun while we had her, although, how do I really explain boating as an investment to my parents after this?"
Meanwhile.... I keep steering, and Jack is hunting for the leak. I turn the motor down as we're approaching another shallow area, and Jack notices that the water pouring in slows down, a strong indicator that the leak is involved with the motor in some capacity. He's throwing stuff every which a way - because the boat is still filled with all our sleeping/camping crapola from the week before. And he's pumping out water, and he's searching for the leak all at the same time. Eventually, he finds it. A hose clamp has come loose on the intake coolant hose for the motor. This hose has just been opened up and is pouring the seawater that is supposed to cool the motor down all over the motor itself, and in turn into our boat. At least it's fixable. However, we're not really in the best spot to fix it. We can't sail through this particular area because it's so shallow. It's hard to find any moving room in the channel, and the channel is not very deep. I slow the motor back so we're going about 2.5knots, so the water pouring in slows way down, and we putter through the rest of the river. Eventually we make it out into deeper waters and back onto the intracoastal waterway. We have enough space to open up the sails and shut off the motor. Jack then tightens the hose clamp back into place, and we are now set to enjoy our beautiful day back to Savannah.
Early morning cocktails are in order, as the sun rises high in the sky over St. Catherine's sound.
We continue up the intracoastal, wary of the ocean's waves, despite the significant lessening of wind today. Easy and quick going today until we get close to our own home territory. We decided to forego Hell's Gate in favor of the Gap that's opened up close to Coffee Bluff. If it works it'll be a quick trip to the dock. If it works. The Gap is deep in the right places, but quickly gets shallow if you're not paying attention, or if the tides aren't right. Well, we didn't even make it to the Gap before we ran into shallow water problems. Just outside Ft. McCallister's marina, a place we frequently visit, but coming from the other direction, we could not get across the sandbar. The GPS, totally incorrect. The chart, obsolete. There are a bunch of bouys directing the channel, but they don't seem to be making any sense, or directing anything. We ran aground three or four times trying to cross from one side of the river to the other. There's a long sandbar stretching way out right down the middle of the river. Eventually, a good samaritan motors over in his zippy little fishing boat and guides us over the bar, saying, "The little green ball (the key marker for the channel) floated away a couple months ago..." Great.... Anyhow, we made it over with his guidance, and continued on to the Gap. Where, we surprisingly didn't have any difficulties. Although, we were blessed with high tide, and we figured that at low tide we would not be able to make it through.
Home Sweet Home!
There was Coffee Bluff waiting for us. Erik standing on the dock awaiting our lines as we pulled her in. Finally. Two weekends and lots of excitement, and now she's at her new home! Now we can set to work.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
We Made It Back... Well... Kinda.
Day One:
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Left Savannah, Ga in a fully packed minivan just before 1pm. Managed to arrive in Stuart, Fl around 7pm. Loaded all our stuff in several buggies and took them out to the boat - which was still happily floating since we left her - phew.
Jack took the rental car back to the Budget place and dropped the keys in the "drop box" - which turned out to be an unmarked hole in the window, and then walked the two miles back. Meanwhile, the girls and I unloaded all belongings, and Erik set to changing out some lines, checking the bilge and some other miscellaneous tasks. All was said and done around 9-9:30pm. We then started the motor, unhooked all the lines and pulled out of the dock. Everything seemed to be running smoothly and we pulled into the channel. Remember this particular channel is shallow - the deep spots running about 3' below the keel. And its narrow - not much room before you run up onto dry land. Our plan was to motor all the way to the Intracoastal Waterway, and even then motor for some time until the channel widened. We were going along searching for markers and minding our business when all of a sudden the motor slows down and then dies. Eek! We started floating as Jack tried to restart the motor, but she won't turn over. "Oh no!" we are all thinking, "Did we really just buy a lemon?" but no one says anything. Quickly we loosen the jib, which miraculously spools out easily. Jack's still trying to restart the motor with nothing happening except the GPS shutting off. Turns out whenever you crank the motor on the GPS shuts down.
An ideal situation.
Pitch black night, unfamiliar shallow waters, without a motor, and now no GPS or depth finder.
A recipe for running aground, which we shortly did. We didn't hit hard, and some rocking and the wind in the jib were able to get us right off the sand. I take the helm as Erik and Jack try to figure out what's going wrong with the diesel engine. We had remembered to turn on all the fuel valves and to open the water coolant valve after starting her up. What could be going wrong? Perhaps the lines were clogged, so Erik and Jack proceeded to try and bleed the line, but nothing was coming out. We think and think, and everyone does this and that accomplishing nothing. I remember Greg, the previous owner, informing us that this whole boat was made of valves, and I was trying to think if we had missed one, when I remembered the valve behind the bed! This was the main gas valve, the other two were secondary valves. We had completely forgotten to open that one. So after we opened the valve, Erik and Jack bled the line, and we were back in motion. We managed to get out of that bay/onto the ICW hitting ground only three times, but never getting stuck. It was very tricky getting out, and it was slow going. We traveled only 30 statute miles that night. Very little wind the whole night, so the motor whirred.
Day 2:
Friday, January 27, 2012
We stopped in Vero Beach Marina at 7am where we refueled and used the facilities. We were uncertain of how quickly the engine would drain the fuel, but it looks like she gets pretty good gas mileage. We were able to actually sail the boat some this day, as the southwest winds were in our favor. We were worried most of the day about the forecasted storm, but amazingly we dodged in and out of the storm bands. We only suffered a drizzle here and there. Our sails held despite a few holes that kept getting larger, and Erik was able to easily bring her up to 7.9knots. (He holds the record right now...) That night the wind died down and we had to crank up the motor. From this point on we motored. We made much greater progress the second day and into the night as the Intracoastal Waterway mellowed out and we learned more tricks of the trade. Things to point out. At some point during the evening, we discovered the front potty was not really working. The toilet is supposed to pump into a holding tank, from which we can either have it sucked out at a harbor or pump it into the ocean. We soon came to discover that the piping to and from the toilet was a "custom job." And either a valve or the pump wasn't working properly. The end result being that the holding tank, which is located beneath the V-berth (where the girls would be sleeping) leaked out foul water all over their bedding and foam mattresses... Savannah and Jack did a fine job of fighting off poop and peep. The toilet also repeatedly filled with fouled water and would have to be pumped out using the manual bilge pump and a bucket, We termed that potty un-operational and switched to the bucket system. The aft potty only had a holding tank, but we were uncertain at this time if that one was full or if it too would back up. One potty spilling all over the place was more than enough.
That night we cruised by Ponce Inlet (the last entrance to the ocean for a while) - on the theory that the winds would be shifting further north as forecasted. And then we sailed by Daytona Beach. Lots of bridges in Daytona. At about 5:00am, a very tired Erik, who had taken the 3:00am-5:00am shift, accidentally drove us up onto an oyster bed. We were going in between two bridges, lots of lights and channel markers, and it seemed as if there was a direct path in between the two bridges. We were settled in for the next bascule bridge when the bridge operator warned us over the VHF that it is not a straight path to the next bridge, the channel cuts to the left to avoid some shallow oyster beds. As soon as the words are out of her mouth we hit the oyster bed, crunch, and we stick for a while. We revved the engine in reverse, than forward, pulled the jib out as we rocked around on the bed, and eventually we managed to get off. We called the bridge operator back, and apologized to her, confessing that we did have an Italian captain on board...
Jack and I then took the next shift, sailing us through a chilly sunrise.
Day 3:
Saturday, January 28, 2012
As the sun came up we found ourselves around Flagler Beach. Instant Grits and Instant Coffee for breakfast. Jack and Erik did some more tinkering with the potty and thought they had figured out matters. Both the girls took turns steering for awhile, and each took us under fixed bridges. We motored the whole day, a little bit of the main up, as the wind switched around in front of us. In the late morning, the girls and I scrubbed down Wind Mistress' deck. She was in need of a good bath, and she looked ten times better after some grooming. At a little past 1:30 we reached St. Augustine and docked at the marina. The bridge in St. Augustine only opens on the half hour. We decided to top off our fuel, and pump out the aft potty to ensure that its holding tank was not full. As a result we should be able to use that second bathroom and just have it pumped out at marinas, but everyone kinda wanted to stay on the bucket system until we were 100% certain. Since we had some time to kill in between bridge openings we decided to eat out at Harry's a New Orleans' themed restaurant right off the main street. We got going again at 3pm. We took turns motoring that afternoon and that night reached Jacksonville. Over night I steered us across the St. John's river, up Sister's Creek, past Fernandina (loud, huge factories, bright and scary at night), and across St. Mary's into Georgia. Who says navigating the ICW at night is hard? Actually, it was pretty hard, and sometimes I was just guessing at markers in front of me. Some of those big rivers/sounds have hundreds of blinking lights, plus the shore lights. It didn't help that the wind had moved to directly in front of our face. We had taken down all sails and were just motoring hard. The currents also decided to always be against us, so it was slow moving. 2.8-3 knots against wind, current, and big waves. I was terrified crossing into Georgia that one of those huge cargo ships would come barrelling down, and I would have to turn around quickly and pray to get out of their way. Even in a 40' boat, you feel like an ant in the middle of a puddle. Finally at around 4:30, when we were almost to Cumberland, Erik took a shift. I went to bed right away, and Jack was "on-call" for emergencies. Some point during the night, we ran aground twice, in one of the shallower areas. All I know is we got off the marsh okay.
Day 4:
Sunday, January 29, 2012
That morning I woke up as we were crossing the St. Andrew sound. Big waves and cold winds in front of us. That morning the girls and I all started feeling a little sea-sick for the first time this trip. We popped some Dramamine ate some beef jerky and were feeling better in no time. We all took turns motoring through this area. We stopped at Jekyll Island Marina at around 10:30/11:00. We topped off our fuel and brushed teeths. We then kept going. At some point the wind shifted so that we could pull up some sail. We unfurled the jib, but as we had noticed the roller furling system was getting harder and harder to operate. We messed with the halyard and manually unfurled and tinkered with the sheets, but things were not getting easier. We motored around St. Simons, I made a wrong turn at the fork between bridges and had to loop back. Eventually I went down for a nap, and discovered when I woke that I had missed a lot of excitement. Apparently the girls had steered and Jack and Erik had taken down the jib off the roller furler. Lots of flapping cursing and forearm muscle building. I don't know the full story, except that Erik claims he's never going to have another bright idea again in his life. We had by this point decided that we were not going to be able to make the trip all the way back to Coffee Bluff, still another 10 hours or so by boat (only an hour and a half by car). Well, we could make it, but the girls had to go to school the next day and they would be wiped out. That and Erik and Jack had to teach. So we settled on docking at Two Way Fish Camp in Darien, Georgia. We twisted and turned up the river, about 45 mins off the ICW to get to the dock. When we arrived, the harbor master and everyone knowing anything about boats had already left for the day. (It was only 3pm). The only person there managing things was the owner of the restaurant. The dock was packed with other vessels, and there were no clear places for us to dock. Eventually we had to drop Erik off (with a very nice bit of driving by Jack as he touched the bow to the dock and then reversed out). Erik then helped the restaurant manager, an elderly woman, move a 32 footer named Perfection forward. (They had taken up two spots). Then we pulled in right behind her. At this point, Dee life-savingly pulled up in her car and met us at the docks to drive all of us back home.
So we left Wind Mistress in Darien, Georgia to be picked up again next weekend. Actually it looks like just Jack and I will head down on Thursday and sail back Friday, when the winds will be in our favor. Our plan now is to head out to the Atlantic and head up the coast and then come back in at Green Island Sound. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative. Lots of to-do lists developing.....
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Left Savannah, Ga in a fully packed minivan just before 1pm. Managed to arrive in Stuart, Fl around 7pm. Loaded all our stuff in several buggies and took them out to the boat - which was still happily floating since we left her - phew.
Jack took the rental car back to the Budget place and dropped the keys in the "drop box" - which turned out to be an unmarked hole in the window, and then walked the two miles back. Meanwhile, the girls and I unloaded all belongings, and Erik set to changing out some lines, checking the bilge and some other miscellaneous tasks. All was said and done around 9-9:30pm. We then started the motor, unhooked all the lines and pulled out of the dock. Everything seemed to be running smoothly and we pulled into the channel. Remember this particular channel is shallow - the deep spots running about 3' below the keel. And its narrow - not much room before you run up onto dry land. Our plan was to motor all the way to the Intracoastal Waterway, and even then motor for some time until the channel widened. We were going along searching for markers and minding our business when all of a sudden the motor slows down and then dies. Eek! We started floating as Jack tried to restart the motor, but she won't turn over. "Oh no!" we are all thinking, "Did we really just buy a lemon?" but no one says anything. Quickly we loosen the jib, which miraculously spools out easily. Jack's still trying to restart the motor with nothing happening except the GPS shutting off. Turns out whenever you crank the motor on the GPS shuts down.
An ideal situation.
Pitch black night, unfamiliar shallow waters, without a motor, and now no GPS or depth finder.
A recipe for running aground, which we shortly did. We didn't hit hard, and some rocking and the wind in the jib were able to get us right off the sand. I take the helm as Erik and Jack try to figure out what's going wrong with the diesel engine. We had remembered to turn on all the fuel valves and to open the water coolant valve after starting her up. What could be going wrong? Perhaps the lines were clogged, so Erik and Jack proceeded to try and bleed the line, but nothing was coming out. We think and think, and everyone does this and that accomplishing nothing. I remember Greg, the previous owner, informing us that this whole boat was made of valves, and I was trying to think if we had missed one, when I remembered the valve behind the bed! This was the main gas valve, the other two were secondary valves. We had completely forgotten to open that one. So after we opened the valve, Erik and Jack bled the line, and we were back in motion. We managed to get out of that bay/onto the ICW hitting ground only three times, but never getting stuck. It was very tricky getting out, and it was slow going. We traveled only 30 statute miles that night. Very little wind the whole night, so the motor whirred.
Day 2:
Friday, January 27, 2012
We stopped in Vero Beach Marina at 7am where we refueled and used the facilities. We were uncertain of how quickly the engine would drain the fuel, but it looks like she gets pretty good gas mileage. We were able to actually sail the boat some this day, as the southwest winds were in our favor. We were worried most of the day about the forecasted storm, but amazingly we dodged in and out of the storm bands. We only suffered a drizzle here and there. Our sails held despite a few holes that kept getting larger, and Erik was able to easily bring her up to 7.9knots. (He holds the record right now...) That night the wind died down and we had to crank up the motor. From this point on we motored. We made much greater progress the second day and into the night as the Intracoastal Waterway mellowed out and we learned more tricks of the trade. Things to point out. At some point during the evening, we discovered the front potty was not really working. The toilet is supposed to pump into a holding tank, from which we can either have it sucked out at a harbor or pump it into the ocean. We soon came to discover that the piping to and from the toilet was a "custom job." And either a valve or the pump wasn't working properly. The end result being that the holding tank, which is located beneath the V-berth (where the girls would be sleeping) leaked out foul water all over their bedding and foam mattresses... Savannah and Jack did a fine job of fighting off poop and peep. The toilet also repeatedly filled with fouled water and would have to be pumped out using the manual bilge pump and a bucket, We termed that potty un-operational and switched to the bucket system. The aft potty only had a holding tank, but we were uncertain at this time if that one was full or if it too would back up. One potty spilling all over the place was more than enough.
That night we cruised by Ponce Inlet (the last entrance to the ocean for a while) - on the theory that the winds would be shifting further north as forecasted. And then we sailed by Daytona Beach. Lots of bridges in Daytona. At about 5:00am, a very tired Erik, who had taken the 3:00am-5:00am shift, accidentally drove us up onto an oyster bed. We were going in between two bridges, lots of lights and channel markers, and it seemed as if there was a direct path in between the two bridges. We were settled in for the next bascule bridge when the bridge operator warned us over the VHF that it is not a straight path to the next bridge, the channel cuts to the left to avoid some shallow oyster beds. As soon as the words are out of her mouth we hit the oyster bed, crunch, and we stick for a while. We revved the engine in reverse, than forward, pulled the jib out as we rocked around on the bed, and eventually we managed to get off. We called the bridge operator back, and apologized to her, confessing that we did have an Italian captain on board...
Jack and I then took the next shift, sailing us through a chilly sunrise.
Day 3:
Saturday, January 28, 2012
As the sun came up we found ourselves around Flagler Beach. Instant Grits and Instant Coffee for breakfast. Jack and Erik did some more tinkering with the potty and thought they had figured out matters. Both the girls took turns steering for awhile, and each took us under fixed bridges. We motored the whole day, a little bit of the main up, as the wind switched around in front of us. In the late morning, the girls and I scrubbed down Wind Mistress' deck. She was in need of a good bath, and she looked ten times better after some grooming. At a little past 1:30 we reached St. Augustine and docked at the marina. The bridge in St. Augustine only opens on the half hour. We decided to top off our fuel, and pump out the aft potty to ensure that its holding tank was not full. As a result we should be able to use that second bathroom and just have it pumped out at marinas, but everyone kinda wanted to stay on the bucket system until we were 100% certain. Since we had some time to kill in between bridge openings we decided to eat out at Harry's a New Orleans' themed restaurant right off the main street. We got going again at 3pm. We took turns motoring that afternoon and that night reached Jacksonville. Over night I steered us across the St. John's river, up Sister's Creek, past Fernandina (loud, huge factories, bright and scary at night), and across St. Mary's into Georgia. Who says navigating the ICW at night is hard? Actually, it was pretty hard, and sometimes I was just guessing at markers in front of me. Some of those big rivers/sounds have hundreds of blinking lights, plus the shore lights. It didn't help that the wind had moved to directly in front of our face. We had taken down all sails and were just motoring hard. The currents also decided to always be against us, so it was slow moving. 2.8-3 knots against wind, current, and big waves. I was terrified crossing into Georgia that one of those huge cargo ships would come barrelling down, and I would have to turn around quickly and pray to get out of their way. Even in a 40' boat, you feel like an ant in the middle of a puddle. Finally at around 4:30, when we were almost to Cumberland, Erik took a shift. I went to bed right away, and Jack was "on-call" for emergencies. Some point during the night, we ran aground twice, in one of the shallower areas. All I know is we got off the marsh okay.
Day 4:
Sunday, January 29, 2012
That morning I woke up as we were crossing the St. Andrew sound. Big waves and cold winds in front of us. That morning the girls and I all started feeling a little sea-sick for the first time this trip. We popped some Dramamine ate some beef jerky and were feeling better in no time. We all took turns motoring through this area. We stopped at Jekyll Island Marina at around 10:30/11:00. We topped off our fuel and brushed teeths. We then kept going. At some point the wind shifted so that we could pull up some sail. We unfurled the jib, but as we had noticed the roller furling system was getting harder and harder to operate. We messed with the halyard and manually unfurled and tinkered with the sheets, but things were not getting easier. We motored around St. Simons, I made a wrong turn at the fork between bridges and had to loop back. Eventually I went down for a nap, and discovered when I woke that I had missed a lot of excitement. Apparently the girls had steered and Jack and Erik had taken down the jib off the roller furler. Lots of flapping cursing and forearm muscle building. I don't know the full story, except that Erik claims he's never going to have another bright idea again in his life. We had by this point decided that we were not going to be able to make the trip all the way back to Coffee Bluff, still another 10 hours or so by boat (only an hour and a half by car). Well, we could make it, but the girls had to go to school the next day and they would be wiped out. That and Erik and Jack had to teach. So we settled on docking at Two Way Fish Camp in Darien, Georgia. We twisted and turned up the river, about 45 mins off the ICW to get to the dock. When we arrived, the harbor master and everyone knowing anything about boats had already left for the day. (It was only 3pm). The only person there managing things was the owner of the restaurant. The dock was packed with other vessels, and there were no clear places for us to dock. Eventually we had to drop Erik off (with a very nice bit of driving by Jack as he touched the bow to the dock and then reversed out). Erik then helped the restaurant manager, an elderly woman, move a 32 footer named Perfection forward. (They had taken up two spots). Then we pulled in right behind her. At this point, Dee life-savingly pulled up in her car and met us at the docks to drive all of us back home.
So we left Wind Mistress in Darien, Georgia to be picked up again next weekend. Actually it looks like just Jack and I will head down on Thursday and sail back Friday, when the winds will be in our favor. Our plan now is to head out to the Atlantic and head up the coast and then come back in at Green Island Sound. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative. Lots of to-do lists developing.....
Thursday, January 26, 2012
On the Way
The rental Dodge Caravan (red) is packed with the following:
Food:
Lots of Ramen Noodles
Lots of instant Quaker Oats
Lots of instant Gritz
Dried Soups
Dried Potatoes
Mini Oreo Packs
Toast Chee Crackers
Granola Bars
Bananas
Oranges
Coffee
Bengal Spice Tea
Gin
Tonic Water
Bourbon
Coke
Champagne
Gatorade
Water
Extra Clothes:
Foul Weather Gear for all
Silk Long Underwear
Gloves, Hats, Wooly Socks
Wet Suits - in case the boat sinks and we're swimming in the cold Atlantic...
Rubber Boots
Gear:
Extra Handheld VHF radio
Extra GPS
Binoculars
Extra Battery powered stern and bow lights
Glow Sticks
Flashlights
Extra Batteries
A few new lines
Buckets
Cleaning Supplies
Charts Galore
Celestial Navigation Books
Flares
The Fluke
oh. and books: The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage - a Karen Miller series
Most other Necessary Equipment is already on Wind Mistress waiting to be salvaged.
We (Jack, Erik, Savannah, Mary and I) leave in two hours to Stuart, Florida. Unload at the boat. Return the rental car. A brief ceremony honoring Posiedon before our maiden voyage. And then head out the ICW.
Weather reports were looking favorable the past couple of weeks until this southwest storm front decided to make an appearance. Now who knows where the wind will be from - reports are showing it shifting a lot. And it looks like we'll be in for a chilly rain. Yay.
The storm should pass us by Friday evening
Depending on the storm's actual path, we'll most likely stay in the ICW until Ponce de Leon. We've heard this is a terrifying inlet to try to come in and out of, and if the waves look too rough along that jetty we'll stay in the ICW till St. Augustine.
Currently our destination is Coffee Bluff Marina. Ideally we'll leave from Ponce out to sea and then head back in around Green Island Sound. But no one expects that to really happen.... :D
Food:
Lots of Ramen Noodles
Lots of instant Quaker Oats
Lots of instant Gritz
Dried Soups
Dried Potatoes
Mini Oreo Packs
Toast Chee Crackers
Granola Bars
Bananas
Oranges
Coffee
Bengal Spice Tea
Gin
Tonic Water
Bourbon
Coke
Champagne
Gatorade
Water
Extra Clothes:
Foul Weather Gear for all
Silk Long Underwear
Gloves, Hats, Wooly Socks
Wet Suits - in case the boat sinks and we're swimming in the cold Atlantic...
Rubber Boots
Gear:
Extra Handheld VHF radio
Extra GPS
Binoculars
Extra Battery powered stern and bow lights
Glow Sticks
Flashlights
Extra Batteries
A few new lines
Buckets
Cleaning Supplies
Charts Galore
Celestial Navigation Books
Flares
The Fluke
oh. and books: The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage - a Karen Miller series
Most other Necessary Equipment is already on Wind Mistress waiting to be salvaged.
We (Jack, Erik, Savannah, Mary and I) leave in two hours to Stuart, Florida. Unload at the boat. Return the rental car. A brief ceremony honoring Posiedon before our maiden voyage. And then head out the ICW.
Weather reports were looking favorable the past couple of weeks until this southwest storm front decided to make an appearance. Now who knows where the wind will be from - reports are showing it shifting a lot. And it looks like we'll be in for a chilly rain. Yay.
The storm should pass us by Friday evening
Depending on the storm's actual path, we'll most likely stay in the ICW until Ponce de Leon. We've heard this is a terrifying inlet to try to come in and out of, and if the waves look too rough along that jetty we'll stay in the ICW till St. Augustine.
Currently our destination is Coffee Bluff Marina. Ideally we'll leave from Ponce out to sea and then head back in around Green Island Sound. But no one expects that to really happen.... :D
Sunday, January 22, 2012
We Bought the Boat!!
After searching online for months and some disappointments dealing with other boat owners, Jack and I finally found Wind Mistress in the listings. A 40' Hunter with both fore and aft cabins, and two potties (!) she quickly made the top of our short list. Last weekend, the two of us drove down to Stuart, Fl (South of Daytona, North of Ft. Lauderdale) to examine and test sail the boat. On Friday, the 13th, she passed our initial inspection, but we were unable to test sail until the 14th. She is located at Loggerhead Marina which is in really shallow water - often only 1'-2' of water under the keel. It would have been nearly impossible to take her out that Friday afternoon due to a low tide shoal directly in front of her slip.
The next morning we had to wait till about 1pm to take her out because of the tides. The tides in that particular bay are not drastic, but because they are so shallow it's worth it to wait and gain the extra foot or so of depth. We took her out into the channel and set her sails, which had clearly not been used in a while. All lines were either gooey or stiff, but only one looked as if it would need immediate replacement. She sailed beautifully and came about with ease. No noticeable leakage at any of the intakes.
On the way home we settled on a price with the seller, and shortly after Jack and I were celebrating with beers in front of the UNC v. Florida State game (which would have been more of a celebration if UNC had showed up to play).
What do you do with a 40' boat? Sail it.
And we plan to. Currently we are preparing for a transatlantic voyage. Which may or may not happen this summer. We've been talking a lot this past year about going the distance this upcoming May, but after the purchasing of the boat, all four of us (Jack, Savannah, Mary and I) are leaning towards sailing South to the Caribbean and even further into S. America this summer. The reason for this change is the result of one pesky, unanswered question in our plans. What do we do with the boat once we get to Europe? Sell it? (maybe) Dry dock it? (expensive) Get someone else to sail it back? (unlikely) Selling it seems like the easiest solution, but none of us wants to sell our new boat without getting a chance to really sail her around the Americas. Plus, it'll be a lot warmer sailing South than into the North Atlantic.
What's the Next Step?
Bringing Wind Mistress to Savannah. Erik N. will be joining all of us (Jack, Savannah, Mary and I) in driving in a rental van one-way to Stuart. We're going to leave Thursday afternoon, arrive in Stuart around 7, load up the boat and set sail that night. We have been advised not to leave out of St. Lucia because of the strong currents and shallow waters in that bay, but to rather head up the ICW and leave out of Ft. Pierce. We would then head out to the Gulf Stream to travel up the coast of Fl, and then head into Savannah at Green Island Sound, pass through Hell's Gate and on to Coffee Bluff where we will be docking.
We are going to spend the next week packing and preping gear for this trek up the East Coast of Fl and Georgia.
The next morning we had to wait till about 1pm to take her out because of the tides. The tides in that particular bay are not drastic, but because they are so shallow it's worth it to wait and gain the extra foot or so of depth. We took her out into the channel and set her sails, which had clearly not been used in a while. All lines were either gooey or stiff, but only one looked as if it would need immediate replacement. She sailed beautifully and came about with ease. No noticeable leakage at any of the intakes.
On the way home we settled on a price with the seller, and shortly after Jack and I were celebrating with beers in front of the UNC v. Florida State game (which would have been more of a celebration if UNC had showed up to play).
What do you do with a 40' boat? Sail it.
And we plan to. Currently we are preparing for a transatlantic voyage. Which may or may not happen this summer. We've been talking a lot this past year about going the distance this upcoming May, but after the purchasing of the boat, all four of us (Jack, Savannah, Mary and I) are leaning towards sailing South to the Caribbean and even further into S. America this summer. The reason for this change is the result of one pesky, unanswered question in our plans. What do we do with the boat once we get to Europe? Sell it? (maybe) Dry dock it? (expensive) Get someone else to sail it back? (unlikely) Selling it seems like the easiest solution, but none of us wants to sell our new boat without getting a chance to really sail her around the Americas. Plus, it'll be a lot warmer sailing South than into the North Atlantic.
What's the Next Step?
Bringing Wind Mistress to Savannah. Erik N. will be joining all of us (Jack, Savannah, Mary and I) in driving in a rental van one-way to Stuart. We're going to leave Thursday afternoon, arrive in Stuart around 7, load up the boat and set sail that night. We have been advised not to leave out of St. Lucia because of the strong currents and shallow waters in that bay, but to rather head up the ICW and leave out of Ft. Pierce. We would then head out to the Gulf Stream to travel up the coast of Fl, and then head into Savannah at Green Island Sound, pass through Hell's Gate and on to Coffee Bluff where we will be docking.
We are going to spend the next week packing and preping gear for this trek up the East Coast of Fl and Georgia.
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