To Dog Island

2/26/07 – (Happy Birthday Charlie!) We settled up our bill with Sherri, the owner of River Haven, and we were seen off by Bill and Thomas, such good guys. It was pleasure to meet them and I sure hope to run across their paths again someday. I imagine we’ll keep in touch regardless. Our gulf crossing was very mild and uneventful; other than an occasionally dolphin swimming along side or in our bow wave. We made about 72 miles and anchored out in a small bay of Dog Island, one of many in the St. George Sound. This should be the last we see of the big open water for some time as we can re-enter intercostals again tomorrow. Just as we put out our anchors I spotted a large jelly swimming by, it was beautiful shades of pink and purple. Dog Island appears to be a small island with some houses on it, also listed is a small runway for planes – however and fortunately I don’t see it from here. This is the type of island you can image that would not be inhibited and the white sands are virgin, never before stepped on by man. The various birds flap and croon as they search for food plucking along the ground. It’s tranquil here and hopefully no other boats will join us tonight in this quiet little bay. Well our water pump finally died tonight, it’s been singing a sad tune for some time. This just means I can’t cook because I can’t clean dishes – sounds good to me. We will need to find a marine store in the next few days to purchase a water pump. Just before bed we sat on the aft deck enjoyed the soft hues of the sunset while listening to a hooting owl.

On Hold in Steinhatchee

2/24-25/07 – Following my worst day ever arriving in Steinhatchee has been a blessing. We could have left again yesterday, but I seriously needed a breather from ocean travel. Besides the folks here are the nicest I’ve met in a long time, real down-home friendly – they make you want to stick around for a while. Saturday, Captain Bill of TowBoatUS drove us over 30 miles (to Cross City) to get a prescription renewed and since the wait would be over an hour we went out to eat at a real comfy little place called Cypress Inn with home style cook’n, it was simple and very good. We spent a good part of the afternoon walking around Steinhatchee and taking pictures. It’s not a big town, again only one grocery store, but it appears to be adequate for just about anything you’d need.
Apparently scallops are a big thing here; the season being July-Sept and most locals anchor out and go a-scalloping. Two fans of scallops are Norma & Joe, live close by and have two boats docked here; one being a houseboat, and they spend lots of time at the marina. Cap’t Bill runs the TowBoatUS service here at River Haven and boy does he have a gazillion stories to tell about his adventures. (He should write a book) Everyone we’ve met here is very knowledgeable about marine mechanics and boats in general; they all share their expertise and equipment without hesitation. There is a sense of giving and karma, "what goes around comes around" kinda stuff. The five of us had an enjoyable BBQ on Joe’s house boat Sat. night. The other folks that populate the marina are; Thomas - a young man (19) who works here and does just about anything and everything that needs doing, under the watchful eye of Bill – who actually does live here and Toni - the gal that works in the office/marina/store for Sheri the owner. There are also various dogs that come and go, which everyone knows, as well as two parrots that spend their days perched during business hours. Our weather watch told us that Sunday would not be a good day for the gulf, seas around 4-6’. Luckily for me its one more day docked in a safe harbor and one more day to settle my head and stomach before venturing back out. The only good weather window looks to be Monday for our last little jaunt across the gulf so we’ll be off tomorrow. I’m not sure if we’ll be anchored out or docked close to internet, but I will keep ya’ll posted when I can. On our last night here we took Bill out to dinner at one of the local restaurants "Roys". Bill has so many life experiences; we listened to interesting stories all night. Turns out another of Bill's talents is wine-making. He gave us a bottle of persimmon wine which we intend to keep chilled until we can celebrate our arrival at our home port.

To Steinhatchee

2/23/07 - Our day started out with a beautiful sunrise and departure, but once out in the gulf the seas rose to 2-4' winds out of the northeast and I became a green-eyed monster. My worst seasick day ever - even though Tom did a magnificent job of driving through the rough waters. We radioed ahead to the River Haven Marina in Steinhatchee for dockage and were met at the docks by Captain Bill of TowBoatUS, who guided us in around 7pm after 12 dreadful hours at sea. The only good thing I can say about this day is that it's over!

To Crystal River

2/22/07 – (Happy Birthday Alex) We awoke around 2am to a much muted engine sound and looked out to see a very strange vessel pass by only to turn around and go back to where it came. We both figured it was a ferry by the shape, just didn’t understand what it was doing out at 2am. We learned later this morning, after seeing what we think is the same boat, it was a floating gambling casino. That explains the 2am cruising lit up like a Christmas tree. We’ve reached the point of our journey where the Florida intercoastal waterway ends and a decision must be made – which way to go from here. We can either cruise up and around ‘the bend’ or cut straight across the gulf. Easy choice actually, without radar we’re not about to go out THAT FAR in open water. We were out over 3 miles today and lost sight of land altogether, and that was far enough for me. However, this person I’m traveling with thought it was pretty awesome. Who is this person anyway? Hey, we were pulled over today – in the middle of the ocean - can you believe it?!?! The US Customs and Boarder Patrol pulled up along side and boarded us. Out in the middle of nowhere! I guess we do look suspicious after all; strange looking boat with no name on the stern. We spent over 45 minutes bobbing around like a cork while they went through our documentation and drawers. After they confirmed everything we told them, they left just as stealthy as they appeared. But the worse thing is (and I could kick myself) I forgot to take any pictures!!! After that the rest of our day was pretty normal. We cruised up over 3 miles on the Crystal River only to find the marina closed. So we docked at their fueling station and then walked into town (about 1 mile) for dinner at a nice little Mexican restaurant and did a little grocery store shopping. Sorry to say the Crystal River is not very clear. We had read you could see the bottom, and that the water was generally 72 deg- which attracted lots of manatees, we never saw either. I did see –what I think is- lots of manatee poop, not sure what else it could be – judge for yourself by the photo. Anyway Crystal River was very tropical looking as you approached, (even with the water towers) but once into the lake area it lost its charm (especially with lots of poop floating in the water).

To Anclote Key

2/21/07 - We awoke in the early hours to get a jump on the day but as we were leaving got grounded (briefly). Fortunately with a sandy bottom we were able to wiggle ourselves off. Our passageway crossed the Tampa Bay main approach channel for commercial vessels and we were hoping to get through early. Still, we found ourselves playing chicken with a massive tanker upon his approach – he won. The best part watching this tanker stream by was the dolphins’ flying out of the water as they played in the bow wave. Those dolphins do know how to have fun! We skirted the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a few miles then cut westward towards more narrow channels and condos. Five miles in we discovered the only short bridge we needed to be opened would be out of commission until 3pm. The gods must be shinning on Tom today, so we backtracked to first next gulf opening. As we entered the channel to the gulf a US Custom Boat pulled up along side and ‘checked us out’, but then took off as quickly as they appeared. Guess we don’t look TOO suspicious. The winds were at our back for the most part so the passage was relatively smooth. Without having to worry about our depth it was very enjoyable. We opted to skip by Clearwater and headed straight for Anclote Key, just west of Tarpon Springs. I’ve seen my first lighthouse this trip located on the key, which is also a nature preserve. I did get a little green during the last hour or so of our gulf journey, but it passed quickly once we anchored for the night tucked in behind the key.

To Longboat Key

2/20/07 – The water was a mirror this morning as we left our anchorage at Cape Haze; so smooth and green. There were no other boats out yet and it was so serene and still. We skirted a number of small islands some inhabited and some not, maneuvered our way through shallow waters and shoals. As in Charlotte Harbor yesterday, we entered San Carlos Bay and found ourselves again tempted by the Gulf of Mexico. We were rewarded today by more dolphins playing. It was amazing to watch them swim in our wake, along side the boat and the bow wave. I also spotted two bald eagles today, but was unable to snap their picture. Just seeing them in the wild was awesome. It was a very unique narrow channel as we approached Venus, FL. There are walkways on each side of the channel, each busy with walkers, bikers, runners, strollers and folks just fishing. I waved to so many people along that route I felt like I was on a float in the Rose Parade. Roberts Bay and Sarasota Bay were just vast bodies of water, too far from the shores to see anything of interest. We’ve anchored tonight just south Cortez Bridge in Longboat Keys with about 6 other boats. We set two anchors tonight so we would not swing - and we never moved. From the stern we could see the city lights of Sarasota, as well as an immeasurable ceiling of stars.

To Cape Haze

2/19/07 - What a splendid uneventful day this was. Throughout our travels on the ICW we’ve transitioned from river to canal and back to river but the waters’ color seldom changed; for the most part it remained a grimy russet shade. I noticed it changed as we entered into the San Carlos Bay and said good-bye to the Okeechobee waterway. The waters became green and for the first time I could actually smell the ocean in the air. We began to see dolphins (real ones) swimming around the bow of the boat and seaweed was very prevalent, probably kicked up by the storm yesterday. We passed by Fort Myers (downtown) and dozens of little islands before entering Charlotte Harbor, where we saw the gulf for the first time. We considered taking a sharp left and heading out across the gulf for a straight shot to Texas, but thought better of it and decided to stay our course of inland waterways. We anchored in a nice little cove (Cape Haze) surrounded by terrific little homes with about 4 other boats. The sunset was soft tonight as we enjoyed a cup of tea and coffee on our aft deck. We sat and watched as an Osprey attempted to catch his dinner, a couple of times, unsuccessfully. Think they eat bread?

It's a No-Go Today

2/18/07 – We awoke to a frightfully wet and windy storm this morning and being the prudent mariners that we are we listened to the NOAA weather forecast on VHF. It’s a no-go today; seas in the bay at 4-6 feet and winds up to 30 knots, so we stay one more day at the Sweetwater Landing just outside Fort Myers. It’s a good thing to know when to go and when to stay. The rain stopped and even though the skies are clear, the winds intensified to gale force this afternoon. We managed to get out and take a little stroll and were very surprised to find white caps on the canal. The winds finally settled down and we had a good nights sleep.

Underway Again 2

2/17/07 – Finally got our rebuilt transmission installed back in the starboard engine as well as new oil cooler. But now we have a small exhaust leak, which Tom feels he can fix once we reach Texas. We’ll just be sure to keep the rear hatch open (while underway) for circulation and pray it does not get worse. (it’s always something!) It got down into the 30’s last night which made for a very chilly departure this morning; we even had frost on the dock. There was a slight fog hovering over the water which reminded me of home. We wrapped the pilot house in a commercial ‘saran wrap’ – looks goofy, but hey it cut the wind chill down, which is very important in 30/40 degree weather! Our first lock today was rather unnerving; Tom discovered neutral, as is posted on the shifter, did not agree with the transmissions. The lock masters at the Ortona Lock were very understanding as we awkwardly attempted to come along starboard side and grab a hold of the lines, while keeping our big stern out of everyone else’s way. Following that graceful lock-through, and well out of waterway traffic, we investigated exactly where our neutral positions are, and once discovered -marked the shifter with a nice big black line! (Something else that goes on Tom’s ‘to do’ list once we’ve reached Texas). We passed by a quiet old river town called LaBelle also known as a honey capital and we did see a few of the local bees. The town is holding their annual Swamp Cabbage Festival next weekend. If we had not already spent so much time docked elsewhere – we would have stuck around for it. Also quite notable is the light sweet scent in the air as you pass by the many orange orchards currently in bloom. We’ve read stories about the Fort DeNaud Swing Bridge Mistress, who always wears a red hat and were told to be sure to wave to her as we passed by. It’s pretty cool that she actually walks out to the center of the bridge and rides along while it swings open. Today she wore a red scarf, I imagine because it was so cold. The final lock on the Okeechobee waterway (Franklin Lock) is being worked on and only schedules openings every few hours. We had over an hour for west bound lock-through so we decided to dock at a small campground to the north of the lock. This was a good test for Tom’s new understanding of the transmissions. It was a welcome escape from the cold winds of the pilot house; I made tea and coffee. Our lock-through was uneventful, thank god. The waterway, into the landing we chose, is relatively narrow but Tom managed a superb turn ‘on-a-dime’ and pulled us up starboard side to tie off for the night. Tom say’s I’m becoming quite the expert myself at handling lines.

On Hold in Moore Haven

2/9-15/07 - This morning it’s through the Port Mayaca Lock and off across Lake Okeechobee (gulp!) It’s a big lake rather choppy this morning with little 2’ swells. With only the one engine we are chugging along in true trawler style and speed (6 knots). As we entered the approach channel we felt we were in a marsh and actually dragged bottom a couple of times – not a good sound or feeling. Perhaps there was a short cut or alternate route we were unaware of, but we stayed true to the magenta line on our chart plotter and made it through. The channel from Clewiston to Moore Haven was like traveling through a different planet, or a ride at Disneyland; very bizarre. I have heard the corps of engineers is killing off invasive non-native trees in hopes of native marsh vegetation returning- It looks like its working. The ride was smooth and quiet and we saw many gators basking in the sun along the banks. We’ve docked at the city docks of Moore Haven just west of Lake Okeechobee for a few days; it’s relatively inexpensive and convenient to most supplies. It’s a very small, old town. Not much going on, so it should be very quiet. We had a mechanic stop by and he’s coming back Monday to check out the transmission further. Hopefully he’ll fix us up sooner than later and we can be on our way, again. We spent Saturday puttering around the boat, hit a couple of yard sales and walked to a local very authentic Mexican restaurant for a great dinner. Sunday; we walked up the Hwy 27 Bridge behind us, walked around town. Tom spent the day tightening screws and tracking down the wiring system. Valentines Day was a beautiful day for us; we experienced a massive rain storm early then it cleared to be a perfect day. We scrubbed all the life jackets left aboard when we bought the boat and hung them out to dry. I shared some donut with an aggressive squirrel and Tom continues to hunt down the wiring systems. I walked across the street and purchased some used paperbacks and we've made half a dozen trips to the little local grocery store (We can only carry so much). The weather has turned very cold and wet. We hope to have the transmission back and installed by late Friday and depart Saturday morning - if it's not snowing.......

Underway Again

2/6/07 – The weather is expected to improve as the day progresses, so we went for it. Pulled out at about 10:30am, it wasn’t very graceful, (hit a pylon or two) but we managed. The ICW narrowed into a nice little cannel just past the north end of Lake Worth. The houses and condo’s along the ICW continue to amaze me; you’ll see a bunch of them in our photo album when I get it downloaded. It’s very cool in the pilot house when the sun retreats behind the clouds, but when it’s out, it’s fantastic to be up there with the breeze in your face. We saw the Atlantic Ocean just as we entered the Jupiter Sound and the water became astonishingly clear. I saw my first manatee swimming just under us. We dropped anchor at 3pm in Peck Lake, only to discover we had run aground. But Tom was able to back us off and re-drop the anchor a little deeper. Another trawler anchored within 50ft AND they rafted with a catamaran. (Far too close for our liking) With all this room I don’t understand why they came so close. This little lake has about 15 other vessels anchored for the night. The weather has definitely improved and hopefully will be even warmer tomorrow. Our sunset was beautiful.
2/7/07 - We were up and down all night making sure the distance stayed between us and we did not swing into the other trawler, fortunately we didn’t. While preparing to leave we backed onto another shoal luckily Tom was able to get us back off and on our way – sort of. We’ve discovered that our starboard transmission doesn’t work very well, if at all. So we found a nice little cove (Manatee Pocket) about 7 miles up, anchored and checked transmissions. After adding a quart of transmission fluid to the starboard transmission we decided to continue and hope for the best. Regrettably the transmission still does not want to cooperate fully so we’ll need to find a marina and/or yard to get it fixed before we head into the gulf. Approaching our first lock we had to wait for another vessel and drifted aground AGAIN. Tom is becoming quite the expert at getting us off while only using one transmission! We made it through the Saint Lucie Lock (12ft water) fine and dandy, and anchored for the night at the mouth of a little inlet across from a campground just west of the lock. This is so cool, there is wild life everywhere; on the shore, in the air and in the water. Gators basking in the sun, herons search for fish and old folks from the campground watching it all; like us. I could not have chosen a better location to recognize being one year older – even though lately it feels more like 20. We phoned Amanda and asked for her assistance in locating a mechanic to help us work on the transmission. It’s been a blessing to have her available to us in our hour(s) of need. Hopefully tonight no other vessels will decide to anchor here and we’ll get a good night sleep. The sunset was again remarkable; the waters are calm and the reflections are stunning.

2/8/07 – After a very restful sleep last night (and no other vessels joined us) I awoke to play with a gator – I’ve learned gators like wheat bread. Saw a raccoon foraging for his breakfast along the shore and hoped the gator didn’t want him instead of the wheat bread. As we sat on the aft deck enjoying our breakfast 13 kayakers took off heading west and I hoped we didn’t run across them later (literally) since we are heading in that direction ourselves. We did pass the kayakers on their return trip. I don’t think I’d like to be on those little water craft with so many gators in the water. Our trip along the St. Lucie Canal was wonderful today; so peaceful and uneventful. The weather could not have been more perfect. I actually piloted Refugio a bit today, but I’ve decided to downgrade my status as co-captain. I am so out of my comfort zone and I don’t feel it’s proper for me to even assume I’m proficient enough to consider myself a co-captain. So from here on out I’m going to be known as First Mate, which is so appropriate on so many levels. We reached the Port Mayaca Lock and moored to a couple of dolphins (aka pylons). This is the last lock before entering Lake Okeechobee, which we will tackle tomorrow on one engine. This is also a great location to spend the night. We’ve watched as a number of vessels have passed by and one sail boat in particular that was forced to return since its mast was too tall (55ft) to pass under the RR Lift Bridge just before the lock at 52ft. The sail boat has since joined us along the same row of dolphins for the night. We are not sure what their plans are. Later tonight we got to watch the RR Lift Bridge lower for a train to pass. The moon came out late so we were treated to a spectacular sky full of stars.

Awaiting Weather Window

2/3/07 – Tom spent today down in the engine room (again) reinstalling the various cables and hoses. I continued to work on the windows in the salon. I now have two of the four operational. We did fire up both engines and the generator and all seems to be good to go. The weather is getting cooler and we expect rain tonight.

2/4-5/07 - Go Colts!!! Super Bowl Sunday; today we take it easy and putter on the boat. Tom fixed a few things that have been bothering him, and believe me there are plenty of more things that need attention. I scrubbed the boat (soap & water) and then hosed it down with fresh water. Monday was also a down day. The weather never got much better today, too windy so we decided to stay put. We are both anxious to get going, but also apprehensive due to what we’ve already been through.

Under Way and Not

1/30/07 – Well this is it, if we’re not ready now, we never will be. Boat is loaded and (hopefully) as ready to go as we are. Amanda and Stella joined us for our rededication ceremony and then saw us off.

The skies are clear and water calm, at least here in the channel. Since this is Tuesday we are hoping there are not too many other boats on the Inner Coastal Waterways (ICW) giving us plenty of room to maneuver. Part of my duties as Navigator and Co-Captain is to run around the boat and continually check things, and keep an eye on the Navsoftware “Tiki”. (Tiki is our back up to the Garmin Chart plotter Tom installed in the pilot house). On one of my checks I noticed some pale red liquid running out of a vent onto the starboard side deck and down a drain hole into the water. (Ugh!) So we hustled and began mopping up the diesel fuel which was running in a nice steady stream out of the vent. Tom switched fuel tanks he was drawing from and that appeared to fix the problem, temporarily. We anchored, shut down both main engines and expected to leave the generator running for a bit when we notice, again, some pale red liquid running out of a vent onto the starboard side deck and down a drain hole into the water (double Ugh!) BUT it was a different vent. So we shut down the generator and mopped up the new stream. Turns out, we think, the tanks were overfilled; so we are hoping with continued use the levels will lower and stop running out of the side vents. Just in case, we’ve cut a couple of small buckets, and taped them to the side of the boat to catch ANY fuel that appears. This is our first anchorage so neither of us expects to get much sleep tonight.

1/31/07 – We must have done something right, we held our anchor all night. What started out as a great day, turned ugly very soon. We thought the starboard transmission was dead, played with it a little and it began to function properly. Next time we worked the transmission, while waiting on the Flagler Bridge opening tens miles up the ICW, all pilot house power went dead. I smelled smoke and noticed it coming from the engine room vent. (Holy Sh**t) Tom steered clear of the channel, dropped the anchor and killed the engines, we lifted the hatch and yup there’s flames. So we extinguished the fire and I made tea and coffee. Well I had to do something while the engine room cooled before Tom could assess the damage. With no electrical power aboard, I phoned Amanda for assistance. So here we are, our second day out and we’re being towed into the Newport Cove Marina in Riviera Beach, FL.

2/1/07 – Could we have picked a more expensive place to break down? The marina is full of Mega-yachts. They have quite the valet service for smaller fishing boats as well. Tom spent all day in the engine room evaluating the damage and cleaning up. He says “the starboard engine starter cable shorted to the transmission case”. OK, so we have a few cables and hoses to replace, but all in all it could have been much worse. The weather as picked up and the marina is full of other cruisers not wanting to anchor out. We met our first fellow cruisers, Jerry & Rosalyn (MV Sunrise). They are heading south doing the “little loop” around Florida. The couple next to us is from Connecticut and they have 2 cats aboard. Even though it’s been very windy, and water choppy it’s still pretty warm and sitting on the back deck watching sunsets has been wonderful.

2/2/07 – Amanda came up and drove us around to pick up our hoses, cables, and get our starter repaired. We had not expected to see her and Stella again so soon, but it was a wonderful day with them. Earlier this morning, and far north of our location, a tornado swept across Florida, causing much damage. It made me appreciate the fabulous weather we were experiencing today as well as the marvelous company. We met Pierre & Valerie (MS Echappe) docked next to us. They live aboard with the two cats mention earlier (Charlie & Francis) and are heading to the Bahamas, and then across the Atlantic with 3 other motor-sails also docked here - they are waiting for their weather window sometime next week. Tomorrow we start putting everything back together. I've run out of computer time, and there's a line of folks waiting to get on, so I'll sign off for now and upload more pictures later.