Marathon, FL and Boot Key Harbor

By Capt. Scott Buckley

Position: 24 42' 19"N, 081 05' 32"W

Progress towards destination: 1050 nm

We left Naples, FL about 5:30AM to head to Little Shark River to anchor for the night.  We passed Marco Island to port and transited SE passed the Thousand Island area.  The crab and lobster traps were everywhere but not so contested it was difficult to pass.  That would come later in Florida Bay. 

Leaving Little Snake River 

Little Shark was pretty easy to approach however I was apprehensive after reading the Active Captain reviews of this anchorage.  All the warnings about shoaling had me on the edge of my seat.  No shoaling was noted and there was plenty of depth and good holding.  A weak front blew thru that night and Kooky Dance did not drag her anchor an inch.  We still set the anchor alarm and I was up every couple of hours to check on things.  The sailing boat next to us drug anchor about 300 ft but there was plenty of room and she got into no trouble.  They were working their way north and left early in the AM for Marco Island.  

The anchorage was beautiful and we would have liked to stay longer to explore it further.  The coming weather was favorable for getting to Marathon and delay would mean we would miss that weather window. We set sail around 7AM which is late for us.  We headed south to round Cape Sable and turned slightly to the east toward Marathon.

We arrived in Marathon as previously scheduled on 16-Nov (Sunday) as planned. The weather was just about perfect.  In fact we had to run the engine for most of the trip because the winds were so light.  The challenge on this leg was the crab and lobster traps.  In some places they were so dense there was little room for Kooky Dance to pass.

Getting this far is a major milestone for us.  We had to sail into the Atlantic Ocean to get to Boot Key Harbor.  We have left the Gulf of Mexico behind and there is a possibility we will not see it again for a long time.
We are now reviewing our options.  There is a very lively cruiser community here in Marathon and one option would be to stay here.  I connected with an old school mate from Rock Hall MD that I have not seen in 35 years.  It was a real pleasure to run into Bill and Anita Jamar.  They have been very generous with their time and their home.



 The original option of going onto the Bahamas is still in play but we both would like a break from voyaging and would like to explore and enjoy a location before moving on.  We also need to watch the weather.  To cross the Gulf Stream requires a specific set of weather conditions before it can be crossed easily.  It is not to be taken lightly.  I may say more about this in another blog that is more technical than this one.

Restrooms, Showers, Shopping, Laundry, Etc........

Amenities - By First Mate Tamera

Scott has done a wonderful job detailing the logistics of passages and weather but I want to cover some of the other aspects of our ports.  For each stop I will tell what I remember about some of the comforts of port such as restrooms, showers, & laundry.

Delcambre, LA
At this stop since it was "winter" there was not enough water to stay at the marina slips so they put us on the public boat slips about 1/8th of a mile from the actual marina.

Restrooms
The restrooms were, oh shall I say.... rustic.  At the dock there was two port-o-pottys and were shared with the public boat ramp and the public fishing pier.  At the actual marina there was a restroom/shower trailer for the marina guests use.  These restroom facilities reminded me of airline restrooms, very small but functional.

Showers
The shower facilities were like I said at the actual marina a brisk walk  by road away.  The marina staff would give us a ride from the public dock to the RR/Shower trailer if you could get a hold of them.  The showers were small and had a pull chain (kinda like they use on M*A*S*H*) which if you are not coordinated can be difficult to use (don't ask how I know).

Shopping
The closest shopping was a convenience store approximately 1.2 miles from the public dock.  We were fortunate to have friends in the area and gave Scott a lift to get some supplies like ice. 

Laundry
They did not have any laundry facilities and the closest was 10 miles.  Once again those great friends we have in the area helped us out.  They went above and beyond and took our laundry home and brought it back to the boat the following day.

Dockage
The public dock was OK.  It was a fixed dock but it had long finger piers so boarding was easy.  Since it was public a lot of people were fishing off the dock and the shrimp bait in the hot sun made for interesting (phew) smells at the end of the day.

 

Grocery
There are not any grocery facilities within walking or even biking distance.  Again like the laundry it is about 10 miles to the nearest real grocery store.

Pensacola, FL
The marina is part of a marina/restaurant facility. Having said that, the restroom is also part of the marina/restaurant facility.  When the restaurant was busy so was the restroom facilities.  Nature was having some fun with us by making her call to boaters and restaurant guests at the exact same time.  The facilities were located really close to our slip and needed a code to get in the restroom and the marina gate.

Restrooms
I kinda felt sorry for the restaurant patrons that had to share a restroom with dirty ole sailors after a long passage.  Anyhow, in the ladies room they had 3 toilets stalls and a secret door that housed the shower.  The mens room had one toilet and one urinal and a secret door that housed the shower.  I say secret door because there is no sign indicating it is a shower, you just open it up hope it is the shower and not some weird entrance into the restaurant.

Showers
The shower room was huge but the shower stall was very tiny, really hard to even turn around, but no chain to coordinate (or uncoordinate) with and it was clean.  Clean is very important but not always part of the free restrooms/showers equation.

Shopping
With a nice 6 block walk you can shop, eat and browse.  There is a neat little tourist shopping area and even a few useful stores like pharmacy and general supplies.  Several pubs, bars and drinking spots for the menfolk visit.

Laundry
Here we go with the secret doors again.  The washer and dryer was located behind a secret door.  One washer and one dryer, oddly enough the waitstaff from the restaurant would use the tops of the washer and dryers to roll up the silverware in the napkins....I hope that is all they did on top of the washer/dryers.  The cost was $1.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry.  Dryers worked good and got the clothes dry in one cycle.  There was no place to fold laundry except on top of the washer/dryers....well we know what happens on top of those :)

Dockage
Floating Docks - I love floating docks.  The dock master comes out to help you tie up.  Nice long piers, water and power.  They wobbled a little bit or maybe that was just us after being on the boat for two weeks.

Grocery
What is it with grocery?  The closest was 5 miles away.  Luckily we had a renal car and could drive to the grocery.  There was not even a convenience store close by to grab a snack or an icee.

White City, FL
This stop was a free dock.  We like free but free often means very little amenities. 

Restrooms
The restroom was part of a small park area near a public boat launch.  Now remember it's winter...there is no hot water or heat for that matter in the restrooms.  I was just happy to have toilet paper in a free dock.  We did have to take our own soap and paper towels to wash our hands and face.

Showers
There are no shower facilities here unless you want to wash up in the above described restroom sink.  Oh yeah the lights did not work.  In fact they did not even have a bulb in the light fixture.  You had to bring your own light as well.

Shopping
The only nearby shopping was a convenience store about 1 mile from the public boat launch.  The usual convenience store items like beer, ice, lottery tickets, condoms, etc...I did not even see White City souvenir coffee cups, cozies or hats, what's up with that?

Laundry
None - I did not expect any laundry facilities.

Dockage 
Well it was free.....it was a floating pier dock that had enough water for our 5 foot draft boat to cuddle up with to ride out a gale.  No frills, no fuss - just us, inconsiderate fishermen and lots of vultures flying overhead.

Grocery
The little convenience store was well stocked of well convenience food items like chips, snacks, beef jerky, bread, milk and eggs.  There was an assortment of insects in small containers in the store but I am guessing they were not for snacking. They also had a little hot meal section with hot dogs, roasted chicken and fried something unidentified...too afraid to ask what it was.  No real grocery stores anywhere close, we were in the boonies.

Clearwater, FL
This was our stop after our long, long, long, cold, cold, cold, overnight passage from White City.  Let me tell you after a long sloppy passage the White City facilities even sounded wonderful.  Fortunately, Clearwater was a big step up. 

Restrooms
The restrooms were clean.  They had two rooms that each had a toilet and a sink and two rooms that each had a shower.  The restrooms were in the far and I mean far corner of the marina facility. If you had to go really bad you hand to pinch your butt cheeks and walk like a penguin really fast and hope nobody stops to talk about well....anything.

Showers
I am not sure who designed these showers but they should give up their designing job.  The shower rooms were one big shower stall.  There was not any place to put your towels and dry clothes.  The best you could hope for was to put the dry stuff in a far corner and try not to splash water in that direction.  But who am I to complain after no real shower for several days...only a solar shower using only 2 gallons of water.

Shopping
Again, a little tourist shopping district nearby.  The usual pubs, deli's, art galleries and cafes.  One day there was a farmers market that was more like of a teeny tiny flea market (The Captain is chuckling about "teeny tiny flea market").  It is about a 4-5 block walk uphill.  The first time I thought I was going to die walking uphill, the second time I did die. JK, LOL, OMG and SHIT (I hate walking uphill).

Laundry
They had one washer and one dryer at the same building as the restrooms/showers.  Fortunately there are not any laundry urgency like the restroom urgency described earlier.  $2.00 to wash and $2.00 to "dry" - the dryer did not fully dry in one cycle.  You could put in another $2.00 or be a frugal ole sailor like me and hang them all over the boat to complete the drying cycle.  No place to fold clothes and no trash can for lint trap debris.  No place to sit and wait for your partially dry clothes.

 

Dockage
Once again, my favorite floating docks.  We originally were going to Clearwater BEACH marina to be close to the beach action.  When we arrived there they were nasty fixed piers that our boat, captain and first mate could not tolerate.  So we went to Clearwater HARBOR marina with nice floating docks for the same price.  Score.....
The dock masters work hard to keep the bird poop from building up on the docks.  They use several methods like spinning thingy with red flags, a loud obnoxious digital recording of a bird of prey and and lots of tourist walking on the docks.  The last one kinda backfires because the tourist LOVE to feed the birds and we all know what happens after birds eat....guano....lots and lots of guano.

Grocery
One of the little stores in the tourist area is a small family owned farmers market type store.  It had eggs, bread, milk and fresh fruit & veggies.  Otherwise it is a taxi, trolly or really long walk to any grocery store.  We opted to go  partial cruiser style....we hitched a ride to the grocery store and then called a cab back to the boat. Full cruiser style is hitch a ride to the store and hitch another ride back to the boat.  Works out really well when you hitch a ride both directions with the same kind stranger.

Finally........Naples, FL

Restrooms
Nice clean restrooms.  Each sex has one restroom and inside is a room to shower and a room to potty. 

Showers
Nice clean showers.  Again the same shower designer as Clearwater, one big shower stall with no place to put towels or dry clothes.  Don't take any of these descriptions as negative....I am appreciative of any shower but really do appreciate a clean shower more.  These showers did however have a folding chair so you could sit down to shower or perch your legs up to have a good long overdue shave.

Shopping
A real good ship store steps away from Naples City Dock.  It has souvenirs, toiletries, boat supplies and books too.  A couple of boutique stores nearby but that is all.  The marina office has ice, snacks and that all important free coffee in the morning.  Tourist shopping areas nearby but did not participate in the public acquisition of useless crap.

 

 

Laundry
Nice facility for laundry.  Two washer and two dryers (they actually dry in one cycle).  Only $1.00 to wash and $1.00 to dry.  This is my kind of laundry.  The view was awesome....oh wait.....laundry....they had a table to fold clothes and a trash can for lint.  They even had a very large sink to use, not sure for what but nonetheless it was there.

Dockage
Not ideal.....fixed docks.  Fixed docks with really short finger piers.  We pulled in bow first and we were happy to be tied up.  Let me explain....15-20 knots of wind, really narrow slips AND an audience of about 8 people.  For sailors that is all I need to say....for dirt dwellers this will make your butt pucker worse than the penguin walk to Clearwater restroom.  It is tense with a capital T.

Grocery
There are no grocery facilities nearby.  Scott is great at talking with the locals.  He chatted with a guy named Tim who offered Scott a ride to Lowes for materials to make our fender boards.  The next day Tim says "if you need a ride anywhere else just let me know"  Well that is all we needed to hear, out came my provision list and my wallet.  Tim kindly drove us to a grocery store where I stocked up on meats, breads, fruit, frozen veggies and snacks.  Without Tim we would be eating canned everything until we get to Marathon....our next stop.

Summary
No stop over will be perfect.  You have to learn to take the good with the bad.  We are now heading to an area where everything will be different.  Many of our stops will be an anchorage or a mooring ball.  The chores of showering, shopping and toileting will be handled in a whole different way.  I will write up something after we get to experience......cruiser style....... People Amenities.

Bye-Bye Ya'll......

Clearwater, FL to Naples, FL

By Capt. Scott Buckley

Position: 26 07' 57'N, 081 47' 32'W

Progress towards destination: 905.0 nm

Voyage to Naples
We left Clearwater,FL harbor marina at 6:30 AM with an out going tide.  It was a little difficult getting out of the slip due to the tidal current but we did it.  Mike Bauer the lead Dock Master was on hand to help us out and it turned out had started reading this blog and liked it a great deal.  Who would have thought that possible.  We got out into the Gulf of Mexico and ran thru the maze of crab trap buoys.  I figured if I got out to 60 foot water depth I would no longer have to dodge crap trap buoys. I turned out a little better than I thought.  After we passed 35 ft depth I stopped seeing crab traps and made the turn SSE to round Sana Belle Island where I would turn SE towards Naples, FL.  The dock to dock distance was around 140 nm.  The offshore distance was about 123 nm.

We had a north wind that kept having a little westing to it as we sailed.  Kooky Dance was feeling her stuff and doing around 7 knots.  That sounds great but it was going to put into Naples at 3AM.  While that would be high tide it would also be dark.  I had to slow the boat down a great deal.  Low tide was around 8:30AM and the next high tide was not going to be until 4:30PM the same day.  I really did not want to head into Naples until about 2PM just ahead of the tide. 

The Tiniest Boat Slip EVER.

We arrived off of Naples around 10AM and drifted around off shore until 2PM.  I was nervous about the depth of the channel but it all went well until we got the the Naples City Marina.  Even though we had called then and told them the size of the boat they directed us to a slip about the size of a coffin.  The onshore breeze had kicked up and of course a crowd gather to watch the train wreck.  Tamera and I got the boat docked without the train wreck.  Sorry fellas maybe next time.  Don't mistake my vibrato for too much confidence.  My hands were shaking after we got tied up and the 1st mate made me a rum beverage to calm me down.  It worked.
 

Deciding to Stay

We had planned to stay one night and push on the 1st mate and I were pretty tired and before we turned in for the night we decided to stay another day in Naples.  These longer offshore passages tend to wear us out and we slept very well that night.  We listened to weather reports on the marine VHF but nothing was making much sense to me.  The marine weather reports list broad areas and wind and wave forecasts.  What I want them to say is: “Sailing vessel Kooky Dance can expect favorable weather for there passage on such and such a day”.  Before I went to bed I took a little walk into town.  The breeze was nice and the town was peaceful and beautiful with all the Christmas lights going up.  Based on what I saw and felt I was glad we were staying a little longer. 

Making Friends

The next morning we headed up to the marina office to inform them of our plan to stay and extra day and we passed a small pavilion with some chairs and tables and a couple of characters sitting around talking.  I asked the marina store person if she knew of any sail boats headed to the Bahamas we could meet.  She did not.  I asked her what the group was outside and she said it was the locals drinking coffee.  I grabbed a cup and headed outside to meet them.  I asked if they minded if I joined them and they were obliging.  I got to talking with them to pick their collective brains about their knowledge of the pass thru Florida bay to Key Largo or Marathon.  They directed me to a charter captain named Todd who I approached and he was willing to render his opinion about the various ways  across Florida Bay.  His consensus was it was better to take the southern pass to the 7 mile bridge and head to Marathon than to try the northern route to 5 mile bridge.  The 5 mile cut was probably doable but the pass to Marathon was much easier.  He had done it many times without incident.  He knew of a vessel that draws 6.5 ft of draft passing thru five mile cut but why risk it.  Those words resonated with me.  Indeed why risk it. 

I also met a fellow sailor named Tim Sandford.  A Vietnam vet who was open and inviting for conversation.  I mentioned that I was looking for some wood to make fender boards and Tim said he was headed to the lumber store later and would give me a ride.  I quickly accepted.  Tim own a beautiful 30 ft Morgan that was moored near by and had spent years in the area.  He lives in Indiana but travels here regularly by car or motorcycle.  He is quite a character with his handle bar mustache.  We went to the lumber yard and Tim passed on a great deal of useful local knowledge as well as the interesting events of his life.  I invited him back to our boat so he could have a look.  Tim offered us a ride to the grocery store later if we needed it.  It turned out we did.

Planning the Next Jump.

Tamera and I find planning the next leg of the journey to be very exhausting and frustrating.  We have caught ourselves sniping at each other as we pour through charts and weather and tide information.  We have to look at the tides and winds and weather and approaching weather systems and available anchorages or facilities along the way.  We want to do things safely and comfortably.  The safest and most comfortable thing is to stay at port but we needed to keep working our way toward the Bahamas.  It is after all why we had worked so hard to do this.  We had sold or given away all the possessions of our land based life to sail the tropics.  To change it and stay tied up in some marina would equate to a failure to launch into our planned exploring life.

Getting East

We had several options for getting east.  We could go 18 nautical miles to Marco Island and get a boat slip for the night,  Then another 47 nm to  Little Shark River and find an anchorage.  From there it would be another 45 nm to Marathon and find a mooring ball in Boot Key harbor. 

Tides. 

The tide are currently very low in the AM making it difficult to leave Naples until Friday and then only if we leave very early.  It is superstitious to leave on Friday.  Tamera and I rationalize our departure by understanding that we did not begin our journey on a Friday and this is only the continuation of the total journey to the Bahamas.

Weather. 

There is a nasty cold from showing up here on Monday/Tuesday and from the sounds of it we need to be someplace secure.  Before a front arrives the wind generally clock to the E and then SE which would make crossing Florida Bay a wind on the nose choppy slog.  That is something we wished to avoid. 

The Plan

We will leave early Friday (5AM tomorrow) and make way to Little Shark River to anchor down before nightfall.  It is a 70 nm trek and we will need to push hard to make it.  Then we will leave Little Shark River Saturday morning and make way to Marathon Key.  I have and old school friend there William Jamar and we will try to reconnect with him while we are there.  This will be about 115 nm total trip in 2 days with little rest.  I am pretty sure we will be tired when we get into Marathon Key.

A Key Duration

Once we are in Marathon on Saturday night we will sit tight until the front passes on Tuesday.  The winds are expected to remain strong out of the NE Wednesday and Thursday so we will not be able to make our way up to 5 mile bridge until the end of next week where we will wait for favorable weather to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.  While in Marathon we hope to meet other cruisers that are veterans cruisers and also headed to the Bahamas and perhaps gain some local knowledge about the crossing.
Enough for now

Tugboatese

By Capt Scott Buckley

Why Call?

When traveling on the ICW (intercoastal waterway) between Houston and the Rigolet just east of New Orleans you encounter a lot of tugboat traffic.  By necessity you need to communicate with them over the marine VHF radio to negotiate crossings and state your intentions.  You will also hear the tug boat captions negotiating there crossings and stating their intentions.  This sounds pretty straight forward except it is not done in english.   I speak four languages poorly and dabble in a few others and the sounds coming from the radio do not sound like any language I have ever heard except maybe redneck Klingon. 

Part of me wants to call it jibber jabber but for the most part you can ignore jibber jabber but when someone is yelling at you on the radio and they are piloting a million tons of steel and probably very toxic cargo your way you can’t get away with: “could you repeat that Captain all I heard was a bunch of jibber jabber”.  I said you can’t say that but I bet it would be a hoot to try.  The ensuing chatter on the radio would be from those that strongly agree that the language is impossible and those that think you’re so ignorant in the ways of the canal.  I had heard comments on the radio from others to “repeat that in english skipper”.

Singling out you target.

When you attempt to hail another boat on the radio your hail goes out to all the vessels in your broadcast range and the range on the marine VHF is about 25 miles.  On a heavily traveled ICW that may mean dozens of tugboats.  Generally you attempt to narrow down your target by identifying the direction of travel and the ICW mile post they are at.  For example:”this is the east bound sailing vessel Kooky Dance calling the west bound tow around the 132.”  Sounds pretty straight forward except there are no signs indicating what mile post you are at.  You need to get that from your charts by plotting your position and interpolating yours and his mile post between the five mile intervals marked on the charts.  This can be a great deal of fun if you are alone at the wheel the wind is blowing the charts around and you are trying to NOT run aground again before lunch time.   
Often even though you have figured all this out and delivered your carefully worded broadcast to get the attention of your intended target you get no response.  You try again and your odds are 50/50 you will get a response and even less for one from your intended target.  I don’t know if I am doing it wrong or they are just too busy chuckling in their wheelhouse because it sounds like somebody gave Steve Erkle a radio mic and told him to say something funny.  You see I don’t have that twangy good old boy accent that often characterizes the tug boat captains speech.

Say What?

If you do get a response it goes something like this; “Twangy twang T sail boot. is da you on the weewoo turnee boo nneth side.”  Yeah  I did not understand it either but that should not stop you now.  A great deal of navigating tugboatese is blustering your way thru it.  Even though it is tempting to go all Robin Williams and adlib a crazy response it is recommended you respond with the obvious; “Roger skipper this is the east bound sail boat, what side you want to pass on?”  The response can be almost anything.  If by chance the response is “the one” you are in good shape.  Even though it looks like english it translates to pass port to port when going in opposite directions. 

So you ask how could a sound coming out of your radio the sounding like “the one” actually  means to pass an oncoming vessel port side to port side.  Well it is actually short for “one whistle” and harbingers back to the days before radios when the vessels use to signal each other with whistles or horns. One whistle blow meant port and two whistle blows for starboard.  Kinda easy, the number of whistles matches the number of syllables of the side of a vessel.

What seems like the end.

If, and odds are likely, you get a response in some unfamiliar words in tugboatese your in deep kim-chi.  If you are doing 6 knots and they are doing 6 knots then you are closing with your certain death and destruction at 12 knots.  If they are 1/2 mile away you have about two minute to fill out your last will and testament, say your last words to loved ones and make piece with your god or gods if you are hedging your bets with multi denominational faithing. 

The Wizard.

OORRRR you could bluster.  I always fall back on the bluster; “roger skipper I’ll see you on the one”.  The look I sometimes get from the crew is priceless.  They heard what you heard and it definitely did not sound like the “the one”.  They start to ask you, how did you understand them but they are interrupted by sounds coming from the radio that sound distinctly like a confirmation for the one.  Then they look at you like you are some kind of seer.  A wizard or sorts that will get them through anything.  Its a good feeling except you know it was just bluster.

Making a Pass.

So what if you are overtaking another vessel.  The overtaking vessel does not have right-of-way and has to call the vessel being overtaken to negotiate the passing.  Logic would dictate that if you wanted to pass them on their port side you would request to pass them “on the one”.  That would be logical but tugboatese is not always logical. 
For example if wanted to pass a slow vessel you would call them by name because when you are overtaking you can usually see their boat name on the stern and you would request from them what side they will let you pass on.  They will usually say you can come around on their two.  That means oddly enough you are to come around on their port side and your starboard.  Doesn’t really make sense but that would be par for the course for tugboatease.

Did I Hear That Right.

You will hear terms like strung out and loaded.  Now at last check these were terms used to describe drunks and junkies.  That may explain a few things about tugboatese.  I have actually wanted to respond on the radio jibber jabber with my own jibber jabber.  You know a little payback.

Passage From Apalachicola to Clearwater FL.

By Capt. Scott Buckley

Position: 27 57' 59'N, 082 48' 20'W

Progress towards destination: 768.0 nm

In the last post we planned to take advantage of some favorable sailing wind and transit from White City FL to Tampa Bay.  We had not worked out exactly where in Tampa Bay we were headed and after some research we hit upon Clearwater FL.  This happens to be the City where our boat Kooky Dance was made in 2009.  It was a little closer and the entrance looked easy.  We had planned to leave in the AM and be in the Gulf of Mexico by noon the same day.  We planned to arrive in Clearwater between 1 and 4PM the next day.  If it was too late to get a slip we had scoped out some anchorages we could wait for daylight.

The Voyage

We arose early on Sunday and prepped the boat and ourselves for departure and left the White City dock a 7AM as the sun came up.  There was ICE on the sails.  It was cold.
We traveled down from White City to Apalachicola and sailed thru Government Cut and got into the Gulf of Mexico by 12:30PM the same day.
According to plan we were a little late due to slower than planned progress due some shallowing in Wimico Lake and running hard aground coming into Government cut.  On both our paper charts and the electronic charts a sand bar just east of the channel is not shown.  The sand bar stopped Kooky Dance cold.  Fortunately we were able to get her off under her own power.
Once we were on the Gulf we turned east and put the sails out.  The winds were light so I kept the motor running.  But 5:30 that evening the winds had increased and we were able to shutdown the engine and just sail, however with the increasing winds came increasing seas.  We were getting tossed about pretty good as it got dark and without the sun it was also getting cold.  With the increasing wind and sea we also started getting pelted with spray.  Did I mention it was cold.  Getting spray in the face did not do a great deal to make the cold bearable. 

How plans change.

I had planned to make enough easting until Clearwater was at a bearing of 160 degrees magnetic however the wind were clocking to the east earlier than predicted and with the strengthening breeze I had to turn to the south earlier than planned.  I had one reef in the main and reefed in the headsail about 50%.  The head sail is a roller reefed jib and once reefed the sail no longer points well to windward.  With the winds shifting and clocking the head sail would flog and I was loosing speed and easting every time.  Did I mention it was cold and rough.  The boat was being tossed about and trying to do any task became a major effort.  On the plus side any task would warm you up quickly but the wind and the sweat soon had you shivering again in a short time.  The first mate was not have a good time but kept her misery to herself the whole time. 

The cold.

Sailing at night can be magical but sailing at night in sloppy rough conditions in the cold with salt spray pelting you and everything getting wet is not what you would call magical.  It is called something else usually not shared in polite company.  I remember the 1st mate said she just wanted it to be over.  I felt the same way but there was little I could do but sail the best speed and course to get to Clearwater.  Then it occurred to me there may be a way to get some of the wind and spray off of us. 

Some Protection That Stunk

Due to the clocking of the wind and the flogging of the head sail I furled it all the way in.  This meant we were sailing with just the reefed main sail and thus decreased our speed to 3.5 knots.  At this speed we would not make Clearwater in the daylight so I started the engine and bumped the speed back up to 5.5 knots and then it hit me.  We had spent all this time making a dodger for the boat and we made some dodger extensions.

The dodger is a strong hooded structure on the forward part of the cockpit that keeps boarding seas from the bow from washing all the way back to the cockpit.  The biminis is a cover over the cockpit to keep the sun off the helmsman.  There is a mid span panel that connect the dodger to the biminis.   The dodger extension extend the dodger the length of the mid span panel.

The center window on the front of the dodger had been removed for better breezes in the cockpit and the extensions had been stowed.  I went below and rounded up the panels from storage.  This sounds easy except the entire time you are being thrown from one bulkhead to the other as the boat pitches about and it is dark.  I strapped a light to my head because it was impossible to carry a flashlight, keep a handhold onto something solid and pull materials from their hiding places.   But I located all of it and got it on deck.  I had to install the mid span panel between the dodger and the biminis and also install the center window panel in the dodger.  The idiot that made the dodger was well...... an idiot.  His name is Joe Comer and we affectionately refer to him as Joe F@cking Comer.  The dodger panels are zipped in and there is only one sequence of zipper pulls that will work to get this installed and even then requires a great deal OF TUGGING AND PREFECT ALIGNMENT to get the thing together.  It is usually during the tugging and attempts at the perfect alignment that you start saying “Joe F@cking Comer”. 
Ever try to get perfect alignment in the dark on a wildly pitch boat when you are cold and the spray that is hitting you every 6 seconds makes it hard to see.  Not that easy.  Of the three zippers that secure the center panel of the dodger I managed to get two of them closed.  Not perfect but good enough.  As I got the second zipper closed a bunch of spray tried to hit me in the face but got stopped by the center dodger panel that was only 67% installed.  I giggle like a loon.  Things were already looking better.  Then I installed the mid panel section and while zipping it in the boat took a wild lurch and I did not have a grip on anything but the zipper and the panel and I went flying to the deck.  The light I had strapped to my head briefly showed I was headed with great speed towards one of the winches.  I was afraid I was going to lose some teeth on this one but a last minute lurch from the boat put the winch firmly into my breast bone.  I think I said; “that’s going to hurt” and got back up to continue installing the mid span panel.  Once done I started installing the extension on the windward side of the boat.  The panels are about 4’ x 4’ and at the dock were not too difficult to install.  I had never tried to install them in a 20 knot breeze in the dark on a pitching boat.  Well it was easier at the dock.  I know; SHOCKER.  Of the 2 zippers and 4 snaps I got 1 zipper and 2 snaps closed.  Not perfect but good enough. 
The protection from the breeze was immediate however by now I was sweating and actually would have liked the breeze but the 1st mate who had been standing watch while I did the worst installation EVER was appreciative of the protection that is until the diesel fumes started coming into the cockpit.  The position of the wind and the dodger and extension created and wind vortex that swept up the exhaust from the diesel engine and wafted it around in the cockpit.    Nothing and I mean nothing brings on a bout of seasickness like rough seas and diesel fumes.  So in my effort to try to ease the suffering of the 1st mate I had now managed to get her seasick.  If she went to the windward side to get out of the fumes she got a face full of spray.  If she got out of the wind and spray she was assaulted by the fumes.  After a couple of hours of fighting it she just curled up in a tiny little ball in the cockpit sole and suffered her retching misery in silence.  I only heard her say once that “I think I want to quit”.  I felt so bad for her but out here a 100 miles from land there is no quitting so I drove the boat onward towards Clearwater.  It seemed like it took days for the sun to come up and in the dark it was becoming more difficult to see.  The fumes and the spray had played hell with my contact lenses and they were coated with eye snot to the point my vision was so blurry I could see very little.  I could not read the time so I had no idea what time it was or how much longer this fun was going to last.  I think I checked my position and distance from the destination every hour but was actually checking it every few seconds because nothing indicated progress.  I had finally discovered what hell was.  We had been out of sight of land for hours and I never saw another ship during the entire crossing.

Things Were Looking Brighter

Sun finally did come up in the east after a couple of months.  The winds veered a little back to the NE so I was able to unfurl the jib and kill the engine.  1st mate came out of her tiny ball of misery and soldered on. 
I cannot say enough how impressed I am with the bravery of the 1st mate.  I know of few men that have taken on the challenges this women has and not come unglued during the process.  I really got lucky with my chosen crewmate.

I See Land

Few phrases have inspired hope like the phrase “I see land”.   After years at sea with little hope of ever finding home I might have teared up a little but I would never admit it was anything other than a little salt in my eye.  We actually pulled into the Clearwater channel a little before 3PM which was about on the original schedule.  Kooky Dance, despite the rough conditions, had sailed well offshore.  I would venture to say she may have done better with the conditions than did her crew.  We opted for the Clearwater marina near the beach but when we saw the condition of the docks we waved off the line handler and went farther upstream to the Clearwater Harbor marina and tied up there.

A Deep Sleep.

It is amazing how exhausting that sort of voyage can be.  We got the boat tied up, went up to go thru the paper work with the dockmaster, took showers to wash the salt off, ate a little dinner and then slept for 10 hours straight.  It was such a wonderful sleep that I told the 1st mate that if I had not been already happily married and the bed had proposed that I would have accepted.
The next morning we cleaned up the boat, washed off the salt and did 3 loads of laundry.  I called the owner of Caliber Yachts and told him we were in town if he wanted to stop by.  He did and it was a good visit.  Kooky Dance was one of the last Caliber 40 LRC that Caliber built.  In true George McCrery fashion he went around inspecting the boat, poking a flashlight into all the corners and asked questions.  He thought we have done a pretty good job on the boat and her equipment.  He even got me in touch with someone that had the Nexus wind instrument I needed to fix mine.

Next Destination

There are three cold fronts headed our way and dockage in Florida can be expensive so we are looking at options for the next 5 days and we will have to see how this will play out tomorrow.  More about planning and logistics in the next post.

Logistics of Cruising and Weather

Logistics of Cruising and Weather

By Capt. Scott Buckley

We recently completed an offshore passage from Pensacola FL to White City FL.  Total distance is about 140 nm and it took us about 24 hrs dock to dock. Pensacola Fl is the sight of a pretty impressive naval station and a historic Fort.  We stayed at the new Palafox Pier marina and did some repairs to the boat and waited for favorable weather.  We were pleasantly docked next to some fellow cruisers (Todd and Nina on SV Prism) who had left a week before us headed east and fed information about their experiences to us as we travel about 1 day behind them.  We overtook them at Gulf Port MS and they caught up to us in Pensacola.  We both left Pensacola on Thursday but were bound for different destinations.  While we were headed for Apalachicola FL they were headed for Panama City.  Our destination was about 35 nm further than theirs.  

The above picture depicts the route we took.  We stayed inside the 3 nm coastal limit due to a Navy broadcast that they would be conducting live fire exercises in the area form Destine FL to San Blas Island FL from 3 to 125 nm offshore.  I am glad we heeded the warning.  We thought we saw some lightening that first night that as we got closer turned out to be the mussel flashes of some pretty big guns. 
The area that is boarded in the picture above is their live missile test area.  We will be avoiding this area.
I said this post would be about more of the logistics of cruising so here goes.  When planning our departure, route and destination we had to take into account the weather and timing.  As well as what facilities and shelter if any existed at the other end.

The Route

The route had to be offshore.  The ICW in this area cannot be transited by vessels that cannot pass under a 50’ bridge.  We cannot.  The Navarre Bridge east of Pensacola is 50’ high.  The Choctawhatchee Bay entrance bridge is 49’ high and the DuPont bridge by Pearl Bayou east of Panama City is also 50’ high.  The next entrance into the ICW is the Port of St. Joe just north of Apalachicola. With all these restrictions putting in there (Port of St. Joe) was the shortest jump for a journey to the Tampa Bay area.  I have a cousin there that we would like to visit on our way thru.  There would be some protection at the Port of St. Joe or farther up the canal at White City public dock.  I was not looking for an anchorage and when we get to the weather section you will understand why.

The Weather

There was a moderate cold front coming thru Pensacola on Wednesday.  The winds offshore were predicted to be NE around 15 knots.  Though not ideal winds that was much better than winds out of the E or SE.  Once we got past Destin FL and started turning south the NE winds would be favorable for reaching and we sailor like reaching.  The front came thru Wednesday night as predicted and we sat over on SV Prism enjoying the company of our new friends as the rain poured down.  The next morning I got up early and listened to the marine forecast and became concerned with a second much stronger front that was expected to blow thru Friday night.  The forecast called for gale force conditions (35 knot winds) and 14’ seas.  I knew for certain I did not want to be caught at sea in these conditions if it could be avoided.  Further the winds after the front were predicted to swing quickly back to the east. 
So my options were to wait for the second front to pass and the sea to die down and fight the east wind for 100 nm while I work my way east.  Not a very attractive option.  It would delay our departure 3 days and make the offshore passage a very long windward passage.  My second option was to leave after the first front passed and take advantage of the northerly winds and use them to work my way east.  Then find some place to hide for the second front to pass.  My reasoning was that the rest of the journey was roughly in the SSE direction and E winds would not be too difficult to manage. The 1st mate and I discussed the options and agreed the second option was what we were going to do.  The risk was getting caught offshore during the second front.

Managing the Risk

What could get us caught offshore.  Very slow progress, crew injury or equipment failure that stranded us or slowed our progress.  For stranding we would call for help or make way to the nearest port.  One of the tasks we completed in Pensacola was to repair our marine VHF radio.  We had figured out it had very limited range on our trip east and made the decision to fix it before going on.  If our progress was slow we would duck for cover at the nearest port.  If we could not get to a near by port we would run with the wind south and skip Apalachicola entirely.  We had charts and information on all the ports along the route and I did not plan going so far offshore that making a break for one of these ports would be a very long trip.  We rigged up the jack lines on the boat and agreed we would stay “clipped in” at night and if weather and seas dictated it.  We topped off the water tanks and fuel tanks and secured everything else.  We were ready, the boat was ready, the route was planned and the timing was worked out.

The Timing.

The offshore portion of the route was 104 nm and the inland portion of the route was an additional 30 miles.  Because we were both unfamiliar with the approach into Port of St. Joe we did not want to do it in the dark.  Because of the arrival of the second front Friday night we would like to start making our way into the St. Joe Friday morning to give us some time to find shelter.  If we left Pensacola in the late morning we would be in the Gulf of Mexico by 14:00 or 2PM to everybody else.  If we managed 5 to 5.5 knots were would be at the entrance to St. Joe bay at 8 or 9 AM the next day.  5 knots should be very easy to achieve in SV Kooky Dance but I did not want to cut this voyage timing too close and risk getting caught by the second front.  If we got there early we could stand off the entrance until day light arrived. 

The passage

We slipped the lines in Pensacola at 10AM and made the run east toward St. Joe at 13:20. There was an outgoing tide and boosted our speed thru Pensacola Bay.  The winds were a little east of north and the seas were huge.  I was surprised and a bit discouraged by the waves.  It was going to be a long and uncomfortable day if the seas did not lie down.  The Bow was regularly going under and shipping green water onto the deck.  The lee rail was under some of the time as well.  Tamera and I were clipped in and hanging on.  The boat appeared to be doing OK and everything was staying secure.
As we worked our way east the waves did decrease and it was then it hit me why they were so bad as we left Pensacola.  Remember that out going tide that pushed quickly out to the Gulf was a counter current to the prevailing seas.  Seas against current cause the seas to build in height and steepness.  I called SV Prism on the radio and let them know the rough conditions they were in would get better as they worked their way east and away from the Pensacola's out going tidal current.  That was welcome news.
SV Kooky Dance was sailing well around 5.7 to 6 knots but was close to the wind.  The winds had a bit more east to then than the forecast predicted but not enough to get too worked up about.  In a couple of hour the winds veered back to the north and we were sailing at 6 to 6.5 knots.  With this speed however we were going to arrive at our destination at 4AM in the dark.  I said if our speed keeps up I would need to slow the boat down but I would not do so until we were much closer to our final destination.  I said I would look at it with 50 miles to go.  We continued to do well with boat speed even though the winds were a bit variable.  Speed would vary from 5.2 to 7.5 knots thru out the day and at 46 miles to go we rolled in the head sail and sailed on with just the reefed main sail.  I allowed the mail to twist off at the top and got the boat speed down to 4.5 knots.  This had us arriving around 7AM.  At this point I felt pretty certain I could speed back up if needed.
We arrived at the entrance to St. Joe bay at 6:30AM (again the boat speed would creep up occasionally) and proceeded up the canal to join back up to the ICW from Panama City to Apalachicola FL.  We proceeded to the White City public dock and tied up to the floating dock along the canal at 10AM Friday morning.  We ran aground trying to get to the new fixed docks by the boat ramps but got off easily.
We tied the boat up well with 6 dock lines and waited for the second cold front to arrive.  It was late and the winds did not pound us until the wee hours of the morning.  This is why I did not want to find and anchorage to wait out the front.  All the anchorages in this area were in rivers or ox bows.  There would be little swing room and if the anchor dragged there would be little room to react.  The front was going to hit us in the dark and it can difficult to determine if the anchor is dragging in the dark.  I doubted either of us would have been able to relax.

White City Dock

The White City dock is primarily a boat launch dock and a small city park.  There was a bathroom but no showers and no lights in the bathrooms so you should bring a light with you.  We were able to unload our trash and if you walk a short way towards town you could get some weak cellular signal for the phone.  A little over 1/2 mile to the east along Hwy 71 there is a small country store where we bought some bread and eggs.  The store was well stocked for the angler. 

There was no security but we encountered no problems.

We left early the next morning after the second front blew thru.  There was ice on the sails.

Planning the next leg to Tampa Bay.

Based on the weather forecast the winds for Sunday were to decrease to 15 knots from the north and clock to the NE by midnight with seas 3 to 5 feet and occasional 7 feet.  Winds on Monday were to continue out of the NE and gradually clock to the E.  They nearly got it right.  We would leave Apalachicola thru Government Cut and head east with a north wind.  We would be sheltered for a while by St. George Island.  After that it would a wide open fetch to the NE for the seas to build.  The wind would be good for sailing.  My fear was SE winds which prevail in this area.  SE winds would be from the direction we wanted to go which means we would need to tack into the wind the entire 150 miles.  Tacking is sailing a zig zag pattern towards your destination.  It also means you will be sailing hard on the wind which is a point of sail that gives the boat the maximum heal.  Even though you may be sailing 5 or 6 knots thru the water your speed toward your destination is about 70% of that speed if you are optimizing your wind angle.  That would mean tacking the boat for every wind shift.  A difficult thing to do when sailing short handed.  With just 2 persons on board you will not be optimizing your wind angle so your actual speed to your destination will be more in the range of 60% or your speed thru the water or 3 knots.  For the 150 mile run it would take 50 hour.  By taking advantage of the N and NE winds as we planned we could cut that time to 36 hours.  It could be a little rough but it is likely to be rough in any condition that we could sail in.

Planned timing to Tampa Bay FL

We planned to leave White City FL before 8AM on Sunday.  We planned to be thru Government Cut and into the Gulf of Mexico by noon on the same day.  From there we thought we could be entering the Tampa Bay channel by 4PM the next day.  That was the plan.  In the next post we will cover the passage to Tampa Bay FL which incidentally is close to where our boat was made back in 2009 by Caliber Yachts.