breaking the mold 21 jan 2018

Breaking  the mold

We arrived back at “Submit” to find a real train wreck.  It would have been bad enough just to find the demolished portions we left behind.  However, adding insult to injury,

mold.  everywhere.

So, phase one was to remove everything from the boat.  We rented a storage unit (or two) and hauled truck loads away.  This is one way to learn how much you have accumulated over several years. 

Some stuff only made it as far as the trash.  We didn’t bother to do a lot of sorting, so some of it will be eliminated as we move back aboard.

Phase two is

Clean.  Barbara is the most dedicated hard worker.  She scrubbed the entire interior with bleach water.  She has been sealing holes and sanding and masking.  She’ll begin priming the entire interior with Kilz primer this afternoon and then paint it all.  Soon all will be clean and shiny.

Meanwhile, I am attempting belt and suspenders on the fuel tanks.  As a review, both tanks developed pin hole leaks. I believe the process was accelerated by the construction methods used when the tanks were built 10 or 11 years ago.

To get the tanks out, lower salon berths had to be disassembled and both water tanks removed.  Then, a significant chunk of built in glued screwed and plugged cabinetry had to be removed.  Then, the upper saloon sole had to be removed. 

The tanks were delivered to a local welding shop which guaranteed they could repair the tank and there would be no leaks. 

 After repairing the first tank, we discovered a leak in the second tank.  After it was repaired, both tanks were reinstalled and most of the boat put back together, with new upper salon sole,

 only to discover that the first tank still had a leak.  We removed everything again and took that tank back to the welder.  He apologized profusely and repaired again and tested with light pressure.  Having no leak show up, we took the tank back to the boat.  However, before installing, I put it on saw horses and partially filled with fuel and let it set overnight.  No leak showed, so it was reinstalled and much of the boat put back together plus dumping about 7 gallons of fuel into it.  Next morning, a tiny leak manifested itself to Barbara's discerning eye.  Disassemble the boat again, pull the tank and drop off at the welding shop which had closed early on a Friday afternoon.  I made sure they could tell it was leaking and left “encouraging notes”.  Saturday and Sunday were spent throwing everything into the boat and preparing to close her up for 9 months.  Monday morning I met with the welder who promised the tank would be fixed and pressure tested and delivered to the boat.  We left for home an hour later.

As for the belt and suspenders, I’ve pressure tested both tanks personally.  KBS makes a fuel tank internal coating system which I will install in both tanks.  It’s time consuming but I believe worth it to do everything I can to prevent future problems.  It will be good to have them reinstalled and the new upper saloon sole in place and water tanks reinstalled and lower saloon berths rebuilt. 

Additional projects this trip include painting the topsides and deck and replacing the 50 year old teak toe rail with aluminum toe rail.  I still need to come up with a good idea and material for replacing the rub rails.  I also need to reinstall the cleaned engine heat exchanger and the new primary alternator,  and put new bearings in the wind generator, and check out the front seals of the transmission and reinstall it and check out the bilge pumps and install a garboard plug assembly and bottom paint and …..

Don’tcha just love owning a classic?

13 January, 2018

13 January, 2018

Good morning. We are sitting with our coffee and thinking of all of you. It is 33 degrees outside and consequently a perfect time to tell you the story of our trip to Submit.

As with any 'passage', one must wait for a 'weather window'.  The “conditions” for which we were waiting were, for example, appointments, truck repairs, new tires for motorhome, etc.

New tires for the motorhome? Yup. At one point we thought we were going to be headed here in Bev, our antique motorhome. We weren't able to find a place to rent for a month that fit our budget, so we had to dig Bev out of a foot of snow.  Of course we needed a place to park her while here and while searching for that…voila! We found a camper trailer to rent just a couple miles from Submit's winter home.  With her new tires, Bev plowed back up the driveway and nestled down in the snow. Back to plan A-the truck.

You might expect us to have been ready to leave at the drop of a hat since we had been aiming at departing as early as 12/26.  Well, we weren’t.  However, someone dropped a hat on 1/5 just after lunch.  Make a few phone calls, drive 50 miles round trip to pick up the pickup, grab some stuff and by 6:00 that night we were on the road. As it is bad luck to start of passage on a Friday, we just went to Missoula to eat ice cream and say good bye to family. Our voyage started on Saturday.  The Friday luck did get us though, as we began to remember all the things we had forgotten to grab in our rush to escape roughly two feet of snow at home.

In Missoula, we woke up to find Snow White, the truck, covered in a layer of ice. It was definitely time to leave the frozen North. Actually, we didn't head south. We were headed to North Dakota to see family. For the first few hours, the driver’s white knuckles matched the icy road conditions. As we moved east the temperature climbed and we were on our way.

On Sunday Reggie did a repair on Snow White's bed cover. We had a good visit and feasted on delicious dinners provided by grandson's elk.

Many of you encouraged us to take our time and enjoy the trip. Heeding your advice, after a day layover we drove to see the giant heads of SD, which we had never seen, but was on my bucket list. Quite impressive. I was particularly interested in learning how in the world that project was conceived and then carried out.

Tuesday was a travel day as we were excited to get to St. Louis for another visit. We were provided with another evening of good food, good conversation and some laughing.  We would like to have stayed longer but the news was full of warnings about a severe winter storm headed towards us

Snow White wanted an oil change, so we ended up sitting for a few hours in the lobby of a local Ford dealer waiting for that which caused another rather short day of travel. Wednesday we put some miles under the wheels. It looked like we would be in Nashville that night. Should we stop before Nashville and avoid rush hour? Should we stay in Nashville? Or maybe push through and stay of the other side? We chose option 3.  Nashville at rush hour is not for old folks from Montana. The helpful navigation voice from our phone said to exit, so we did. Hmmm? This hardly seems right. We are now driving through a rather old part of the city, then through two lane residential streets. "Go three blocks and turn right. Proceed to the stop sign and turn left. Go 100 feet turn right."  Our dear friends had encouraged us to spend some time in Nashville. "Go to the Grand Ol' Opry. Have some fun."  It is our theory that they somehow hacked our phone and sent us on a highly questionable tour of Nashville. Not sure why they took us through that particular area, however. Weird sense of humor?

Once back on the freeway and out of Nashville, we stopped in Murfreesboro for the night. Glad to be out of Nashville. In the morning the news was all about the winter storm. "Do not drive. Stay home. Schools and businesses closed." Nashville had freezing rain and soon snow would be covering the ice.  It was raining in Murfreesboro, but not freezing yet; however the temperature dropped about 20 degrees while we were breakfasting and preparing to get on the road.  Time to get a move on.

We outran the storm and arrived safely at our new temporary home in Satsuma, FL. (anyone know how to rotate this photo in the blog?)

As we prepared to retire, we closed the drapes and were welcomed by the current owner of the trailer:

He was almost 3" long.  We encouraged him to vacate.

The coffee is gone. The temperature is slowly climbing. I'll leave the next chapter until another day.

Barbara

firsst post 2018

First post for 2018

First, apologies to all.  I note we did not continue posting last spring.  We even had folks trying to contact us to see if we were shipwrecked!  Nothing so serious.

We eventually floated off our grounding in Daytona and continued our chilly trip north.  At St John’s River intersection with the intracoastal waterway, we turned west, upriver, towards Jacksonville.  This is a large commercial port area and it is a little daunting to travel through, between and around ships and tugs with river currents and tides.  Our 35.5 foot boat begins to look and feel really small.

We spent the night at the free municipal docks in Jacksonville and headed out early only to have to wait a long time for a bridge to raise.  It was under construction and only raised at very specific times.  Be there or miss it.

The St John’s river turns south just past downtown Jacksonville.  For some reason, heading south “up river” always seems odd to me.  We were heading to a new-to-us marina, Gibson Dry Docks south of Palatka on the St John’s.  We had been as far as Green Cove Springs Marina several times, but not beyond.  There is a bridge just past Green Cove Springs which shows 46 ft clearance at high tide.  By my calculations, the top of our mast is 46 ft above the water and I usually assume 50 feet.  Then we have a VHF antenna and a static electricity dissipater and an anchor light on top.  Some of you may recall we had a wind indicator at the masthead but we were not worried about damaging it since it was lost in a hurricane the previous winter.

We arrived at the bridge…at high tide.  We should drop anchor and wait.  But we were tired and anxious to get to the boatyard which we believed was just a short way past the bridge and could haul us out that day if we arrived in time.  Also we had been told there was an additional two feet clearance near the center of the span.  So, against better judgment, we headed under.  The antenna dinged each time it hit a bridge beam.  The dissipater bent aft a little.  Nothing touched the anchor light or mast.  We are told God watches over damned fools and idiots!

It turns out the marina is about half a day past the bridge.  We could not get there in time to be hauled out so we tied up at the municipal docks in Palatka and spent a couple nights.  I had my first haircut in probably 6 months.  We walked through portions of the town and ate in cafes.  We made contact with folks through Home Away to rent their condo for a month. 

A condo?  For a month?  Best decision of the trip.  “Submit” needed work.  Half the interior had to be disassembled including much of the dinette area, the double Pullman berth, remove the water tanks and most of the upper salon sole to get at what we thought was one leaking fuel tank only to discover that both had leaks.   Both tanks are supposed to have been repaired and are waiting for me to apply internal sealant before re-installing them when we return.  “While in the area” we decided to deal with a hull-to-deck joint leak at the starboard bow.  In order to access it, the 50 year old teak toe rail had to be removed and did not like it.  So, all the teak toe rail was removed from both sides, with significant struggling by both me and Barbara, along with the safety lines and stanchions, bow pulpit, anchor roller and frame and I forget what else.  The decision has been made to replace the toe rail with an aluminum toe rail which we were given from another boat if we would (and did) remove it prior to the boat going to salvage.  So, since none of the old mounting holes will work for the “new” toe rail, they and several others needed to be sealed with epoxy particularly since we were going to be leaving the boat for months.  And, “while we are in the area”, the deck needs repainting and so does the hull, which may require new rub rails.  A couple minor bulkhead repairs have been done, but the above work and installing a new alternator and rebuilding the wind generator and…will be done by us, we think.

High points of our stay?

 Use of a car loaned to us by our friends from Newfoundland saved our transportation bacon.

 The condo gave us air conditioned relief when the heat returned plus baths and showers and laundry and kitchen and wifi and escape from the mess of the boat and allowed Calgary friends to come stay with us for a few days in the 2^nd bedroom with bath.

Calgary friend Brian who was conscripted to work two half days and a full day salvaging toe rail, the labors of which I shall not describe here.

Barbara’s ceaseless toil, support and patience through at least three and a half of the four weeks.  We both pretty much ran dry by the end.

We anticipate several weeks of work on “Submit” before she is ready to launch.  We hope to find a few diversions during that work time.  Perhaps friends will be nearby to visit us or us them.  (We promise to not make you work on “Submit” unless you really really want to).  Perhaps a few days exploring the area.  Perhaps???

We will be driving down this year in part to have transportation while projecting.  We think we have a small place located to rent while staying off the boat.  Our route from here to there is yet to be determined, based in part on weather and road conditions and where we can go to visit folks along the way.  If any of you would care to join us for a meal or whatever as we pass through, please let us know.  It might be do-able depending on northern, central or southern route.

Happy New Year and smooth sailing in calm waters.

Reggie and Barbara  

ever changeable plans

March 6, 2017

As I write this, we are at Florida anchor, aka hard aground, waiting for the tide to come in and lift us off. We spent three nights at Halifax Harbor Marina because the wind was strong right on the nose and we weren’t having fun.  I was below and Reggie was at the helm in his sweat pants, coat and hat.

some days are less warm than others in Florida

Let me back up to our crossing. We knew we expected brisk winds from the ESE. It was brisk and rocky rolly. I felt like an old tennis shoe in the washing machine. Our plan was to go straight through to the St John’s River which would take about 48 hours. After doing isometric exercises for two hours at the helm followed by a two hour restless break before the next round of isometrics, we opted for plan B. We altered course for Ft. Pierce, ETA 24 hours after leaving Ocean Reef.  Once we hit the Gulf Stream, we thought it might be an easier ride to go with it and the waves. Back to Plan A.  It was smoother for a short time, then worse than ever. Plan C, Head for Cape Canaveral.

As we worked our way up the coast of Florida on Wednesday morning, a couple different turtles let us get closer than they ever have before. They are very shy and usually dive before I get a good look at them. These guys let us get within about 20 feet.  We also had a large group of dolphin escort us. There may have been as many as twenty. They were smaller than usual, maybe 3 to 4 feet average length. Most of them had spots on the backs. I have never seen ones that small or with spots. Do you know if they are a different breed?

We arrived sometime on Wednesday. Cape Canaveral Inlet is deep and wide, so we didn’t have to consider tide. However, it is about 8 miles from the ICW with two bascule bridges and a lock. First bascule opened for us and only a short wait for the lock to open. The next bridge closed and would not open until 6 PM. We found a place to drop anchor which allowed boats to navigate around us and ate dinner and relaxed. Once through the bridge, we dropped anchor just off the ICW and slept.

Thursday morning we were back on the water highway. 

approaching the drawbridge before passing out into Mosquito Lagoon

local rules posted on the bascule bridge

We made good time and had a quiet night at anchor. Friday morning the cold front arrived, but Reggie bundled up and headed north. We were going to need to fuel up sometime in the near future. Halifax Harbor Marina was the place. Our stay here allowed us to hide from several days of brisk (20 knots, gusting up to 30) winds on the nose.

Daytona seemed like a nice place. We walked about 3 miles to a grocery store on Saturday and lugged four sags of food back to the boat. I think my arms are a couple inches longer.  On Sunday, we again walked about 3 miles to the bus terminal only to find that it was closed.  Reggie walked most of the docks. I went with him for a couple of them. We searched for a good sea food place, but didn’t find one.

The tide should be starting to rise pretty soon and we will be on our way again. It should take us four days  to get to our next, and last, marina for this trip. That is our present Plan A.

Ocean Reef marina 27 February 2017

We are slowly, so as not to be working too hard, preparing “Submit” today for the trip west from here to either Ft. Pierce Inlet or all the way to the mouth of the St. Johns River.  We are heading back to Florida to put her into a boatyard and begin projects.  We have a couple we must do and many we could do.  Many of the “could do” projects are personalizing things aboard to fit the way we do things.  Some are cosmetic.

"Submit" in relaxation mode

The list of possible projects has started us thinking about future plans. Do we continue with our winter sabbaticals aboard “Submit”?  If so, where?  Doing what?  Are we nearing or have we reached the end of our time with her and should sell her and move on to other bucket list things?  If we sell her, should she be sold “as is”, ready to go as we know her to be, or do we do projects to increase her resale value?  Will any project done add at least as much value as the cost and effort of doing the project?  And, if we did part with her, what would we do next?

Our time here has been interesting.  Cruisers come here for a few days and leave, or not.  One fellow said they came last year for 4 days and ended up staying a month.  Others have said similar things.  One boat has been here for 10 years, tied to the dock.  The owners come here for several months each year.  It is their winter home.  Cost of living is low and the weather is better than in the northern US or Canada.  A free shuttle bus is available to take folks to the local super market at least twice a week.  There are activities and gatherings available if you wish to participate. (Our friends from SV Whisper” won the best dressed prize at the Academy awards party last night).  Almost anything you could want is available or can be acquired fairly quickly at what we’ve seen as reasonable prices.  Several airlines service the area regularly form the US, Canada and Nassau.  Family and friends can easily visit.

There is still a lot of devastation visible from Hurricane Matthew.  Blown down trees and partially destroyed roofs are everywhere.  Repairs and upgrades are ongoing.

It is nice to be able to go to the fresh water swimming pools on a hot afternoon.  Great beaches are not far away by foot, dinghy, cab or bus.  Most all locals and cruisers are friendly.  Over all, this is a pretty nice place to pass through or to stay long term.

Berries and Ocean Reef 22 feb 2017

We spent three days at anchor in a well protected spot in the Berry’s as the wind howled around us from several different directions. When it finally settled down we headed to shore to walk to the blue hole. There was no trail as described. The rocky beach, which was supposed to be an alternative, was more than we cared to negotiate, so we hauled anchor and worked our way further north. We dropped anchor on the east side of Great Harbor and loaded the empty Gerry cans into the dinghy. The Shell station was on the other side of the island, about 2 or 2 ½ miles. We asked one woman if we were going in the right direction. She replied in the affirmative and then said that she would be right back and give us a ride. Before she had time to return, three men in a pickup truck gave us a ride to the station and back to our dinghy. That job certainly was easy.  

Back on Submit and fueled up we again pulled anchor and continued North. This time we were headed for Ocean Reef Yacht Club on Grand  Bahama Island on the southern most part of the Abacos.  We slogged slowly under light winds and a starry sky. We were passed by several cruise ships and freighters, so we were hardly ever alone. All of that activity makes the two hours on watch go by quickly.  The only real excitement was the barracuda which Reggie hooked. I’m so glad that he didn’t also hook the fish that was taking bites out of his barracuda as he was reeling it in. We have had better fishing success this year, but still no fish to eat.

Vic and Marilyn on Whisper, whom we met last year in Bimini, welcomed us to the elderly cruisers retirement center. We are now experiencing what it would be like to be a snowbird of the cruising world. There are two pools with hot tubs, a tennis court, bocce ball a couple times a week, bingo three times a week, Monday Madness dinners, Karaoke, and movies on Thursday nights. A bus takes us to the grocery store on Saturday and Monday. There is shuttle bus to the Market Place most days.

Our plan on arrival was to check in, say Hi to Vic and Marilyn and go to sleep. Instead, we loaded into our dinghy and headed to Two Dollar Bar for lunch since we hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch, which was fine by me. I could sleep later. We were able to meet many of our cruising snowbirders there. What a raucous time! It was the best hamburger I’ve ever eaten.

When we retuned, it was time to catch the bus to the grocery store. Our supplies were pretty low. I was falling asleep on my feet after the long night and big meal. Reggie went to the store.

Other than the activities here and socializing with everyone, we have taken the shuttle to the Market Place and then walked back here by way of the beach. The Market Place consists of small touristy shops. The women went into at least five jewelry stores. I noticed some boutiques and restaurants and Reggie and Vic found a liquor store.

Today is stormy, so I’m mostly reading. Reggie is measuring the mast to see if we would be able to get under a bridge to go to a marina that sounds like the place we would most prefer to take Submit this year. Yesterday he installed our new rigid boom vang. As long as he is happy, I’m happy.

Update 14 Feb 2017

Update 14 February 2017

After Little Farmers Cay, we went to Black Point.  One of the attractions is the best coin operated Laundromat in the central Exumas.  How many time have any of you chosen to head to a specific town just to do laundry?

We arrived on Superbowl Sunday and the town was jumping so we decided to just stay on the boat.  On Monday, we went to town to scout it out.  The laundry was waiting lines long with cruisers preparing to depart.  We did some provisioning and a little hiking to see the sights.   Several places along the streets, under trees, sat folks in the shade weaving grass hats, bowls and baskets.  At the market, the nice lady gave us a dilly from their sapodilla tree which we hope will ripen before it spoils.  After a nice lunch we headed back to the boat. 

Tuesday became laundry day.  Many of the cruisers had moved on so there were no waiting lines.  We also had a great breakfast at Lorraine’s Restaurant as our early lunch.  A little more provisioning and a visit with sailing friends from SV “Riannon” and back to the boat.  Some of the provisions I was hoping to get were about 40% higher than in Little Farmers Cay which was a big surprise.

A highlight was catching a fish! …. Almost.  There were a couple long fish cruising in the shade under our boat.  I dropped in a line with a piece of fish attached to the hook.  One of the fish about 3 feet long took the bait and hooked himself.  I brought him in with the hand spool.  We weren’t sure about the type of fish.  When snorkeling, they looked a little like a type of shark to me, so I wanted to make sure before bringing it aboard.  When I raised its head out of the water for a look, it threw the hook out and escaped.  Barbara believes it was an amber jack.  I think it was a snook.  Whichever, none of them would touch the bait again.

So much for Black Point.  We liked the little town.  The people were friendly and the town was pretty clean.  Bahamian islands and towns have tons of refuse around, mostly plastic.  It washes up on the beaches and gets thrown  into the bushes by the locals.  Most cruisers try hard not to add to the mess and some of us even pick up some of the trash and put it into any available trash barrel, if there is one.

On to Staniel Cay. 

Staniel Cay is more up scale.  It looks a little like Hope Town with the many colored rentals.  The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a focal point for cruisers, offering some slips and fuel and bar and restaurant, etc., and the perpetual collection of sharks near the fish cleaning station!

  Nearby is Thunderball Grotto of James Bond fame.

We topped up with fuel, moved way from the dock, anchored and dinghied back to town for a shopping spree.  We found a few items at Pink market and a few more at Blue market, but no bread or eggs.  However, the coconut cake and zucchini bread were treats.  So is the local cheese.

After moving for more protection from a northerly blow, we spent two nights on the boat at anchor.  Because of weather timing, we decided to move farther north and skip additional time in the Staniel Cay area.  However, we were not going to find provisions again for perhaps many days, so, back to town.  Fresh bread and zucchini bread was available at Blue, as well as some frozen chicken hind quarters but still no eggs.  Barbara had been wanting chicken, in part to have skin for fishing.  A long walk to Isles General Market provided eggs and some fresh produce.

Back to the boat and off we go to Cambridge Cay, which is in the Exumas Land and Sea Park.  We spent two nights on a mooring ball (can you pick out "Submit"?)

and part of a day hiking Cambridge Cay.

You never know what type of wild animal you'll find in the park!

Early Monday morning the 13^th found us dropping the mooring ball and heading out for an overnight passage to White Cay/Devils Cay/Fowl Cay anchorage area of the Berries.  We were under way for about 27 hours, but had to motor the whole way due to adverse northerly breezes.  Night fall found us out of deep water onto the shallow bank for 25 miles.  There were no routes for us to follow in this area and warnings from the navigation system about using caution, shallow reefs and coral heads, and only traveling with good daylight visibility.  Does an almost full moon count?

Besides the moon, there were lots of stars and the lights of Nassau to the west of us.  “Liberty Princess” cruised by in the night, lit up like Las Vegas.  “Disney Dream” cruised past at daylight.  Today, Valentines Day, finds us anchor down at 25’36.8 N, 77’43.963 W.