Punta Gorda to The Bahamas Part 1 of 2

I hate wind.  North. South. East. West.  It doesn't matter.  For a "sailor" this can be a problem.  But the problem arises when the wind is blowing (1) in your face or (2) in your face.  This is what we experienced on our trip.  Not only was it blowing in our face, it was blowing HARD.  Don't get me wrong, I love a tropical breeze, but that only happens when we are sitting on our patio/at the beach consuming a fruity drink with a little umbrella in it. 

We left home on April 10, bound for Key West, Marathon and then The Bahamas.  We wanted to return home before the end of May, so we thought we had plenty of time. We were meeting our friends Larry & Pam Shelton on s/v Southern Girl in Key West.  They had left a week earlier.   We didn't leave a week earlier because our autopilot decided to break and the requisite parts had to be ordered.  It was a sign.  The second sign came the day before we left when Bob discovered that the A/C thru hull valve would not close.  The thru hull lets water into the boat to cool the A/C.  It's important that you can close it if necessary.  Since it is generally open, except to clean the filter, we decided that it would be OK to leave on our trip anyway.  We didn't get it fixed in Punta Gorda because this is not something that can be fixed at our dock.  More on that later.

We shoved off about noon.  Weather was clear and the wind was fairly favorable.  Until about dark.  The wind clocked around to our nose (of course!), the waves picked up and I became seasick for the first time on the boat.  Bob stayed awake all night and I slept some in the cockpit.  (I didn't go below for obvious reasons.)  Sunsets are still beautiful, even in seasickness and the wind.


By morning, we were getting closer to Key West.  But the wind was still OTN (reference our Gulf Crossing blog posts) and we were still getting bounced by waves. 

We have been to Key West several times, but this was the first time on our boat.  We followed the LONG channel in [Northwest Channel] which happens to go past the cruise ship dock.  Of course, a cruise ship was leaving which caused some nervous moments since we weren't exactly sure where the ship was going to go.  In any case, we eventually made it to the Garrison Bight mooring field.  Southern Girl was watching for us and we were able to secure a mooring near them.   Captain Larry brought Captain Bob a Red Stripe once our mooring was secure.  Then we slept and slept...

For the next day or so, we checked in at the office, lowered the dinghy and "recovered" from our trip.  On Sunday evening, we enjoyed a dinner on Water's Edge with Pam and Larry and celebrated with 2 bottles of bubbly (Thank you St Somewhere!). I must admit that the weather was spectacular most of the trip (except for The Wind).  We were pretty comfortable sleeping without the A/C while in the mooring field.  However, I have to say that our travel buddies are much better at cruising than we are.  Give me the comforts of A/C and having the dock next to my boat.  Sorry, but I'm a wimp.

On the way to KW, Bob continued to have concerns about the thru hull.  We moved the boat to the Galleon Marina for a few days.  There were some maintenance workers working on the dock.  We called one of them about the thru hull and ended up taking the boat to Robbie's Marina on Stock Island, had it pulled out, and the thru hull fixed.  What they say is true -- cruising is all about fixing your boat in exotic places. 

Mini haul out on Stock Island

Back to the marina!  Since The Wind was not letting us move on, Larry and Pam decided to go back to Houston for a week to take care of some things.  We moved back to the mooring field and kept an eye on Southern Girl.  While they were gone, we actually had a night or two of Little Wind, but it came back with a vengence as usual.

I actually enjoy sitting in the cockpit and reading (or playing Words) for hours on end.  Captain Bob, not so much...

More of our trip in Part 2 - more boat maintenance, Wind, Key West, Marathon, Key West, Wind and home... 

He's Here!

Soren Moore Rinehart entered this world on June 25, 2013 in Zurich, Switzerland.  His little sister, Sage, is very happy with him and taking her role as Big Sister very seriously.

Waiting Patiently

Everyone, especially Sage, is waiting patiently for her little brother to arrive!

The ABC's of Florida

"A" is for Andrea.  For the past week the weather has been lousy.  A little bit of rain every day and we had been watching a storm system that had been hanging around from Cuba to SW Florida and it just wasn't moving.  The weather guys on TV were downplaying it pretty much as just some rain and a little wind with not much chance of developing into a big storm and certainly not a hurricane.  Whew. 

That changed somewhat Wednesday night.  We were going to get wind and rain and the "moisture" was now Tropical Storm Andrea.  On Thursday the canal behind the house filled up (literally), was moving swiftly and the winds were picking up.  The strongest gust was measured at Punta Gorda Airport at about 58 knots.  We did not experience that at our house, thank heavens.  The area was under a tornado watch until Thursday night.  We got a lot of rain, a little over 4", but we did not experience any flooding in our neighborhood.  In Punta Gorda they did close some streets due to flooding, but I understand that is a common occurrence.   There was no real storm damage and no one was hurt.

In any case, the local paper tells us this was a "dress rehearsal" for the hurricane season.  Stay tuned.

Storm surge covering our neighbor's dock

Boat Stuff & Catching Up

Well, we have been here almost two weeks and the memories of the crossing are fading.  The weather here has been great and we are enjoying retirement.  Our new philosophy of "never doing anything today that can be put off until tomorrow" seems to be working well.   However, we can't stop spending money. 


Bob supervises the barge moving in with clipboard (sans hardhat)

We had a "Slidemoor" system installed on our dock. Unlike Watergate Marina, our dock is not floating -- it's not even wood -- it is concrete.  Tends not to move too much. The installation involved having a barge with a huge hydraulic crane/hammer snuggle up to the boat; removing two pilings and installing two taller pilings to which was attached the system that will allow the boat to rise and fall with the tide. They worked around the boat, moving it forward or back as required. 


It is pretty amazing.  The boat is only "fastened" to the dock at 2 points on the new pilings (as shown).  No fenders or other lines are necessary.  The boat only can move up and down with the tide -- there is no yawing at all.  We were told that you could secure it with shoestrings, however, we chose 1/2" lines.  



Top of the world!

As mentioned in a previous blog, our  jib fell when we came into Charlotte Harbor.  Greg from UK sails went up the mast and we caught a break for a change.  The shackle had actually bent and come apart allowing the jib to fall.  After reattaching and hoisting the jib, we are back in business.   We may do some sailing over the Memorial Day weekend.

As if we don't have enough clocks, barometers and thermometers already in the house, Bob has installed a new wireless weather station with its own control panel.  At any moment we have time, barometric pressure, wind speed, gusts and direction, temperature, humidity, wind chill and a rain gauge.  Graphs and charts too. The local TV weather guy has us on speed dial for updates.

In the middle of all this, my stove broiler quit.  It would cost about half the price of a new stove to fix it, so we upgraded and have started the galley "road to stainless steel."  :)

And last but not least -- Bob has been wanting to replace our dinghy for some time.  It has a high pressure floor rather than fiberglass and it has finally sprung a leak.  After some computer research, he found a lightweight AB dinghy that has an aluminum floor.  We drove to Naples and ordered it.  It is 9'5", smaller than our current dinghy and will be easier to handle.  We plan to get our current dinghy repaired and sell it.  We sure don't have room for 2.  Need a dinghy?  No sense in letting a trip to Naples be entirely business -- we

checked out the City Marina and had lunch at The Dock. 

                                   

We have joined the local civic association.  We attended a "meet & greet" last night and met new PG residents from all over the US (and Canada).  They have several clubs within the organization and we plan to join a sailing club and a social club.  It seems to be a great way to meet new people with common interests.                                       

 

 

 



HOME SWEET HOME

We made it!  About 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, Water's Edge arrived at her home dock in Punta Gorda, Florida.  When we left Longboat Key Club Moorings in Sarasota Saturday morning, we weren't sure we would make it all the way.  The wind was strong, OTN of course, and we decided to take the ICW.  About 3 p.m. we made the decision to go the rest of the way home rather than stay someplace for the night.

The scenery along the ICW is beautiful, and we really enjoyed the trip.  After 11 bridges, a lot of boat traffic (yes, Dick, morons and idiots -- had to use the horn twice) and fighting the current and wind we arrived at Charlotte Harbor.  We were tired but excited to finally get home.  Bob decided to hoist the jib a little to give us a boost as the current was against us and we didn't feel we were getting the speed we should.  We picked up a few tenths and he let it out a little more...oops!  The jib fell down into the water.  Are you kidding me?  So close to home.  However, MUCH better that it happened here than the last time we used it -- during the night in a wind event!

I was at the helm and put it in neutral while Bob pulled the sail onto the deck and tied it up.  Man, we were THAT close with all systems humming and boom!  Reality check.  What else can happen?  Going aground?  The channel is famous for low water.  We will just have to wait and see...

At 7:00 p.m. we start down the Ponce de Leon channel.  The water is 5' deep and our keel is 5.5'.  OK, maintain speed.  It only got more shallow.  I read 4.3' at one time.  Yikes.  We were bouncing off the bottom which, fortunately did not stop us.  A trawler had decided to get out of the channel ahead of us and went aground.  Too bad, fella, call Towboat U.S.  Once we got in the canals the depth was great and we had a nice ride to home.  Note to self.  Leave at high tide.  :-)

Now the big test.  How deep is the water at our dock?  Not sure, fingers are crossed.  Bob took the helm and we successfully docked Water's Edge at home!  Our neighbors and friends, Ken and Cynthia, came out to greet us.  After tying up the boat, showers and a Red Stripe, we called it a night.   I'd forgotten how really big and comfortable a king size bed is.  After a couple days of rest, we will give the boat a good cleaning, get the sail repaired and get ready for our first sail in Charlotte Harbor.

What a 3-week adventure (ordeal?) we had.  I'm sure memories will fade over time, but I reminded Bob that if we ever thought about doing something like this again, we will read this blog first. 

Water's Edge in her new home

                                           

Traveling the ICW

The trip from Clearwater Beach to St Pete was beautiful.  The homes along the ICW are lovely.  There was very little boat traffic and we really didn't have to wait for any bridges.  Note for mariners:  The 25' Pinellas "C" Bascule bridge at MM 114 has been replaced with a new fixed 72' bridge.  Sweet! 

There is a 65' fixed bridge at Maximo Point (MM 110.5) in Tampa Bay.  Our mast is 63' with an antenna on top.  We were nervous about this bridge, but the gauge said 66' and we held our breath and had no problem.

St Pete is a beautiful city.  The municipal marina is right downtown with parks and shops nearby.  A great walking city with wonderful restaurants.  The transient dock was great and we kind of had a "window on main st" feeling.  There was a lot of boat traffic and we enjoyed watching the activity from the comfort of our cockpit.  We finally raised the Texas flag in St Pete!

Our friends, Tim and Beth Hermes, were able to join us for one night and we had a wonderful dinner on Beach Drive.  We spent 2 nights in St Pete and look forward to returning for a longer stay.

 

Tampa Bay Sunshine Bridge

On Friday we bid adieu to St Pete and headed for Sarasota.  There was a lot more boat traffic on the ICW this time.  Also, the water gets pretty skinny in places.  We stayed at the Longboat Key Club Moorings.  Oh my.  What a beautiful place.  Everyone here wears a uniform.  :)  This is a resort with golf, hotel, marina, tennis, pool and six restaurants.  We must come back here for a longer stay some day.

We finally head for Punta Gorda today.  Not sure we will make it home today but certainly no later than Sunday.  

Water's Edge Docked at Longboat Key