TC's Sailing Adventure

So day 3 was a nice short day. We got an early start and got underway. No cell phone signal and no boats in sight so we tried to get out of the Everglades as quick as possible. Our destination was Marco Island, which only took 8-9 hours to get to, with cell coverage coming back around 2pm. Sweet!

We threw anchor around 5pm just in- time for an approaching thunderstorm. Lucky for us we were off the ocean side and inside a pretty baller harbor. We got everything ready for the storm and let it pass. Closest I think we’ve ever come to lightning. Scary!

Afterward we dinked off the boat and went to a local Tiki restaurant/bar. I had probably the worst chicken wings ever, then we went looking for a swimming pool. The closest thing to a shower we’ve had!

We then went back to the boat for the night, which was much cooler from the rain. We both got a good nights rest and actually didn’t even need our fans! Very nice to not sweat while trying to sleep! Plus the harbor was calm and the boat barely moved. I am in love with that spot as an anchorage!

Day 2 began with us both waking up late and groggy. Neither of us were adjusted to getting up early yet. The weather wasn’t looking sunshiny, but it looked good enough to depart. We left around 10am. Slackers, I know!

Overall it was a pretty good day to be on the water. Not a whole lot of wind, which limited our sailing, but the weather was good. No rain or any suspicious clouds to avoid.

As usual, crabs pots were everywhere, so we had to dodge those for the majority of the trip. I hit one before we even crossed the Seven Mile bridge, so Chad had to jump overboard and free it from the boat. Left us a nice souvenir Jamaican color themed buoy though!

We encountered some dolphins for a little bit. But they were camera shy and wouldn’t allow me to take pics. I think I saw another one when it was getting dark, thanks to the biolumanesance. Of course, it could have been a not-so-sneaky shark, yikes!

We anchored down right outside of Little Snake river. Chad didn’t want to risk trying to get into the river. Very narrow and it was already dark when we arrived. Plus the Mosquitos were suppose to be terrible. And somehow, even anchored a thousand yards off shore they still know how to find you and bug you!

Overnight was good to us. I was a bit nervous being offshore for the night. It was the first time for me since we are usually in a channel, bay, river, or something. There was some occasional heat lightning and some stormy weather in the distance, but besides some bumpy waves, we were fine. And I had two fans in my cabin going full blast. Making last nights stay (slightly) more enjoyable than the night before!

So, one day and night down at sea. Hopefully the rest of the trip is just as smooth sailing. We should be getting closer to civilization which will bring joy to my electronic devices!

So the first day wasn’t a boating day. It was spent getting the boat in order. We did our shopping and said goodbye to the girlfriends. I also had client work to do too (what’s new).

For dinner we went to the restaurant beside the marina called “Lazy Days”. I decided to order a big seafood feast since it would be my last meal in the Keys. It was filled with lobster, clams, mussels, pasta, and all kinds of goodies! Great way to wrap up my time in the Keys.

So, unlike the last time staying on the boat where it was cold, this time it was hot! And I REALLY mean HOT! We both went to sleep around midnight, each with small tiny micro fans to help keep us cool.

Unfortunately those fans just don’t chill a huge sailboat below deck! So by 3:30am I had gotten very little sleep. I finally started to get used to the way I needed to sleep. A combination of rolling over 90 degrees every 20 minutes or so to cool that part of my body and then rotate again to allow the next part of my body to keep cool. Think of it as a rotisserie, but for keeping cool!

I finally fell asleep around 4, but around 5:30am it started pouring. And of course all the hatches are open, so we both struggled to close everything we could to prevent water from drenching the cabins. The storm lasted a couple hours, scarring me with lightning because I have an awesome view of the mast from my sunroof. Eventually the storm passed and I finally got some good rest. And the rain brought the temperatures down low enough to finally sleep!

Today we begin another adventure. This time we’re traveling from Marathon, Florida to Treasure Island, Florida.

Boat is all stocked up with food, water, and supplies. I have my laptop and 3G access and we’re ready to begin. The weather isn’t the greatest right now, so we’ll most likely depart in the morning. But I’ll keep you posted along the way.

No cell coverage in the Everglades though so there might be a delay!

Nothing exciting to report here. We woke up in the motel, gathered our belongings. Headed off to lunch and waited for our ride. The motel allowed us to stay in the room well past the noon checkout to wait for our ride. Another testament to the kindness of the people in that town.

So the trip has officially been put on hold. The engine has taken the wind out of our sails! Haha. I miss the water already.

I will write another post on what I’ve learned so far. I still have things to reflect on until we resume our trip in a week or two.

Day 10 wasn’t the best day. Though it was nice to wake up in a bed that wasn’t rocking back and forth in bad weather. We still had to process what happened since we left on our trip. The boat was dunzo. We couldn’t sail under wind power alone. And with the realization that the engine was completely shot, we needed to figure out what we were gonna do for the next week or more while the engine was being re-built.

We’ve decided to leave St. James City/Pine Island. Though the people are friendly and awesome, we can’t afford to stay in a motel for a week or two or three. We both have a place and vehicles back home. So while I worked all day on client work, Chad headed out to talk to the marine shop.

Later on when the tide was better, he decided to move the boat to the marine shop for repair. So now the boat is out of the water. Day 11 will be us packing up and heading back home for a while.

We really truly thought we had enough time to make it down the Keys for New Years. Almost two weeks to get there. But the engine let us down. I guess the picture to the right is as close as I’m going to get for a while. Looking back on things, I don’t regret anything and I can’t wait to get underway once the boat is back in action. But for now, I have to get my land legs back and prepare for New Years!

I’ve been thinking about writing a post about what I’ve learned so far since being on this trip. Believe it or not, I’ve learned a lot. Not just sailing and boating, but more on that in another post!

By day 9, cabin fever is starting to kick-in. Besides the quick trip to shore to socialize on Friday night, I’d been on the boat since we left Venice! So I was very much looking forward to getting off the boat or at least having the boat repaired and then heading farther south (maybe Ft Myers?).

But we couldn’t wait on the mechanics. We needed to get off the boat and get some food. And the waves were finally to a level we could travel by dingy. So we checked it for gas, put it in the water, and headed to shore. But the waves were still there, so I was getting soaked in the front. Oh well, at least I’m gonna get a hot meal! But, about 15 yards to shore the boat stopped. Chad checked the gas, and it was out! Believe it or not, it used a lot of gas just moving through the rough water. So, in an effort to not float out back into the rougher water, we had to paddle. And yes, the water was cold. And no, we didn’t have a paddle. Just our old fashion hands to get to shore.

We made it! Then pulled the boat out of the water, cussed a little for being so damn cold, tied the boat to a post well out of the water, and then walked a block to the restaurant. While we were eating, we asked about gas for the dingy. By the time we were done eating, we had the owner of the restaurant volunteering her truck to us to go get gas and had a stranger at the bar who said he had some gas at his house. He said he lived only a few houses down so we graciously accepted his offer to help us. We put gas in the boat, returned the gas can (with money, gotta keep Karma in check), and headed back out to the boat.

By the time we got back to the boat, the mechanics had just arrived to work on the boat. After further tearing down the motor, the determined that there were some really bad engine problems. And no, it wasn’t an engine gasket. There are a lot of things that go wrong with a boat motor since it exhausts into the water. Chad knows more about what went wrong and probably has something on his blog about it.

Anyway, once we knew the motor has shot. We gathered up a couple days worth of clothes, and jumped on the mechanics boat to head to shore. In another mind-boggling act of kindness, the owner of the boat repair shop offered his boat for our personal use around the island. He also set us up in a motel near by. We got dropped off, got a hot shower, and headed to Woody’s. A bar/restaurant right on the water channel. We ate while being entertained by a polka/keyboard player, and then headed down to Froggy’s.

When we got there, we ran into Sailor Jim again. He is such a nice guy. He bought our first round of drinks and gave us the number to his son’s place where we could wash our clothes and have a place to hang out. Pretty cool. We had a few drinks while we listened to more awesome stories about Jim’s travels. A couple next to us overheard our bad luck of the day (or week actually), and said they’d be more than happy to help us and do our laundry. Yeah, you heard me, they WANTED to do our laundry and take us to the grocery store. Crazy how nice people are on this island! They ended up giving us a ride back to the motel after last call. An awesome bonus with the cold/wind the way it was.

So though Monday started off rough, like a typical Monday, it got better as the day went. Well, I’m sure Chad had it worse than I did. He has to contemplate a new motor for his sailboat.

Not much to report on this day. The weather from Saturday night was still terrible when I woke up. There really is no way to describe how bad the weather is in the bay. I mean our life wasn’t at risk, but if the anchor didn’t hold, or a huge gust of wind came, or a big swell, we would have been scrambling to make sure the boat was OK. But, even though things were rough, we made it through. I made a video to show the daytime conditions, I’ll see if I can’t upload it.

Day 7 was pretty uneventful. It was Christmas. So I decided to treat myself to sleeping in! I’ve been so used to waking up at sunrise, that sleeping til 10am was a luxury! So after that delightful treat, I woke up and pretty much did nothing. I’m a big fan of my iPad and all the Apps I bought for it.

By afternoon, we are starting to experience the incoming cold front. So I did some work on the computer and then got the boat ready for the wind and cold. We wanted to go ashore for Christmas dinner but the waves had already gotten to rough for our dingy. So Chad made a Christmas dinner, which for a sailboat, was a five-star meal! I really regretted not putting at least one bottle of rum on the boat. I’ll correct that mistake soon enough! So we had a nice dinner and then called it a night.