Sunday, January 13, 2019
Sarasota 1/11/2019
We left Clearwater in the morning and traveled about 50 miles on the ICW to Sarasota. It was a beautiful, sunny day. It took about 5 hours. We had to go under many bridges, so Karl took down our antennas, so we did not have to ask for a bridge opening. If you need a bridge opening, you need to call the bridge operator on the radio and ask for an opening. Sometimes, they will open it “on demand,” but usually they open it on the hour or half hour.
We arrived at Marina Jack’s in the afternoon. It is always a flurry of activity to get into a new marina and into a slip, especially if we are not familiar with the marina. Karl contacts them on the radio, getting instructions on which slip we are in. I get the lines ready. Karl backs into the slip, which sometimes is challenging if the weather is bad or windy! Everything seems to happen at once. We have headphones, so we can communicate with each other. Before we had the headphones, it was difficult to hear him and we ended up shouting at each other! This led to miscommunications and sometimes unpleasant exchanges! We now call the headphones our “marriage savers!”
Marina Jack’s is a top notch marina with “floating concrete docks.” Downtown Sarasota is just across the street with plenty of shopping and restaurants! There is a very nice waterfront park next to us with many people walking their dogs and playing with their children. Salty loved it!
We arrived on the weekend, so the marina was busy! There is an open air restaurant on site, with live music playing. We enjoyed a drink there and listening to the band.
On Saturday, we discovered an Art Festival in downtown Sarasota, literally across the street from us! It was a lot of fun to walk through the exhibits. We ate lunch at an outside cafe and enjoyed people watching! It has been a while since we have done that, just living in the moment and enjoying life!
We returned to the boat and watched a heartbreaking basketball game between Florida State and # 1 Duke. The score was back and forth, we really thought FSU was going to upset Duke, it came down to the final 2.5 seconds! But Duke landed that last 3 pointer!
Being Grateful
1/10/2019 Thursday
We stayed in Clearwater for the day. I am so grateful that Karl has his USCG Captain’s license! He completed the certified course many years ago, attending classes at Tallahassee Community College at night. It was a complicated curriculum: learning the international rules of the road, chart plotting, safety regulations, basic weather, boat systems, tidal calculations, anchoring, docking, passage planning, navigation, etc! He had to document his sea time experience on our boat, pass a physical exam and drug screening and apply for the license. He took the rigorous exam in Panama City and passed with flying colors! As with any kind of license, he has kept up the certification throughout the years.
I am grateful that he had the initiative to put in the studying that this required, not only because I knew we were safer at sea, but because I know this gave him confidence on the water. It has also been helpful when we chartered sailboats in the British Virgin Islands, which we have done about a dozen times. That has been wonderful experience and so much fun! We have chartered boats in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, various locations in the Caribbean, and sailed in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand! We even chartered a sailboat in Tahiti and Bora Bora for 2 weeks, Just the two of us and it was a dream come true! I have taken basic safety courses, sailing and motoring courses as well. We have also taken our own boat to the Bahamas about ten times. We have been boating for at least 30 years, have owned 10 boats, enjoyed fishing and cruising on the Gulf of Mexico. Every time we take the boat out, we learn new things. That is what keeps boating interesting!
Karl spent some time today charting and plotting our course to our next destination, which will be Sarasota. He of course knows paper charts, which we used to use many years ago, spreading out the paper chart on the table, using a parallel ruler, compass headings and protractor, but now times have changed! He can use the IPad! He uses Navionics and Aquamap. We have a chart plotter on the helm and GPS. For me, it is still complicated, so again I am so grateful for my husband’s love of learning and passion for boating! I can usually just enjoy the ride! I must say though, in reality we both put in the work it takes to operate our boat safely.
We stayed in Clearwater for the day. I am so grateful that Karl has his USCG Captain’s license! He completed the certified course many years ago, attending classes at Tallahassee Community College at night. It was a complicated curriculum: learning the international rules of the road, chart plotting, safety regulations, basic weather, boat systems, tidal calculations, anchoring, docking, passage planning, navigation, etc! He had to document his sea time experience on our boat, pass a physical exam and drug screening and apply for the license. He took the rigorous exam in Panama City and passed with flying colors! As with any kind of license, he has kept up the certification throughout the years.
I am grateful that he had the initiative to put in the studying that this required, not only because I knew we were safer at sea, but because I know this gave him confidence on the water. It has also been helpful when we chartered sailboats in the British Virgin Islands, which we have done about a dozen times. That has been wonderful experience and so much fun! We have chartered boats in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, various locations in the Caribbean, and sailed in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand! We even chartered a sailboat in Tahiti and Bora Bora for 2 weeks, Just the two of us and it was a dream come true! I have taken basic safety courses, sailing and motoring courses as well. We have also taken our own boat to the Bahamas about ten times. We have been boating for at least 30 years, have owned 10 boats, enjoyed fishing and cruising on the Gulf of Mexico. Every time we take the boat out, we learn new things. That is what keeps boating interesting!
Karl spent some time today charting and plotting our course to our next destination, which will be Sarasota. He of course knows paper charts, which we used to use many years ago, spreading out the paper chart on the table, using a parallel ruler, compass headings and protractor, but now times have changed! He can use the IPad! He uses Navionics and Aquamap. We have a chart plotter on the helm and GPS. For me, it is still complicated, so again I am so grateful for my husband’s love of learning and passion for boating! I can usually just enjoy the ride! I must say though, in reality we both put in the work it takes to operate our boat safely.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Beautiful day in Clearwater Beach!
 |
| Last night sunset from Clearwater Marina |
1/9/2019
We stayed in port in beautiful Clearwater Beach Marina. Karl ran and I took a nice leisurely walk on the beach side, searching out a good place to eat lunch! Karl got on the Internet and found a mechanic in the area who could order a new solenoid and starter. He said he could have it by the next day and will install it for us. We ate lunch at “Frenchy’s Restaurant,” which is famous for their grouper burger. We ordered it, and it lived up to it’s name! Excellent!
As usual, Karl found some projects to work on, he fixed one of the navigation lights, which had rusted, and got the anchor light working again. He changed the water filters inside the boat, which needs to be done about every 3 months.
We met a couple who are next to us who are doing the loop. They are from Kentucky. Karl and I grew up and went to school in Lexington and we have a lot of family living in that area!
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
The Next Day
1/7/2019 Monday
We stayed in port today. We met several people who are traveling on the route, all starting at different places, at various times. Most are heading for south Florida to spend time for the winter. We spent the day, staying busy with chores. We exercised, then Karl had to fix the water intake on the boat, which had broken. People often ask, “What do you do all day on a boat?” It turns out there are lots of things to keep us busy. Now, we don’t have a car, so we have to walk or bike to places. We walked to the Post Office, walked to a restaurant for lunch, walked to the ACE hardware (one of Karl’s favorite places)! And walked to the IGA. Karl stayed busy washing the anchor chain, which had gotten muddy when we anchored. He is very handy at fixing things, thank goodness or we just could not do this. Things break all the time on a boat. I went to the laundromat to wash clothes. We talked with our new “looper” friends and discussed the next day’s crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater. We will do the crossing, along with the family in the boat Have Another Day.
We ate dinner on the boat and enjoyed the big football win of Clemson beating Alabama for the national championship!
1/8/2019. Tuesday
We woke up bright and early (5:30am), getting everything prepared on the boat for the 150 nautical mile trip across the open ocean, which will take about 8 hours. We can travel at about 19-20 knots. This includes turning on the generator, unhooking the shore power, getting the fenders off and secured. Karl checks the engine oil and coolant levels and checks for water in the fuel. He does this every time before he starts the engines. We have two Cummins 540 horsepower engines. Our boat is a 50 foot Mikelson sport fisherman. I always secure everything inside the boat for the trip. We walk Salty.
We planned to leave at 7:00 am with Have Another Day. We wiped the windows down, turned the heat on the fly bridge and cranked the engines. The starboard engine did not crank. We spoke to our new friends who were crossing with us and fortunately they had some ideas of what it could be. He suggested that it could be the starter or the solenoid. Karl took a mallot and tapped the solenoid pretty hard, after a few tries, it turned over! Thank goodness, I had visions of having to miss this wonderful “good weather window” and the opportunity to cross along with another experienced boater!
We enjoyed a perfectly beautiful smooth crossing, could not have been any better! Saw lots of dolphins! We stayed in touch with Have Another Day and ended up staying in the Clearwater Beach Municipal marina right next to them. They have been so helpful and a wealth of information, having done the loop before. As always, very thankful to have arrived at our destination safe and sound!
We fueled up and got into our slip for the night, hooking up to power and water. Salty was so happy to take a nice long walk and find grass!
We stayed in port today. We met several people who are traveling on the route, all starting at different places, at various times. Most are heading for south Florida to spend time for the winter. We spent the day, staying busy with chores. We exercised, then Karl had to fix the water intake on the boat, which had broken. People often ask, “What do you do all day on a boat?” It turns out there are lots of things to keep us busy. Now, we don’t have a car, so we have to walk or bike to places. We walked to the Post Office, walked to a restaurant for lunch, walked to the ACE hardware (one of Karl’s favorite places)! And walked to the IGA. Karl stayed busy washing the anchor chain, which had gotten muddy when we anchored. He is very handy at fixing things, thank goodness or we just could not do this. Things break all the time on a boat. I went to the laundromat to wash clothes. We talked with our new “looper” friends and discussed the next day’s crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater. We will do the crossing, along with the family in the boat Have Another Day.
We ate dinner on the boat and enjoyed the big football win of Clemson beating Alabama for the national championship!
1/8/2019. Tuesday
We woke up bright and early (5:30am), getting everything prepared on the boat for the 150 nautical mile trip across the open ocean, which will take about 8 hours. We can travel at about 19-20 knots. This includes turning on the generator, unhooking the shore power, getting the fenders off and secured. Karl checks the engine oil and coolant levels and checks for water in the fuel. He does this every time before he starts the engines. We have two Cummins 540 horsepower engines. Our boat is a 50 foot Mikelson sport fisherman. I always secure everything inside the boat for the trip. We walk Salty.
We planned to leave at 7:00 am with Have Another Day. We wiped the windows down, turned the heat on the fly bridge and cranked the engines. The starboard engine did not crank. We spoke to our new friends who were crossing with us and fortunately they had some ideas of what it could be. He suggested that it could be the starter or the solenoid. Karl took a mallot and tapped the solenoid pretty hard, after a few tries, it turned over! Thank goodness, I had visions of having to miss this wonderful “good weather window” and the opportunity to cross along with another experienced boater!
We enjoyed a perfectly beautiful smooth crossing, could not have been any better! Saw lots of dolphins! We stayed in touch with Have Another Day and ended up staying in the Clearwater Beach Municipal marina right next to them. They have been so helpful and a wealth of information, having done the loop before. As always, very thankful to have arrived at our destination safe and sound!
We fueled up and got into our slip for the night, hooking up to power and water. Salty was so happy to take a nice long walk and find grass!
Start of the Great American Loop on Endorphin Voyager
 |
| David Bellamy took this picture as we were leaving the dock for one year! |
12/31/2019
We celebrated New Years Eve on our boat in Baytown Marina, Sandestin, Florida, toasting to the beginning of a new year and new adventures! Last details to fix this week include: getting the new AIS system to work, this will provide our boat to identify other boats on the water, and just as importantly, for other boats to be able to “see” and identify us! This will be very important on the river systems, especially when we will encounter big ships and barges. We changed the lighting on the fly bridge, to include mult-colors, which is very pretty. We had the oil changed, the bottom cleaned, we bought a new oil pump, grocery shopping, one more trip to West Marine and took our golf cart over to Terry and Cliff’s new condo!
1/05/2019
Finally ready to go! We left the marina around 11:00 am, feeling mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness! Are we going to be able to do this? Complete the journey? Are we going to like this new lifestyle? Is Karl really going to be able to relax a little, after keeping a very heavy load of work, meetings, schedules and responsibilities for the last 41years? We know that the boating life will be challenging and enjoyable as well!
We decided to travel on the ICW, due to windy conditions on the ocean. We were merely 10 miles into the trip when our first “challenge” began. The high water alarm went off, indicating there was some sort of leakage in the bilge! This could potentially sink our boat! Karl went down in the engine room and found that the starboard engine’s dripless shaft was spraying water all over the engines. Karl could not fix it at the time, but we found that if we continued on a slow speed of 8 knots, it did not leak, so we decided to press on, hoping that maybe it would reseal itself as we go. We anchored for the night in a beautiful little cove, Pearl Bayou, in St.Andrews Bay outside of Panama City. Most all of the marinas in Panama City were still closed, due to the destruction of hurricane Michael, which hit the panhandle in mid-October.
Karl immediately got to work in the engine room and managed to tighten the dripless shaft, just a few millimeters would hopefully make the difference! We would not know until the next day if it would work. We finally settled in for the night, but the anchor light did not work! We had to ducktape a lantern to it! The lantern was one of our many thoughtful gifts that our co-workers gave us for a send-off. It really did light us up that night!
The challenges were not over for the first day, because during the middle of the night, the carbon monoxide detector went off, sending a very loud obnoxious beeping sound to wake us up! The phone rang, telling us about the warning to seek fresh air! We jumped out of bed, grabbed Salty, our dog, and opened all the windows and got outside. We had kept our generator on, so we immediately turned it off. We have Diesel engines, which are not as hazardous for carbon monoxide buildup as gasoline engines, but still knew that the potential was there, because it has actually happened before when the elbow on the generator leaked. Eventually things settled down, the alarm quieted, and we tried to go back to sleep with windows open, etc.
The next morning, Karl worked on the generator, looking for signs of leakage. He couldn’t find any indications of a leak. After debating about what the next step would be, we decided to keep going, hoping that the leakage was detected because it was such a calm, still night and the carbon monoxide did escape under the boat, causing the alarm to go off. Nevertheless, the alarm may have saved our lives, so we learned another valuable lesson, we will not sleep with the generator on!
1/6/2019
We had a great trip over to Carrabelle on the ICW. The dripless shafts were not leaking, so Karl’s fix worked and we could return to normal speed. We decided to go slow, because we were so amazed at the destruction that the hurricane had upon this area. It was so evident in the trees being down, cut down like they were toothpicks. We saw so many blue tarps on houses, still waiting to get new roofs.
The storm was devastating to this area.
The Moorings marina in Carrabelle is operational and has fuel, but suffered a lot of damage to the docks. Several boats were damaged as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)