TC's Sailing Adventure

Trip 2, Day 3

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:55:00 -0400

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!

Trip 2, Day 2

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:09:00 -0400

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!

Trip 2, Day 1

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:08:00 -0400

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!

Trip 2 - Keys to Tampa!

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:18:00 -0400

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!

Day 11

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:16:06 -0500

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

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 02:10:00 -0500

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!

"That wasn’t a steak burger. More like a mistake burger!"

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 02:05:22 -0500

“That wasn’t a steak burger. More like a mistake burger!”

- Chaddillac

Day 9

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:52:00 -0500

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.

Day 8

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:55:39 -0500

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 (Christmas)

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 22:22:00 -0500

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.

Day 6 (Christmas Eve)

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 12:52:00 -0500

Day 6 was a pretty relaxing day. We knew we weren’t going anywhere so no need to prepare to set sail. So we used this day to work on some more projects. We are attempting to get our 3G router working so we can stream live video from the outside of the boat when we’re in range of 3G/WiFi. Looks like we might be short a few parts.

Speaking of, we are seriously gonna need to do laundry soon! Though there are means to do it on the boat, it isn’t as easy and convenient as a regular washer/dryer. Even the small things like emptying the trash, going grocery shopping, taking a shower, etc are hard to pull off on the boat.

We decided in the early afternoon that we needed to go to shore to get some groceries. We wanted to get all the ingredients needed to make tacos. Think of it as our Christmas dinner! But, when Chad went to shore he couldn’t find anything more than sandwich meat. Apparently this island is pretty isolated.

But, while Chad was on the island and poking around, he discovered a few bars. So after the sunset, we decided to step off the boat for a couple drinks. Especially important since the boat lacks rum!

We showered up, jumped in the dingy, and headed to shore. Let me say that being in that dingy is probably the scariest thing I’ve had to do so far. It isn’t exactly designed for a big bay. Canals are one thing, but open water with a flimsy boat can be scary!

After running around temporarily in the dingy (yes I know, we have terrible luck with running aground), we were finally in the channels. We zipped our way up to the end of the main channel, docked up, and walked to the bars.

Obviously the bars weren’t anything like what you’d expect from Gainesville or Tampa. More like the bars you’d see in a smaller town. Full of interesting characters. This bar was no exception. Within minutes of being there, we met Sailor Jim. This guy has been all up and down the eastern seaboard from Maryland all the way down to the Keys and then all the way down to South America. He delivers boats for customers as his main source of income. This guy sails boats by himself. He told us how he trusts sails over motors, and that having no motor really isn’t a big deal. Of course, he has a tri-hull boat, that draws like a foot of water. So you don’t have to worry about running that thing aground! Anyway, we listened to his stories for hours. He definitely had some great incite into sailing, and venturing out of the country. I’m much wiser for listening to him.

We left the bar right as the other drunks started to get rowdy. We didn’t want to get too wasted considering we had to drive a small dingy back to the boat. So we got a lift from Sailor Jim back to where our dingy was at, then we headed back to the sailboat. The wind definitely kicked up since we left! It was extremely nerve-racking trying to get back, but we made it. Made some spicy roman noodles and called it a night.

This is a panorama taken with my iPhone of what we’re...

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:03:00 -0500

This is a panorama taken with my iPhone of what we’re looking at in San Carlos Bay, near Cape Coral/Ft Myers Beach.

Day 5

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:00:00 -0500

This was certainly the most interesting day yet. Thank you to everyone who has been reading about our trip and wishing us good luck along our journey.

So day 5 we woke up in the inner inlet of the Boca Grande pass. Still unsure about the motor and why it was billowing white smoke we decided to call a local Yanmar repair shop located on Pine Island in St James City. They advised us to be towed closer to their location, about 16 nautical miles, so they could come look at the boat.

Lucky for us, Chad bought a membership to TowBoatUS which covers up to $2,500 towards a towing incident. So we decided to call right away since traveling 16 NM in the inter-coastal could take a while. The tow boat showed up early around 9am and started pulling us towards the shop. Two hours later, and $900 later (don’t worry, we were covered), we arrived in San Carlos Bay between Pine Island and Sanibel Island. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go directly to where the shop is located cause the depth of our keel.

Once we arrived and said our goodbye to the tow boat we waited on the shop. They finally arrived by boat, started taking the engine apart and found water in 1 of the cylinders. Mind you this is a 3-cylinder engine. So that’s not good at all. They took some engine parts to go be tested and left right before sunset.

We thought they’d be open Friday (Christmas Eve) to perhaps diagnose and fix us up. But they called us after they left and said Monday is the next time they’ll be open. So, with engine parts in their hands, we’re spending Christmas in San Carlos Bay, outside Ft Myers. We have plenty of electricity between the bank of batteries, solar, wind generators, and a 3500W backup generator. And we have plenty of food and fresh water. But with the only way to move now being the sails, we’re unlikely to move. Though this cold front might justify another tow into a more sheltered mooring. We do have a dingy with a motor if we need to go on land. But during the night, the winds topped out the 2 wind power props at 50 mph. So we’re still mulling over driving a dingy in those kind of waters!

The good news is we’ll have plenty of time to get some things done. I always have client work and Chad has many little projects he’s been wanting to start. In my boredom last night, I made a webpage that can detect my iPhone or iPads GPS position, and post the result on the blog without manually updating like I was before. So now we can check in anytime very easily. Though you know where we’ll be until Monday!

"Every man dies. But not every man really lives."

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:04:00 -0500

“Every man dies. But not every man really lives.”

- William Ross Wallace

Day 4

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:20:00 -0500

Day 4 was another full day of travel. We left the Venice Inlet bright and early. Motored out a couple miles into deeper water before we turned south. It was a beautiful day, full of glossy water. Unfortunately, glossy water and wind don’t go together. So, it looked like another day full of motoring. And what little wind there was came directly from the south! We even saw another sailboat traveling parallel to us doing the same thing.

No worries, that’s what the diesel motor is for. So we set up the lounge chairs, turned up the Sirius satellite radio, and dodged more crab pots. And seriously, if I ever meet a crab fisherman, I might punch him in the face on principal that they lay traps EVERYWHERE! Anyway, we got down to around Englewood, a fishing destination I used to go to with my ex-girlfriend and her family. Great place to go. Right as we are passing the city, Chad realizes the boat is taking in water, a fair amount, via the propeller shaft. We stop the motor so Chad can fix the leak, which takes about an hour and a half. While he fixed that, he noticed water coming from the air intake of the boat. Not good! The engine, when underway, began to billow out white smoke. Unfortunately, we weren’t in a position to sail and we couldn’t just chill a couple miles off the coast for the rest of the day/night. So, we kept motoring while monitoring the engine.

We tried to gain access to Stump Pass, really the only inlet we could get into for the night before the sun went down. This was around 3:30p so we thought we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, the boat wasn’t having it. The few attempts we made to get in there were foiled by the depth gauge that said we would ground if we tried to enter. We even had a nice gentleman in a flats boat try and check the depths and unfortunately it was a no-go. When we asked him what the next inlet might be, he said Little Gasparilla pass, but there were so many shoals there that we wouldn’t want to try it. Our only option was Boca Grande pass. After charting it, we knew we had around 16 km to get there. And you have to start entering the pass from at least 3 miles out to avoid the breakers and shallow waters.

We finally arrived at the markers to turn in around sunset. The water was eerily smooth. You couldn’t pay me to take a swim in that water! We watched the sunset right as we turned into the channel. We still had very limited daylight so we motored our way in, took about 45 minutes to an hour. By that time, it was dark. Unlike the first day, we had all the tech gear out to assist us in finding a place to anchor. And, we didn’t have to deal with huge waves and freezing conditions. So we turned just north from inside the bay, went up a few hundred yards, and there was the the other sailboat we traveled with earlier in the day. We knew this was the spot for us. We anchored down, turned the engine off.

Today’s agenda includes diagnosing the engine problem. Perhaps ringing up TowboatUS, unfortunately. And getting things set back up for sailing again. In the mean time, while Chad works on the boat, it gives me plenty of time to work on client stuff. So I guess day 5 won’t be the tropical paradise just yet! Soon though!

Sunny sun son!

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:45:26 -0500

Sunny sun son!

Day 3

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:58:00 -0500

Day 3 was a good day. I woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise. I posted my adventures about day 2 and we slowly got everything together to get underway. We left Sarasota around 11am and headed south. Unfortunately the wind wasn’t playing nice so we pretty much had to motorsail the majority of the time on the water. We did go further out this time to avoid the ridiculous amounts of crab pots. We ventured about 7 miles off shore and tried to tack but the wind just want having it.

We picked our final destination of Venice, Florida. A city I’ve never been to and don’t know much about. We went into the bay area, looking for a spot to anchor down. Unfortunately the mooring field was full. So we headed down a little more to a marina/restaurant.

We docked and met some nice folks at the restaurant Marker 4. We had an opportunity to take a nice hot shower, eat, and have a few drinks while we watched the UL/SM bowl game at the Trop. We then took it to the boat and called it a night.

We got a pretty good amount of miles in considering the no wind. Today we plan on covering at least that distance, if not more!

On today’s agenda

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:08:09 -0500

On today’s agenda

Good morning Sarasota!

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:15:13 -0500

Good morning Sarasota!

Day 2

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 07:20:00 -0500

So day 2 was certainly better than day 1. It was also more of the things I pictured doing.

We didn’t sail on day 2. We pretty much woke up, started fixing stuff on the boat and put things away that we didn’t have a chance to before. We then took the opportunity to relax. A requirement on this trip obviously.

Knowing we had to get fuel, we went around Bird Key to the main harbor of Sarasota. Docked and fueled up, and went for a bite to eat.

We met up with my long time friend Bekah and had dinner overlooking the water. It was pretty much exactly what we were looking for. Good food with good people in a good location.

Afterward we went back to the boat, headed to the moaring field, and passed out! It’s amazing how early we want to go to bed now. By 10pm I can barely keep my eyes open! Day 3 we plan on sailing down as far as we can go. I’m thinking Sanibel/Ft Myers area, but we’ll see!