LAST XMAS IN THE FROZEN NORTH?

I can’t believe that I actually traded this

 for this.

 When we left Ft Pierce, we had the A/C on.  We had to turn the heat on when we got to Kentucky.  The drive itself was easy, if long.  Christmas with my Mother and my brother and his family was wonderful.  Kathleen was welcomed immediately.  Then, on to Columbus and Kathleen’s family—lots of sisters and then her grandkids, Ashley and Kaitlyn. 

  Christmas with family is good, even for a “Bah humbug! Scrooge like me.  I can do without the white stuff though.

            But the presents are always great!  We never seem to tire of giving and receiving.  I was very lucky this year.  Eat your hearts out, boys!  I was the proud recipient of a . . .

New lamp shade.  OK, so Kathleen thought the old one needed to be replaced.  What was wrong with the old one?  I thought it had character befitting its antiquity.

  So guys, eat your hearts out, I got a new lamp shade for Xmas!

            Xmas has been nice, but it’s time to get back to the pool!

Another Lousy Day in Paradise

             Fort Pierce never fails to please.  Lots of activities, diversions and friends guarantee a good time.  The farmers’ market on Saturday is one of the best.

 There is much more to it than produce and other farm products.  There is music, two groups performing on opposite ends of the market; and arts and crafts and street food—gyros, tropical smoothies, breads, Caribbean rotis and . . . yes! conch salad.  I figured I might as well get an early start.  It was good, but not as good as in the Bahamas and certainly more expensive.

            The dock 6 crowd carries on the Happy Hour tradition.  Don, Ann, David and Lori, and newcomers Barbara and Manfred (s/v Balimara) make F dock at Harbortown the place to be!

            Naturally, the annual Xmas boat parade and dockside party are de rigueur for anyone who is anyone.  This year’s parade was not as long as last year’s, but there were some spectacular boats and the party was terrific with crab boil, baked ham and a smorgasboard of other goodies.

             We had to go to Mangrove Mattie’s for the champagne brunch.  They set one of the most extensive brunch buffets I have ever seen.  There are raw oysters, moules marinière (one of my faves), smoked salmon with all the appropriate garnishes, roast beef, omelets, desserts, and so much else.  Of course, one can’t forget the bottomless champagne flute!  It’s definitely a two hour occasion.

           One of the most pleasant things to do is to sit in the cockpit with a drink and watch the mullets jumping and the pelicans dive for fish.  I'd rather be on the boat with a drink on the rocks than in the drink with the boat on the rocks!  Ah,  another lousy day in paradise!

           

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

We are finally in sunny Florida. Never mind that we are just over the border. It was cold when we left Brunswick and the wind on the open water heightened the effect.

Long johns and winter jackets may seem out of place in Florida, but . . . The sun is shining and we are headed in the right direction. We left Brunswick and 8 hours later arrived at Fernandina Beach.

Our sojourn in Brunswick was chilly, but nonetheless wonderful. Our final bit of sight-seeing took us to Jekyll Island.

Jekyll is completely magical. It was the winter “camp” of the wealthiest people in the US. They had formed the Jekyll Island Club in order to buy the island and to guarantee their exclusivity. When they congregated there to escape the northern winter, fully one sixth of the world’s wealth was gathered there.

Today, their modest “camp homes” are the showcase of the island. They are simple dwellings, the smallest of which has 8500 square feet of living space. Roughing it, indeed! The live oaks festooned with Spanish moss provide a fairyland ambiance.

Thanksgiving brought another of Brunswick Landing Marina’s terrific parties/feasts. Turkey, ham, all the fixins.

 Since beginning this blog entry, we have covered another 231 nautical miles. We left Fernandina Beach for the easy sail down to the St John’s river where we stayed at Mayport. There is nothing to do there, but it’s a good place to stop and break the trip into smaller segments. Being on the face dock, however, is no fun. Traffic kicks up a lot of wake in the river and when the wind is opposed to the tidal current it is rough. But, it’s just for the night.

So far the trip has been benign. Small, one foot seas, gentle swells about 12 seconds apart provided a smooth ride. Light winds from the East made it possible to motor sail and we made good time. The long hop, 200 miles, from Mayport to Ft Pierce started out under the same conditions. The sun set on calm seas and light winds. Sunrise the next morning saw a dramatic shift in the wind to the North and an even more dramatic shift in the sea state. We were now battling 4 to 6 foot waves that came on our stern quarter every 4 seconds. Otto (our auto-pilot) wouldn’t hold so it became necessary to hand steer. The next 12 hours or so were just plain hard work. Kathleen said it was fun and the waves were exciting. She wasn’t steering.

 She did get her first "boat bites."  She says they're badges of honor.

So, yet another night time arrival at Ft Pierce. I don’t know what I would do if I arrived there in the daylight. The marina office was closed so there was no one to help with the lines. Our docking at the fuel dock was flawless and we congratulated ourselves with a celebratory rum for a successful 36 hour passage and promptly went to bed.

Aaaah! I can almost feel the warm sun of South Florida. We’ve been stuck in Brunswick for far too long. The weather has been cold and the winds have been out of the North for the past week. But, a bad day on the water is better than a good day anywhere else. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel or sunshine and good weather on the horizon. First a quick hop down to Fernandina Beach then . . . ? Before long, Ft Lauderdale and Miami and the Bahamas. Oh! Did I say, “We?” Meet my first mate, Kathleen.

We’ve spent the past week or two like tourists. We’ve been to St Augustine and I didn’t even go into Sailors’ Exchange! We did have a fine lunch amidst the pigeons at the Conch House

and drank from the Fountain of Youth where we walked with the peacocks. We’ve admired the beautiful live oaks and Spanish Moss on St Simon’s Island.

A visit to Jekyll Island is on the calendar as long as we are stuck in Brunswick. Naturally, Dock 6 has provided ample friendship and the Happy Hour, while sometimes a bit chilly, was none the less happy. Barbara and Manfred on s/v Balimar celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary and provided champagne and assorted nibbles. The weather, for a change, cooperated with sunshine. We are looking forward to seeing our friends in locales further south.

Here is the view from my kitchen window just a couple of days ago. Cool weather has finally arrived in South Central Kentucky. It was 33 degrees here this morning. No hard freeze yet, but soon. I hope to be out of here before that happens. Southern Florida, here I come. I will gladly trade the deer for this.

THE BATTLE IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

I had two primary projects to tackle on this trip to the boat. First, I had to rebuild the carburetor on the outboard for the dinghy. I usually limit myself to one project per day. If that project only takes fifteen minutes, so be it. If it ends up taking all day, so be it. Rebuilding the carb was so-o-o easy and the results so-o-o-o satisfactory that I succumbed to the temptation to tackle another and even a third! I was still finished before noon. Sweet! Then, there was the beast! This was the project that I was not looking forward to. This one struck greater fear in my heart than any Halloween goblin could inspire. Last time I was on the boat I changed the primary fuel filter. I hate doing that because half the time I end up getting air into the fuel lines and it is a bear to bleed it out on this boat. Sure enough, I developed an air lock. Then in my attempt to bleed the system I discovered that I was going to have to change the secondary fuel filter housing. Happily (or not) the part did not arrive before my departure. So I had a couple of weeks of R&R in Kentucky before tackling the onerous task. Turns out that swapping the part was really easy. However, I still needed to bleed the system. I went through the entire process and still couldn’t get the engine started. Finally, in disgust, I called in a professional. Although he was not able to get the engine started, he gave me enough knowledge and a recommended cure that I could execute by myself. So, the one project a day turned into one project that lasted several days. My body is bruised and sore from the contortions I went through just accessing some of the parts I needed to access.

This part is on the injector pump. Access by standing on head and reaching to arm's length On a sailboat, you can see a part or you can touch it, but you can’t do both at the same time! I think sailboat designers figure that if you can touch a part with one finger, it is accessible.

Access here is through a nine inch opening and the parts are, of course at arm's length. There are certain maintenance chores on the engine which require me to crawl into spaces that even a seasoned spelunker might avoid. There isn’t enough room down there to cuss a cat!

These are the parts accesed thru the 9 inch opening.

Anyway, I applied the fix suggested by the pro and the engine finally kicked over this morning about an hour after I started work. The fix was to install a primer bulb in the fuel system to replace the tiny little finger priming valve. A third, unspoken goal of the trip was to socialize with my friends on Dock 6. We had a cookout, we had drinks, we helped each other with boat projects and we went out to dinner.

This goal was so easy to meet and serves to remind me why life is good when I’m on the boat.

IT'S FINALLY COME TO THIS

Cleaning the deck awning and rolling it up can only mean one thing--the sad end of summer. It is so nice on a warm summer day to sit on the deck, enjoying a breeze and maybe a glass or two of wine. Lunch under the shade of the awning is an event to be treasured. Alas! The days are growing shorter and the nights are getting cooler. And, ugh! widespread frost is predicted for this weekend. So, it is time to clean the awning and roll it up. There is one consolation, I will be trading this

for this.

THE GREAT MINNOW AND BUFFALO WINGS

This early fall weekend brought one of POYC's premier regattas, the Great Minnow. Sailors assembled on Barren River Lake to compete in the club's last official race of the year. The racemaster had set a creative and challenging course which was complimented by a sailor's friend (and sometimes foe), the wind.

Friend or not, it presented me with the challenge of trying to steer "'ti Punch" (where is Otto when I need him?*), set sails, adjust sails, take pictures, eat lunch all by myself. Otto,* you've been replaced by a couple of bungee cords! Every good regatta provides a forum for its participants to brag about their performance, compliment each other and, in general, to make up new lies.

What's a social hour without good food? Barry's famous wings s[iced it all up.

*Otto--the name with which many of us have christened the "otto" pilot.