Log #38
Getting ready to head north
11:00 am
Saturday, April 29, 2000
On an airplane heading for Phoenix, AZ.
It seems like I’m always on an airplane heading somewhere. Deb, and I are on our way to a conference in Phoenix for a few days, so I thought I’d take some time to update my logs, and give a preview of our northbound plans.
Before I talk about the trip north, let’s get up to date a little bit.
My last log left off with Deb and I in Miami Beach, and I was getting ready to head into a marine store to see what they had. Good news, I found something I needed. Actually what happened was, when we were washing the boat I knocked the scrub brush, and handle in the water, so I needed to replace it. Which I did………plus a few other items I couldn’t live without.
The morning was somewhat cloudy, but you could tell the sun could break through almost any time. I decided to take the bimini top down, so whatever sun there was I could enjoy it on the fly bridge. Getting out of the slip was not quite as much of a challenge as getting in, but almost. Deb, and I took our time untying all the lines, and getting HEADQUARTERS ready to exit, without hurting anyone. As it turned out, we did fine, and were quickly out in the main channel, with all of the huge ships heading to their berths, getting ready to unload their goods in Miami.
In about 3 quick miles we were back on the Intracoastal, and heading north. The sun by now had broken through the clouds, and it was a little cool, but very nice. The only thing noteworthy, as we headed back was a bridge that wouldn’t wait. We were following 3 other northbound boats, and they were about ½ mile ahead of us. The bridge was getting ready to open, so I called the bridge to tell them I’d pick up my pace in order to make this opening, (the next one was 30 minutes later) but just as we got almost up to the bridge, they dropped it. I bitched a little bit, until I thought…….I’m on a boat…….it’s sunny out………I’m in Florida, in the winter……..ok, ok, ok……..this is no big deal.
We had a great trip back to Ft. Lauderdale. When we arrived, we stopped at Pier 66 to top off the fuel ($ 1.26 @ gal.) and Deb picked up our rental car that we left there, while I took the boat, by myself, up the New River, and back to Jackson Marine. By the time I got to the marina, Deb was waiting on the dock to help me tie up. We had plans on where we were going to dock, but someone had just brought their boat in, and took our spot. As it turned out they lived just a few miles from us in Batavia. (They saw our name, and home port on the back of our boat, and instantly became friendly)
We found another spot, washed the boat, and ended the day with a great, very long, dinghy ride on the New River, as we looked at all the huge yachts. Ft. Lauderdale is amazing!
We are just a short time away from getting started on our return trip, and I’m getting excited. I have ordered all of the charts we will need to get us home. There are three different types. First I need Cruising Guides, for all the areas, to tell me about places to go, and information on the marinas. Next I need paper charts of all of the waters we will be in. I will then read the cruising guides, as I follow the charts, and use a highlighter to plot our course on them. This is makes it easy to see where you need to go, and saves me a lot of time as we travel. (I also love doing this, and I spend many hours dreaming about “being there”. Actually, the planning piece is one of my favorite parts about this kind of a trip.) The other thing I need is electronic charts. These are little chips that have the charts burned into them, and I can load them in my Chart plotter, which interfaces with my GPS, and I can see where I am at all times. The problem is these are expensive, and a luxury on this type of trip, so I’m trying to figure out which ones I need, and which ones I would like to have. No matter which ones I order, the cost of the charts is very costly. I hope I can find a way to sell these charts after we are home, because they will be useless to me.
Anyway……….a number of you have asked about how many legs we have left, and what our plans are, so I thought I’d give you a recap of what is coming up. (Remember, if you want to catch up on what has happened so far, and where we came from………log on to
www.greatcircle.homepage.com, and you will see all of the previous captain’s logs.)
Our plans from here are.
Thursday, May 11th Deb and I head to Ft. Lauderdale to get on the boat at Jackson Marine, and take it to Pier 66. From this point Deb will be on the boat for 5 weeks.
Friday, May 12th Darrell, and Donna Thompson (boating friends of ours, who were on the boat during the first leg) will fly into Ft. Lauderdale in the afternoon, and meet us at Pier 66, and travel with us the first week.
Saturday, May 13th. The official day we begin out trip north!
Saturday, May 20th we should be somewhere around Charleston, SC. Darrell, and Donna will get off, and head home, and Steve and Chris Thoke (my partner in business, and his wife… who got married on the boat last January) will get on board.
Saturday, May 27th by now we should be in Norfolk, VA. (1,065 miles from Ft. Lauderdale) Steve and Chris, will head home. For the next two weeks I will go to work in our Richmond VA. Facility, and Deb will stay on the boat. It is only about an hour drive from Norfolk to our facility, so I will drive it to work each day, and come back to the boat at night. We have already found the marina we will stay in here (we did this on one of our trips to Richmond earlier) and it’s right downtown, so Deb can explore Norfolk during the day. We also plan to have a few of the management team on the boat over the weekend that we are docked there.
Thursday, June 8th Rome and Theresa Hubert fly into Richmond. (They’re our neighbors, who became friends while we were living in Bourbonnais IL. from 1988 to 1996)
Friday, June 9th we continue our journey, and head out from Norfolk, into the Chesapeake Bay. We need to hustle in order to get to ST. Michaels Maryland, by Saturday night, in order to meet one of our customers, and entertain him and his wife on the boat on Sunday.
Monday, June 12th Barb Cunningham (Deb’s Mom) will fly into Baltimore, to join us on our way up to New York City.
Tuesday, June 13th We’ll leave Baltimore, to finish our trip up the Chesapeake, through the C&D canal, into the Delaware Bay, and to Cape May at the very southern tip of New Jersey. From there we’ll head out into the Atlantic, and up to Atlantic City. From Atlantic City it’s a little over 100 miles, all outside in the ocean, up to New York City.
Saturday, June 17th We should arrive in New York City
Sunday, June 18th we head home, and I go back to work for 2 weeks.
Saturday, July 1st we fly back to the boat in New York City. We will be joined by Steve, and Claudia Larry. (Steve is one of our VP’s at Pro Source) We will also be joined by Gary, and Joan Hedge. (I used to work with Gary at my previous company) They will be with us for the next week.
Sunday July 2nd. We will leave New York Harbor, and head up the Hudson River to Troy NY. At Troy we will turn due west, as we join the beginning of the Eire Canal. We will follow the Eire Canal west to the Oswego Canal, and then head north to Lake Ontario.
Saturday, July 8th by now we should be at the southeast corner of Lake Ontario, in Oswego NY. We will all head home, and I will go back to work for 2 more weeks.
Friday, July 21st We will fly back to the boat, joined by Terry and Jeanie Ruhland (Jeannie is Deb’s sister) This will be our final leg which will take us across Lake Ontario, into Canada. We will then navigate through the Trent-Severn waterway, through the Georgian Bay, and on the very north side of Lake Huron. At that point we will join Lake Michigan, near Mackinaw Island. We will then come down the east side of Lake Michigan, and head across to Chicago at, or about Michigan City. From there it’s all river as we leave Chicago, and join the Kankakee River, and then finally the Illinois River, about 50 miles from our marina.
Saturday, August 5th we should arrive Starved Rock Marina. Our starting point.
So that’s it. We have a long way to go, and a lot of things to see along the way. Hopefully things will go smooth, and we will only have great memories to look back on.
I’ll keep you posted along the way.
BK.
Saturday, April 29, 2000
Monday, April 10, 2000
Chapter 37: Ft. Launderdale to Miami Beach
Log 37
Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach
6:55 am
Monday, April10, 2000
Miami Beach Marina
As you can see by the location above, we moved the boat further south. We had a great day yesterday. Here are some highlights…………..
· Up fairly early to a beautiful day. Although it was windy, and predicted to continue that way.
· Seeing all that sun got me excited, and we agreed after we get some work done, we would pick out a marina in Miami, and head there for the night.
· Left the marina about noon, and joined the Intracoastal just outside Pier 66. We were at the 1065 mile marker, and our marina was at the 1089, so we had 24 miles to go. It was bright, and sunny but 15 to 25 mph winds out of the north. The good news was we were heading almost directly south, so we were never really bothered by the wind. (until we got to the slip, that is)
· The 24 miles south of Ft. Lauderdale is a combination of narrow man made cuts, natural rivers, and wide open lakes. It is different in some ways because you instantly notice the difference in wealth. There are some beautiful homes, but very different from Ft. Lauderdale. The marinas are also very different. Not bad, but more like we are used to seeing back home.
· After about a 3 hour cruise, we arrived in the Miami area. I missed my turn for the marina, because it was down a long canal called the “Government Cut”, and I mistook it for the ship channel. Which it turns out it was. It was a 3 mile long channel, leading from Miami to the Atlantic, and all along the whole length were ships. 5 of them being cruise ships. Neat sight, and pictures to come.
· When we arrived at our marina the wind had still not died down yet. It was blowing a pretty steady 15 mph, and gusting. We knew it would be a tricky docking, and we were right. I would try to describe it, but I can’t. Let’s just say, no one panicked, and nothing got damaged. It was far from pretty, but as one guy told Deb, “you did a hell of a job, for just 2 people”.
· While I spent a long time,(well I did watch the last 43 laps of the Nascar race), trying to figure out the best way to tie the boat, Deb washed off all of the salt. (it amazing how much gets on the boat, and how much time you need to spend cleaning it off) While we were doing all of this we kept hearing music, and something like an auctioneer up at the marina, so once finished, we headed up to see what was going on. Deb always loves to get a Pina Colata, so once we accomplished this ($7.50……before tip) we found out there was a US Bill Fishing Tournament going on. ($100,000 in prize money) The place was a zoo! People everywhere. Loud people everywhere. So we headed back to the boat to relax.
· Back at the boat, we relaxed with our cocktails, and Deb made a Pizza. She has made these on a regular basis, and they turn out great. The convection oven on the boat works great, and since it works similar to the one we used in England, Deb has figured it out.
· Did you ever feel like that the wind you were feeling late in the day could last all night? I did, and it did. Before the night was over, I used almost every rope on the boat. (I just counted them. 10) I was up a couple of times to add a rope, and do some adjusting. Deb………she slept on the couch. She tells me that after 20 years of marriage that this is only the second time she has done that (while I was home), and I don’t remember the first time. The problem was the wind was moving the boat so much, that the ropes were straining, and they would creak. She hates that, so she went to sleep in the salon, where it was less noisy. She’s not awake yet, but I look forward to hearing about how much sleep she got.
This morning as I write this it is 70 degrees, still windy, and it’s looks to be mostly cloudy. I can’t turn on the weather channel, because Deb is sleeping next to the TV, so I’ll have to wait to find out what the day will be like.
Today we head back north. (It’s almost sad to think this is as far south as we will get on the GCT) The plan is to talk to Detroit, and see if they recommend anything further on these engines. (which is why I stayed an extra day, hoping we would get everything done, and I wouldn’t have to come back until May 11th ) By the way, the engines ran great yesterday. They ran just like they do when I am on a river back home, so I’m thinking that the reason I thought they had less power on the sea trial, was because of the bad sea conditions. Bottom line is I think our problem is fixed. All under warranty.
Well I must close now. It is still too early to leave, but the ship store opens at 8 am, and you never know what they might have……….that I don’t have.
BK.
Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach
6:55 am
Monday, April10, 2000
Miami Beach Marina
As you can see by the location above, we moved the boat further south. We had a great day yesterday. Here are some highlights…………..
· Up fairly early to a beautiful day. Although it was windy, and predicted to continue that way.
· Seeing all that sun got me excited, and we agreed after we get some work done, we would pick out a marina in Miami, and head there for the night.
· Left the marina about noon, and joined the Intracoastal just outside Pier 66. We were at the 1065 mile marker, and our marina was at the 1089, so we had 24 miles to go. It was bright, and sunny but 15 to 25 mph winds out of the north. The good news was we were heading almost directly south, so we were never really bothered by the wind. (until we got to the slip, that is)
· The 24 miles south of Ft. Lauderdale is a combination of narrow man made cuts, natural rivers, and wide open lakes. It is different in some ways because you instantly notice the difference in wealth. There are some beautiful homes, but very different from Ft. Lauderdale. The marinas are also very different. Not bad, but more like we are used to seeing back home.
· After about a 3 hour cruise, we arrived in the Miami area. I missed my turn for the marina, because it was down a long canal called the “Government Cut”, and I mistook it for the ship channel. Which it turns out it was. It was a 3 mile long channel, leading from Miami to the Atlantic, and all along the whole length were ships. 5 of them being cruise ships. Neat sight, and pictures to come.
· When we arrived at our marina the wind had still not died down yet. It was blowing a pretty steady 15 mph, and gusting. We knew it would be a tricky docking, and we were right. I would try to describe it, but I can’t. Let’s just say, no one panicked, and nothing got damaged. It was far from pretty, but as one guy told Deb, “you did a hell of a job, for just 2 people”.
· While I spent a long time,(well I did watch the last 43 laps of the Nascar race), trying to figure out the best way to tie the boat, Deb washed off all of the salt. (it amazing how much gets on the boat, and how much time you need to spend cleaning it off) While we were doing all of this we kept hearing music, and something like an auctioneer up at the marina, so once finished, we headed up to see what was going on. Deb always loves to get a Pina Colata, so once we accomplished this ($7.50……before tip) we found out there was a US Bill Fishing Tournament going on. ($100,000 in prize money) The place was a zoo! People everywhere. Loud people everywhere. So we headed back to the boat to relax.
· Back at the boat, we relaxed with our cocktails, and Deb made a Pizza. She has made these on a regular basis, and they turn out great. The convection oven on the boat works great, and since it works similar to the one we used in England, Deb has figured it out.
· Did you ever feel like that the wind you were feeling late in the day could last all night? I did, and it did. Before the night was over, I used almost every rope on the boat. (I just counted them. 10) I was up a couple of times to add a rope, and do some adjusting. Deb………she slept on the couch. She tells me that after 20 years of marriage that this is only the second time she has done that (while I was home), and I don’t remember the first time. The problem was the wind was moving the boat so much, that the ropes were straining, and they would creak. She hates that, so she went to sleep in the salon, where it was less noisy. She’s not awake yet, but I look forward to hearing about how much sleep she got.
This morning as I write this it is 70 degrees, still windy, and it’s looks to be mostly cloudy. I can’t turn on the weather channel, because Deb is sleeping next to the TV, so I’ll have to wait to find out what the day will be like.
Today we head back north. (It’s almost sad to think this is as far south as we will get on the GCT) The plan is to talk to Detroit, and see if they recommend anything further on these engines. (which is why I stayed an extra day, hoping we would get everything done, and I wouldn’t have to come back until May 11th ) By the way, the engines ran great yesterday. They ran just like they do when I am on a river back home, so I’m thinking that the reason I thought they had less power on the sea trial, was because of the bad sea conditions. Bottom line is I think our problem is fixed. All under warranty.
Well I must close now. It is still too early to leave, but the ship store opens at 8 am, and you never know what they might have……….that I don’t have.
BK.
Sunday, April 09, 2000
Chapter 36: The Final Sea Trial
6:45 am
Sunday, April 09, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
Between the weather channel, and your e-mails, it seems this is the place to be. 68 degrees now, and the forecast calls for lots of sun, and upper 70’s to the lower 80’s.
I’m siting here this morning, having a cup of coffee while I write this, and looking out at the intracoastal. It’s a great sight, (even though it is still dark) to sit here, and look at all of the boats heading out for a day of fishing, or heading for points unknown. The “points unknown” is truly amazing. These boats come from, and are headed to, everywhere. I think we’re on a big trip, but this is just routine for some of these folks. It’s exciting to hear all of the stories.
Yesterday was a pretty good day. Our mechanic (Pastor) showed up at about 7 am, with another mechanic in tow. After a quick check of his equipment, we went out to the Atlantic. (by the way, one of the reasons we are staying here at Pier 66 is because it is so close to the ocean. From our slip we can be in the ocean in 5 minutes) Once we rounded the bend, and got a look at the Atlantic, it didn’t look too bad. The swells looked to be 1 foot, or so.
Wrong! In fact the swells were so bumpy that the table in our salon fell again, and this time it didn’t break the base, but it did break another hinge. I can’t believe we let that happen again. That’s the last time.
Engine wise, we have good, and bad news. The good news is the port engine runs fine. All of the diagnostic equipment showed that everything was normal. The bad news is it still smoked more that I thought it should, and I didn’t feel it had the power it used to. Although I will say that I’m used to running in a calm river, not an angry Atlantic. Pastor says everything is ok, but we still we need to clean the “aftercooler”. So my plan is to do that, and we should be good to go north.
The rest of the day yesterday was spent doing some clean up, and minor repairs. Deb got some groceries, and started to plan for our return on May 11th. The last couple of visits we have had to totally empty the refrigerator, because the boat would be out of the water, without electric. This time, even if we have some more work done, the boat will stay in the water, so we can start to stock up.
I cleaned the boat, and the dinghy, and by the time all of that was done, it was time for a dinghy ride. (always one of our favorite things to do) The ride was fun, as usual, but cut short because that cold front that has brought all of the bad weather everywhere, finally made it to south Florida. The front brought with it strong winds, and rain. So we made it back to the boat just “after” the rain started.
Pork chops on the grill……..Overboard, on the TV, and we made it an early night.
Like I said, a good day.
What’s up for today? I’m not sure. I still need to get in that engine room, and clean. When we had the bottom done, a lot of dust, and dirt got in there, as well as dirt from having the mechanics work on the engines, so it’s a mess, and that bothers me. But if the day is as nice as they predict I may have a problem staying in that engine room.
What I do know is that I need to end this log. The sun is bright now, and I can’t keep my mind on writing this. I need to get out there, with a fresh cup of coffee, and walk the docks. I’m sure there is someone with a great boating story that I need to hear.
I hope all of you have a great day…………..
BK.
Sunday, April 09, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
Between the weather channel, and your e-mails, it seems this is the place to be. 68 degrees now, and the forecast calls for lots of sun, and upper 70’s to the lower 80’s.
I’m siting here this morning, having a cup of coffee while I write this, and looking out at the intracoastal. It’s a great sight, (even though it is still dark) to sit here, and look at all of the boats heading out for a day of fishing, or heading for points unknown. The “points unknown” is truly amazing. These boats come from, and are headed to, everywhere. I think we’re on a big trip, but this is just routine for some of these folks. It’s exciting to hear all of the stories.
Yesterday was a pretty good day. Our mechanic (Pastor) showed up at about 7 am, with another mechanic in tow. After a quick check of his equipment, we went out to the Atlantic. (by the way, one of the reasons we are staying here at Pier 66 is because it is so close to the ocean. From our slip we can be in the ocean in 5 minutes) Once we rounded the bend, and got a look at the Atlantic, it didn’t look too bad. The swells looked to be 1 foot, or so.
Wrong! In fact the swells were so bumpy that the table in our salon fell again, and this time it didn’t break the base, but it did break another hinge. I can’t believe we let that happen again. That’s the last time.
Engine wise, we have good, and bad news. The good news is the port engine runs fine. All of the diagnostic equipment showed that everything was normal. The bad news is it still smoked more that I thought it should, and I didn’t feel it had the power it used to. Although I will say that I’m used to running in a calm river, not an angry Atlantic. Pastor says everything is ok, but we still we need to clean the “aftercooler”. So my plan is to do that, and we should be good to go north.
The rest of the day yesterday was spent doing some clean up, and minor repairs. Deb got some groceries, and started to plan for our return on May 11th. The last couple of visits we have had to totally empty the refrigerator, because the boat would be out of the water, without electric. This time, even if we have some more work done, the boat will stay in the water, so we can start to stock up.
I cleaned the boat, and the dinghy, and by the time all of that was done, it was time for a dinghy ride. (always one of our favorite things to do) The ride was fun, as usual, but cut short because that cold front that has brought all of the bad weather everywhere, finally made it to south Florida. The front brought with it strong winds, and rain. So we made it back to the boat just “after” the rain started.
Pork chops on the grill……..Overboard, on the TV, and we made it an early night.
Like I said, a good day.
What’s up for today? I’m not sure. I still need to get in that engine room, and clean. When we had the bottom done, a lot of dust, and dirt got in there, as well as dirt from having the mechanics work on the engines, so it’s a mess, and that bothers me. But if the day is as nice as they predict I may have a problem staying in that engine room.
What I do know is that I need to end this log. The sun is bright now, and I can’t keep my mind on writing this. I need to get out there, with a fresh cup of coffee, and walk the docks. I’m sure there is someone with a great boating story that I need to hear.
I hope all of you have a great day…………..
BK.
Saturday, April 08, 2000
Chapter 35: Still in Ft. Lauderdale
Log 35
6:00 am
Saturday, April 08, 2000
The date, and time listed above is the time I finally sent this log. As you will see, I have actually been jotting some of these notes as time went along so I didn’t forget the sequence of events.
3/25/00 (sitting in a hotel room in Richmond, VA.)
Deb and I are in Richmond this morning, (got here on Friday night, and will leave here on Tuesday) to meet all of the new management team (and their spouses) that we have hired for our new facility. We will all be going out to dinner together (54 of us) to celebrate the facility opening, and prepare for all of the long hours ahead. I had a minute so I thought I’d update my logs.
Captain’s note: Since log #33 I have talked to several of you, and many people have mentioned the repairs I was having done. (as one of my friends wife said to him “this can’t be any fun, all he does is work on the boat”) To my non boating friends, let me explain…..…..Boating is about working on the boat. Sure there are a lot of other things that make it wonderful, but working on it is part of the deal. A big part of the deal, and a major part of the expense of owning a boat. Deb and I have owned several boats, and whether they were new, used, or otherwise, we are always working on them. The thing that makes this different, is the fact that we are counting on all of the systems to get us through this trip, verses sitting at a dock most of the time. Also, I am documenting all of the activity. Had I kept a log on the other boats, it would look similar. Do I wish these engines, and all other systems, would run perfect? Yes, but I not sure if that’s realistic. The only thing you can do is fix things as they happen, and make sure you are doing all of your preventive maintainance, to keep major repairs to a minimum. Repairs or not, I love this stuff!
· When I completed Log 34, I was on a plane heading home from Jackson Marine. We had a good weekend, but also left Florida without getting the port engine fixed. What we did have though, was a plan to get that done.
· Once I got back home I got out my contacts list, and started calling people. Among those were the Detroit factory, and the head marine engineer. We had a good conversation, and he called the mechanic that was doing the repairs. After several conversations it was determined that we had 4 fuel injectors bad, and the engineer thought it could also be something else, so we planned on a sea trial with several pieces of diagnostic equipment hook up to the engines. This sea trial will take place April 7th. (this is a Saturday, and normally they would not do warranty work on overtime, but the factory has authorized these additional costs) Hopefully we will find out if there is anything else causing this engine to be low on power.
· 3/31/00 (on a plane heading for Richmond VA.)
Yes, I’m heading back to Richmond again. This time I’ll be here Monday, and leave Friday. The official start-up is just a few days away, and I’m here to work with the customer (Perdue Chicken), to make sure they are feeling good about everything we are doing. When I leave Friday, I’ll be heading back to FT. Lauderdale, for the weekend, to sea trial the boat again.
When I left Jackson Marine (3/20) I gave them a work order to pull the boat and check the props, as well as align the shafts (this was to check out the vibration the mechanic felt). As it turns out the props looked fine, but we decided to have them balanced to be sure they were perfect. (as I write this I haven’t heard if they were ok or not) When they were checking the shafts, they found them to be out of shape. The port shaft was 5/1000th off, and the starboard one was 7/1000th off. How did that happen? Remember back in one of the logs where I told you about crossing the Gulf, and at the end of that crossing we went into Clearwater? Remember that I took a wrong turn, got out of the channel, and ran aground just before we got to our marina? Well, I thought everything was fine, and I didn’t do any damage. I guess I was wrong! So we had to pull both of the shafts, and send them in to be straightened. The good news is, there shouldn’t be any more vibration. (I’m always looking for the bright side of these events) Anyway that’s where we are as of today. I’ll be on the boat this weekend, so hopefully everything will be back together, and in near perfect shape. We’ll see…………
5:10 am
Saturday, April 08, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
Well, we’re back on the boat again. Deb came in from Chicago yesterday, and I came in from Richmond. We met at the Miami airport, drove straight to the boat and got there at about 2 PM. (by the way, I’m watching the weather channel now, and they say today will be a wind chill of 1 degree. Yikes!)
When we got to the boat things were looking good. They had buffed, and waxed both the hull, and the top side, and as I said, it was looking good. I talked to the guy who put the props, and the shafts back in, and he said things were in great shape there as well. Our Detroit mechanic (Pastor) showed up and he was all set. He had installed a bunch of diagnostic equipment in the engine room, and he was ready for our sea trial on Saturday morning. (Annie…..I discovered this morning that we forgot to clean the coffee pot when we left last time, and this first pot of coffee looks like…….well……….let’s just say I threw it out)
After a good check of all systems, I fired up the engines, and Deb, and I headed out of Jackson Marine. Destination……Pier 66 Marina. (Darrell, and Dona. Wait till you see this place!) The weather, and the day were just perfect. 85 degrees, and mostly sunny. It was a great 1 hour cruise. Once we arrived, I worked on the boat, and Deb took a taxi back to Jackson Marine to get the car. By the time she got back, I had the boat ship shape, and we went over to the Pelican Bar so Deb could have one of those Pina Colatas (can anyone spell this?)she loves. The bar had a guy with a guitar singing Jimmy Buffet songs, and it was pretty cool sitting there watching these huge boats go by, and knowing just how lucky we really are.
Today is sea trial day. At 7:15 this morning Pastor will be on board to see if putting in those 4 new injectors fixed our problem. On one hand I sure hope so, but I don’t understand how that can happen all at once. I think there may be something else. Something caused these injectors to go bad, and we need to find out what it was. (or is)
The weather channel continues to tell me how bad the weather is at home. Darn, that’s a shame. We’ll just have to suffer with another 85, and sunny today. I sure hope the snow is gone by the time we get there.
Well, the third pot of coffee is now finished, and this one seems to be drinkable, so I think I’ll end this, and try to send it out. I have a new system for doing this. I found out that Sprint has a cell phone, and a system that you can hook to your computer, and send and receive e-mail. It works great. At least in areas where they have service. I’ll see if one of those areas is here in Ft. Lauderdale.
I hope this message finds everyone doing well.
BK.
Ps. Just as I was ending this, I heard a rumble outside, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I went outside, and found out the 85 foot boat next to us was running. They are heading 185 miles to Nassau today. I’ve got to go out and watch them head out. Is this a great place or what??????
6:00 am
Saturday, April 08, 2000
The date, and time listed above is the time I finally sent this log. As you will see, I have actually been jotting some of these notes as time went along so I didn’t forget the sequence of events.
3/25/00 (sitting in a hotel room in Richmond, VA.)
Deb and I are in Richmond this morning, (got here on Friday night, and will leave here on Tuesday) to meet all of the new management team (and their spouses) that we have hired for our new facility. We will all be going out to dinner together (54 of us) to celebrate the facility opening, and prepare for all of the long hours ahead. I had a minute so I thought I’d update my logs.
Captain’s note: Since log #33 I have talked to several of you, and many people have mentioned the repairs I was having done. (as one of my friends wife said to him “this can’t be any fun, all he does is work on the boat”) To my non boating friends, let me explain…..…..Boating is about working on the boat. Sure there are a lot of other things that make it wonderful, but working on it is part of the deal. A big part of the deal, and a major part of the expense of owning a boat. Deb and I have owned several boats, and whether they were new, used, or otherwise, we are always working on them. The thing that makes this different, is the fact that we are counting on all of the systems to get us through this trip, verses sitting at a dock most of the time. Also, I am documenting all of the activity. Had I kept a log on the other boats, it would look similar. Do I wish these engines, and all other systems, would run perfect? Yes, but I not sure if that’s realistic. The only thing you can do is fix things as they happen, and make sure you are doing all of your preventive maintainance, to keep major repairs to a minimum. Repairs or not, I love this stuff!
· When I completed Log 34, I was on a plane heading home from Jackson Marine. We had a good weekend, but also left Florida without getting the port engine fixed. What we did have though, was a plan to get that done.
· Once I got back home I got out my contacts list, and started calling people. Among those were the Detroit factory, and the head marine engineer. We had a good conversation, and he called the mechanic that was doing the repairs. After several conversations it was determined that we had 4 fuel injectors bad, and the engineer thought it could also be something else, so we planned on a sea trial with several pieces of diagnostic equipment hook up to the engines. This sea trial will take place April 7th. (this is a Saturday, and normally they would not do warranty work on overtime, but the factory has authorized these additional costs) Hopefully we will find out if there is anything else causing this engine to be low on power.
· 3/31/00 (on a plane heading for Richmond VA.)
Yes, I’m heading back to Richmond again. This time I’ll be here Monday, and leave Friday. The official start-up is just a few days away, and I’m here to work with the customer (Perdue Chicken), to make sure they are feeling good about everything we are doing. When I leave Friday, I’ll be heading back to FT. Lauderdale, for the weekend, to sea trial the boat again.
When I left Jackson Marine (3/20) I gave them a work order to pull the boat and check the props, as well as align the shafts (this was to check out the vibration the mechanic felt). As it turns out the props looked fine, but we decided to have them balanced to be sure they were perfect. (as I write this I haven’t heard if they were ok or not) When they were checking the shafts, they found them to be out of shape. The port shaft was 5/1000th off, and the starboard one was 7/1000th off. How did that happen? Remember back in one of the logs where I told you about crossing the Gulf, and at the end of that crossing we went into Clearwater? Remember that I took a wrong turn, got out of the channel, and ran aground just before we got to our marina? Well, I thought everything was fine, and I didn’t do any damage. I guess I was wrong! So we had to pull both of the shafts, and send them in to be straightened. The good news is, there shouldn’t be any more vibration. (I’m always looking for the bright side of these events) Anyway that’s where we are as of today. I’ll be on the boat this weekend, so hopefully everything will be back together, and in near perfect shape. We’ll see…………
5:10 am
Saturday, April 08, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
Well, we’re back on the boat again. Deb came in from Chicago yesterday, and I came in from Richmond. We met at the Miami airport, drove straight to the boat and got there at about 2 PM. (by the way, I’m watching the weather channel now, and they say today will be a wind chill of 1 degree. Yikes!)
When we got to the boat things were looking good. They had buffed, and waxed both the hull, and the top side, and as I said, it was looking good. I talked to the guy who put the props, and the shafts back in, and he said things were in great shape there as well. Our Detroit mechanic (Pastor) showed up and he was all set. He had installed a bunch of diagnostic equipment in the engine room, and he was ready for our sea trial on Saturday morning. (Annie…..I discovered this morning that we forgot to clean the coffee pot when we left last time, and this first pot of coffee looks like…….well……….let’s just say I threw it out)
After a good check of all systems, I fired up the engines, and Deb, and I headed out of Jackson Marine. Destination……Pier 66 Marina. (Darrell, and Dona. Wait till you see this place!) The weather, and the day were just perfect. 85 degrees, and mostly sunny. It was a great 1 hour cruise. Once we arrived, I worked on the boat, and Deb took a taxi back to Jackson Marine to get the car. By the time she got back, I had the boat ship shape, and we went over to the Pelican Bar so Deb could have one of those Pina Colatas (can anyone spell this?)she loves. The bar had a guy with a guitar singing Jimmy Buffet songs, and it was pretty cool sitting there watching these huge boats go by, and knowing just how lucky we really are.
Today is sea trial day. At 7:15 this morning Pastor will be on board to see if putting in those 4 new injectors fixed our problem. On one hand I sure hope so, but I don’t understand how that can happen all at once. I think there may be something else. Something caused these injectors to go bad, and we need to find out what it was. (or is)
The weather channel continues to tell me how bad the weather is at home. Darn, that’s a shame. We’ll just have to suffer with another 85, and sunny today. I sure hope the snow is gone by the time we get there.
Well, the third pot of coffee is now finished, and this one seems to be drinkable, so I think I’ll end this, and try to send it out. I have a new system for doing this. I found out that Sprint has a cell phone, and a system that you can hook to your computer, and send and receive e-mail. It works great. At least in areas where they have service. I’ll see if one of those areas is here in Ft. Lauderdale.
I hope this message finds everyone doing well.
BK.
Ps. Just as I was ending this, I heard a rumble outside, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I went outside, and found out the 85 foot boat next to us was running. They are heading 185 miles to Nassau today. I’ve got to go out and watch them head out. Is this a great place or what??????
Monday, March 20, 2000
Chapter 34: Ft. Lauderdale Recap
GCT – Log #34 – Ft. Lauderdale recap
4:45 PM
Monday, March 20, 2000
On a plane heading home
Before I get started, thanks for all of the e-mails from my latest log. It’s great hearing from everyone. I’m glad some of you enjoy reading about these adventures, because it has become fun for me to write about them. Also, sorry about you getting log #33 6 times. Someone in e-mail land must be playing games, because according to my computer, it hasn’t even been sent yet! I kept trying to send it, but it wouldn’t go through. (honest, I must have tried at least…………………let’s see………….oh,,,,,,,,, six times----hey, wait a minute.)
Saturday……The visit to the boat was not what I had planned. I kept telling Les and Annie, this is a work trip, we are not supposed to be having fun. But I found out long ago that when Deb and I are with them,that’s impossible. So we got some work done, and had fun as well.
The first thing we did was head out for a Bloody Mary Cruise. That meant we had to first make a bloody mary, then go cruising. It was a beautiful day, so we headed out in the Atlantic, and went north about 10 miles to Lighthouse Point, through the Hillsboro Inlet, into the intracoastal. Once inside, we made a hard left, and headed south, back toward Pier 66. The whole trip lasted about 3 hours, and was awesome.
The next thing we had to do was go to the marine store. One of my favorite things. It is the only place I go where my activity can be classified as shopping. Every other time I visit a store I go buying. At the marine store, I shop. Reason is, I have just about everything I need, so I usually can’t find anything new. But every now and then I get lucky. Saturday, was one of those days.
After we got back to the boat we got out the dinghy. We used it more over this weekend, then we have since we left our dock in Illinois. The four of us always like doing this, so we used “Pea Shooter” (our dinghy’s name---don’t ask) to get around. As I have said this place is a paradise, and some of the boats are beyond description. Traveling in and out of the marinas and seeing the boats up close was a treat. The day ended with shrimp, and steak on the grill. A glass of wine, and life was (and is) great. Les and Ann went for a walk, and Deb and I called it a night.
Sunday…..we woke up to rain. The weather Friday and Saturday was great, but it started raining late Saturday, and rained all night. In the morning NOA weather said FT. Lauderdale had 2 ¾ inches overnight, and it was still raining. It would quit of and on, the sky would get bright, but just that fast it would rain again. While all of this was going on we did a few chores. Deb, and Annie did laundry, and Les and I went to the marine store to see if they had anything there that we didn’t have. (who knows what could have come in overnight) I bought an external speaker for my VHF radio, so I was happy. It ended up raining all day Sunday (I’ll bet the total was 4 or 5 inches). Sometimes it was a downpour. We were waiting for it to let up so we could move Headquarters from Pier 66 back to Jackson Marine, but it never did, so we took the front covers off the windshield, and I drove from the lower station. It turned out to be a great cruise in the rain, and we got to Jackson Marine just as the skies opened up. Once secure we tuned in the satalite, and watched the Nascar race. Just as it was over the girls got this idea to take a dinghy ride in the rain. They were all giggly, and excited, so we put on our rain gear, and headed out. The good news was it stopped raining. But they were sad because they wanted a downpour, because “it would be an adventure”. Ya gotta love em.
Once back to the boat, Deb made her now famous Pasta. Well it’s not really famous, but everyone who eats it loves it, and last night was no exception.
Great food. Great day.
Monday………Not up as early as usual. 6:30 am. Instead of typing a captains log, I put together a boat work list, then worked on some Pro Source stuff. Once that was complete I went to work getting the boat ready to leave it for a few weeks. As it turns out we will have to return to the boat on April 8th weekend to perform another sea trial. Not only will they be working on the port engine, but while we were out on this sea trial, we noticed a slight vibration that we need to have looked at. We will have to have the boat pulled out of the water to balance the props, and then once it goes back in they need to align the shafts. That will assure there is no vibration, and possible damage to the shaft bearings. So when we return we’ll make sure all of this is done, and we should be good to go.
I guess that’s it for now, but I have mixed emotions as I end this. I always look forward to spending time on the boat, but I do not want to come back here in April. There is too much to do at work, and I was hoping this trip would take care of all our needs before we head north in May. But you play with the hand you’re dealt, and I can see mine clearly. So………..the next log will be in early April.
BK.
4:45 PM
Monday, March 20, 2000
On a plane heading home
Before I get started, thanks for all of the e-mails from my latest log. It’s great hearing from everyone. I’m glad some of you enjoy reading about these adventures, because it has become fun for me to write about them. Also, sorry about you getting log #33 6 times. Someone in e-mail land must be playing games, because according to my computer, it hasn’t even been sent yet! I kept trying to send it, but it wouldn’t go through. (honest, I must have tried at least…………………let’s see………….oh,,,,,,,,, six times----hey, wait a minute.)
Saturday……The visit to the boat was not what I had planned. I kept telling Les and Annie, this is a work trip, we are not supposed to be having fun. But I found out long ago that when Deb and I are with them,that’s impossible. So we got some work done, and had fun as well.
The first thing we did was head out for a Bloody Mary Cruise. That meant we had to first make a bloody mary, then go cruising. It was a beautiful day, so we headed out in the Atlantic, and went north about 10 miles to Lighthouse Point, through the Hillsboro Inlet, into the intracoastal. Once inside, we made a hard left, and headed south, back toward Pier 66. The whole trip lasted about 3 hours, and was awesome.
The next thing we had to do was go to the marine store. One of my favorite things. It is the only place I go where my activity can be classified as shopping. Every other time I visit a store I go buying. At the marine store, I shop. Reason is, I have just about everything I need, so I usually can’t find anything new. But every now and then I get lucky. Saturday, was one of those days.
After we got back to the boat we got out the dinghy. We used it more over this weekend, then we have since we left our dock in Illinois. The four of us always like doing this, so we used “Pea Shooter” (our dinghy’s name---don’t ask) to get around. As I have said this place is a paradise, and some of the boats are beyond description. Traveling in and out of the marinas and seeing the boats up close was a treat. The day ended with shrimp, and steak on the grill. A glass of wine, and life was (and is) great. Les and Ann went for a walk, and Deb and I called it a night.
Sunday…..we woke up to rain. The weather Friday and Saturday was great, but it started raining late Saturday, and rained all night. In the morning NOA weather said FT. Lauderdale had 2 ¾ inches overnight, and it was still raining. It would quit of and on, the sky would get bright, but just that fast it would rain again. While all of this was going on we did a few chores. Deb, and Annie did laundry, and Les and I went to the marine store to see if they had anything there that we didn’t have. (who knows what could have come in overnight) I bought an external speaker for my VHF radio, so I was happy. It ended up raining all day Sunday (I’ll bet the total was 4 or 5 inches). Sometimes it was a downpour. We were waiting for it to let up so we could move Headquarters from Pier 66 back to Jackson Marine, but it never did, so we took the front covers off the windshield, and I drove from the lower station. It turned out to be a great cruise in the rain, and we got to Jackson Marine just as the skies opened up. Once secure we tuned in the satalite, and watched the Nascar race. Just as it was over the girls got this idea to take a dinghy ride in the rain. They were all giggly, and excited, so we put on our rain gear, and headed out. The good news was it stopped raining. But they were sad because they wanted a downpour, because “it would be an adventure”. Ya gotta love em.
Once back to the boat, Deb made her now famous Pasta. Well it’s not really famous, but everyone who eats it loves it, and last night was no exception.
Great food. Great day.
Monday………Not up as early as usual. 6:30 am. Instead of typing a captains log, I put together a boat work list, then worked on some Pro Source stuff. Once that was complete I went to work getting the boat ready to leave it for a few weeks. As it turns out we will have to return to the boat on April 8th weekend to perform another sea trial. Not only will they be working on the port engine, but while we were out on this sea trial, we noticed a slight vibration that we need to have looked at. We will have to have the boat pulled out of the water to balance the props, and then once it goes back in they need to align the shafts. That will assure there is no vibration, and possible damage to the shaft bearings. So when we return we’ll make sure all of this is done, and we should be good to go.
I guess that’s it for now, but I have mixed emotions as I end this. I always look forward to spending time on the boat, but I do not want to come back here in April. There is too much to do at work, and I was hoping this trip would take care of all our needs before we head north in May. But you play with the hand you’re dealt, and I can see mine clearly. So………..the next log will be in early April.
BK.
Friday, March 17, 2000
Chapter 33: It's March - and Leg Three Begins
Captains Note......
There are a few new people that get these "GCT Logs". Along the way people have asked to be put on the list, and others I have added because I thought they might enjoy the journey. If you don't want to be bothered by receiving these just let me know. If you are new, and have no clue what is going on....... or anyone wants to catch up on what has happened, we now have all of the past logs (and some pictures) on a web site dedicated to this trip.
Just go to www.greatcircle.homepage.com, and it's all there.
Don't forget my disclaimer...spelling, and grammar mistakes are to be ignored.
Now for the latest update;
6:00 am
Friday, March 17, 2000
Jackson Marine
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
It's hard to believe it is mid-March already. From a boaters standpoint, winter is over, and boating is just around the corner. I'm even luckier than that. I get to visit our boat during the "off season" and that makes the winter even shorter.
This morning we are at Jackson Marine, in Ft. Lauderdale. This the boat yard I took the boat to in January to have some work done, and store it for the winter. Most of the repairs are done, and we came down here to check the boat out, and make sure everything will be ready when we get ready to leave.
As I mentioned when we dropped the boat off, as a marina, this place leaves a lot to be desired, but as a boatyard, it's great. I have had good luck getting them to do the things I had requested.
I arrived here yesterday. I flew in from Richmond VA., where I spent a couple of days visiting our new distribution center we are going to operate for Perdue Farms. It's a very exciting, and complicated, project that is about 2 weeks away from star-up. Things are hectic, but going fine, and it looks like we will begin on time. Receiving our first load of fresh chicken on April 3rd. As I write this I almost feel guilty not being there. Years ago when I was running these type of projects, I would be on site a lot of the time. Today we have great experienced people running the project, and as Victor Yamada our facility manager told me recently, "Bob, until we get this place going, I'm not sure you want to be here, and I'm not sure we want you here." Both of those may be true, but I'll be there a lot over the next few weeks.
When I got to the boat things looked fine. There was someone on board finishing the washing, and it looked pretty good. I fired up the engines, and although they took some time to catch, they both started, and ran fine.
I also started the generator, and things looked fine here as well. The only problem was when I went in the engine room it was awful. They had covered the boat while they sanded the bottom, but the grit from the sand blasting had gotten in, and it needs a lot of effort to get it back to shape. That will have to happen over time.
Last night I drove up to West Palm Beach to pick up Debbie, and Les and Ann (Deb's sister and brother in law.) They came in at about 10:00, and by the time we got back to the boat it was way past my bed time.
Today, we will be leaving Jackson Marine early, and heading down the New River, through the center of Ft. Lauderdale, and to Pier 66 marina. We will be meeting a mechanic from Detroit (the engine manufacture of my boat engines) and taking a sea trial. If you remember, when we left Clearwater, I noticed that the port engine was not running the way it should, so I'm going to have it checked out.
6:15 am
Saturday, March 18, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
We picked up the mechanic (Pastor was his name) on the dock at Pier 66 marina. It was a short jump from there to the ocean for our sea trial. He went in the engine room and hooked up his computer to the engines, and we went through several different variations of running the boat. First 1000 rpm, then 1200, 1400, etc. It took about 30 minutes to complete his tests, and when he did, he came up to sit beside me on the bridge, and said "how do you like south Florida?" Fine I said, why? "Because, based on your engines, you're going to spending a lot of time here." My heart fell to my gut. He went on to tell me that the port engine needed lots of help. He showed me a computer print out of the results of his tests, and it showed that the injectors were bad, and that is why the boat didn't have it's normal power. (as well as a problem with the inter-cooler, whatever that is). He also told me there was a vibration on the port side. I don't know what that is, but we will have to have it checked out. (Boy am I glad I had this looked at now, instead of along the way somewhere) After a fair amount of discussion, and several phone calls, it was determined that the mechanic would get on the boat next Tuesday, when the boat was back at Jackson Marine. It would take a few days to repair, which is not a problem, but it will mean that I will have to come back here again to do another sea trial, to make sure things were fine. (I think the best thing may be to move my office here for the remainder of the winter, to make sure this stuff is done right) I'm sure we'll get through this, but it is becoming a logistics challenge.
The rest of yesterday was spent with the girls grocery shopping, Les cleaning the boat, while I helped him, in between working on Pro Source stuff. Late in the afternoon we took a long dinghy ride around the area.
This place is just unbelievable. Annie just keeps saying "oh, my goodness!"
As I said in previous e-mails, this is a boaters paradise. Every boat you see is nicer, and bigger than the last one. We all wish we could see the inside of some of them, but that won't happen.
The day ended with Annie cooking fresh tuna steaks on the grill. They were awesome! We all had plans to go to the Pelican Bar at the marina, and listen to the band, but Deb and I decided to stay on the boat and watch a movie.
(The River Wild)
Today the plans are for more boat cleaning, and then we'll see from there.
The only thing I do know is it is too nice now to sit inside here and write this log. Annie is up and eating breakfast up on the bridge. It's already 70 degrees, and beautiful. The forecast calls for low 80's and mostly sunny.
(The weather channel said in Chicago the wind chill is 5 degrees) I'd better get out there and enjoy this.
BK.
There are a few new people that get these "GCT Logs". Along the way people have asked to be put on the list, and others I have added because I thought they might enjoy the journey. If you don't want to be bothered by receiving these just let me know. If you are new, and have no clue what is going on....... or anyone wants to catch up on what has happened, we now have all of the past logs (and some pictures) on a web site dedicated to this trip.
Just go to www.greatcircle.homepage.com, and it's all there.
Don't forget my disclaimer...spelling, and grammar mistakes are to be ignored.
Now for the latest update;
6:00 am
Friday, March 17, 2000
Jackson Marine
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
It's hard to believe it is mid-March already. From a boaters standpoint, winter is over, and boating is just around the corner. I'm even luckier than that. I get to visit our boat during the "off season" and that makes the winter even shorter.
This morning we are at Jackson Marine, in Ft. Lauderdale. This the boat yard I took the boat to in January to have some work done, and store it for the winter. Most of the repairs are done, and we came down here to check the boat out, and make sure everything will be ready when we get ready to leave.
As I mentioned when we dropped the boat off, as a marina, this place leaves a lot to be desired, but as a boatyard, it's great. I have had good luck getting them to do the things I had requested.
I arrived here yesterday. I flew in from Richmond VA., where I spent a couple of days visiting our new distribution center we are going to operate for Perdue Farms. It's a very exciting, and complicated, project that is about 2 weeks away from star-up. Things are hectic, but going fine, and it looks like we will begin on time. Receiving our first load of fresh chicken on April 3rd. As I write this I almost feel guilty not being there. Years ago when I was running these type of projects, I would be on site a lot of the time. Today we have great experienced people running the project, and as Victor Yamada our facility manager told me recently, "Bob, until we get this place going, I'm not sure you want to be here, and I'm not sure we want you here." Both of those may be true, but I'll be there a lot over the next few weeks.
When I got to the boat things looked fine. There was someone on board finishing the washing, and it looked pretty good. I fired up the engines, and although they took some time to catch, they both started, and ran fine.
I also started the generator, and things looked fine here as well. The only problem was when I went in the engine room it was awful. They had covered the boat while they sanded the bottom, but the grit from the sand blasting had gotten in, and it needs a lot of effort to get it back to shape. That will have to happen over time.
Last night I drove up to West Palm Beach to pick up Debbie, and Les and Ann (Deb's sister and brother in law.) They came in at about 10:00, and by the time we got back to the boat it was way past my bed time.
Today, we will be leaving Jackson Marine early, and heading down the New River, through the center of Ft. Lauderdale, and to Pier 66 marina. We will be meeting a mechanic from Detroit (the engine manufacture of my boat engines) and taking a sea trial. If you remember, when we left Clearwater, I noticed that the port engine was not running the way it should, so I'm going to have it checked out.
6:15 am
Saturday, March 18, 2000
Pier 66 Marina
FT. Lauderdale, FL.
We picked up the mechanic (Pastor was his name) on the dock at Pier 66 marina. It was a short jump from there to the ocean for our sea trial. He went in the engine room and hooked up his computer to the engines, and we went through several different variations of running the boat. First 1000 rpm, then 1200, 1400, etc. It took about 30 minutes to complete his tests, and when he did, he came up to sit beside me on the bridge, and said "how do you like south Florida?" Fine I said, why? "Because, based on your engines, you're going to spending a lot of time here." My heart fell to my gut. He went on to tell me that the port engine needed lots of help. He showed me a computer print out of the results of his tests, and it showed that the injectors were bad, and that is why the boat didn't have it's normal power. (as well as a problem with the inter-cooler, whatever that is). He also told me there was a vibration on the port side. I don't know what that is, but we will have to have it checked out. (Boy am I glad I had this looked at now, instead of along the way somewhere) After a fair amount of discussion, and several phone calls, it was determined that the mechanic would get on the boat next Tuesday, when the boat was back at Jackson Marine. It would take a few days to repair, which is not a problem, but it will mean that I will have to come back here again to do another sea trial, to make sure things were fine. (I think the best thing may be to move my office here for the remainder of the winter, to make sure this stuff is done right) I'm sure we'll get through this, but it is becoming a logistics challenge.
The rest of yesterday was spent with the girls grocery shopping, Les cleaning the boat, while I helped him, in between working on Pro Source stuff. Late in the afternoon we took a long dinghy ride around the area.
This place is just unbelievable. Annie just keeps saying "oh, my goodness!"
As I said in previous e-mails, this is a boaters paradise. Every boat you see is nicer, and bigger than the last one. We all wish we could see the inside of some of them, but that won't happen.
The day ended with Annie cooking fresh tuna steaks on the grill. They were awesome! We all had plans to go to the Pelican Bar at the marina, and listen to the band, but Deb and I decided to stay on the boat and watch a movie.
(The River Wild)
Today the plans are for more boat cleaning, and then we'll see from there.
The only thing I do know is it is too nice now to sit inside here and write this log. Annie is up and eating breakfast up on the bridge. It's already 70 degrees, and beautiful. The forecast calls for low 80's and mostly sunny.
(The weather channel said in Chicago the wind chill is 5 degrees) I'd better get out there and enjoy this.
BK.
Sunday, January 09, 2000
Leg Two Summary
Sunday, January 9, 2000
Back Home Again
As promised, I am going to conclude leg #2 with a summary of this leg, and plans for the future. I'll start this now, and see how soon I can finish it.
The first thing I must tell you is that as I write this I have a huge smile on my face. The leg from
Tierra Verde to Ft. Lauderdale was an awesome trip.
I have memories that I will never forget. As I said , we have made most of that trip before, but for some reason, this time it was more dramatic. I think there were two reasons for this. 1-We are on a slower pace, and have more time to enjoy the scenery, and the surroundings. 2-On our previous trip we never went below Stuart, FL., and the trip south to Ft. Lauderdale was just spectacular. Even if you were not a boat lover, like I am, you would still be very impressed.
Leg #2 highlights;
* The weather was near perfect. When we first arrived it was sunny, and lower 70's. As the week went on it was sunny, and in the 80's. It rained twice. Each time for only a few minutes, and neither time did it stop us from anything. So far we have completed two legs, and spent 5 weeks on this trip, and the weather has been almost perfect the entire time.
* I enjoyed the crossing of Lake Okeechobee more this time. Why? I don't know, but it was great.
* I really enjoyed being in areas that are easy to get "boat stuff" done. If you can dream it, someone in the area can make it happen. During the trip I ended up canceling the contract with the expensive marina that we were going to stay at, and instead we are keeping it at a boat yard for half the cost.
The boat yard is certainly nothing to look at (and that's being kind), but they can handle any repairs, and we won't be on the boat anyway.
* Having Carl aboard was an extra treat. He took all the pictures. He kept everyone laughing with his quick wit. And Steve, Carl, and I got to talk a lot about business.
* I learned that, whenever we can, we need to allow the first day of the trip to be "a shakedown day". (or at least only go a few miles the first
day) There is too much to be done to think you can just show up, fire the boat up, and take off. Having time to start off properly makes the rest of the trip, go much smoother.
* I learned that you should not run your 24 volt charger all the time.
(that's the one that charges my engine batteries) When the guys from Cruisers Yachts came down and put in the new charger they told me to shut it off when I'm not on the boat. No one ever told me that before. Maybe that's why it burnt out while we were at Tierra Verde, and we ended up losing a day to charge the batteries. I'm not sure, but it's shut off now, and when I get back to the boat I'll turn it back on.
* I'm really getting to know the boat, and I love it. It offers us enough space, handles like a runabout, and has many of those big boat features that normally come on boats much larger than ours.
* If you remember, the one thing I wanted to do was enjoy this adventure, and not be worrying about what I was missing elsewhere. It is a delicate balance with a new company, but so far this is working. I stay in touch with work early each day, and then concentrate on the voyage. Doing it this way allows me to enjoy the boating moments. It's already obvious to me that this is more than I dreamed it would be, and I don't want to look back and know that I wasted some of it. When we meet people along the way, and they hear we are making "The Great Circle" many of them tell me that this is one of their dreams as well. They are always commenting that they wish they could do it like we are doing it. Yes......Deb, and I are very fortunate.
Statistics so far on our trip?
* Days 31
* Miles 1,928
* Engine hours 192
* Gen. Hours 288
* Fun lots
* Memories can't count 'em
* Cost worth it!
What's next?
Well first of all the boat comes out of the water this week to re-do the bottom. Boats that stay in the water like ours have a bottom paint on them to keep things from growing. We are not sure if the bottom paint was bad, or the application was wrong, but ours is pealing off, and so it needs to be totally stripped off, and new paint put back on. We are also having some other warranty work done while we are gone. Nothing major, but it's good to keep up on this, rather than find someday you have a long list of things that don't work.
We will be going back to the boat for a long weekend in March with Deb's sister Ann and her husband Les. It will be a good time to follow up on the repairs, do some PM items, and visit Ft. Lauderdale again, before leaving in May.
May 12th is the date we have planned to begin leg #3. This will be a 2 week leg that should get us to Charleston, SC., the first week, and then to Norfolk, VA. the second week.
Leg #4 then gets us to New York City.
Leg #5 to Rochester, New York.
Leg #6 should get us back to our slip in Ottawa, IL., by August 6th. In between each leg I will come back to work for 2 to 3 weeks to make sure I keep up on things. We'll see how it goes, but that's our plan.
I hope this last note finds everyone is doing fine. Thanks for all of the e-mails. Once we get back to see the boat in mid March, I'll send you an update.
BK.
Back Home Again
As promised, I am going to conclude leg #2 with a summary of this leg, and plans for the future. I'll start this now, and see how soon I can finish it.
The first thing I must tell you is that as I write this I have a huge smile on my face. The leg from
Tierra Verde to Ft. Lauderdale was an awesome trip.
I have memories that I will never forget. As I said , we have made most of that trip before, but for some reason, this time it was more dramatic. I think there were two reasons for this. 1-We are on a slower pace, and have more time to enjoy the scenery, and the surroundings. 2-On our previous trip we never went below Stuart, FL., and the trip south to Ft. Lauderdale was just spectacular. Even if you were not a boat lover, like I am, you would still be very impressed.
Leg #2 highlights;
* The weather was near perfect. When we first arrived it was sunny, and lower 70's. As the week went on it was sunny, and in the 80's. It rained twice. Each time for only a few minutes, and neither time did it stop us from anything. So far we have completed two legs, and spent 5 weeks on this trip, and the weather has been almost perfect the entire time.
* I enjoyed the crossing of Lake Okeechobee more this time. Why? I don't know, but it was great.
* I really enjoyed being in areas that are easy to get "boat stuff" done. If you can dream it, someone in the area can make it happen. During the trip I ended up canceling the contract with the expensive marina that we were going to stay at, and instead we are keeping it at a boat yard for half the cost.
The boat yard is certainly nothing to look at (and that's being kind), but they can handle any repairs, and we won't be on the boat anyway.
* Having Carl aboard was an extra treat. He took all the pictures. He kept everyone laughing with his quick wit. And Steve, Carl, and I got to talk a lot about business.
* I learned that, whenever we can, we need to allow the first day of the trip to be "a shakedown day". (or at least only go a few miles the first
day) There is too much to be done to think you can just show up, fire the boat up, and take off. Having time to start off properly makes the rest of the trip, go much smoother.
* I learned that you should not run your 24 volt charger all the time.
(that's the one that charges my engine batteries) When the guys from Cruisers Yachts came down and put in the new charger they told me to shut it off when I'm not on the boat. No one ever told me that before. Maybe that's why it burnt out while we were at Tierra Verde, and we ended up losing a day to charge the batteries. I'm not sure, but it's shut off now, and when I get back to the boat I'll turn it back on.
* I'm really getting to know the boat, and I love it. It offers us enough space, handles like a runabout, and has many of those big boat features that normally come on boats much larger than ours.
* If you remember, the one thing I wanted to do was enjoy this adventure, and not be worrying about what I was missing elsewhere. It is a delicate balance with a new company, but so far this is working. I stay in touch with work early each day, and then concentrate on the voyage. Doing it this way allows me to enjoy the boating moments. It's already obvious to me that this is more than I dreamed it would be, and I don't want to look back and know that I wasted some of it. When we meet people along the way, and they hear we are making "The Great Circle" many of them tell me that this is one of their dreams as well. They are always commenting that they wish they could do it like we are doing it. Yes......Deb, and I are very fortunate.
Statistics so far on our trip?
* Days 31
* Miles 1,928
* Engine hours 192
* Gen. Hours 288
* Fun lots
* Memories can't count 'em
* Cost worth it!
What's next?
Well first of all the boat comes out of the water this week to re-do the bottom. Boats that stay in the water like ours have a bottom paint on them to keep things from growing. We are not sure if the bottom paint was bad, or the application was wrong, but ours is pealing off, and so it needs to be totally stripped off, and new paint put back on. We are also having some other warranty work done while we are gone. Nothing major, but it's good to keep up on this, rather than find someday you have a long list of things that don't work.
We will be going back to the boat for a long weekend in March with Deb's sister Ann and her husband Les. It will be a good time to follow up on the repairs, do some PM items, and visit Ft. Lauderdale again, before leaving in May.
May 12th is the date we have planned to begin leg #3. This will be a 2 week leg that should get us to Charleston, SC., the first week, and then to Norfolk, VA. the second week.
Leg #4 then gets us to New York City.
Leg #5 to Rochester, New York.
Leg #6 should get us back to our slip in Ottawa, IL., by August 6th. In between each leg I will come back to work for 2 to 3 weeks to make sure I keep up on things. We'll see how it goes, but that's our plan.
I hope this last note finds everyone is doing fine. Thanks for all of the e-mails. Once we get back to see the boat in mid March, I'll send you an update.
BK.
Wednesday, January 05, 2000
Chapter 31: Wedding Bells
6:45 AM
Wednesday, January 05, 2000
Day 31
Pier 66 Marina
Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Well it's official......Steve and Chris are married. (that's why I sent so many pictures) There were two ceremonies yesterday. The legal one took place at 10:30 in the basement of the Hyatt, in the business office. I must say it was less than romantic. We were all rushing around trying to get this done before they went for a boat ride with Butch Mock and his wife on their boat.
It was interesting when the Notary Public found out she was going to actually sign for their marriage. She got a little shook for a minute and was trying to decide if in fact she could do it or not. Chris set her straight, and told her how to do it, which in the end she did with no problem. Only two other issues. One Deb, and I didn't have any ID's so we had to go back to the boat and get them, and just as I was signing the papers, as a witness, my cell phone rang. So I ended up talking on the phone during the final process of the marriage. Not to cool.
Phase two of the marriage was neat. At 5:30 Carl got the cameras set up, and filmed Deb, and I, as we talked about Steve and Chris on video camera. That was Carl's way of starting the video that he will edit, and give to them. At 6 PM we gathered on the back deck of the boat. In turn, Carl, Deb, and I all said a few words about how we felt about, and to, Steve and Chris. After those words, Steve and Chris said some things to one another, as they exchanged rings. This was somewhat of a surprise for Chris, because she wasn't expecting another ring, but Steve gave her one that goes perfectly with the BIG one she already has. After the rings, I said the final vows, which I had written in the form of a poem. The bride kissed the groom, and it was now official.
Carl took over from here. He had the largest limo I have ever seen waiting for us with a big bottle of champagne on ice, and a dozen roses for Chris.
We were whisked off to one of the finest seafood restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale (Blue Moon Fish Co.), and had a great meal. Once finished, the limo brought us back to the boat, and we had a big wedding cake waiting, which we all enjoyed for desert. I think when they look back, they will have fond memories of their wedding day.
Besides the wedding yesterday, my day was made up of working on the boat, and Pro Source. While everyone went on Butch's boat I stayed behind to catch up on things. We got the holding tank pumped out, the boat washed, the cake delivered, and about 20 phone calls followed up on.
Late in the day, two representatives from Cruisers (the make of my boat) showed up to do some warranty work. I had written a letter to the President of Cruisers, and he ended up flying in two folks from their corporate headquarters in Minnesota. We talked about what needed to be done, and they left and said they would be back at 7 AM.
At 7 AM this morning the guys from Cruisers we here. They are hard at it, as I write this. At eight this morning Carl, Steve, and I are going to sit down, and work on a project that we jointly have going. The rest of the day, will be occupied with various projects, and early afternoon our management team comes in, as we begin our managers meeting.
Talk to you one more time before we end this part of the trip.
BK.
Wednesday, January 05, 2000
Day 31
Pier 66 Marina
Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Well it's official......Steve and Chris are married. (that's why I sent so many pictures) There were two ceremonies yesterday. The legal one took place at 10:30 in the basement of the Hyatt, in the business office. I must say it was less than romantic. We were all rushing around trying to get this done before they went for a boat ride with Butch Mock and his wife on their boat.
It was interesting when the Notary Public found out she was going to actually sign for their marriage. She got a little shook for a minute and was trying to decide if in fact she could do it or not. Chris set her straight, and told her how to do it, which in the end she did with no problem. Only two other issues. One Deb, and I didn't have any ID's so we had to go back to the boat and get them, and just as I was signing the papers, as a witness, my cell phone rang. So I ended up talking on the phone during the final process of the marriage. Not to cool.
Phase two of the marriage was neat. At 5:30 Carl got the cameras set up, and filmed Deb, and I, as we talked about Steve and Chris on video camera. That was Carl's way of starting the video that he will edit, and give to them. At 6 PM we gathered on the back deck of the boat. In turn, Carl, Deb, and I all said a few words about how we felt about, and to, Steve and Chris. After those words, Steve and Chris said some things to one another, as they exchanged rings. This was somewhat of a surprise for Chris, because she wasn't expecting another ring, but Steve gave her one that goes perfectly with the BIG one she already has. After the rings, I said the final vows, which I had written in the form of a poem. The bride kissed the groom, and it was now official.
Carl took over from here. He had the largest limo I have ever seen waiting for us with a big bottle of champagne on ice, and a dozen roses for Chris.
We were whisked off to one of the finest seafood restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale (Blue Moon Fish Co.), and had a great meal. Once finished, the limo brought us back to the boat, and we had a big wedding cake waiting, which we all enjoyed for desert. I think when they look back, they will have fond memories of their wedding day.
Besides the wedding yesterday, my day was made up of working on the boat, and Pro Source. While everyone went on Butch's boat I stayed behind to catch up on things. We got the holding tank pumped out, the boat washed, the cake delivered, and about 20 phone calls followed up on.
Late in the day, two representatives from Cruisers (the make of my boat) showed up to do some warranty work. I had written a letter to the President of Cruisers, and he ended up flying in two folks from their corporate headquarters in Minnesota. We talked about what needed to be done, and they left and said they would be back at 7 AM.
At 7 AM this morning the guys from Cruisers we here. They are hard at it, as I write this. At eight this morning Carl, Steve, and I are going to sit down, and work on a project that we jointly have going. The rest of the day, will be occupied with various projects, and early afternoon our management team comes in, as we begin our managers meeting.
Talk to you one more time before we end this part of the trip.
BK.
Tuesday, January 04, 2000
Chapter 30: Pier 66
6:45 AM
Tuesday, January 04, 2000
Day 30
Pier 66 Marina
Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Well we made it to our destination for leg #2 of our trip. We are safely tied up at Pier 66. If I have had trouble before describing our surroundings, and what is happening, I may as well just close this chapter, because it will be hopeless. But I will try.
Yesterday we changed the oil in the engines and the generator. With Steve and Carl helping it went much faster, but it still took 3 1/2 hours. I'm glad to have that done. Shortly after finishing a friend of mine and Steve's, Butch Mock, and his wife stopped by. Butch was a Winston Cup car owner (the #75 Remington Team), and he has just sold his team, and bought a 45ft. Sea Ray. He is now in the process of cruising, and having a great time.
At 1 PM we decided to leave Lighthouse point and head south. Before leaving the marina, we got 200 of fuel. While we were fueling up we looked across the small channel, at an empty lot that they were getting ready to build on. We asked what they were going to build there. The dock hand told us " it's going to be a house. The guy paid 2.5 million for the lot, and is going to build a
16 million dollar home on it". That is the kind of stuff I am talking about here. It is unbelievable.
We only came about 15 miles south to get to Pier 66, but the amount of boats, and the size of the boats were awesome. We talked about this, and we figured that the average size big boat we saw was 90 to 100 feet. That's average. For example. As I write this, I am looking out our back door at "Battered Bull" a 175 foot ship, that cost $35,000,000. In the marina we are in we are definitely one of the smallest boats. Steve tells me we are going to have to figure out how to make more money, and get one these boats.
Today is kind of an off day. I need to get the boat ready for bottom cleaning, and storage. I also need to start to plan our managers meeting, as everyone shows up tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can find a way to send this e-mail, because it has now been 4 days since I have sent any. I write them each morning, but just can't send them. It is not as much fun not to follow the progress, but it will still give you the essence of the trip.
Talk to you later.
BK.
Tuesday, January 04, 2000
Day 30
Pier 66 Marina
Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Well we made it to our destination for leg #2 of our trip. We are safely tied up at Pier 66. If I have had trouble before describing our surroundings, and what is happening, I may as well just close this chapter, because it will be hopeless. But I will try.
Yesterday we changed the oil in the engines and the generator. With Steve and Carl helping it went much faster, but it still took 3 1/2 hours. I'm glad to have that done. Shortly after finishing a friend of mine and Steve's, Butch Mock, and his wife stopped by. Butch was a Winston Cup car owner (the #75 Remington Team), and he has just sold his team, and bought a 45ft. Sea Ray. He is now in the process of cruising, and having a great time.
At 1 PM we decided to leave Lighthouse point and head south. Before leaving the marina, we got 200 of fuel. While we were fueling up we looked across the small channel, at an empty lot that they were getting ready to build on. We asked what they were going to build there. The dock hand told us " it's going to be a house. The guy paid 2.5 million for the lot, and is going to build a
16 million dollar home on it". That is the kind of stuff I am talking about here. It is unbelievable.
We only came about 15 miles south to get to Pier 66, but the amount of boats, and the size of the boats were awesome. We talked about this, and we figured that the average size big boat we saw was 90 to 100 feet. That's average. For example. As I write this, I am looking out our back door at "Battered Bull" a 175 foot ship, that cost $35,000,000. In the marina we are in we are definitely one of the smallest boats. Steve tells me we are going to have to figure out how to make more money, and get one these boats.
Today is kind of an off day. I need to get the boat ready for bottom cleaning, and storage. I also need to start to plan our managers meeting, as everyone shows up tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can find a way to send this e-mail, because it has now been 4 days since I have sent any. I write them each morning, but just can't send them. It is not as much fun not to follow the progress, but it will still give you the essence of the trip.
Talk to you later.
BK.
Monday, January 03, 2000
Chapter 29: The Intercoastal
6:25 AM
Monday, January 03, 2000
Day 29
Lighthouse Point Marina
Lighthouse Point FL.
Hello to everyone. Because I have had trouble sending my e-mail, you will probably receive all of these together, instead of every day, like I have written them. Sorry.
Yesterday, we took extra time to clean the boat. Everyone pitched in, but Carl, and Steve really handled things. It was one of those beautifull sunny, warm mornings, so it was fun to get wet and clean at the same time.
With the cleaning done we left North Palm Beach at about 10:15 AM. We got on the Intracoastal at MM 112 and were now at MM 153, so we went 41 miles. During those miles we were talking about how I could describe what we were seeing along the way.
First of all the channel is very narrow in most places. Secondly, the body of water that the channel is in is very narrow. In some cases it is a natural river, or small stream the has been dredged. In other it is a man made cement canal carved between land to allow for the Intracoastal to continue. If you look on a map in most cases you won't see the Intracoastal down here because it is so narrow, and also so close to the Atlantic. Parts of the way, there would be a house separating us from the ocean. Their front yard was the Atlantic, and the back was the Intracoastal. What if a hurricane came? Forget about it!
The other thing is the wealth. There is no way that I can think of to describe it. We all agreed we passed many billions of dollars worth of real estate along the way, but we're not sure how many billions. Then there were the boats. Every size, shape, and color you can imagine. Remember the James Bond boats, Octopussy, and Moonraker? We saw them at the Palm Beach Resort and Marina. Just about the time we saw what we thought was the biggest, and best, a bigger, and better boat would come along. For a boater, this is heaven.
Today, I am going to change the oil, as soon as I finish this message. It's time for both the engines, and the generator. Not a job I'm looking forward to, but it must be done. With Carl, and Steve helping it should go much faster. Then we'll head a few miles further south.
Only three days left on this leg of the trip. By Wednesday we'll be in Ft. Lauderdale (we're only 15 miles from there now) and Carl will be heading home, and Steve and I will meet up with our senior management team, and begin a three day management meeting. Then we head home on Sunday. My plan is to leave the boat in a different boat yard than originally planned. We have found a place to re-do the bottom paint, and that same place can store the boat for less that the other place I found. Now, the question is will the first marina let me out of the contract.
Well I'm heading for the engine compartment. Talk to you soon.
BK.
Monday, January 03, 2000
Day 29
Lighthouse Point Marina
Lighthouse Point FL.
Hello to everyone. Because I have had trouble sending my e-mail, you will probably receive all of these together, instead of every day, like I have written them. Sorry.
Yesterday, we took extra time to clean the boat. Everyone pitched in, but Carl, and Steve really handled things. It was one of those beautifull sunny, warm mornings, so it was fun to get wet and clean at the same time.
With the cleaning done we left North Palm Beach at about 10:15 AM. We got on the Intracoastal at MM 112 and were now at MM 153, so we went 41 miles. During those miles we were talking about how I could describe what we were seeing along the way.
First of all the channel is very narrow in most places. Secondly, the body of water that the channel is in is very narrow. In some cases it is a natural river, or small stream the has been dredged. In other it is a man made cement canal carved between land to allow for the Intracoastal to continue. If you look on a map in most cases you won't see the Intracoastal down here because it is so narrow, and also so close to the Atlantic. Parts of the way, there would be a house separating us from the ocean. Their front yard was the Atlantic, and the back was the Intracoastal. What if a hurricane came? Forget about it!
The other thing is the wealth. There is no way that I can think of to describe it. We all agreed we passed many billions of dollars worth of real estate along the way, but we're not sure how many billions. Then there were the boats. Every size, shape, and color you can imagine. Remember the James Bond boats, Octopussy, and Moonraker? We saw them at the Palm Beach Resort and Marina. Just about the time we saw what we thought was the biggest, and best, a bigger, and better boat would come along. For a boater, this is heaven.
Today, I am going to change the oil, as soon as I finish this message. It's time for both the engines, and the generator. Not a job I'm looking forward to, but it must be done. With Carl, and Steve helping it should go much faster. Then we'll head a few miles further south.
Only three days left on this leg of the trip. By Wednesday we'll be in Ft. Lauderdale (we're only 15 miles from there now) and Carl will be heading home, and Steve and I will meet up with our senior management team, and begin a three day management meeting. Then we head home on Sunday. My plan is to leave the boat in a different boat yard than originally planned. We have found a place to re-do the bottom paint, and that same place can store the boat for less that the other place I found. Now, the question is will the first marina let me out of the contract.
Well I'm heading for the engine compartment. Talk to you soon.
BK.
Sunday, January 02, 2000
Chapter 28: Crossing Lake Okeechobee
5:25 AM
Sunday, January 02, 2000
Soverel Marine Harbor
North Palm Beach, FL.
I know the e-mails have not been coming, because we have had trouble sending them. I received several yesterday, but for some reason they wouldn't send.
I'll try again this morning.
Yesterday was a long day. A great day, but a long one. We left Roland Martins about 8:30, and once we cleared a small lock that keeps the town of Clewiston safe from the Okeechobee, we were immediately on the Lake. You can go two routes. You can go the "rim route" which goes around the outside, or you can go directly across. We went straight across. (hey I've got to justify all these electronics somehow) The trip across is about 25 miles, and fairly simple. On my chart plotter, I locked in the markers along the way, and the entrance on the other side, and turned on the auto pilot. About two hours later we ended up at the marker buoy at the entrance to the St. Lucie canal. It was a beautiful morning to make this crossing. On the other side of the lake we came to the Port Mayaca lock. This is only a three foot drop, but its function is to keep the canal water from running directly into the lake.
Once we got out of the lock we had a very interesting experience. About a half mile east of the lock is a railroad bridge lift that goes up and down as needed. (the exact same kind as the one on the Illinois River in Ottawa, IL.) The books says it is normally in the up position, which it was, so we had no problem, but on the other side of the bridge was a sail boat that was stopped. As we went by the captain (a guy in his 30's) yelled to me "I'm about a foot and a half too tall, can you give me a hand?" At first I wasn't sure what to think, or was he even talking to me. But I slowed down, and he yelled again "I'm about a foot and a half too tall, If you would help me I could tie line on your boat and you could pull me through the bridge."
What?? Now if you are thinking about this as you read it, it should seem very strange, but it worked. Follow me now, and try to visualize this. We got back from the bridge entrance (not very wide by the way) and got beside one another. He started barking orders to his first mate (a girl in her late 20's) and she took a line from the very top of his mast, and we tied it to the center cleat on the starboard side of Headquarters. No other ropes were attached. He told her to start to crank the rope in which makes this line very tight. We both started to slowly move toward the bridge, and as we did he kept yelling at her to "crank it harder....crank it harder....you can do it...harder". As she is doing this, his boat is beginning to lean over towards our boat, and therefore the mast is not as tall as it used to be. I don't know at this point if it is enough, but I do know it better be, because if it isn't, we have got a big problem coming up. (can you imagine the damage this could have caused?) Well she keeps cranking until this rope is like a banjo string, and the two of us are moving together (one of us on a good sized angle) through the bridge, with about 2 foot to spare! It was really neat. I'm not sure if I explained it well enough, but I hope you get the picture.
The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the part where we rejoined the Intracoastal. As some of you know I read everything I can get my hands on about any tricky parts to this trip, and this junction is one they all talk about. I knew it was coming, and knew what to look for, and still it was tricky. You realize how easy it is for people who don't plan ahead to have problems. For example, just south of the entrance we passed a 60 foot boat who had run aground.
We made it to our marina with about 10 minutes of any light left. The sun had already gone down, and by the time we tied up, it was dark. I don't know how nice this marina is, but if it is anything like the area around it, it will be special. I'll explain about this whole area tomorrow, because it will take some explaining to make you understand.
Today is going to be easy. Were going to take our time getting around, because we only have 27 miles to our next planned stop.
Before I go I wanted to follow-up on some points to our readers.
* Annie-- is someone getting these e-mails to Barb, and Uncle Bill?
* Chuck-- yes it was beautiful in Longboat Key. I understand now why you enjoyed it so much.
* Ken-Golf Courses on Longboat Key? Why?
* We have hundreds, actually over hundred pictures so far on this trip. I don't attach to many each day, because they take so much time to download.
Carl is going to put them on a disk when we return so once we're back on land I may send more.
* Thanks for all the "Happy New Years"
* Weather? It has been unbelievable. We are truly blessed.
Talk to you soon.
BK.
Sunday, January 02, 2000
Soverel Marine Harbor
North Palm Beach, FL.
I know the e-mails have not been coming, because we have had trouble sending them. I received several yesterday, but for some reason they wouldn't send.
I'll try again this morning.
Yesterday was a long day. A great day, but a long one. We left Roland Martins about 8:30, and once we cleared a small lock that keeps the town of Clewiston safe from the Okeechobee, we were immediately on the Lake. You can go two routes. You can go the "rim route" which goes around the outside, or you can go directly across. We went straight across. (hey I've got to justify all these electronics somehow) The trip across is about 25 miles, and fairly simple. On my chart plotter, I locked in the markers along the way, and the entrance on the other side, and turned on the auto pilot. About two hours later we ended up at the marker buoy at the entrance to the St. Lucie canal. It was a beautiful morning to make this crossing. On the other side of the lake we came to the Port Mayaca lock. This is only a three foot drop, but its function is to keep the canal water from running directly into the lake.
Once we got out of the lock we had a very interesting experience. About a half mile east of the lock is a railroad bridge lift that goes up and down as needed. (the exact same kind as the one on the Illinois River in Ottawa, IL.) The books says it is normally in the up position, which it was, so we had no problem, but on the other side of the bridge was a sail boat that was stopped. As we went by the captain (a guy in his 30's) yelled to me "I'm about a foot and a half too tall, can you give me a hand?" At first I wasn't sure what to think, or was he even talking to me. But I slowed down, and he yelled again "I'm about a foot and a half too tall, If you would help me I could tie line on your boat and you could pull me through the bridge."
What?? Now if you are thinking about this as you read it, it should seem very strange, but it worked. Follow me now, and try to visualize this. We got back from the bridge entrance (not very wide by the way) and got beside one another. He started barking orders to his first mate (a girl in her late 20's) and she took a line from the very top of his mast, and we tied it to the center cleat on the starboard side of Headquarters. No other ropes were attached. He told her to start to crank the rope in which makes this line very tight. We both started to slowly move toward the bridge, and as we did he kept yelling at her to "crank it harder....crank it harder....you can do it...harder". As she is doing this, his boat is beginning to lean over towards our boat, and therefore the mast is not as tall as it used to be. I don't know at this point if it is enough, but I do know it better be, because if it isn't, we have got a big problem coming up. (can you imagine the damage this could have caused?) Well she keeps cranking until this rope is like a banjo string, and the two of us are moving together (one of us on a good sized angle) through the bridge, with about 2 foot to spare! It was really neat. I'm not sure if I explained it well enough, but I hope you get the picture.
The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the part where we rejoined the Intracoastal. As some of you know I read everything I can get my hands on about any tricky parts to this trip, and this junction is one they all talk about. I knew it was coming, and knew what to look for, and still it was tricky. You realize how easy it is for people who don't plan ahead to have problems. For example, just south of the entrance we passed a 60 foot boat who had run aground.
We made it to our marina with about 10 minutes of any light left. The sun had already gone down, and by the time we tied up, it was dark. I don't know how nice this marina is, but if it is anything like the area around it, it will be special. I'll explain about this whole area tomorrow, because it will take some explaining to make you understand.
Today is going to be easy. Were going to take our time getting around, because we only have 27 miles to our next planned stop.
Before I go I wanted to follow-up on some points to our readers.
* Annie-- is someone getting these e-mails to Barb, and Uncle Bill?
* Chuck-- yes it was beautiful in Longboat Key. I understand now why you enjoyed it so much.
* Ken-Golf Courses on Longboat Key? Why?
* We have hundreds, actually over hundred pictures so far on this trip. I don't attach to many each day, because they take so much time to download.
Carl is going to put them on a disk when we return so once we're back on land I may send more.
* Thanks for all the "Happy New Years"
* Weather? It has been unbelievable. We are truly blessed.
Talk to you soon.
BK.
Saturday, January 01, 2000
Chapter 27: Happy New Year!
6:40 am
Saturday, January 01, 2000
Roland Martin's Marina
Clewiston, FL.
Happy New Year.
Another great day yesterday. Out of the slip at 8AM, and stopped at the next marina for fuel. ($1.24/gal) By 9:00 we were heading due east across the State of Florida. The weather was perfect. Sunny, and 80 degrees.
We had three locks to go through before we made it to Lake Okeechobee. These were no problem at all. We got right in every one. Once we made the Lake, we went about 13 miles south along the rim and stopped at Clewiston.
They had a New Years Eve party on the dock where we tied up. Well actually not on the dock, but right next to it at their Tiki Bar. It was a beautiful night 65 degrees, and a clear sky. The party was a lot of fun, and Carl, Deb, and I made it to midnight. I'm moving a little slow today, because I didn't get my sleep. Carl should be hurtin!
Today we head for North Palm Beach, and the last day we need to rush. After today, things will go a little slower, as we make the last few miles toward Ft. Lauderdale. Today's trip will be about 80 miles, and the weather should be warm (82) and sunny.
Well Steve, and Carl are up now, and Carl says he fells fine. The sun is just starting to come over the horizon. I'm going to try to get up to the Marina, and send this off.
I hope you have a great New Year.
BK.
Saturday, January 01, 2000
Roland Martin's Marina
Clewiston, FL.
Happy New Year.
Another great day yesterday. Out of the slip at 8AM, and stopped at the next marina for fuel. ($1.24/gal) By 9:00 we were heading due east across the State of Florida. The weather was perfect. Sunny, and 80 degrees.
We had three locks to go through before we made it to Lake Okeechobee. These were no problem at all. We got right in every one. Once we made the Lake, we went about 13 miles south along the rim and stopped at Clewiston.
They had a New Years Eve party on the dock where we tied up. Well actually not on the dock, but right next to it at their Tiki Bar. It was a beautiful night 65 degrees, and a clear sky. The party was a lot of fun, and Carl, Deb, and I made it to midnight. I'm moving a little slow today, because I didn't get my sleep. Carl should be hurtin!
Today we head for North Palm Beach, and the last day we need to rush. After today, things will go a little slower, as we make the last few miles toward Ft. Lauderdale. Today's trip will be about 80 miles, and the weather should be warm (82) and sunny.
Well Steve, and Carl are up now, and Carl says he fells fine. The sun is just starting to come over the horizon. I'm going to try to get up to the Marina, and send this off.
I hope you have a great New Year.
BK.
Friday, December 31, 1999
Chapter 26: New Year's Eve Morning
6:30 am
Friday, December 31, 1999
Day 26
Centennial Harbour Marina
Fort Myers, FL.
Before I start this morning I need to ask you a favor. We always love to get your e-mail, but please send a "new" message and don't hit "reply" because when you hit reply you also send back to me my original message which sometimes contains pictures, and they take a long time to download. To download those pictures all those times can take a while. Thanks.
If we took a poll on Headquarters today we would all agree on the following.
It doesn't feel like December, and it doesn't feel like New Years Eve, but this is a great way to bring in the New Year.
We had a great yesterday. After getting our e-mail we went back to the boat to get ready to head out. There had been a very heavy dew (we almost thought it rained), so it took a little bit to wipe down the boat. The sun was coming up (about 7:15) and it was beautiful. We knew it was going to be a great day. After leaving the marina we went about 4 miles and caught up with the Intracoastal at mile marker 77. From there we averaged about 9 MPH until we got to Venice at mile marker 56. From there we jumped out to the Gulf, where we made a hard left, and followed the coast south for 35 miles and came back in at Boca Granda and rejoined the Intracoastal at MM 25.
Along with a great trip on the Gulf we lost Carl. Well not literally, but he took a Dramamine, and went into some "funk" that he did not recover from until this morning. He was out of it. Mumbling, walking into things, dropping things, and if all that wasn't bad enough, he complained about it all the time. As Carl puts it "you can strap me to a rocket if you want to, but I'll never take that stuff again. Today he will to see the entire day.
Once we hit Boca Granda it was like things changed. We were following boats, passing boats, and meeting boats. There were boats everywhere! There was every size, and shape you can imagine. I figured out what I want heaven to be like when I get there. (yes, I mean when) The boat traffic stayed very busy all the way to our marina. We went fairly slow the whole way to be able to enjoy the trip, and got here at 4:45 PM.
It's a very nice marina, located close to downtown Fort Myers. Dinner on the boat (pork chops on the grill), and early to bed.
Today we are heading across the Caloosahatchee Canal and River to the western edge of the Okeechobee. We then follow the western rim south to the town of Clewiston, FL. where we will spend New Years Eve. We will be at Roland Martins Marina. We've been there before, and it's nothing special, but it was almost impossible to get a slip for New Years, and we'll be just fine.
Steve, and Carl are up now so we need to clean the boat, and get ready to head out. We can't see the sun yet, but we can see it on the tall buildings, so it won't be long.
From all of us on Headquarters........ to all you......... we wish you a Fantastic New Year!!
BK.
Friday, December 31, 1999
Day 26
Centennial Harbour Marina
Fort Myers, FL.
Before I start this morning I need to ask you a favor. We always love to get your e-mail, but please send a "new" message and don't hit "reply" because when you hit reply you also send back to me my original message which sometimes contains pictures, and they take a long time to download. To download those pictures all those times can take a while. Thanks.
If we took a poll on Headquarters today we would all agree on the following.
It doesn't feel like December, and it doesn't feel like New Years Eve, but this is a great way to bring in the New Year.
We had a great yesterday. After getting our e-mail we went back to the boat to get ready to head out. There had been a very heavy dew (we almost thought it rained), so it took a little bit to wipe down the boat. The sun was coming up (about 7:15) and it was beautiful. We knew it was going to be a great day. After leaving the marina we went about 4 miles and caught up with the Intracoastal at mile marker 77. From there we averaged about 9 MPH until we got to Venice at mile marker 56. From there we jumped out to the Gulf, where we made a hard left, and followed the coast south for 35 miles and came back in at Boca Granda and rejoined the Intracoastal at MM 25.
Along with a great trip on the Gulf we lost Carl. Well not literally, but he took a Dramamine, and went into some "funk" that he did not recover from until this morning. He was out of it. Mumbling, walking into things, dropping things, and if all that wasn't bad enough, he complained about it all the time. As Carl puts it "you can strap me to a rocket if you want to, but I'll never take that stuff again. Today he will to see the entire day.
Once we hit Boca Granda it was like things changed. We were following boats, passing boats, and meeting boats. There were boats everywhere! There was every size, and shape you can imagine. I figured out what I want heaven to be like when I get there. (yes, I mean when) The boat traffic stayed very busy all the way to our marina. We went fairly slow the whole way to be able to enjoy the trip, and got here at 4:45 PM.
It's a very nice marina, located close to downtown Fort Myers. Dinner on the boat (pork chops on the grill), and early to bed.
Today we are heading across the Caloosahatchee Canal and River to the western edge of the Okeechobee. We then follow the western rim south to the town of Clewiston, FL. where we will spend New Years Eve. We will be at Roland Martins Marina. We've been there before, and it's nothing special, but it was almost impossible to get a slip for New Years, and we'll be just fine.
Steve, and Carl are up now so we need to clean the boat, and get ready to head out. We can't see the sun yet, but we can see it on the tall buildings, so it won't be long.
From all of us on Headquarters........ to all you......... we wish you a Fantastic New Year!!
BK.
Thursday, December 30, 1999
Chapter 25: Arriving at Longboat Key
6:05 am
Thursday, December 30, 1999
Day 25
Longboat Key Moorings
Longboat Key, FL.
Sorry about duplicating chapters. I skipped # 24.
It would be very easy to sum up yesterday. Great!
Bright sunny morning, with very little winds, and the most beautiful blue sky.
We were up fairly early, and went to work on the boat. Carl washed the bridge, Steve cleaned the bow. Chris cleaned the windows, and Deb washed the dishes. Me? I hooked up the batteries, set up all the electronics, and made sure we were ready to go.
Left the marina at 9:20. It took about 20 minutes to get from the marina back to the Intracoastal at mile marker 115. Our route took us into the middle Tampa Bay, and we followed the big ship channel under the famous Bay Bridge. Carl got a picture of this. Actually Carl got a picture of everything that was in sight. He has a new digital camera, and you rarely see him without it.
The boat ran fine, but it is not performing as good as it has. It normally will top out at 2300 RPM, but yesterday I could only get 1850 RPM. I think it is a combination of critters on the bottom, which will increase drag tremendously (right Terry), full of fuel, full of water, and full of groceries, and liquid refreshments as we begin our trip. That coupled with old fuel, and engines that need to be run hard for a while to clean them out. As we went further it got better, so we'll see.
We only ended up going about 40 miles yesterday, ending up at Longboat Key Moorings Marina. If you have a map, were located at the southwest corner of Sarasota Bay, on Longboat Key. This is an awesome place, with about 150 slips, and every boat nicer than the next one. My boat looks pretty small as I gaze out right across from us at the 133 footer from the Cayman Islands.
(I'll bet they don't have any more fun than us)
Because we didn't go very far we were in here about 1 PM. After tying up, and Carl washing the boat, we had a lazy afternoon of shopping at the Marina, working on e-mails and the computers, and reading books. Deb, and Chris enjoyed a fair amount of the afternoon sitting in lawn chairs on the dock, and sipping Rolling Rocks. For dinner Steve made chicken on the grill, and Deb made a salad, and a couple of baked potatoes. After dinner Deb and I took a walk around the marina, then came back to the boat to find Carl, Steve, and Chris watching Titanic. After about 30 minutes of this, Deb and I called it a night at 9 PM.
Today we have about 90 miles to go to get to Ft. Myers. The plan is to leave at about 8, and stay in the Intracoastal all the way. As we leave the marina I'll head directly into Sarasota Bay, and catch the Intracoastal at mile marker 75. It will probably be a little cool for the first couple of hours, but the sun will be bright, and I'm sure it will be fine.
Well Carl, and Steve are up, and the skies are just beginning to lighten a little, so I'll close this chapter. Carl promises to start including a picture or two. We'll see.
BK.
Thursday, December 30, 1999
Day 25
Longboat Key Moorings
Longboat Key, FL.
Sorry about duplicating chapters. I skipped # 24.
It would be very easy to sum up yesterday. Great!
Bright sunny morning, with very little winds, and the most beautiful blue sky.
We were up fairly early, and went to work on the boat. Carl washed the bridge, Steve cleaned the bow. Chris cleaned the windows, and Deb washed the dishes. Me? I hooked up the batteries, set up all the electronics, and made sure we were ready to go.
Left the marina at 9:20. It took about 20 minutes to get from the marina back to the Intracoastal at mile marker 115. Our route took us into the middle Tampa Bay, and we followed the big ship channel under the famous Bay Bridge. Carl got a picture of this. Actually Carl got a picture of everything that was in sight. He has a new digital camera, and you rarely see him without it.
The boat ran fine, but it is not performing as good as it has. It normally will top out at 2300 RPM, but yesterday I could only get 1850 RPM. I think it is a combination of critters on the bottom, which will increase drag tremendously (right Terry), full of fuel, full of water, and full of groceries, and liquid refreshments as we begin our trip. That coupled with old fuel, and engines that need to be run hard for a while to clean them out. As we went further it got better, so we'll see.
We only ended up going about 40 miles yesterday, ending up at Longboat Key Moorings Marina. If you have a map, were located at the southwest corner of Sarasota Bay, on Longboat Key. This is an awesome place, with about 150 slips, and every boat nicer than the next one. My boat looks pretty small as I gaze out right across from us at the 133 footer from the Cayman Islands.
(I'll bet they don't have any more fun than us)
Because we didn't go very far we were in here about 1 PM. After tying up, and Carl washing the boat, we had a lazy afternoon of shopping at the Marina, working on e-mails and the computers, and reading books. Deb, and Chris enjoyed a fair amount of the afternoon sitting in lawn chairs on the dock, and sipping Rolling Rocks. For dinner Steve made chicken on the grill, and Deb made a salad, and a couple of baked potatoes. After dinner Deb and I took a walk around the marina, then came back to the boat to find Carl, Steve, and Chris watching Titanic. After about 30 minutes of this, Deb and I called it a night at 9 PM.
Today we have about 90 miles to go to get to Ft. Myers. The plan is to leave at about 8, and stay in the Intracoastal all the way. As we leave the marina I'll head directly into Sarasota Bay, and catch the Intracoastal at mile marker 75. It will probably be a little cool for the first couple of hours, but the sun will be bright, and I'm sure it will be fine.
Well Carl, and Steve are up, and the skies are just beginning to lighten a little, so I'll close this chapter. Carl promises to start including a picture or two. We'll see.
BK.
Wednesday, December 29, 1999
Chapter 23 (24): The Boat Gods are Angry
5:00 am
Wednesday, December 29, 1999
Tierra Verde Resort & Marina
Tierra Verde, FL.
Well yesterday was another interesting day on the water. The one thing about this log is that there is certainly not a lack of information to talk about.
As you may notice by the location, we are still in Terra Verde. My plans to take off at noon, didn't agree with the boat Gods.
It rained hard overnight, and although it was cloudy early, the front passed, and you could tell it was going to be a pretty day. Jamie (the stereo installation guy) must have slept in, because he didn't get here till about 8 am. He dug right in, and you could tell things weren't going well.
The problem was that when someone stole the stereo, they pulled the radio out, and cut all the wires. Then these wires fell back behind the panel, and they were very difficult to find. He was not having much luck (so much for it taking a few minutes). He also told me that the plugs I needed for the rear speakers wouldn't be in till noon. "Will that be ok?" (What's my second
option)
9:00 The girls went for groceries, and Steve, and Carl went to the marine store. I found out later why Steve was so eager to go to the marine store.
When Carl got on board, he had on a new pair of Rockport boat shoes, and Steve couldn't get a new pair fast enough. He just knew the huge marine store had some. Wrong!
While everyone was gone I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to fire up the engines, and make sure everything was ok. To my surprise, all I got was a faint clicking sound from both engines. Both banks of batteries were dead. The engines use 24 volts to start, and it looked like the 24 volt charger was dead. This did not make me happy.
So by the time Carl and Steve got back, I was down in the engine room pulling batteries. I had already tried to jump the engines, but there just wasn't enough power in any of the batteries, so I talked to the marina, and they were going to put them on charge. The time it would take to do this?
Several hours. So much for leaving today.
10:30. Jamie came back (with someone with him) and he said "I have some
good news, and some bad news, which do you want first?" Either way I tell him, so what's up? Well, he says, those parts for your rear speakers are on a truck alright, but the truck broke down last night in South Carolina.
We're not exactly sure when they'll be here. And the good news, I ask. Oh, he says, it's a gorgeous day isn't it. (as he charges me by the hour for finding these missing wires).
The guy with Jamie turns out to be a car stereo installation expert. He has his ohm meter out, and he is testing everything trying to figure out what wire leads where. All of a sudden they call me and say they have come to the conclusion that two of the top speakers are controlled from down below because that is where the wires lead. I almost lose it when I explain "Look, this stereo up top is the only thing controlling these speakers. I know this for sure, because I had it installed. All these wires are here somewhere, because they were here before. If you can't find them, and fix this, you need to let me know. Soon." The next question they asked is "do you have a coat hanger?"
A short note in here. While all this was going on Carl, and I decided to walk over to the marina, and get our e-mail. On the way over my computer started beeping. Dead battery! We looked at one another, and just turned around, and laughed all the way back to the boat.
11:30 The girls return with lots of groceries. Jamie, and his buddy are all excited, because they use the clothes hanger to reach behind the panel, and find.......you guessed it........stereo wires. No problem now, they say, we'll have you out of here in no time. Oooooook.
As we sit waiting Chris starts shaping the now famous hanger, to try to fix the mini blind problem. After she gets it just right, she and I go to work, and pull out the cord out of the blinds, untie a knot that had developed, and presto.....mini blinds work again. YEA.
Somewhere during all of this the guy who was fixing our table shows up with the table bottom in his hand. He had somehow got the keys to the guys shop, and got our table base out. It was fixed, but it had not been stained yet, so it was unfinished. No problem. It looks funny, but we have a table again.
3:00 Stereo works. Truck showed up with the parts, and the rear speakers
work. Jamie is gone. We get the batteries back, and I install them. As soon as I do this they tell me there is a beeping on the dash, and the port engine computer is flashing off and on. After a couple of calls, the early predication is that when the charger went dead it damaged one of the computers on the port engine. I've got to tell you, at this point I have about had it. A call to the Detroit engine folks gives us not a lot of hope, because he tells me they are very busy, and he's not sure if he can get someone to help us very quickly.
After sitting down for a while and thinking I go back to the engine room, and start tracing wires. When I hooked up the port engine batteries there were 2 suspect wires that looked like they could go to either battery, and I didn't mark them when I took them off. After tracing these, and comparing them to the starboard side, I figured out that I hooked them up wrong. I switched the wires, and yeeeeeeha, no more beeping, and the engine fired up!
What a relief.
6:00 After buttoning up the engine room, we all sat and had a drink, and
laughed about the day. In the end it turned out just fine. Stereo fixed.
Mini blinds fixed. Table base.......almost fixed. Batteries charged, and hopefully will start the engines in the morning. Everything was stocked, and ready for the trip. A lot of progress.
Dinner at the marina. (we were too tired to cook) To bed at 10:00
It is now 6:30 am. No one is up yet, but Carl probably will be before long.
The weather channel says upper 60's or low 70's today, and bright sun shine.
Our plan is to leave at 10:00 am, and head for Long Boat Key. I predict this will be a great day.
Talk to you soon.
BK.
Wednesday, December 29, 1999
Tierra Verde Resort & Marina
Tierra Verde, FL.
Well yesterday was another interesting day on the water. The one thing about this log is that there is certainly not a lack of information to talk about.
As you may notice by the location, we are still in Terra Verde. My plans to take off at noon, didn't agree with the boat Gods.
It rained hard overnight, and although it was cloudy early, the front passed, and you could tell it was going to be a pretty day. Jamie (the stereo installation guy) must have slept in, because he didn't get here till about 8 am. He dug right in, and you could tell things weren't going well.
The problem was that when someone stole the stereo, they pulled the radio out, and cut all the wires. Then these wires fell back behind the panel, and they were very difficult to find. He was not having much luck (so much for it taking a few minutes). He also told me that the plugs I needed for the rear speakers wouldn't be in till noon. "Will that be ok?" (What's my second
option)
9:00 The girls went for groceries, and Steve, and Carl went to the marine store. I found out later why Steve was so eager to go to the marine store.
When Carl got on board, he had on a new pair of Rockport boat shoes, and Steve couldn't get a new pair fast enough. He just knew the huge marine store had some. Wrong!
While everyone was gone I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to fire up the engines, and make sure everything was ok. To my surprise, all I got was a faint clicking sound from both engines. Both banks of batteries were dead. The engines use 24 volts to start, and it looked like the 24 volt charger was dead. This did not make me happy.
So by the time Carl and Steve got back, I was down in the engine room pulling batteries. I had already tried to jump the engines, but there just wasn't enough power in any of the batteries, so I talked to the marina, and they were going to put them on charge. The time it would take to do this?
Several hours. So much for leaving today.
10:30. Jamie came back (with someone with him) and he said "I have some
good news, and some bad news, which do you want first?" Either way I tell him, so what's up? Well, he says, those parts for your rear speakers are on a truck alright, but the truck broke down last night in South Carolina.
We're not exactly sure when they'll be here. And the good news, I ask. Oh, he says, it's a gorgeous day isn't it. (as he charges me by the hour for finding these missing wires).
The guy with Jamie turns out to be a car stereo installation expert. He has his ohm meter out, and he is testing everything trying to figure out what wire leads where. All of a sudden they call me and say they have come to the conclusion that two of the top speakers are controlled from down below because that is where the wires lead. I almost lose it when I explain "Look, this stereo up top is the only thing controlling these speakers. I know this for sure, because I had it installed. All these wires are here somewhere, because they were here before. If you can't find them, and fix this, you need to let me know. Soon." The next question they asked is "do you have a coat hanger?"
A short note in here. While all this was going on Carl, and I decided to walk over to the marina, and get our e-mail. On the way over my computer started beeping. Dead battery! We looked at one another, and just turned around, and laughed all the way back to the boat.
11:30 The girls return with lots of groceries. Jamie, and his buddy are all excited, because they use the clothes hanger to reach behind the panel, and find.......you guessed it........stereo wires. No problem now, they say, we'll have you out of here in no time. Oooooook.
As we sit waiting Chris starts shaping the now famous hanger, to try to fix the mini blind problem. After she gets it just right, she and I go to work, and pull out the cord out of the blinds, untie a knot that had developed, and presto.....mini blinds work again. YEA.
Somewhere during all of this the guy who was fixing our table shows up with the table bottom in his hand. He had somehow got the keys to the guys shop, and got our table base out. It was fixed, but it had not been stained yet, so it was unfinished. No problem. It looks funny, but we have a table again.
3:00 Stereo works. Truck showed up with the parts, and the rear speakers
work. Jamie is gone. We get the batteries back, and I install them. As soon as I do this they tell me there is a beeping on the dash, and the port engine computer is flashing off and on. After a couple of calls, the early predication is that when the charger went dead it damaged one of the computers on the port engine. I've got to tell you, at this point I have about had it. A call to the Detroit engine folks gives us not a lot of hope, because he tells me they are very busy, and he's not sure if he can get someone to help us very quickly.
After sitting down for a while and thinking I go back to the engine room, and start tracing wires. When I hooked up the port engine batteries there were 2 suspect wires that looked like they could go to either battery, and I didn't mark them when I took them off. After tracing these, and comparing them to the starboard side, I figured out that I hooked them up wrong. I switched the wires, and yeeeeeeha, no more beeping, and the engine fired up!
What a relief.
6:00 After buttoning up the engine room, we all sat and had a drink, and
laughed about the day. In the end it turned out just fine. Stereo fixed.
Mini blinds fixed. Table base.......almost fixed. Batteries charged, and hopefully will start the engines in the morning. Everything was stocked, and ready for the trip. A lot of progress.
Dinner at the marina. (we were too tired to cook) To bed at 10:00
It is now 6:30 am. No one is up yet, but Carl probably will be before long.
The weather channel says upper 60's or low 70's today, and bright sun shine.
Our plan is to leave at 10:00 am, and head for Long Boat Key. I predict this will be a great day.
Talk to you soon.
BK.
Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Chapter 23: Back in Tierra Verde
5:55 am
Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Tierra Verde Resort & Marina
Tierra Verde, FL.
It's always interesting coming back to the boat when you've been gone for a while. I am always excited, but you're not sure what to expect. Yesterday was no exception.
We arrived in Tampa right on time. After a limo ride, (with several other people, who didn't happen to be going where we were, so we were the last ones off) we arrived at the marina at about 6PM. From a distance the boat looked great. It looked clean, and as I say I was excited to see it.
Once on the boat things took a bit of a change. On the stern of our boat we have two big doors, one of which slides, similar to glass sliding doors on a patio. The only difference in ours is that there heavier, and curved verses flat. On the inside we have sort of mini blinds that are made out of fabric.
You can raise and lower these with a pull string. Simple enough right? Well, when we leave the boat we lower the blinds to keep the sun from bleaching out the carpet. The problem is we have to lower these by hand, because the pull string is on the inside. (yes, there is a reason to tell you this) Anyway......when we got to the boat, the blinds were messed up because the guy who was installing the stereo wasn't quite as careful as we are. Somehow he broke these, and they wouldn't go up, and I had to take them down in order to get in the boat. No big deal, I'm sure someone sells these things.
Speaking of the guy who installed the stereo. (or was supposed to install the stereo) Once we got in the boat I noticed that there were empty stereo boxes in the salon, so I went up on the bridge to inspect the new installation. What I found was a mess. The dash panel was open, and screws were laying on the dash. The canvas that is supposed to cover the dash was in a ball and laying in the corner. (by the way it rained hard last night) On the floor were wires, and a used antenna. My stomach did a flip. I had his (Jamie) cell number, so I called him. Oh, Jamie said, "I have your new stereo right here beside me". I thought about telling him it belonged in my dash, but I assumed he knew that. He went on to say he had a problem, and had to take the stereo to Clarion dealer. But then he said there was no problem with the stereo, the problem must be on the boat. Not to worry though, he said "it will only take him a few minutes to fix in the morning".
(do you think when I write this log tomorrow, it will have taken "only a few minutes to fix"?) I doubt it!
At about this time it seemed to me a gin and tonic was in order. Carl went to get ice, so I was all set. Once made I was ready for the next project.
Remember that table base for the salon table that broke? Well I went over to the boat of the guy who was going to fix it. I banged on the boat, and when he finally came out he said "Hi, when you leavin"? I knew we had a problem.
It seems that the base was at some painters shop, and this guy closed his shop for a week. I'm serious. I thought about reminding him that I gave him this base on September, 27th, and it's now almost January, but I thought he knew that as well. We are still trying to figure out what to do about this one.
The rest of the evening was less eventful. Deb and Chris put things away, and helped Carl make up the bed in the 3rd bedroom. We went over to the restaurant and had a pretty good meal, and some great margaritas. By 10 we were back at the boat, and Deb and Chris put the final touches on the grocery list.
Today? Well, Deb and Chris will head out to the store to stock up on food.
Steve, and Carl will head out to West Marine to get a few things, and then help clean the boat when they return. I need to check things out in the engine room, hopefully get the stereo fully installed, and try and figure out how to my table base back. All this, and my goal is to leave at noon.
Our destination today is Longboat Key. There is a great marina there (or at least the picture looks good). It should be an easy trip. Only 35 miles, and the weather will be fine, after that front went through.
So that where we're at as of now. Carl got up a few minutes ago, so I'll close this, and find out what he's thinking.
BK.
Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Tierra Verde Resort & Marina
Tierra Verde, FL.
It's always interesting coming back to the boat when you've been gone for a while. I am always excited, but you're not sure what to expect. Yesterday was no exception.
We arrived in Tampa right on time. After a limo ride, (with several other people, who didn't happen to be going where we were, so we were the last ones off) we arrived at the marina at about 6PM. From a distance the boat looked great. It looked clean, and as I say I was excited to see it.
Once on the boat things took a bit of a change. On the stern of our boat we have two big doors, one of which slides, similar to glass sliding doors on a patio. The only difference in ours is that there heavier, and curved verses flat. On the inside we have sort of mini blinds that are made out of fabric.
You can raise and lower these with a pull string. Simple enough right? Well, when we leave the boat we lower the blinds to keep the sun from bleaching out the carpet. The problem is we have to lower these by hand, because the pull string is on the inside. (yes, there is a reason to tell you this) Anyway......when we got to the boat, the blinds were messed up because the guy who was installing the stereo wasn't quite as careful as we are. Somehow he broke these, and they wouldn't go up, and I had to take them down in order to get in the boat. No big deal, I'm sure someone sells these things.
Speaking of the guy who installed the stereo. (or was supposed to install the stereo) Once we got in the boat I noticed that there were empty stereo boxes in the salon, so I went up on the bridge to inspect the new installation. What I found was a mess. The dash panel was open, and screws were laying on the dash. The canvas that is supposed to cover the dash was in a ball and laying in the corner. (by the way it rained hard last night) On the floor were wires, and a used antenna. My stomach did a flip. I had his (Jamie) cell number, so I called him. Oh, Jamie said, "I have your new stereo right here beside me". I thought about telling him it belonged in my dash, but I assumed he knew that. He went on to say he had a problem, and had to take the stereo to Clarion dealer. But then he said there was no problem with the stereo, the problem must be on the boat. Not to worry though, he said "it will only take him a few minutes to fix in the morning".
(do you think when I write this log tomorrow, it will have taken "only a few minutes to fix"?) I doubt it!
At about this time it seemed to me a gin and tonic was in order. Carl went to get ice, so I was all set. Once made I was ready for the next project.
Remember that table base for the salon table that broke? Well I went over to the boat of the guy who was going to fix it. I banged on the boat, and when he finally came out he said "Hi, when you leavin"? I knew we had a problem.
It seems that the base was at some painters shop, and this guy closed his shop for a week. I'm serious. I thought about reminding him that I gave him this base on September, 27th, and it's now almost January, but I thought he knew that as well. We are still trying to figure out what to do about this one.
The rest of the evening was less eventful. Deb and Chris put things away, and helped Carl make up the bed in the 3rd bedroom. We went over to the restaurant and had a pretty good meal, and some great margaritas. By 10 we were back at the boat, and Deb and Chris put the final touches on the grocery list.
Today? Well, Deb and Chris will head out to the store to stock up on food.
Steve, and Carl will head out to West Marine to get a few things, and then help clean the boat when they return. I need to check things out in the engine room, hopefully get the stereo fully installed, and try and figure out how to my table base back. All this, and my goal is to leave at noon.
Our destination today is Longboat Key. There is a great marina there (or at least the picture looks good). It should be an easy trip. Only 35 miles, and the weather will be fine, after that front went through.
So that where we're at as of now. Carl got up a few minutes ago, so I'll close this, and find out what he's thinking.
BK.
Monday, December 27, 1999
Chapter 22: Leg Two Begins...
5:30 am
Monday December 27, 1999
It's early Monday morning, and were back on the road again. Well not quite yet, but we are catching a flight today for Tampa, and then a short drive to Tierra Verde to the boat.
Here we are on our second phase of our Great Circle Trip. For those of you who are new on the distribution list (I can't believe the stories of people who have said they read this), and to those who have just forgotten, I'll take a minute to bring you up to speed.
Don't forget. I write these captain's logs for a couple of reasons. 1) at some date in the future, when we're old and gray, I want to be able to look back at these logs, and recall the events as they happened. 2) Because we have so many people who ask about the trip, this is an easy way to keep them posted, and not have to explain all the details when we get home. I apologize if I don't cover what you are looking for.
Also, please remember my disclaimer. I am more worried about the message content, than I am about the grammar, or spelling. Sometimes, I get so excited about something, that my typing can't keep up with my brain. (which just says I type very slow)
Anyway here is a little recap.........
* We left last Labor Day, and took three weeks to get the boat from Ottawa, IL., to Florida. It was an awesome trip that I will not soon forget. Looking back, the part I'll remember the most, is the part I dreaded the most.
Crossing the Gulf. It was 10 hours of being scared, bored, and relieved when we got to Clearwater, but I'll never forget it. Those type of memories are the reason we made this trip.
* The boat spent the first part of the winter in a slip in Tierra Verde, FL.
A great marina that I will hate to leave.
* While the boat was in Florida, Deb and I went down once. We only went for a long weekend, but we had a great time. When we arrived, I noticed something looked funny, and I realized that someone had stolen the stereo, and speakers, from the fly bridge. The good news is they didn't do any more damage. I bought a new one and sent it down to the marina, I hope it will be installed when we get there. Also while we were there I found out that you need to clean the bottom of the boat on a regular basis. It had only been 6 weeks, and the bottom was full of critters. Since then I've had a diver go down every couple of weeks to keep it clean.
* Hopefully when we get back to the boat the salon table will be fixed. When we tried to cross the gulf the first time, we were in some large waves, it fell, and broke the base unit. I called Cruisers Yachts to replace it, and they told me just the base was $650, so I found someone at the marina who lives on his boat, and does carpenter work on the side. He looked at it, and said.....no problem! We'll see how it looks when we get there today.
* Our plan for the next leg is to go from Tierra Verde to Ft. Lauderdale I figure about 450 miles). The boat will then stay in Ft. Lauderdale till mid may. The cost to leave the boat there is very expensive ( about $1400 a month), but it is the boating capitol of the world, and I wanted to include this adventure on our trip. (We may be paying for this for the rest of our lives, but it will be worth it)
* Making this next leg with Deb, and I, are my business partner, Steve Thoke, his fiancée, Chris Van Allan, and a friend of ours Carl Melville.
Besides the normal fun and excitement, Chris and Steve will be getting married along the way. They have their Florida marriage license, so the legal things are handled. Then the plan is to go to Pier 66 Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, where I will perform small ceremony on the back of the boat. not legal mind you, but a marriage ceremony none the less) Another great thing about being a captain.
* I am really excited about getting back to the boat. We have made most of this leg before when I took a friend's boat from Tampa to Philadelphia, so I know what to expect. I have been studying the charts for hours, and in my mind, and on paper, I covered every mile. Most people ask "will you go all the way down and around?" No. We will go inside at Ft. Myers, and take the Caloosahatchee (you pronounce it....I can't) River across the center of Florida to Lake Okeechobee. We will then wrap around Okeechobee until we get to the St. Lucie River and Canal. That will take us to Stuart, FL., and out to the Atlantic (from Ft. Myers, it's a total of about 130 miles). At that point we join the Intracoastal at mile marker 980 (which means we are 980 miles south of Norfolk, VA.). We will then make a hard right, and go about 85 miles south to Ft. Lauderdale.
* We should arrive in Ft. Lauderdale about January, 2nd or 3rd. On January 5th, I have our management team joining us for a managers meeting, and they are bringing their spouses. This will allow us to use the boat for these meetings, and mix a little business with pleasure. We will then head home on January 9th.
Well I guess I should end this first message, and get ready to head out.
While I was writing this I noticed the snow plow going in front of our house. We got about a 1/2 inch of snow last night, so I need to plow that off the driveway before we leave. I was also watching my favorite show "The Weather Channel" and although it is cool now, they say it will be 80 degrees in Florida for New Years Eve. We will either be on Lake Okeechobee, or in North Palm Beach, depending on our progress, but it looks like we'll be warm where ever we are.
Talk to you soon....
BK.
Monday December 27, 1999
It's early Monday morning, and were back on the road again. Well not quite yet, but we are catching a flight today for Tampa, and then a short drive to Tierra Verde to the boat.
Here we are on our second phase of our Great Circle Trip. For those of you who are new on the distribution list (I can't believe the stories of people who have said they read this), and to those who have just forgotten, I'll take a minute to bring you up to speed.
Don't forget. I write these captain's logs for a couple of reasons. 1) at some date in the future, when we're old and gray, I want to be able to look back at these logs, and recall the events as they happened. 2) Because we have so many people who ask about the trip, this is an easy way to keep them posted, and not have to explain all the details when we get home. I apologize if I don't cover what you are looking for.
Also, please remember my disclaimer. I am more worried about the message content, than I am about the grammar, or spelling. Sometimes, I get so excited about something, that my typing can't keep up with my brain. (which just says I type very slow)
Anyway here is a little recap.........
* We left last Labor Day, and took three weeks to get the boat from Ottawa, IL., to Florida. It was an awesome trip that I will not soon forget. Looking back, the part I'll remember the most, is the part I dreaded the most.
Crossing the Gulf. It was 10 hours of being scared, bored, and relieved when we got to Clearwater, but I'll never forget it. Those type of memories are the reason we made this trip.
* The boat spent the first part of the winter in a slip in Tierra Verde, FL.
A great marina that I will hate to leave.
* While the boat was in Florida, Deb and I went down once. We only went for a long weekend, but we had a great time. When we arrived, I noticed something looked funny, and I realized that someone had stolen the stereo, and speakers, from the fly bridge. The good news is they didn't do any more damage. I bought a new one and sent it down to the marina, I hope it will be installed when we get there. Also while we were there I found out that you need to clean the bottom of the boat on a regular basis. It had only been 6 weeks, and the bottom was full of critters. Since then I've had a diver go down every couple of weeks to keep it clean.
* Hopefully when we get back to the boat the salon table will be fixed. When we tried to cross the gulf the first time, we were in some large waves, it fell, and broke the base unit. I called Cruisers Yachts to replace it, and they told me just the base was $650, so I found someone at the marina who lives on his boat, and does carpenter work on the side. He looked at it, and said.....no problem! We'll see how it looks when we get there today.
* Our plan for the next leg is to go from Tierra Verde to Ft. Lauderdale I figure about 450 miles). The boat will then stay in Ft. Lauderdale till mid may. The cost to leave the boat there is very expensive ( about $1400 a month), but it is the boating capitol of the world, and I wanted to include this adventure on our trip. (We may be paying for this for the rest of our lives, but it will be worth it)
* Making this next leg with Deb, and I, are my business partner, Steve Thoke, his fiancée, Chris Van Allan, and a friend of ours Carl Melville.
Besides the normal fun and excitement, Chris and Steve will be getting married along the way. They have their Florida marriage license, so the legal things are handled. Then the plan is to go to Pier 66 Marina in Ft. Lauderdale, where I will perform small ceremony on the back of the boat. not legal mind you, but a marriage ceremony none the less) Another great thing about being a captain.
* I am really excited about getting back to the boat. We have made most of this leg before when I took a friend's boat from Tampa to Philadelphia, so I know what to expect. I have been studying the charts for hours, and in my mind, and on paper, I covered every mile. Most people ask "will you go all the way down and around?" No. We will go inside at Ft. Myers, and take the Caloosahatchee (you pronounce it....I can't) River across the center of Florida to Lake Okeechobee. We will then wrap around Okeechobee until we get to the St. Lucie River and Canal. That will take us to Stuart, FL., and out to the Atlantic (from Ft. Myers, it's a total of about 130 miles). At that point we join the Intracoastal at mile marker 980 (which means we are 980 miles south of Norfolk, VA.). We will then make a hard right, and go about 85 miles south to Ft. Lauderdale.
* We should arrive in Ft. Lauderdale about January, 2nd or 3rd. On January 5th, I have our management team joining us for a managers meeting, and they are bringing their spouses. This will allow us to use the boat for these meetings, and mix a little business with pleasure. We will then head home on January 9th.
Well I guess I should end this first message, and get ready to head out.
While I was writing this I noticed the snow plow going in front of our house. We got about a 1/2 inch of snow last night, so I need to plow that off the driveway before we leave. I was also watching my favorite show "The Weather Channel" and although it is cool now, they say it will be 80 degrees in Florida for New Years Eve. We will either be on Lake Okeechobee, or in North Palm Beach, depending on our progress, but it looks like we'll be warm where ever we are.
Talk to you soon....
BK.
Thursday, September 30, 1999
A Half-Time Note from Deb...
9/30/99
Hello Everyone!
Well, it’s been 5 days since we’ve been back and the house has finally stopped rocking. Jeanie, are you still taking Dramamine? I guess we’re officially landlubbers now, at least for a while. We walked into our house at 9:30 last Saturday night with mixed feelings. It’s good to be home on solid ground…but I’m sure we’ll miss our home on the water too.
Here’s some things we’ll miss: the morning ritual of Bloody Mary’s (Hooch’s for Darrell, Bud Lite for Les), …putting on a swim suit first thing in the morning and wearing it all day, …beautiful sunsets, …beautiful sunrises (yes, I saw a couple), …awesome seafood (catfish at Bobby’s Fish Camp!), …the evening ritual of watching the day’s digital pictures on TV (delete-delete-delete!), …reading BK’s daily chapters, …reading the daily responses from you guys, …Donna’s incredible coconut brownies, …sunshine …dolphins, …pelicans, …herons, …boatin’ sandwiches, …reading a book on the bow of the boat…
It’s nice to be home though too. It ’s nice to be able to take a long shower without having to turn off the water between soaping up and rinsing off. …to be able to turn on the hairdryer without first turning off the water heater. …to spread out in a king sized bed, …to see Beccah & Samantha, …to type on a full sized keyboard, …to watch a big screen TV, …to drive a car, …to be able to talk on the phone without waiting for a good signal…
The first thing we thought as we turned on the lights at the house last Saturday night was, “Man! Look how BIG everything looks!” For the last 3 weeks we were able to set the table, cook dinner, get chops out of the freezer, make a gin & tonic, steer the boat, watch TV, and look out the windows in all 4 directions… all while standing in the same spot! It was very cozy! Good thing we were all such good friends. We got to know a lot about each other on those 24/7’s we spent with each other…some things that maybe could have remained a mystery (“What IS that noise coming from the head?”) And I’m sure we could have gotten used to Terry’s morning hair-do but we never got the chance ~ ever since we caught him on camera that first day, he put a ball cap on every morning before he came out of his bedroom!
With each crew we also found that as every day passed, we got better and better at “working” the boat. We all got to know our posts and eventually, by the end of the week, we were a well-oiled machine…then a new crew would come aboard! I learned a lot of new things on this trip, not the least important was that when we pulled up to the fuel dock, which side of the boat we should tie our lines to. Each time we headed for the fuel dock I’d call out, “Which side?”, and each time BK would patiently answer, “Port side!” After a full season of handling lines on Headquarters he finally pointed out to me that the fuel intakes are on the port side so we ALWAYS tie up there…duh!
We saw some awesome/interesting sights along the way; The St.Louis Arch, an 80ft lock, dolphins jumping along side HQ as we cruised along, a barge on the Mississippi that was 7 long and 6 wide, a dredger that had pulled up a rusty old car, magnificent mansions, tiny shacks on stilts, white quartz cliffs along the canal, boils & eddies on the Mississippi, a huge barge repair dry-dock at Cairo, the C1 daymarker at Clearwater Beach (such a relief after 145 miles of nothing but water), pelicans flying in formation…
Some quotes:
“HOLY CAMOLEY!” ~ Donna (at just about any occasion)
“Do you think that smoke from the starboard engine means anything?” ~ BK
“It’s important to rotate your stock.” ~ Darrell (after crawling all the way to the back of the third bedroom on his hands & knees with a flimsy case of Corona under his arm)
“It’s not HER first parade!” ~ Donna (about CVA’s organized arrival to the boat)
“Have the fuel gauges ever been this low before?” ~ Steve
“Sometimes I wish…we could all go for a dinghy ride.” ~ Annie
“Guys…do you know what kind of bar this is?” ~ Jeanie (after a fun afternoon of playing pool in a GAY bar! – We talked to a man there who said he was from, no joke, Queens!)
“We’re off-like a prom dress!” ~ Darrell
“Annie, wake up…what time is it? ~ Les
“Get me off this boat. I’m bored out of my SKULL!” ~ Terry (after seeing we had 90 more miles to go on our Gulf crossing)
“DOLphins! DOLphins! 10 O’CLOCK! DOLphins! ~ BK (first dolphin sighting)
“Are we the first ones up?” ~ Debbie (to Jeanie)
“I’m glad I’M not going on that Gulf crossing!” ~ Steve
”Who wants a Bloody Mary?” ~ Annie
“There’s a nice beach…there’s a nice beach…THERE’S a nice beach… ~ Chris (she likes beach walking)
“Y’ever feel like drinkin’?…call me, I’ll talk to ya all night long if necessary!” ~ Ann (waitress at Bobby’s Fish Camp)
“Set your heading at 140 degrees, Cap’n – your next marker is Red 28.” ~ Terry
“While you’re there, bring me a Bud Lite.” ~ Les
Some tidbits:
· We were gone 21 days
· Traveled 1590 miles
· Used 2878 gals of diesel
· Went thru 19 locks
· Dodged 5 tropical storms &/or hurricanes
· Saw dolphins, jelly fish, pelicans, sting rays, herons, shark (only one), but no alligators
· # of dinners cooked & eaten on board Headquarters: 17
· # of times BK & DK cooked on the grill (combined): 0
· # of days of rain we had: 2 (neither times did it affect our fun)
· # of quarts of Aunt Marylynne’s hot peppers consumed: 2
· # of nights we anchored out: 2
· # of nights we were docked at a marina: 16
· # of nights we were tied to barges (fuel or otherwise): 3
· # of dingy rides for pleasure: 2 (The Double D’s & Koerners at Green Turtle Bay & BK, Terry & Les at Grand Mariner Marina)
· # of dinghy rides performed in the line of duty: 2 (once to get the aft anchor up at Cairo at 4am & then to “lighten the load” in order to float off the sand shoal in Clearwater)
· Best cruising aid: Tracking satellite TV with the weather station
· Next best: Terry
· Best cooking discovery: Pillsbury Poppin’ Fresh French Loaf bread
· Longest stay in one place: 3 nights - Green Turtle Bay Marina ~ engine trouble
· Most interesting meal: During our Gulf crossing, Annie brought up to the flybridge a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter & a knife and made folded over peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. (We ate with one hand & held on with the other!)
· # of ball caps lost overboard – 1 (ST’s Pro Source cap)
· Deepest water: 87’ - Gulf
· Shallowest water: 2’ - Clearwater (our boat draws 4’)
· Tallest lock: 80 feet (Whitten Lock & Dam on the Tenn-Tom)
· Scariest time: 4am cruise in pitch black, no lights, no radar, barge coming up steadily behind us (Do you think he sees us?)
· Best time: Every new day!
I’m including pictures from the last couple of days that BK forgot to send with his last chapter. I hope you can tell from these pictures and from the above paragraphs what an awesome trip this was. We couldn’t have done it without the help of all of our great crews, and we wouldn’t have WANTED to do it without all of our great friends. Thanks for the memories. Can’t wait to get back for the next leg. Who’s up for it?
Since we’re not done yet, Terry suggested this trip should be called the GS-CT (the Great Semi-Circle Trip!)
Seeyabye---àDK
P.S. Does anyone still have his boat in the water? Do you need a couple of seasoned crewmembers?
Hello Everyone!
Well, it’s been 5 days since we’ve been back and the house has finally stopped rocking. Jeanie, are you still taking Dramamine? I guess we’re officially landlubbers now, at least for a while. We walked into our house at 9:30 last Saturday night with mixed feelings. It’s good to be home on solid ground…but I’m sure we’ll miss our home on the water too.
Here’s some things we’ll miss: the morning ritual of Bloody Mary’s (Hooch’s for Darrell, Bud Lite for Les), …putting on a swim suit first thing in the morning and wearing it all day, …beautiful sunsets, …beautiful sunrises (yes, I saw a couple), …awesome seafood (catfish at Bobby’s Fish Camp!), …the evening ritual of watching the day’s digital pictures on TV (delete-delete-delete!), …reading BK’s daily chapters, …reading the daily responses from you guys, …Donna’s incredible coconut brownies, …sunshine …dolphins, …pelicans, …herons, …boatin’ sandwiches, …reading a book on the bow of the boat…
It’s nice to be home though too. It ’s nice to be able to take a long shower without having to turn off the water between soaping up and rinsing off. …to be able to turn on the hairdryer without first turning off the water heater. …to spread out in a king sized bed, …to see Beccah & Samantha, …to type on a full sized keyboard, …to watch a big screen TV, …to drive a car, …to be able to talk on the phone without waiting for a good signal…
The first thing we thought as we turned on the lights at the house last Saturday night was, “Man! Look how BIG everything looks!” For the last 3 weeks we were able to set the table, cook dinner, get chops out of the freezer, make a gin & tonic, steer the boat, watch TV, and look out the windows in all 4 directions… all while standing in the same spot! It was very cozy! Good thing we were all such good friends. We got to know a lot about each other on those 24/7’s we spent with each other…some things that maybe could have remained a mystery (“What IS that noise coming from the head?”) And I’m sure we could have gotten used to Terry’s morning hair-do but we never got the chance ~ ever since we caught him on camera that first day, he put a ball cap on every morning before he came out of his bedroom!
With each crew we also found that as every day passed, we got better and better at “working” the boat. We all got to know our posts and eventually, by the end of the week, we were a well-oiled machine…then a new crew would come aboard! I learned a lot of new things on this trip, not the least important was that when we pulled up to the fuel dock, which side of the boat we should tie our lines to. Each time we headed for the fuel dock I’d call out, “Which side?”, and each time BK would patiently answer, “Port side!” After a full season of handling lines on Headquarters he finally pointed out to me that the fuel intakes are on the port side so we ALWAYS tie up there…duh!
We saw some awesome/interesting sights along the way; The St.Louis Arch, an 80ft lock, dolphins jumping along side HQ as we cruised along, a barge on the Mississippi that was 7 long and 6 wide, a dredger that had pulled up a rusty old car, magnificent mansions, tiny shacks on stilts, white quartz cliffs along the canal, boils & eddies on the Mississippi, a huge barge repair dry-dock at Cairo, the C1 daymarker at Clearwater Beach (such a relief after 145 miles of nothing but water), pelicans flying in formation…
Some quotes:
“HOLY CAMOLEY!” ~ Donna (at just about any occasion)
“Do you think that smoke from the starboard engine means anything?” ~ BK
“It’s important to rotate your stock.” ~ Darrell (after crawling all the way to the back of the third bedroom on his hands & knees with a flimsy case of Corona under his arm)
“It’s not HER first parade!” ~ Donna (about CVA’s organized arrival to the boat)
“Have the fuel gauges ever been this low before?” ~ Steve
“Sometimes I wish…we could all go for a dinghy ride.” ~ Annie
“Guys…do you know what kind of bar this is?” ~ Jeanie (after a fun afternoon of playing pool in a GAY bar! – We talked to a man there who said he was from, no joke, Queens!)
“We’re off-like a prom dress!” ~ Darrell
“Annie, wake up…what time is it? ~ Les
“Get me off this boat. I’m bored out of my SKULL!” ~ Terry (after seeing we had 90 more miles to go on our Gulf crossing)
“DOLphins! DOLphins! 10 O’CLOCK! DOLphins! ~ BK (first dolphin sighting)
“Are we the first ones up?” ~ Debbie (to Jeanie)
“I’m glad I’M not going on that Gulf crossing!” ~ Steve
”Who wants a Bloody Mary?” ~ Annie
“There’s a nice beach…there’s a nice beach…THERE’S a nice beach… ~ Chris (she likes beach walking)
“Y’ever feel like drinkin’?…call me, I’ll talk to ya all night long if necessary!” ~ Ann (waitress at Bobby’s Fish Camp)
“Set your heading at 140 degrees, Cap’n – your next marker is Red 28.” ~ Terry
“While you’re there, bring me a Bud Lite.” ~ Les
Some tidbits:
· We were gone 21 days
· Traveled 1590 miles
· Used 2878 gals of diesel
· Went thru 19 locks
· Dodged 5 tropical storms &/or hurricanes
· Saw dolphins, jelly fish, pelicans, sting rays, herons, shark (only one), but no alligators
· # of dinners cooked & eaten on board Headquarters: 17
· # of times BK & DK cooked on the grill (combined): 0
· # of days of rain we had: 2 (neither times did it affect our fun)
· # of quarts of Aunt Marylynne’s hot peppers consumed: 2
· # of nights we anchored out: 2
· # of nights we were docked at a marina: 16
· # of nights we were tied to barges (fuel or otherwise): 3
· # of dingy rides for pleasure: 2 (The Double D’s & Koerners at Green Turtle Bay & BK, Terry & Les at Grand Mariner Marina)
· # of dinghy rides performed in the line of duty: 2 (once to get the aft anchor up at Cairo at 4am & then to “lighten the load” in order to float off the sand shoal in Clearwater)
· Best cruising aid: Tracking satellite TV with the weather station
· Next best: Terry
· Best cooking discovery: Pillsbury Poppin’ Fresh French Loaf bread
· Longest stay in one place: 3 nights - Green Turtle Bay Marina ~ engine trouble
· Most interesting meal: During our Gulf crossing, Annie brought up to the flybridge a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter & a knife and made folded over peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. (We ate with one hand & held on with the other!)
· # of ball caps lost overboard – 1 (ST’s Pro Source cap)
· Deepest water: 87’ - Gulf
· Shallowest water: 2’ - Clearwater (our boat draws 4’)
· Tallest lock: 80 feet (Whitten Lock & Dam on the Tenn-Tom)
· Scariest time: 4am cruise in pitch black, no lights, no radar, barge coming up steadily behind us (Do you think he sees us?)
· Best time: Every new day!
I’m including pictures from the last couple of days that BK forgot to send with his last chapter. I hope you can tell from these pictures and from the above paragraphs what an awesome trip this was. We couldn’t have done it without the help of all of our great crews, and we wouldn’t have WANTED to do it without all of our great friends. Thanks for the memories. Can’t wait to get back for the next leg. Who’s up for it?
Since we’re not done yet, Terry suggested this trip should be called the GS-CT (the Great Semi-Circle Trip!)
Seeyabye---àDK
P.S. Does anyone still have his boat in the water? Do you need a couple of seasoned crewmembers?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
