Earth Date; May 25th, 2015; successfully transitioning from spring to summer

Well, it's been another fun filled month (plus).  Debi and I took off down the ICW and marina-hopped again, put some more hours on the new motor, and had a great time.  10 days later and we returned with no worse for wear.

Our first stop was into St.Augustine's municipal city marina.  We timed it better this time where we came in on slack tide, and the wind wasn't against us, and we landed successfully and without incident, yea!  The next day we were off to Palm Coast.  We ran into several friends, had a great time and headed to New Smyrna Beach City marina.  It was along this route that when we got to the two bascule bridges in the Daytona area, we almost had a real disaster.  We ended up with two motor trawlers and they were using channel 16, I was using channel 9.  We cleared the Main St. Bridge just fine.  I was in front so I hailed the Memorial Bridge with my usual 'bridge, bridge, this is the south bound sailing vessel Renasci requesting passage at your next opening'.  He came back and said 'hold on a second please', so I did.  Not shortly after that, he raised the bridge, I had peeled off and was behind the two trawlers now, and all three of us started for the bridge.  The two ahead of me made it, and then all of a sudden, five horns.  What the F$%K!, I had to do an emergency peel off just feet from the fenders, thank GOD I wasn't 10 feet closer to the bridge.  So, two seconds later, I power down and I get on the radio and ask what happened, and the bridge tender said he didn't hear me.  I guess he did SEE me either ?  I mean, it's so easy to not see a fifty foot telephone poll headed towards ya, not to say 37 feet of boat.  But, I calmly asked again for passage, and he did his thing and we got the hell away from him/that-bridge.  While waiting though, the two motor boats called back and asked the tender if he had emergency traffic of some other emergency, cause they had never seen anything like that, quote unquote.  So, off we went.

Once at New Smyrna Beach City Marina, we ended up staying a couple of days and not going any further south.  The weather was against us and we didn't have to go, so he hung out, had a good time.  I was glad to help the Hatteras 60 off the next morning, they forgot to untie a bow line and they tried to leave.  Well, they pulled a huge 24 inch steel pillion over a good 6 inches and I reached down and undid the line.  When it gave way, the dock lurched and with a huge snap, the line was off, and so were they.  Angel picked up fleas somewhere along the way, so we washed us, the sheets, the boat, Angel, and everything else, not once, but twice on two different days.  The dock master Pam was really really great at helping us with all that.  But, we soon headed north.

At Marineland Marina, we had a blast.  We stayed for several days and look forward to going back.  We did the eco tour which we recommend to friends and all.  The dolphin tank was being redone, so maybe next time.  Lots to do, but take everything you need.  The following day was up to St. Augustine where we circled for an hour and a half so we could go in on slack tide.  definitely worth the wait, and wow how the tides can cut or add lots of time to a leg.  Here's our boat with the Galleon in the background.

The next day was uneventful.  We came back, got the boat put away, come home to a welcoming shower and sushi dinner.  Yea for Otaki's.

Until next time, fair winds and following seas.
Kb

Ship's log, Date; Friday March 13th, 2015

March 13th, 2015 Friday
We left (cast off) Harbortown Marina @ 09:37am.  Cruising south down the intracoastal and picked up an escort, a dolphin on our starboard side.  We are heading @ 6.5k down the ICW.  Had a raindrop or two, but nothing that lasted, Fl. showers.  We passed the American Pride cruising north and SeaTow - towing a sailboat.  It is a beautiful 78 degrees as we head south.

1400 Hrs and we made the Bridge of Lions in time to land south at St. Augustine Marina.  Decide to stay 2 nights - Kilt Festival.  Okay, 1420 hrs pulling into slip or should I say screaming into slip.  Engine being wired forward - reverse backwards, at least no crash landing.  1500 hrs, cocktails being served in the cockpit.  Met neighbor, Capt. Dano, works at local bar Mi'Casa.  We cooked some awesome salmon with Carolina Sunshine spice we purchased in Blowing Rock from The Spice & Exchange (spiceandtea.com)  After dinner, we went with Capt. Dano to Mi'Casa, had a beer and headed home, fun night.

March 14th
Sat morning up early, walked to Starbucks for coffee, tea, & breakfast.  Waited until 10am to see St.Patrick's Day Parade.  Watched a little of the parade & headed back.  In the afternoon, walked St.George Street - back at Mi'Casa. Met Helen & Marjorie (80's), invited us to party in Palm Coast next Sat.  Great ladies with the daughter a NP in oncology.  Headed back to Renasci, early night.

March 15th
07:20 am, up early, Starbucks walk & back to the dock to shove off.  08:30 am, wicked current, but with help from Capt. Dano, we are off to Palm Coast.  1330 hrs, arrived at Palm Coast, Breat Marina.  Ran into Neil (Keith's friend) & his dog Buddy.  Enjoyed happy hour with a group from the marina, met Sarah that just returned from 3 month cruise in islands.  She said "1,000 things went wrong & 100 things went right."  Cooked steak on boat, Keith still learning grill, then off to bed.

March 16th
Up early 07:01 with the sun, leaving Palm Coast.  Cup of coffee & tea and cast off at 0900, on to Halifax.  12:45 Easy docking G30 at Halifax.  Beautiful weather, very dog friendly.  Met little 4 pound poodle Nicki? with sunglasses.  Wayne across the way - very nice - offered to pick up supplies if necessary.  Headed to Marina office for ice, no ice ??  Remember to call next time.  Rode dinghy to J dock, Keith headed to 7-11 for ice, Angel & I headed to put clothes in the dryer.  We both met back on the boat.  Cocktails in hand, time to learn how to drive the dinghy.  Well, rough start - too much gas and almost put Keith and Angel in the drink.  After awhile, got the hang of it - even got 2 complements from the Captain.  Was able to land dinghy next to hoisting lines.  Watched the sunset over the condos.  The sky went from pastels to dark orange to purple, beautiful.  As the sun dropped, a little back trouble so I went horizontal.

March 17th
08:00 am, Walk to 7-11 for coffee & OJ, nice walk back, contemplated breakfast, decided we were okay.  10:15am, cast off - on our way to New Smyrna Beach.  12:30 am, Arrived at New Smyrna, dolphins followed us in, easy docking.  Watched the dolphins frolicking and dancing.  Some deep sea fishermen came in with their catch.  It was a pelican frenzy feeding time.  Met Doug (B&D Salesman) and Will, nice guys.  Chatted on docks for a while.  Earlier, Keith had helped dock Gene's boat, he'd been motoring solo cause he's retires.  Then another couple came in on a yacht named No Zipcode, from "Nowhere, OK"  Nice time, enjoyed friendly dog people.  Did have lunch at Yellow Dog Eatery, waitress didn't bring what I ordered. But it was better than the Club Elvis.  Don't think we'll eat there again.  Angel got over-heated, had to cool her down with ice on paws & holding her in front of A/C vent on boat.  It may be a long night.

March 18th
07:58 am, Cast off from New Smyrna Beach - Angel appears to be back to herself.  Course: Titusville Marina.  Fun trip through Haulover Canal, Had some Manatees on our bow, then through the canal.  Is passage between the mangroves and one bascule bridge.  There were a group of Manatees playing in the boat ramp area.  Such gentle giants.  Headed out south thru the railroad bridge that is always up, except for the occassional train.  Not so much anymore since Cape Canaveral doesn't send off spaceships.  Did pass the security zone in the water that used to be monitored and saw the big shuttle assembly building.  12:15, arrived at Titusville Marina.  Put us on A dock furtherest from everyone.  The only dock without a locked entrance.  Something about the city only doing one gate a year.  As we were sitting in the cockpit, the gentleman from hailing Port Heighton NC, went to the bow of his boat and proceeded to pee, facing us.  Yes, I took his picture.  Then as we were leaving to pickup some provisions, he commented on Angel.  Something to the affect "I'm watching your dog",  Well, Keith asked why, and he said our dog was cuter than his, strange.    As we walked down the dock, there appears to be a lot of derilicks living in this marina.  Boats are not well cared for, one has a screen door with a doggy door that emits a foul odor, yuk.  One nice boat had Easter decorations, getting festive.  We took a cab (30$ incl tip) to liquor store and publix.  Had to buy some hamburger meat for Angel.  Her tummy is still a little upset.  We returned and showered, had a great salmon and salad meal.  Then Keith was able to hook up the computer to watch UNF basketball in the sweet sixteen, they lost.  Night cap in the cockpit and early to bed.  We can avoid this marina on our next venture.

March 19th
0758 hrs, Cast off from Titusville on our way N.  Had dolphins swimming and playing in our wake.  Tried to get pictures.  Passage thru Haulover Canal and saw lots of manatees.  Passed the wrecked sailboat at green marker 45.  Landed at 12:45 at New Smyrna, welcome site.  Left Angel on boat for the first time.  We walked to the Dolphin View, used to be the Sea Harbor, the food is much better.   So we had a late lunch / early dinner.  Arrived back only to a little whimper.  Met Alan and Candice with their dog Sisi.  We dropped off our boat card and asked if they'd listen out for Angel.  Candice was so sweet, she said we could bring her over and she would watch her.  We left her and the boat and all was good.  Good night sleep to be up and go early.

March 20th
Up at 07:30 am but fog was so think we hung out until 9:45am.  Candice, Alan, and Sisi took off ahead of us, but we met up at the bridge and timed it perfect for passage north.  3:30pm, docked safely at Palm Coast.  Had to do a couple load of laundry.  Then happy hour at the office, nice group of people.  Brought the salmon spread, 7 layer dip and goldfish.  Salmon dip was hit of the party.  Back to the boat for cocktails and dinner.  Had to take Angel out again to read "P-mail".  upset tummy - pepto for her after her "Disney Ride" (butt scoot).  Got weather report, dense fog advisory in the morning, no hurry to leave in am.

March 21st
08:30am, Tea & coffee, breakfast cooked, dished done, 10:35, left Palm Coast.  1300 hrs, just cleared Cresent Beach and engine stopped.  Coasted out of channel and dropped anchor.  She is out of gas.  1500 hrs, SeaTow to the rescue, 11 gallons of gas and we are on our way.  1600 hrs. Timed the Bridge of Lions just right but north of bridge, fog, fog, fog.  1645 hrs. Conch House Marina, last time we were here was 2009.  Have to admit coming into fog was a callenge.  Thank God Keith has a booming voice - All of a sudden, a power boat was coming fast for our bow - Keith hollered, I'm on the bow screaming with arms waving and the woman says, " I saw you". Funny, we didn't see them until they were almost on us.  She said she wasn't lost, don't believe that one.  Then heading into the channel of Conch House, Keith was heading too far left of markers.  Thank goodness we (me) got that corrected and got the red markers on right.  Landed safely, Cheryl Tucker and Rocky came to visit.  Conch House is not dog friendly.    Sheryl arrived and we found out the bars and resturants do not take dogs.  We ordered 3 seafood alphredos that were delicious.  Had cocktails and ended the evening with Cheryl staying over.

March 22nd, Next morning up at 07:15am  Breakfast and coffee made.  Got hot water for tea and we headed north at 0950 hrs.  Arrived at Harbortown Marina around 3pm.  Great trip.

Went fishing and got her under sail, finally

It had been far too long since I had had her under sail, but Uncle Koy and I headed out to go fishin.  Everything was running really really well, and we pushed hard against the incoming tide.  This also means that it took us an hour and a half to get out of the St.John's River.  And, to add to the mess, there was a nice ocean swell out of the south east at about 2 feet tall, just enough to make your rollercoaster a 4 foot up and down while you're trying to drift fish lying with the hull abeam from the swell and waves.  I think Koy enjoyed his afternoon nap!.  No fish, we started dropping a line with frozen shrimp on a hook, out at some place called the 'spoils'?, about 4 miles out.  We then hit a couple more places on the way back in, no luck.  Back to the dock.  Looking back, I think I'm starting to learn how to land that beast, with the folding prop, it glides like a son-of-a-bitch, and so my most successful landing so far have been really slow of course, but even at that, I still had to give her some throttle in reverse to stop it, not a strong gear ratio in that direction either.  Oh well, it's running great, can't wait to go out again.

Kb

50 hour service

Alright, a milestone, the '50-hour' service.  Al from Al's Mobile Marine Service out of Palm Coast Florida, adjusted the valves, swapped the oil and filter, and checked everything out.  He found where the fuel supply line was leaking air when placed under a vacuum, so 50 bucks later, I swapped out the old valve and hardware for new, using sealant and all's good.  A trick I learned from Al was to use clear tubing from the initial filter and the electric pump on the motor, because it's a great place to watch for bubbles.  Air in the line isn't catastrophic like the older motors, but will cause the pump to run harder and cause the motor to not start smoothly in the morning.  I used Yanmar oil this time instead of Rotella, I'm still waiting for the results on analysis on the oil.  While it was down, I installed an exhaust extension so that the exhaust hose isn't kinked.  Looking forward to our next trip out.
s/v Renasci

Back from Spring Break, yea...

We left going south (of course) and planned on several days of good weather and a couple bad, and we ended up having just that.  We left expecting to have a good time, and we had just that.

We left with the idea of motoring down the ICW so as to put some hours on the new motor, we needed to get to 50 hrs so we could have the 50-hour service performed.  We returned with 54.7.  We stayed in St.Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona, New Smyrna Beach, and Titusville.  We did the same on the return trip expect opted for The Conch House in St.Augustine instead of downtown.  Downtown was great, but scary coming and going.  All I can say is that I knew that the current was wicked there prior to going, tried to get there at slack tide, and still have way too much fun docking.  Thank goodness another dock hand come over to catch us.    But, as time when on, we got better at docking, which we did the whole way.  Afterwards, it became obvious that that was the right thing to do because of our 13 year old poodle, I mean child, I mean poodle.  She's a joy have in our lives.

Here's our going to Haul Over Canal going between Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River.

The highlights were meeting old friends in Palm Coast, making new ones there, and visiting a new marina.  The excitement was listening on the VHF when the poor folks who hit the power line going along side the 520 bridge going over Port Canaveral channel, were talking to the Coast Guard.  It wasn't long before they had to jump over.  We watched the video the next day wishing that it hadn't happened.(  http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/raw-boat-fire-on-indian-river/vDLZw3/ )  Makes us wonder what the specifics were; where there warning signs, height clearance signs, maybe an extra tall mast?  We know the tide was pretty high as we were just 20 miles from them.  The other excitement was being amazed at how many NOT-SEA-WORTHY boats there were in Titusville.  There's no tide there, and the economy is struggling there, but dam.  One Ospry had taken over two boats sitting side by side, people there said the owners hadn't been there in years.

Titusville was our turning around point, so North we went.  We had a great time again at Palm Coast and New Smyrna Beach, and headed to St.Augustine.  It was on this trip that I discovered what happens when you run out of diesel.  Yea, right after having gone under the Cresent Beach Basculle Bridge, we ran out.  Thank God we only had a knot of breeze, a 1/2 knot of current, beautiful weather, and a place to glide to and anchor next to the ICW.

( This pic and the above were courtesy of Tuktu.  Thanks again guys!

Two hours later and SeaTow brought us 10 gallons.  A couple of cranks, and off we went.  When we got to St.Augustine, we saw that the upper floors on the buildings downtown, were in fog.  Oh yea.  Once we cleared the Bridge of Lions, we headed to the Conch House, where it got really really thick.  We were almost run over by two vessels, one was a once-a-year-boater and the other was an overly confident fisherman.  But, we made the channel and made the Conch House.  What a party animal house that is.

The next day was the final leg home, were I have never had a smoother landing in all my life.  We unloaded, cleaned, then headed back to the house.  Yep, it was strange driving in a car after that time, it seemed like things had changed, but probably hadn't, we were gone only a week.  We had the 50 hour service performed yesterday and found out that the fuel line is sucking air, so we gotta fix that.  It'll be time to put in that exhaust extension (45 degree elbow) so the exhaust fits a little better, and verify the motor mounts are tight, the motor is still aligned, rewire the prop couple retaining bolts so that the wire will actually keep them tight, a little locktite is in order too.  But everything ran great and we're looking forward to this spring's and summer's sailing season.

Ah, back home.

Pics of new cushions and wax job.

Yea, yea, yea, I know, I still need to repaint the non-skid.  Soon, hell, I was impressed that I was able to wax the whole thing in one day.  I could have done a better job too.  But, done for the most part, hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get motivated to do it again.  I also waxed the cockpit cleaning it at the same time.  As soon as to rain that's expected for the next 4 days subsides, I'll have to jump of the non-skid, that'll dress it up nicely.
Here's a shot from the dock of the new cushions;

 And here are the new cushions with a new wax job.  Debi oiled the teak.

 And just look at that shine.  Glad I got one coat one before our trip and before it gets hot.

That's PPG semi-truck trailer paint that's 12 years old now, and still looks great.

Alrighty then, another project checked off, for this year.

Wax on, wax off, and so that's how it went today.  I'm actually surprised how I was able to get the whole thing done.  It takes three days during the summer, gotta take that mandatory break every now and again.  But, I got on a roll today and whipped it out, so done.  I have one good day before it rains for 4 or 5 days, so I'm going to repaint the non-skid in the cockpit tomorrow.  Then a little cleanup on the gelcoat and that should make it livable.  More pics to come, as soon as I find that dammed camera.