Englewood to Key West

Monday 12/17/18

Did I mention we love our part time jobs?  We have “black out days” where we aren’t working from December 6 through January 7 this year.  We had plenty of time to get last minute tasks done on the boat, attend a Sailor friend’s Christmas Party in Punta Gorda, and receive our UPS package of a 12 V Cooler we ordered for the trip.  A great weather window presented itself just in time for us to get down to the Garrison Bight in KW. We cast off our slip in Englewood and motored about 3 miles south and anchored just south of the Tom Adams Bridge in Chadwick Cove.

Tuesday 12/18/18

We weighed anchor at 0600 and motored south in the GICW.  The wind was out of the NE at 5-6 mph, the waters were calm and the temperature was 55 degrees.  Brrr. We both needed 4 layers to keep warm. Ed timed the Boca Grande Bridge just right, no waiting.  

As we approached the Boca Grande Inlet we raised the main. We left out the cut motor sailing on a 174 degrees course, straight to the NW Channel of KW.  The winds were 5-7 mph out of the NE.  At 10:00 we raised the jib as winds were more out of the East, giving us a good point of sail. Slowing Manatee down to idle with the sails full only gave us 4.2 kts.  We wanted to average 5 kts, so we motor sailed on an ESE wind of 5-7 kts. We needed to be sure to arrive in time to secure to the mooring ball before a big blow was forecast to come in on Wednesday afternoon. 

Capt. Ed playing with his whisker pole

Our fun sailing and playing with the newly acquired whisker pole didn’t last long.  The winds died down and it became too calm to fill the jib, so it went down.  We motor sailed the rest of the time on light to no wind.  When making an overnight passage, I never complain about calm seas.  Its much better than high winds in storms. Sunset was upon us, and Ed was taking pictures with the Canon Camera.  He mentioned the conditions seem perfect for a green flash sunset.  I stepped up out of the cabin and we both witnessed the most amazing sight.  The sun was setting like a perfect ball into the horizon and that ball turned a brilliant bright, so bright it was green, ball before it just went “poof” gone.  It wasn’t the same as a typical sunset dropping into the horizon.  It was a green flash.  This was our third time seeing one. This one was by far the best. 

A beautiful almost full moon

The sunset, just before the green flash

The sky drew dark.  We took turns on watches.  Ed did the first watch as I slept from 8:00 to 11:00 pm. I kept watch after that for a full two hours while Ed slept.  It was very peaceful, no stress this time for me.  I stayed alert by constantly diverting my attention from the horizon to the sky, to the cockpit controls, to the course on the chart plotter and then all over again.  We had no dolphins this trip. There was a beautiful moon lighting the ripples on the surface of the water.  

My second watch was at 3:00 am.  When I took the helm from Ed there was a large fishing fleet off to starboard but many miles away.  Ed told me where the last strobe- lit tower was and where the next one should be. Ed also mentioned we dropped speed by about a knot.  It was either a current as we were approaching the keys or it was a crab pot line we may have picked up.  He went to sleep and I managed to not let those fishing boats bother me.  I studied the AIS on the chart plotter. Only a few boats actually broadcast, but I was able to determine how far away the ones that were broadcasting were.  It kept me busy for a while.  As I was looking around the horizon, out over my left shoulder I saw a bright greenish orange ball dart across the sky, seemed pretty close.  I swear I even heard a “swooosh”as it  went by.  I thought “hmmm, a flare?,  get the spotlight out and scan the horizon”.  I did just that, and saw nothing.  I waited for another flare, but there was nothing else.  Later when Ed got up for the day he said it was probably a meteor! Cool!  Ya know, if you’re not out there, you don’t get to see cool things.

Ed was up for the day, and he decided to address the possible crab pot dragging situation. Dawn broke, and he found a spot in relatively shallow water to drop the anchor. With mask and snorkel, he went over to investigate.  Yes, we had picked up a crab pot, which in turn picked up three more.  Luckily the line was just looped over the  rudder and didn’t get into the prop.  It only took a few minutes to free the pots.  Too bad we picked these up in 60 ft. of water, otherwise I would have been tempted to ask Ed to retrieve the crabs! But we were really anxious to get into the mooring field and tie up to the ball and get some rest.  

Daybreak Wednesday 12/19/18
We continued on into the NW Channel, went around Mallory Square (I love sailing past there), around the Wisteria Island anchorage and made our way to the mooring field. We decided I should take the helm and guide Ed to the ball this time.  I did great the first try, but the lanyard on the ball we picked didn’t have a good enough eye to get a line through.  So we tried the next one…three times.  I couldn’t get manatee lined up well enough to pick up the ball. In total frustration, I told Ed to take the helm.  

The chart plotter showing my attempts to get the bow up to the ball

One more circle around and we picked that sucker up. The winds were picking up to 15-20 mph and the anchorage was getting quite choppy.  None the less, Ed put the dinghy down and we got her ready for the trip to shore to pay for the mooring.  We gathering our wallets, etc and took off in the dinghy, only to have the stupid outboard stall over and over again.  We were too damn exhausted to deal with that, so back to Manatee and make a phone call to the office.   

After a good night’s rest, we got up and made our way to the office to pay for the week.  We continued to have trouble with this brand new Mercury engine.  It stalled several times on the way through the mooring field.  In 20 mph wind and chop, its very frustrating.  Its about a mile and a half from the boat to the dinghy dock.  I guess an “intermittent” motor is better than rowing.  

Making our way to the Marina office

As forecast, the winds picked up.  We returned to Manatee and relaxed (kinda) in the cockpit watching all the boats in the mooring field bob up and down like corks, us included.  

We woke up Friday morning to howling winds and small waves crashing into the hull.  At daybreak Ed immediately spotted a boat near us that had broken off the mooring and was up against another boat.  The captain of the boat was on the bow, attempting to untangle lines.  The wind was blowing 30-35 mph with gusts in the 50’s.  We looked upwind of us and there were two sailboats touching each other, one had apparently broken loose off the mooring and blew into the other boat, tangling up the mooring ball lines.  That got our immediate attention.  If the boat broke free of the tangled lines it was coming right for us!  We immediately got fenders out and went to the bow.  We listened the the VHF radio and heard another boater nearby call the Coast Guard to report our plight.  Boat US got on the radio and advised they were on their way and would see what they could do.  They went to help the first boat we saw and took care of him. (He was the guy that called Boat US in the first place)

Tangled boats upwind of us

They spent a few hours untangling the boats in front of us and towed the loose boat to a new mooring and secured it.    By mid day the commotion had subsided, but we kept a close eye on all the boats with the wind not subsiding all day.  Lucky for us, Ed is very vigilant when it comes to weather forecasts and gets us to a safe harbor in time!

During the night the winds calmed down and stayed down.  We were able to get into the dinghy dock without issue and met up with Nancy and John, Ed’s sister and brother in law.  We went to the waterfront and enjoyed a nice lunch.  

Nancy and John at the waterfront in Key West

While in Key West, we dinghied in and walked to town a couple of times.  We went to Smokin Tuna and listened to Ed’s favorite musician Scott Kirby on Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas at Nancy and John’s RV with some of their friends.  It was a great Christmas, and a different one for sure. 

Going through the cut to the dinghy dock

Gone to the mainland!

Mallory Square at sunset

What some people will do

He was just a cute old man

                                                                                  

Filling in the gap...

Wow, time flies.  Two summer seasons have passed, and now we are into a second winter and not quite ready to take to the seas. 

This is where it all began, the next phase of our gypsy lifestyle. We arrived in Panama City, Fl at our marina home, and were so grateful to have arrived in one piece.  The transmission was “dubious” as Captain Ed described it. We sailed as long as we could and came around the marina entrance to find another boat still occupying our slip.  We didn’t mind too much because the marina was kind enough to rent out our slip and give us a 50% credit on our rent.  We slipped onto the transient lay along dock without issue and were greeted by our dock mates.

This is us once we were home, we used Li'l Maur, our 13 ft. Boston Whaler a lot while at the marina, to buzz over to Shell Island and the beach.

We were exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.  We had been on an adventure of our lifetime, I got to see the Bahamas for the first time, in our own vessel on under our own schedule. I learned so much about sailing, mostly about following orders and communicating with my partner and my captain.  The most important thing I learned is that I have so much more to learn. 

But first, we need to re-enter the work force. We need to pay some debt and fill the cruising kitty.  I needed to take a trip to Arkansas to visit with my children and grandchildren. Ed decided to return to the work he did at Home Depot, in the merchandising division.  He applied, but was only offered a job in SW Florida, Sarasota area, 400 miles away.  The job was managing a Reset Team on the overnight shift.  We decided he would take the job and see how it goes for a year.

We looked at marinas, and man, they were expensive that far south.  And slips were hard to come by, even with as little as a 5 foot draft.  I did lots of research in the area, and we took a road trip to field it out.  We decided to bring Manatee to a nice protected anchorage just east of Saint Andrews Marina and anchor her there on two hooks, one off the bow and the other off the stern.  Reluctantly we kept her there for the year while we set up home in a Mobile Home and RV Park in Nokomis, Fl. 

Manatee at Massolina Bayou, on two hooks. 

Living in our 26 ft. travel trailer in a Retirement Community where snowbirds flock to every fall and disappear every spring was interesting, kinda fun. The park was a mere 1.25 miles over a small drawbridge to Nokomis Beach, one of the best beaches I have ever been to.  Ed bought me a great beach cruiser bike and I was a happy camper.  Ed on the other hand persevered through his internal commitment to give this job a year, and barely made it.  Being such a “day" person, it almost broke him to leave for work at 6:00 pm and not return home until 8-10 am the following morning and not getting his so-needed sleep.  As much as we could, we would pack it up and drive the 9 hours to Panama City to visit Manatee and to reassure ourselves she was okay. We were able to visit and have fun with Roger and Genie onboard “Tranquility III”,  since Saint Andrews Marina was their home port. We occasionally were able to meet up with Steve and Erica from NW Arkansas when they came down to visit their beloved vessel “Soul Mate”. 

Before we knew it, we were into another summer season and another couple of trips to Arkansas for family fun.  I spent the month of July in Fayetteville, hanging with Erin and Anna and doing the “Grandma” thing.

During the month I was gone, Ed decided he was finished with the corporate world of working and resigned.  His plan was to work temporary merchandising jobs and continue that while collecting Social Security in September. Yay for 62!

I returned from Arkansas to planning a sailing trip from the Panhandle to Venice Florida.  We would be relocating Manatee to an anchorage close to the RV Park where we can have her close as we decide what our next steps would be. We decided that we had a sailboat and we had the time, so transmission or not, we were going. Roger and Genie on board Tranquility III were ready for a short trip, so they decided to buddy sail south with us.  We left out early on Wednesday, July 19th after stocking up the boat with food, water, fuel and adult drinks. We held our breath as we slipped the throttle into Forward to go under the Massolina Road Bridge to get out of the anchorage.  It worked and we were on our way. Roger and Genie met us at the St. Andrews Pass and shortly after raising their sails, they slowed down as if they were having a problem.  They were.  They were taking on water in their engine room! Yikes! They had to stop, pump out as much water as they could, and try to figure out where the water was coming from. We proceeded on to Saint Josephs Bay and they took a slip at the marina there.  We had to keep going.  They discovered the bilge pump that was put in not long ago was lacking a non-return valve and water just gushed in every time they heeled over!  They got it fixed and made their way south to meet up with us for a short visit a week or so later. 

                                      Tranquility III

We had a nice trip, entering the Venice Inlet at daybreak.  It was the best crossing I have had yet.  Nice weather, although hot.  It took us approximately 21 hours.

Dinner


We had company in the Gulf on our way to Blackburn Point



Approaching Venice Inlet, at daybreak


Opening one of the bridges in Venice

Anchored close to home


Manatee as seen close to the road


Happy on Manatee

We still weren't happy having Manatee anchored a few miles away.  It was a rather shallow anchorage, and not very large.  Within a month of settling in Tropical Storm Gert came to visit.  We woke up (in the camper) to the news of the storm gathering strength and very close.  We immediately made our way to Manatee and rode out the storm in the cockpit.  The anchors held, but we still did not have a warm and cozy feeling about her being there as our live continued on land. 
So we made a decision to return to liveaboard status and searched out a marina.  We found Royal Palm Marina in Englewood and secured a slip.  We spent the last weekend in August moving Manatee and using public transportation to complete our move.  We found a storage facility to put the camper until we sold her.  We decided we didn't want to deal with the upkeep and maintenance of it any longer. We settled ourselves in and was basking in the beauty of living aboard when we were alerted of "Irma" lurking and growing bigger and stronger.  We were advised (only two days after arriving) that due to the size and severity of the storm soon to be hurricane, we had to vacate the marina.  Man! I had just taken all my possessions out of the camper and stored everything away in the boat.  Our fate was uncertain at that time,  Ed had to quickly find dry storage or we were going to have to take her to the mangroves off the ICW,  tie her off and hope for the best.  Luckily Ed "nice talked" the owner of Safe Cove in Port Charlotte who agreed to haul Manatee out if we got there within 48 hours.  Those were the longest days of my live I think.  It was 95 degrees out and we had to hustle our butts off to get Manatee ready and get her down the waterway.  It took us 2 days with our dubious transmission, but we got there.  We arrived too late for them to haul out that day, and the Hurricane was now approaching with a bullseye right for us.  We took the chance and secured Manatee for the night at the transcient dock.  The boatyard would haul her first thing in the morning.  It was 10:00 pm.  We took a hotel room and got up at the crack of dawn and hooked up the camper to head north.  We were in all the evacuation traffic getting out of Florida.  We left our camper at friends' RV Park in Enterprise Alabama, rented a car and drove up to Arkansas to the kids' homes.  We watched Irma hit Florida, just after we watched her take a sharp right hand turn and avoided the area where the boatyard and Manatee was.  We were very fortunate not to have lost her.  We took our time returning south in the camper.  We stopped at Georgeanne's house in Melbourne and helped her out for a couple of weeks.  We had an opportunity to visit with Ursula and Doug on SV Island Explorer in Ft. Pierce.  (We met them in Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands)

October 2017 with Doug and Ursula DuToit

We returned to the boat yard after a month of making our way back south in the camper.  We put the camper up for sale again (we had a pending sale but lost it due to the storm).  We were lucky enough to be granted live aboard at the boat yard.  

Karma was telling us we needed to take advantage of the time on the hard and see about getting the transmission fixed, and why not do a bottom job as well? So we stayed there for 3 months, until December 15th. 

We decided to keep going, and did the top sides as well.

         

                

                Rebuilt Transmission!!

SPLASH DOWN!

FLOATING AGAIN

While we were on the hard and spending money on Manatee, an opportunity presented itself.  Ed was securing a permanent part time position doing Merchandise Resets with Winn Dixie (a grocery store chain) and I was asked if I might want a job as well.  Ed promised me it was easy work to do and I could easily do the job. So we accepted the positions and now we are able to work together, only requiring one vehicle, and have the same schedule.  It was easy to say yes, as we needed the income to recover from all the work we did on Manatee this year.  

A full year has passed since we took the positions and we love the job.  It has worked out well for us.  We have been taking long weekend trips to nearby anchorages and using Manatee as much as time, weather and the Red Tide allows us.  

We had time off at the holidays and went to Arkansas to be with family for Thanksgiving.  We planned a trip to Key West for the Christmas Break.  We had a total of 32 days off, so our plan is to work on the boat for a week, then leave out of Boca Grande Inlet on December 17 and arrive in Key West on the 19th, just ahead of a big blow that was forecast for 20th.