Moonlight Sue
10 December 2018
10 December 2018
10 December 2018 | Stock Island
07 December 2018
12 November 2017 | Marathon, FL
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017
30 May 2017 | Marathon, FL
30 May 2017 | Marathon, FL
06 April 2017
06 April 2017
On the Hard
10 December 2018
Forgot to post this one.
She looks like a whale....heeheehee
She looks like a whale....heeheehee
Looking.....Decent
10 December 2018
Work Almost Complete
10 December 2018 | Stock Island
Well, the work is almost done. Turns out we only had a couple of bare spots, so we did a patch job with the bottom paint. Keith is repainting the waterline. Still have stuffing box to do and a bow roller to fix, but that can be done after we splash. Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.
Goodbye BKH
07 December 2018
On Tuesday Morning we finally dropped the lines, after 5 years, and left Marathon.
Sad to go, but we have to get back to Texas and take care of some business. Then, it's a south heading to retirement.
Sad to go, but we have to get back to Texas and take care of some business. Then, it's a south heading to retirement.
Sea Witch Irma
12 November 2017 | Marathon, FL
Nothing says Hurricane better than calling her a sea witch. And a nasty old hag she was, too.
About 3 or 4 days before she blew into the Keys,
we knew she was going to be trouble. We kicked around ideas on where to hide. Some friends were headed up the coast to Fort Myers, which sounded like a good idea. I figured since we're going up that way,
after the wicked witch blew through, might as well go all the way and head back to Texas to take care of the storage unit.
Last minute decisions are so fun. We (well, I did)
cleared the storage closet out in the work room in a matter of 2 or 3 hours, as the marina was closing and we were leaving first thing in the morning.
That was no easy task. A lot of small, loose,
tools, screws, nuts, bolts, etc. Keith isn't known for his organizational skills. And, somehow, we managed to get it all on the boat.
We ended up leaving about 3 or so the following day.
Our sail buddies had a few loose ends to tie up.
The sail through the Bay, and up the coast was good,
at least up until the second night. We were almost to Fort Myers Beach when we hit a rain storm.
No, not the sea witch - another little cloud burst.
All hell broke loose. The engine took a dump,
the cabin began to take on water, and when the storm passed - no wind.
I called the CG about taking on the water. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from,
and only discovered that the bilge pump was taking care of it after I radioed in.
We ended up being towed into FMB, but I had to stay down below and flip on the pump every 30 seconds or so to keep the water from building up in the bilge.
Irma was less than 24 hours away, and everyone was getting ready. So, the tow guy deposited us safely at the end of the docks near Pink Shell and took off so he could prep, too.
But that was not a good place for the Sue. The following day, the wind was building quite nicely -
and pushing the Sue up against the dock. We had to move her. We decided to move her to the inside dock area on a side tie. It had better protection. But we moved her by hand - no engine. That worked well until her stern came too close to the beach,
and the keel decided to sink into the mud. It took the better part of the afternoon getting her out and securely tied.
A friend had a haven waiting for us at a vacation condo complex, so we packed and left. The wind was really quite fun by that time - and it was after dark.
Talk about cutting it close to the bone! The outer bands were fast approaching.
We settled our cat, Face, in our friends house,
and headed for the condo, settling in and falling asleep quite quickly. We were exhausted.
The witches Eye made landfall just south of us.
We spent most of the time keeping the water out of the condo, as it was coming in under the door and through the window frames. We pretty much won the war there. It didn't get beyond the entry way,
and it was a lot of water. Irma did some flooding in other units, and there was some damage to the grounds, but most everyone came out okay.
The following day, Keith started his hike back to the Sue, which was on the other end of the island.
Fortunately, a nice couple gave him a ride.
He was so relieved when he walked down that dock and the Sue was still afloat. She had about 2 inches of water in the cabin, and we lost both our dinghys,
but she stayed strong through the storm.
Our friend helped us raise one of the dinghys -the one we built, but we couldn't find the other.
He also helped us with a mooring ball as we stayed in FMB for about 3 weeks.
We made the decision to head back to BKH.
The poor Sue was not ready to make a trip to Texas.
She needed some TLC before setting out on such a trip as the one we planned for her. So, we headed south. We stayed in Naples for about a week,
than made it home a month and almost a week after the invasion of the ole Sea Witch Irma.
And the reason for the cabin flooding on the voyage north? The through hole for our old a/c unit was inadvertently overlooked, and every time the Sue heeled starboard the water came pouring in. Oops. Keith quickly took care of that problem.
About 3 or 4 days before she blew into the Keys,
we knew she was going to be trouble. We kicked around ideas on where to hide. Some friends were headed up the coast to Fort Myers, which sounded like a good idea. I figured since we're going up that way,
after the wicked witch blew through, might as well go all the way and head back to Texas to take care of the storage unit.
Last minute decisions are so fun. We (well, I did)
cleared the storage closet out in the work room in a matter of 2 or 3 hours, as the marina was closing and we were leaving first thing in the morning.
That was no easy task. A lot of small, loose,
tools, screws, nuts, bolts, etc. Keith isn't known for his organizational skills. And, somehow, we managed to get it all on the boat.
We ended up leaving about 3 or so the following day.
Our sail buddies had a few loose ends to tie up.
The sail through the Bay, and up the coast was good,
at least up until the second night. We were almost to Fort Myers Beach when we hit a rain storm.
No, not the sea witch - another little cloud burst.
All hell broke loose. The engine took a dump,
the cabin began to take on water, and when the storm passed - no wind.
I called the CG about taking on the water. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from,
and only discovered that the bilge pump was taking care of it after I radioed in.
We ended up being towed into FMB, but I had to stay down below and flip on the pump every 30 seconds or so to keep the water from building up in the bilge.
Irma was less than 24 hours away, and everyone was getting ready. So, the tow guy deposited us safely at the end of the docks near Pink Shell and took off so he could prep, too.
But that was not a good place for the Sue. The following day, the wind was building quite nicely -
and pushing the Sue up against the dock. We had to move her. We decided to move her to the inside dock area on a side tie. It had better protection. But we moved her by hand - no engine. That worked well until her stern came too close to the beach,
and the keel decided to sink into the mud. It took the better part of the afternoon getting her out and securely tied.
A friend had a haven waiting for us at a vacation condo complex, so we packed and left. The wind was really quite fun by that time - and it was after dark.
Talk about cutting it close to the bone! The outer bands were fast approaching.
We settled our cat, Face, in our friends house,
and headed for the condo, settling in and falling asleep quite quickly. We were exhausted.
The witches Eye made landfall just south of us.
We spent most of the time keeping the water out of the condo, as it was coming in under the door and through the window frames. We pretty much won the war there. It didn't get beyond the entry way,
and it was a lot of water. Irma did some flooding in other units, and there was some damage to the grounds, but most everyone came out okay.
The following day, Keith started his hike back to the Sue, which was on the other end of the island.
Fortunately, a nice couple gave him a ride.
He was so relieved when he walked down that dock and the Sue was still afloat. She had about 2 inches of water in the cabin, and we lost both our dinghys,
but she stayed strong through the storm.
Our friend helped us raise one of the dinghys -the one we built, but we couldn't find the other.
He also helped us with a mooring ball as we stayed in FMB for about 3 weeks.
We made the decision to head back to BKH.
The poor Sue was not ready to make a trip to Texas.
She needed some TLC before setting out on such a trip as the one we planned for her. So, we headed south. We stayed in Naples for about a week,
than made it home a month and almost a week after the invasion of the ole Sea Witch Irma.
And the reason for the cabin flooding on the voyage north? The through hole for our old a/c unit was inadvertently overlooked, and every time the Sue heeled starboard the water came pouring in. Oops. Keith quickly took care of that problem.
| Vessel Name: | Moonlight Sue |
| Vessel Make/Model: | 1981 Hunter 36' |
| Hailing Port: | Port Isabel, Texas |
| Crew: | Keith and Carol Portman |
| About: | The continuation of our original blog. See the link for the first blog. |
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Moonlight Sue
Who: Keith and Carol Portman
Port: Port Isabel, Texas
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