Marathon 2017

Nemo spent the summer and autumn months on the hard in Riverside Marina in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Our plan was to spend two weeks at Christmas with Mom while Don painted the bottom and accomplished various other boat chores. The bottom paint was to arrive well before Christmas. The best laid plans usually go awry. Three shipments of bottom paint damaged in transit from New Jersey, the last two delayed by various holidays and weekends. The last to arrive, while dented and bulged, managed to remain intact, in our third choice for color of course, end of the year inventory and all. Meanwhile we settled in to a very comfortable routine, enjoying the time with Mom while eliminating some of the routine maintenance that builds up when one owns a house.

The day to splash Nemo was beautiful. We left one car at Loggerhead Marina in Stuart and drove the second to Riverside Marina. We would retrieve that after the short cruise. Mom came with us for the 'three hour tour'. Twenty minutes out the engine overheated. We coasted to the edge of the channel and tossed the anchor. Don worked on the engine for an hour while Mom and I watched the boats go by. Underway again, we glided under the bridge and put up the foresail. Twenty minutes later the engine overheated again. I sailed the channel while Don worked on the engine. This time we had a lovely trip down the Indian River, through the 'Crossroads' and back up the St. Lucie River to Loggerhead. Don had just made the call to the Marina saying we were coming in when the engine sputtered and quit for the last time. Tow Boat US towed us in to a slip by the fuel dock. Both Jim and Wendy had stayed late to see us safely tucked away. They have been so good to us!

With the removal of the old engine and installation of the new, we had an unexpected extended stay with Mom. Time to sew new golf cart covers, install new tires and fix the parking brake, routine maintenance. Kim and I moved the row of crotons that were floundering behind the patio and planted a new flowerbed in their place. We attempted to squirrel proof the bird feeder with limited success, it will need more work. We spent time on the Stuart waterfront at the Fresh Markets and attended Music on the Water. Shopping and lunches out with Mom while Don worked on the engine. My daughter and grandsons arrived for a visit. Beach time, wildlife sanctuary, Oceanographic Institute, Lion Country Safari, and the boys favorite - golf cart rides to the pond and back. My sister lives two hours away so I was able to spend time with her also. Every cloud has a silver lining.

With the engine finally installed, we motored down to Hinkley Marina at the Crossroads for a short haul so Don could change the cartridge on the propeller to match the pitch of the new engine. He tried underwater but the cotter pins were too tiny. Not long into the trip it was apparent the new motor was louder than the old, not good. We could see when Don went to change out the cartridge, the engine shaft was resting on the fiberglass, causing vibrations. A call to the mechanic elicited a promise he would fix the problem Monday morning. He was good to his word. We had a last lunch with Mom at the Marina pub Sunday, said teary goodbyes and prayed for good results in the morning. A last sunset swim before retiring for the night.

The mechanic showed at ten instead of eight so our hopes of leaving Monday slipped away. When he did show he and Don leveled the engine and took a test run in the river. Thankfully we now have a quieter engine. This too was a silver lining in the cloud. We were thankful to be securely tied to the dock when the evening thunderstorm rolled through!

Tuesday we motored uneventfully down the ICW to Lake Worth where the wind howled all night causing us to rethink plans to go offshore Wednesday morning. We continued down the ICW to Lake Silvia, virgin territory to us as we never wanted to bother with all the bridges before. As luck would have it, halfway through, we caught a ride on the coat tails of a sailboat under tow. Apparently, boats under tow have almost instant access to bridge openings. Only one bridge operator commented on the 'tail gator', lol. Thoughts of a lovely stroll along Ft. Lauderdale Beach flew from my head when my back acted up. Probably a combination of water aerobics and boat exercises. A Tiger Balm patch and bed rest helped immensely.

Surprisingly we were the only boat requesting the 7:30 opening of the 17th St. Bridge Wednesday morning. Once out the Port Everglades inlet we committed to either coming in at No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne or an overnight to Marathon. The timing was a little off for coming in at Rodrigues Key anchorages daylight. Wind conditions and wave height weren't horrible and were forecast to get better so when we got to Key Biscayne we decided to go for the overnight passage. It was fine until the sun set, then the wind was right on our butt and squirley, causing the sails to slam around. The waves made tacking uncomfortable so we rolled up the sails and motored through the bouncy night. The stars and bioluminescence on the water helped pass the night watch. Neither of us slept much. We arrived just before dawn, struggling to see crab pots in the cloud weakened moonlight. Inching along we hoped to avoid picking one up, conditions were just too rough to disentangle it. We anchored just outside the harbor in dawn's early light and promptly fell into a deep sleep!