10/16/2009, Key Biscayne, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 23 Miles Under Sail: 19
Average Speed: 5.75 kts
Conditions: Clear, 85-90 F, Wind Southwest at 10-15 kts, Seas 1-2 ft
Sailing Fix - I haven't been sailing much due to work, bad wx and no winds. When I got up that morning the winds were up and the wx was nice. So off to have a wonderful sail around Key Biscayne Island before I had to go to work that night for a trip down to Panama. It was a great sail around the island. Tried to fish but still no bites. I am going to the fishing store to get a different lure. This one isn't working for me. On the downwind sail, I put up the whisker pole to find where I have to cut it to make it fit on the boat. A project that need to get done for quite some time now. It is amazing how much faster the boat goes with the jib poled out; about 1/2 -1 knot faster. The pole is about 12 inches to big for the small jib. So when I got back Gill cut the pole and riveted the head in for me. The only thing left for me to do in the rigging dept is put on a jam cleat and cleat to complete the set up for both my A-sail and the whisker pole.
I have a lot of boat maintenance to do one of these days. My monthly checklist being one of them.
1.Wash and Wax the boat
2.Install the pad-eyes in the cockpit for jackline.
3.Install the dinghy motor engine hoist
4.Clean the bottom
5.Install jam cleat and another cleat in the cockpit
6.Battery charger is making fan noises again.. Have to get that looked at again
7.Rewire the anchor and steaming light.
8.Install new batteries. Requires relocation to aft cabin with new wiring to nav station
9.Find a way to tie down dingy on the bow.
10.Clean the bilge now that it is dry. Get the rust color out of the walls.
11.I am coming up on 250 hours on the engine.. That is a big job, and I will fly down my friend Rob to help me with that project. I will also have him help me install a water temperature gauge and a new Rancor fuel filter.
With fall approaching the Miami area, I am so looking forward to cooler weather and good winds. Summer wasn't that good this year.
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09/20/2009, Key Largo, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 18 Miles Under Sail: 0
Average Speed: 4.5 kts
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, 75-80 F, Wind Northeast at 0-5 kts, Seas 1-2 ft
Morning After - After getting some sorely needed sleep from the nights adventures, I lifted up the anchor to looked for the Danforth. It was no where to be found. I marked the spot on the chartplotter for future reference.
I decided to head home instead of continuing to Marathon. The weather forecast was for more the same: thunderstorms, rain and no wind. It was a motor sail with my fuel gauge reading 1/4 of a tank. More worries. I didn't have enough diesel fuel to motor all the way home. A stop at Ocean Reef Marina for fuel was the plan for the day. I called them on the radio to see if they had diesel fuel for which they did. The entrance was easy to get into, well marked. Nice place. It is a resort which is somewhat private from what I have read. Docked the boat on a dime. Got fuel and a free pump out.
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09/20/2009, Key Biscayne, Florida (United States)
Total Distance: 41 Miles Under Sail: 38
Average Speed: 5.29 kts
Conditions: Light Rain, 75-80 F, Wind Northeast at 5-10 kts, Seas 1-2 ft
After clearing the channel, the wind was up. Of course after worrying for the last 3 hours about having enough fuel to make it home the wind Gods were playing with me once again. It was a nice slow sail up to Broad Creek again. I have this creeks number now. The tide was slack and at high tide so it was a real nice crossing, sailing the whole channel. When I got to Card sound the wind picked up to 10 knots, 60 degrees off the bow. Rhapsody was in her element now doing 6.5 knots. The wind was coming from the storms on both sides of me now and we got a little wet from the rain. There were 4 other sailboats heading back to Key Biscayne. It was nice to see other boats going my way. The wind stayed that way until the last hour before it died as the sun was setting. So over all not a bad sail back to home port.
Docking the boat was going to be interesting since the dinghy was being towed behind me. After going under Rickenbacker Causeway I meet up with Terry on a boat he was working on. He was returning from the shipyard after painting the hull of one of my neighbors. Having done the dinghy thing last year, I figured I could do it again. So I tied up the dinghy onto the swim platform with just the stern in the water. As I made the turn into the slip I grabbed the nose of the dinghy right up to the into the cockpit so as not drag the dinghy into the turn to mess up the turn on Rhapsody, It worked like a champ and I was in the dock on a dime. I put the boat to sleep for the night. The new dinghy fits perfectly on the foredeck of the boat. Raising it using the spinnaker halyard works real well.
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