Mike and Kathy
11/13/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

November 12th, Wednesday Vero Beach, FL

We wasted lots of time this morning but finally got it in gear to make the 11am bus to town. (I did make a batch of marinara sauce for dinner at some point in there.)We got off at West Marine to look at bilge pumps before walking across the street to Publix for some vegetables and fruit. Our bus was running late so instead of taking it back to the marina we got to ride into the transfer point in town before making our return trip. Local color is always interesting.

My afternoon was spent ordering spare parts and reading while Kathy worked on ordering a few items from various places on the computer.

I talked to Dave for a few minutes about hunting .... But he seems to have it under control.

We had a very nice dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad.



November 11th, Tuesday Fort Pierce to Vero Beach, Fl

Happy Birthday Carol!

Happy Veterans Day!

Two other boats had spent the night with us but one was gone when we awoke and the other was on it's way shortly after. We made our requisite pot of coffee and checked the weather via computer. For breakfast I made cheese grits topped with a poached egg. Steve got a box of free grits while watching a Redskins game at a bar last week in Charleston and shared it with us. Now as most of you from north of the Mason Dixon know, grits are nothing more than mush...but if you jazz them up a little make "good eats" In this case I cooked the grits with a little extra salt and dump in a cup of sharp cheddar. Then poached two eggs and wala... a tasty breakfast

Our anchor was hauled at about 9:30 and we headed north for the first time in weeks, to Vero Beach. Motoring on the ICW for 14 miles seemed strange after our a week in the Ocean but in no time we were rafted to "Solitaire" on mooring number 45. We plan to be here for at least three weeks.

The afternoon was spent reading... I finished Cork Boat which was passed along by Bill and Christy last summer. If you can deal with nonfiction with an emotional bend, I send my recommendation. Kathy is working through a Grisham book that she doesn't seem to put down much.

We lowered the dinghy and went to shore to check in and check things out. All seems about the same here. We took a little ride around the mooring field to see who's here and then went back to the boat to wait for Jim and Nancy to come out for a visit. They came from their condo for a visit before dark and we made plans to get together on Thursday.

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Miike
11/13/2008, Fort Pierce, FL

November 10th, Monday .... Ft. Pierce, Florida


I slept like a log and was back in true form by 7:30 am. Kathy decided that we were going to do nothing today and for the most part that's what happened. I read a book that "Veranda" had slid our way last summer. I also logged into Cruiseheimers again today but didn't seem to have as good a signal as yesterday. Propagation was not so good but I am not as sure that we have fixed the problem. I worked on the ground plane a little, attaching our foil ground to the dynaplate (I know I've lost a few of you...sorry) and hope to improve on our transmissions. Time will tell if we are making progress.

Tomorrow we will move a couple of hours north to Vero Beach for a few weeks of boat work, bus rides, provisioning, and visiting friends before moving toward the Bahamas again.


November 8 & 9th.... Cumberland Island, GA to Fort Pierce, FL

Sapphire and Fine Lion were underway at daylight, which these days is about 6:15, and made our way out of the Fernandina Inlet. We had wind enough for sailing for a few hours but all too soon were forced to motor sail as it clocked to the north. Once again the seas were very moderate with waves in the 2 foot range.

We set a way point off Cape Canaveral 150 miles away and got out our books.

As a few of you are aware, our new SSB radio has never really worked as it should. One of my tasks in the next month here in the States is to get it working up to speed. We have been able to receive, but when transmitting we've always had a very week signal forcing others to relay messages for us.

One of the possible problem areas is the connection between the antenna and the tuner which is on the deck and in the weather. On our trip down from Charleston the water was so quiet that I could work on deck and spent some time tearing apart that connection. Our antenna is actually inside a line which is stretched to the top of our mast using a spare halyard. The core of a ½ inch braided rope was removed and the antenna wire inserted. The connection at the base of the rope is made by a small plug which is then slid into the rope.

To check things out I had to open a spot in the braided line and work the plug back through. In the process, the end of the plug attached to the antenna came off. After further investigation it was apparent that the plug had never been properly attached. It had been stuck on but someone failed to crimp the plug to the wire.

It took about 10 minutes to fix the problem and get the plug inserted back in the braided line.

To test the transmission side of the radio we had to wait until 8:30 to log into Cruiseheimers which is a loosely knit group of cruisers who keep track of each other via SSB or Ham. I went down and to the Nav station, dialed in the right frequency, and when they got the section asking for vessels underway, logged in without a problem.

Maybe we have things right. A few more tests and we'll know for sure.

Our afternoon was spent listening to the Michigan State Football game and then the Iowa Penn State game. Iowa picked the wrong day for us to pull an upset out of their collective butts... but even at 9 and 3 the Spartans should go to a real bowl game.

The moon was out during the night which is always nice... even though it makes things harder to see. As we approached Cape Canaveral I came on watch after resting for a few hours to see two lights quite close on our starboard side. Kathy didn't know if they were moving or anchored but seemed to be keeping their distance.

As the hours went by and the two light grew closer, I realized that we were not looking at ships at sea but at launch pads on shore.

Before daylight, rounding the Cape, the wind picked up from the north and we were out far enough that the Gulf Stream was affecting us as well. The opposing forces of north bound current and south bound wind make the seas pile up into square choppy waves of considerable height and for a few hours we were in the middle of things. As soon as we rounded the Cape and got out of the edge of the Gulf Stream, the seas calmed down although they still rolled us around all the way to Fort Pierce 56 miles further down the road.

We arrived and were anchored in Fort Pierce at about 2 pm. after a 32 hour trip.

"Fine Lion" went to shore to scout out possible diner sites... but their report was not exciting so we decided to whip up some collective hors d'oevres and call it good. We are heading north to Vero Beach from here while they push on to Bahamas. Steve and Kim have been great folks to travel with and we look forward to finding them again in the winter.

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Kathy
11/07/2008, Cumberland Island, FL

November 6th, Thursday Cumberland Island, GA

Happy Birthday Debbie!

We left Charleston shortly after 6 a.m. and headed for Florida where we hope it will be warmer. This has been a chilly year. We sailed nicely for about four hours and then the wind died. We actually had anticipated motoring all the way, so this was a pleasant surprise. The rest of the way was flat and easy. We arrived in Fernandina about 7 a.m. for fuel and were anchored at Cumberland Island by 9:30.

We took showers and Mike tried to sleep, as he did not really sleep last night. He had opportunities, just couldn't sleep. I don't think he slept today either, so I finally did the dishes and we got the dinghy down, put the motor on and went to pick up Kim and Steve for some exploring of the park.

We walked across the island through the live oaks with the beautiful hanging Spanish moss, to the ocean side and walked on the beach. It was a warm, sunny day for a change and people were on the beach enjoying the sunshine. We saw lots of shells and I am proud to say I did not pick up one. We have too many shells on the boat already.

We went for a dinghy ride along the side of the island after our hike and then invited Steve and Kim for dinner. We had Steve's fabulous steak tartar, Kim's wonderful salad and Mike's fabulous ribs. We had a nice time and again ended the evening early as we are all tired and are leaving for Fort Pierce at first light tomorrow-a 30-some hour trip. Then Mike and I will rest in Vero Beach, FL for almost a month. Whew-this has been a quick trip.

And yes, we know there's a hurricane out there. We are big weather-watchers.

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