BREEZY GULF SAIL
15 May 2019 | MARCO ISLAND FLORIDA
Kris Hinterberg | Warm and breezy
Several dolphins accompanied us down the “miserable mile” as we sailed into the sunrise from the Southern tip of Pine Island to the Sanibel Bridge. It is actually about 3 miles of narrow channels surrounded by shoals, cross currents. On weekends lots of partying speed boaters pass you by and “wake” you. It was none of these this morning. We only met one boat the whole way, and I think the dolphins needed some entertainment. About five of them dove back and forth under the boat. A few times I held my breath thinking they would hit the prop, but I have to remember they are not manatees.
Our first disappointment was that after two more tech calls, our autopilot still displayed a black screen over the regular screen telling us to “calibrate”. The good news is that it was holding course. When we motored under the Sanibel Bridge, the Gulf of Mexico welcomed us with rolling swells. We punched in the numbers and relaxed a bit. We have a GPS to reveal our headings the autopilot was hiding.
The wind was not at a favorable angle or speed to sail, so motoring looked like the method of power for the next 25 miles to Marco Island or next destination. That doesn’t sound far, but I can pedal my bike faster than the 5-6 knots we can maintain under power.
Mid-morning the wind picked up and started to shift westerly in a more favorable direction so we could add sails and decrease diesel power a bit. With that shift came bigger seas, now more choppy than rolling. It takes a bit more power for the autopilot to function but it seemed to be doing the job until the boat took a wild windward swing and we realized it had quit altogether. Like any electronic device the first thing one does to repair it is to reboot. Amazingly when we started it up again, black screen was gone, our heading was visible, and it held course. Laugh that off tech support guys!! Lacking some trust we kept our eyes glued to the GPS and autopilot, but it got us to the Capri Pass at the Marco Island turnoff about 2:00pm.
To run our lights and fridge, we get most of our power from batteries charging off the engine, so Jack always keeps a regular check on the voltage readings. About noon he noticed the readings were not as they should be. A trip down below to the engine room revealed a broken wire on the alternator. Fortunately the batteries were charged well enough to keep fridges and autopilots running until we arrived at Marco. No frozen food disasters.
Ever the prepared pirate, Jack maintains a vast treasure chest of spare parts and was confident he hadn’t used up his last alternator. The hard part is changing it below decks at about 95 degrees on his hands and knees. Fortunately he was prepared and had all the tools necessary to make the repairs. He was able to run the air conditioner, which runs off generator power so he didn’t have to pass out from the heat. All fixed by sunset, we enjoyed a lovely meal of Boat chili, and fresh cornbread baked in my new oven, which runs on propane. When asked the question “are you having a good trip?” The answer is ….. “sort of”.