My last posting was off the Florida coast at night, with us motoring down the coast in calm winds. At dawn the winds piped up to 20 knots and quickly built up a big sea that caused us to roll mightily! We hoisted sail at dawn and had a quick but boisterous sail down to the St Augustine inlet.
We rounded up at the offshore buoy to drop the sails and got them down in a growing breeze with not too much trouble, and started in under motor. In the beam seas that were breaking in spectacular waves on either side of us we set out to enter, watching for the buoys which are not charted as the channel changes constantly. But we made it in (having taken a couple of breaking waves across the beam) and looked around for a spot to anchor. We ran down a narrow bay called Salt Run, and found room to anchor, but decided that, although it was reasonably protected from the rising winds, it was too far from anywhere to see anything ashore, so turned around and motored out. We looked at the mooring field in the harbor, but it was crowded, and with the strong currents, not too attractive.
We called a marina, Camachee Cove Marina, that was both protected and closer to downtown. They offered a courtesy car for guests to use for two hour intervals. So we headed in. The cruising guide said that it had first class services and first class prices, and it was right on both accounts. But for one night, we'll survive. They met us on the dock to take our lines, and after a quick shower and cleaning up from our little offshore adventure, we went up to pick up a car. We were given a "jeep" type of import, a bit old, but for the price, we weren't complaining.
We headed down into the old part of town and did a quick driving tour of the main historic area, and then headed for a parking garage for a walking tour. As we sought out a spot to park (it was busy as it was Friday of the American Thanksgiving weekend, a big event down here) I braked for a couple of people to pass and... NO BRAKES!!!! After jamming on the pedal a couple of times, and feeling nothing, I tramped down, put the engine in neutral, and we screeched to a halt, with some shaken people in front of us!
We shuddered into a parking space and set off to tour the city. And it is a beautiful city, the oldest in North America, founded by the Spanish in the 1500's. It still has a very Spanish flavor, and has maintained its original style, much like Quebec City. One thing it is noted for is Gelatto, Italian ice cream. I have no idea why, but we tried some, and approved.
Then it was time to return so we had to face the car. As we approached it, we could see where the remaining brake fluid had run out. We thought about leaving it and calling the marina, but decided to try it, so set out slowly. I learned how to measure the pressure required to stop but it was highly sensitive... too light and you kept going; too heavy and the brakes locked and we screeched to a halt. So we proceeded slowly.
The problem with this was that every pedestrian, seeing us approach so slowly, assumed we were stopping for them. I have never had so many people walk out in front of me! And as I tried to stop, invariably we screeched to a halt, with looks of either indignation or terror on the pedestrians. But we limped back, and reported the problem. That done, we headed back to the boat and had more turkey from last night's dinner. And we were in bed by 8:45 pm, catching up from our night offshore.
This morning, Saturday, we set out down the ICW with no particular destination in mind. We quickly noticed that we had lucked out with the tides, and had a strong following current that added about 25% to our normal motoring speed. And the wind was still fresh from the north, so by opening out the jib, we found ourselves flying down the ICW, and by 4:00 pm, anchoring time, we were in Daytona Beach. I know there will be people who will find it hard to believe, but we just anchored in a small anchorage, and didn't step ashore. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing engine maintenance. I changed the oil, as I do every 100 hours, and the fuel filters.
Diesel engines are highly reliable, but also highly sensitive to their fuel. The rule is simple: keep it dry (no water) and keep it clean. We have 3 fuel filters. The first, know as a "Racor" will also separate any water from the fuel. I checked it, and good news, no water. So then I changed its fuel filter, then went to the engine where there are two filters, one before a fuel lift pump, and one just before the fuel is pumped to the injectors. These changed, there is one more filter, the oil filter. This one can be messy, and is not easy to reach, but I changed it out, drained out the oil, replaced it, and, presto, ready to go again for another 100 hours after only two hours crawling around the bilge!
That done, we settled down to Beef Stroganoff with Spatsela (spelled incorrectly I'm sure... German pasta) and a nice Chianti, with fruit and cheese for dessert.
We now are looking at Miami by late next week. The weather looks like it will continue to warm up, which is good, and we will just decide about offshore or the ICW as the weather presents itself. Then we will plan "The Big Crossing". More about that tomorrow!