Adventures of Windfall

The next two months were spent fixing everything that needs to be fixed and preparing for the next trip.
The autopilot was still under warranty so I got the original installer to come back and fix it.
The generator is still not 100% but we seem to be making progress.
The navigation lights were moved from deck level to the top of the mast. This should solve a number of problems except changing the light bulbs!
The spinnaker finally arrived and is ready to fly.
The sat phone is here and needs to be installed.
The boat still needs to be cleaned and provisioned.
Hoping to leave Miami the second week of January for a two month tour of the Bahammas.

10/26/12. The boat is securely tied up in the marina and I am waiting for Hurricane Sandy. The wind is from the NE which is the least protected angle to the wind. It is like being on a ride at the fair; the boat is bouncing around a lot. Waves are washing over the dock and I am wondering what it must be like if you are not in a marina!

10/27/12. The wind has changed direction to NW so we are a little more protected. Still have waves washing over the dock but the bouncing around has decreased. Unable to fix autopilot. Preparing to depart on Sunday.

10/28/12. Storm has moved north and all is calm. When I remove the dock lines, I discover that one is chaffed half way through due to the wave action. Depart marina early and head down ICW. I spend four days motoring down the ICW, anchoring before dark in areas just off the ICW.

10/31/12. Was hoping to get to Ft. Lauderdale before dark but the bridges slowed me down. Some open on the hour and half hour, others at quarter to and quarter past the hour. Some bridges open promptly, others make you wait. There are so many bridges as you get closer to Ft. Lauderdale that I had to stop twenty miles short of my goal and anchor for the night.

11/1/12. The last leg to Ft. Lauderdale went faster than I expected thanks to some cooperative bridge operators. I get to Ft. Lauderdale by 1230 and then out in to the ocean. I raise the foresail and have a relaxing motor sail to Miami. I got to the Brickell bridge just before rush hour and made it through. Then I got stuck because the next bridge would not open till 6pm. Luckily, I was able to tie up in front of an Irish pub! After 6pm the bridges opened and I was tied up on the Miami river by 6.30pm.

Finally, after six months, I am back were I started. Distance travelled, about 3,500 miles. An education, to say the least!

10/13/12. Oriental and no cell phone reception on ATT. Borrowed courtesy car from marina and drove in to New Bern and got 'back up' phone connected via Verizon. Grocery shop on way back to boat. Fixed autopilot again.

10/14 Continued down ICW and anchored in cove off ICW. A good day apart from almost running over small fishing boat anchored in middle of channel. He didn't know he was in the channel!

10/15. Made it to Southport and tried to anchor in harbour. Anchor would not hold due to very soft mud. Tied up at restaurant dock for free! Should have done that in the first place.

10/16 Continued down ICW, anchored overnight. Made good progress.

10/17. A slow day due to currents being against me. Discovered fuel leak; diesel leaking in to bilge. This could be expensive! Anchored overnight.

10/18. Pressed on to Charleston. Discovered diesel leak was caused by fuel line from generator coming loose. Easy fix. Autopilot still not working so called in expert.

10/19. Expert arrived and did nothing more than I had done previously. Will it work?

10/20. Went to West Marine and grocery store. Came back to boat and tested autopilot by turning wheel. It fell apart but I discovered the fundamental problem....no room for moving parts to move.

10/21. Off again down the ICW. Five days to St. Augustine, anchoring out each night. All went well apart from challenge of steering boat and getting refreshments at same time but I managed.

10/25. Arrived in St. Augustine and checked in to Marina to wait out the storm. Will attempt to fix autopilot and bilge pump while in port.

10/5/12 Left Annapolis for Norfolk. Wind is on the nose so tack till noon. Then wind changes direction so am able to sail close hauled. Small Craft advisory in Chesapeake Bay. Weather a bit blowy. Autopilot stops working. Hard work hand steering all day so stop at 4pm and duck in to an estuary to get out of wind. Anchor for night.

10/6/12. Continue on journey south. Still no autopilot so eating, drinking or bathroom break a challenge. Keep going till 6pm then look for estuary to shelter in. Finally drop anchor at 7.30pm. Knackered!

10/7/12. Continue to Norfolk. Lots of rain on top of other problems. Cockpit canvas keeps me warm and dry. Make it to Marina in Norfolk by 5pm. No one around to help so tie up by myself. Pouring with rain; get soaked. Nice to have shore power; that means heat.

10/8/12. Marina manager a nice guy. Lends me his car to go shopping. Fix auto pilot. Rest!

10/10/12. Head down the ICW. Very slow due to first bridge not opening till 9.30am. Then had to wait an hour for a lock. More bridges! Only did 55 miles first day. Good anchorage.

10/11/12. Second day was better; no delays for bridges. Covered 80 miles.

10/12/12. Great day of motor sailing. Covered last 42 miles to Oriental, NC by 2pm. Checked in to nice marina that I heard about at Annapolis boat show. Only $20 a day and they have a courtesy car plus WiFi. Life is good.

9/23/12. On a mooring in Annapolis opposite the Naval Academy. Go to the grocery store and work on the boat; there is always something to repair!

9/24/12. Take the damaged canvas to a repair shop nearby. Then off to the library to get internet access.

9/26/12. Go to West Marine to pick up parts that I had ordered to fix the head. Once back at boat, I replace the joker valve in the head. The old one had lost its flexability and didn't close, causing back up. Once installed, noticed a big improvement.

9/27/12. Picked up repaired canvas and proceeded to hang in cockpit. Canvas has shrunk and does not reach fittings on boat. Had to remove old fittings and install new ones, then fill holes left by old fittings. Part arrived for generator.

9/28/12. Complete work on canvas but discover another broken zip so rush over to repair shop.

9/29/12. Pick up last piece of canvas and put in place. Cockpit once again protected from rain and wind.

9/30/12. Install part in generator but it still overheats. Met another Caliber 40 owner; his boat is newer but very similar. Go to showers and meet another Caliber 40 owner. He comes over to look at my boat and invites me to look at his. On the way, I see a third Caliber 40 nearby. I go over to say hello and get invited onboard to look around. Get three ideas for improvements to Windfall. The third Caliber owner gives me some ideas for fixing generator.

10/01/12. Check raw water intake for generator and find it is blocked with sea grass. Clean it out and start generator. Water flow is much improved but generator is still overheating. Call manufacturer who suggests removing thermostat from cooling system. Try that but still overheating. Awaiting call back from tech support at generator company.

10/2/12. Go to library to check email and discover that crew for trip to Miami is not coming. A death in the family forced him to cancel. I decide to stay in Annapolis till Saturday and visit Annapolis boat show, the biggest in the USA.

10/3/12. Work on boat all day.

10/4/12. Go to library then grocery shopping.

Still in Manchester waiting for the boatyard to complete the repair on the keel. In the meantime, I discover that the refrigeration works without seawater. I am getting in to the routine of living on the hard; it's not so hard!

The new curtains are installed around the cockpit so we will be warm and dry as we sail along. The alternator is sent away for a service but the problem is the batteries; because the generator wasn't working, the batteries never got fully charged. This damaged them to the point where they wouldn't accept any charge. Four new batteries at $450 each !

The insurance company agrees to pay for the damage, less a deductible! The deductible is $500 less than the price I was going to pay to have the bottom painted. If it wasn't for the batteries, I would be ahead!

9/10/12 My crew for the trip to Annapolis arrives. His name is Greg and he loves to cook.

9/11/12. The boat is back in the water and everything is working but the generator; it needs a part to be ordered. We decide to set sail.

9/12/12. Greg and I depart Manchester and have a nice motor sail down the coast and through the Cape Cod canal. The current in the canal is against us but we still manage to make three knots. We complete the canal as the sun sets and tuck in to an anchorage behind Meganasset Harbor. The next day we continue to Newport. There is a boatshow in town so we anchor in the harbour. The trip was easy and the boatshow was fun.

9/15/12. We leave Newport and head along the Long Island sound to New York. Good progress was made and we get half way before finding a great anchorage in Mattituck Creek. The next day we continue to New York.

9/16/12. We get to the East River and figure we can make it through and to Sandy Hook by nightfall. The current is not with us and we struggle to get through. Because we are going so slow, it is dark before we exit the East River. I thought it would be quiet on a Sunday night but it is as busy as always. We get to Sandy Hook at the top of New Jersey at 2am. We are exhausted.

9/17/12. The NOAA weather report states that there will be gales off the Jersey coast beginning Tuesday at noon. It is Monday morning; we have lots of time to get to Cape May at the southern tip of New Jersey before the weather turns bad.....

We leave Sandy Hook around 10am. The weather is great. We motor sail all day and expect to get to Cape May by morning. Around midnight the weather starts to change; the wind speeds increase to twenty knots with gusts to twenty five. The waves start to get higher, four to five feet. Of course, the wind is blowing from the south, our direction of travel. Our speed drops to four knots but we soldier on; or should that be sailor on?

We pass Atlantic City, our only port of refuge before Cape May but keep going. At dawn we thought things would improve but they got worse. The wind speed rose to thirty knots and the waves rose to ten feet. We had to alternate between facing south, our direction of travel and east, to point in to the waves. Each time a wave caught us broadside, the boat rolled fourty degrees on its side. This was not a pleasant sail!

The new life raft broke loose of its harness and started to abandon ship. I jumped on deck and grabbed it, then struggled to get it back on to its cradle. In the process, I got cut and bruised.

A large wave hit us side on; tore the new cockpit curtains and filled the cockpit with water. We were now cold, wet, tired, hungry, bruised and bloodied. Did we give up? Never! We grit our teeth and kept on going.

We put up a reefed main to give us some extra speed and around noon we made it in to Cape May. We tied up at the marina and headed for a hot shower followed by a hot meal. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up the mess.

9/19/12. We dried out everything that got wet and made sure the liferaft would not come loose again. After provisioning the boat for the next leg, we were ready to depart.

Lessons Learnt: If NOAA says the storm will arrive at noon on Tuesday, give it a twenty four hour leeway and assume it could arrive noon on Monday. Plan accordingly.

If you are in rough seas and have the opportunity to take shelter, do it.

Prepare yourself and your boat for storm conditions before the storm arrives. Put out the storm sail; reef the main. Put on your foulies and your lifejacket. Tether yourself to the boat.

If you have a waterproof pouch for your cell phone, use it. Otherwise your cell phone gets broken and you loose every ones phone number. Send me your phone number readers; I lost it!

9/20/12. Easy sail up the Delaware Bay and through the C& D canal to the Chesapeake. Then down the Chesapeake at night to Annapolis. Arrive at mooring field by 9am.

9/21/12. Make phone calls to order parts, schedule repairs. Visit West Marine and relax.

9/22/12. Greg departs for home and I await my next crew while fixing the boat.