Arrived Atlantic to NAS Jacksonville

Renne' and I spent a lovely day meandering the St. John's River west from the Fort George Island Marina, almost on the mouth of the St. John's River and the Atlantic.  We departed about 1000, leaving the dock in a 2.0kt current outbound to the ocean, we muddled our way west.  This trip would be about 25nm and would take about the same time it takes to sail from our slip in Seabrook, Tx to Galveston, Tx.  Today it would take a bit longer as the current is against us most of the way.

Along the route, we passed the clean coal power plant, which is purported to be one of the 10 cleanest burning coal power plants in the world.  We passed a ship and a tug in dry dock for repairs, and only one major ship, an empty tanker called the "Overseas Texas City".  We had to call as he passed and tell him we were from the Texas City area.  He thought that was cool, but as he was getting underway, he didn't want to chance an episode on his watch, so we passed him one toot (port to port) and he and we were on our way.

We passed several potential anchorages as well as the famed "Jacksonville Landing", where, had we arrived off the ocean on Wednesday three hours earlier, we would have tied up to the FREE docks, paid $10 for electricity, and stayed for several days.  But we were not so lucky, so we decided on our way out of Jax we would stop for the night and enjoy the scene.

We arrived at NAS Jax about 1630 in the afternoon.  We were here about 90 minutes when a sheet of rain and thunder clouds passed over the top of us.  Winds picked up to about 30 kts.  Renne' had arranged for transportation to her sister's house to pick up a car when it hit.  She was sitting in the car while I was watching this sheet of rain approach from the west.  I flew down below to close up the boat when it hit.  Talk about rock and roll!  So for 5 minutes I watched from the boat, and as quickly as it came, it was gone farther across the city.

Renne' and I are on our way out again.  She is heading for South Carolina to pick up Payton for a couple of weeks, and I am headed back to Key West to pick up the car we left down there.  We both will be back here on Tuesday or Wednesday.

So we are settled down until the 10th of July - if you can call it that.

See you for Sundowners on the dock tonight!! Oh, ya gotta call us to get into the gate.  They don't just let anyone onboard - but then we just sailed up to the dock without any question.  HMMMMMM!

JonNe'

We Made Jacksonville!!

We made it to the St. John's River entrance and into a slip at Fort George Island Marina this afternoon.  A lot has happened since we left Coconut Grove on the 17th.  We had a great sail, but ended up motoring into Port Canaveral Saturday afternoon.  We were about 2 hours out of Port Canaveral and 2-1/2 hours from being tied up at the marina when there was a loud alarm on the boat.  I was sleeping in the cockpit with Renne' on watch when it happened.  With all that has happened to us, I came out of this deep sleep immediately and headed down the ladder to the cabin, ultimately heading for the engine.  As my head passed the radion I realized it wasn't the engine, but an alarm on the radio.  What in the world????  What we discovered was there was a Severe Weather Alert being broadcast.  We listened with interest realizing the alert was for our area!!  The next three hours, they were expecting quarter sized hail, 60-70 kt winds, ground to sky lightening.  Head for shore!!!  Get the heck out of the way of this thing.  The interesting point was there was nothing in the sky or on the radar that would indicate an issue.  So we hit the throttle, and headed into shore at a great increase of speed of .3 knots.  So we finally made port, got the boat tied up, and still not a big deal, so Renne' and I went below to take showers, fill the water tanks, secure everything that might be stolen, etc.  We got dressed and got back into the cockpit, when - Holy Smackeroooos!!  It was like night at 6pm!  The wind picked up from 10-27 kts and we realized we weren't going to dinner!  Had to secure anything that might blow away, double lined the boat down, closed all the portholes, and fixed dinner.  By the time we were done, we were in a full blown storm.  Amazing - 40 minutes from arriving, life went from dry to incredibly wet - then nothing!  huh!

That was Saturday.

Sunday, Father's Day, I had received a call from Cami, Renne' had talked to her dad, and he was heading for the boat with his lovely wife of 25 years, Wilma.  Now wilma is 86, 5'4", and 110lbs soaking wet!  Bless her heart, she got onboard to see what we have done with the boat, and she had her back to the companionway.  A canvas cover is over the opening to the companionway.  Wilma didn't realized it wasn't a seat, and she went to sit down on the canvas.  She assumed the identity of Houdini.  One second she was there, the next, she was lying on the floor of the cabin, six feet below on her back.  We were all at General Quarters.  Renne's heart stopped, I was panicked heading to give aid.  Got on the radio and called the Coast Guard for an ambulance and in 10 minutes or less, the paramedics were there.  Renne' had immediately applied ice to her back.  It took them 30 minutes to extricate her from the cabin and 6 men and women.  She was taken to the Cape Canaveral Hospital.  Five hours later, she was diagnosed with NO broken bones, NO bruises, and only pain to deal with.  Unbelieveable.  There are angels!!  They must have been lying below her to ease her fall!!  so we spent Sunday with the hospital and Monday recovering a bit. 

We left yesterday about 1300.  Beautiful day.  Nice winds, sailed for 8 hours then NO WINDS AT ALL!!  We motored for 20 hours over the last 30.  And doggone, nothing happened on this trip!!  We will leave the marina tomorrow morning for NAS Jacksonville.  It is a 25 mile motor up the St. John's River - 5 hours.  We will be there tomorrow afternoon.

The current plan is to watch the last shuttle launch.  It has been delayed until the 8th of July, so we are tentatively planning to leave about the 10th for New Bern, North Carolina. 

We have to find the Yanmar Dealer here for the 100 hour warranty oil change, the installation of the shaft saver, and we need to have the prop checked.

All for now, call us when you get to the gate tomorrow evening at the Naval Air Station we will come get you for sundowners at the docks.

Best for today,

JonNe'

We are sailing at last!!

We finally left the marina this afternoon at 1415 (2:15pm for those of you in Rio Linda).  Re-alignment went well, sea trial went well, we signed off on the inspection, and we are gone!!!  We were out on the Atlantic by 1545 (3:45pm) heading north east.  We are in the Gulf Current and riding along as fast as 8.8 kts, but averaging about 7.5.  Right now 1955, sun is going down, winds are 110/12kts.  Winds are dropping, they have been as high as 18-19kts.  Waves have been north, southeast, east, just all over the compass.  But we are sailing.  We haven't had the engine on since 1600.  This is great.  Pretty clear night and we are about 7-8 miles off the coast north of Fort Lauderdale about 15 miles.  Gentle rolling.  Renne' is down below trying to get some sleep while I am on watch.  Can't believe the Virgin Mobile MIFI is working this far out - at least I hope it is working.  If not, we will put this out tomorrow morning.  We are headed for Port Canaveral, and if all works out, we will be in there by 1830 tomorrow afternoon.  How cool.  This is the first night passage Renne' and I have been on by ourselves.  We have always had someone with us, so this is really cool!

Come to Port Canaveral tomorrow evening about sundown and enjoy sundowners with us.  We had some ice left over from this morning, so we had rum and cokes for cocktails this evening.  That, thanks to Barb and Doug Schindler.  They always make sure there is enough fuel for ice!!!

I need to get a VERY LOUD SHOUTOUT to Tony Zamara, harbor master at Grove Harbor Marina and Boat Yard.  Talk about a gentleman and Great Manager!  Tony bent over backwards to help us through all of this, and he was a blessing when we felt all of this was going to Hell in a handbasket.  So if you are headed into Miami, head into the Main Channel and head south about 3 miles into Biscayne Bay.  Take the Dinner Key Entrance and watch your depth. He is waiting there for you!!

Grove Harbor Marina - www.groveharbormarina.com - Did I say he was a great guy!!

See ya tomorrow for sundowners!!

JonNe'

Well It's Friday

Thought ya'll might want to see what has been causing all of these issues!!  Before we get there, a lighter moment.  I was thinking if you are talking with one person from the south, it is not unusual for a person to hear,  "Hey, ya'll come on over this afternoon."  So I got to thinking one day - if ya'll can be used to address one person - How do you address many people - as in what is the plural of ya'll????  All Ya'll??

So with that bit of non-sense,  here are two pictures of the prop shaft as they were pulled from the boat!

Both pictures show a longitudinal line (parallel to the shaft) about 2-1/2" long.  This is the result of cutting the old shaft coupler off when the new engine was installed. The first picture also depicts a small hole which was the original hole for the set screw for the original coupler.  The large hole is the hole for the new coupler - notice the difference??  The large hole was drilled while the shaft was in the boat - not on a drill press where it would have been accurately sized and drilled.  The second pic also has a key-way shown.  Now there is a piece of bronze bar that fits into that key-way slot and into a matching slot on the coupler side.  My question is how that matched the coupler slot as the prop shaft was not pulled from the boat when the new coupler was installed.  So this is what was thrown out of the coupler.  Gives you an idea of what we are bargaining with.

So we are back in the water today and yesterday.  The engine manufacturer wants the boat to settle in the water for 24 hours and the alignment rechecked just to make sure it is accurate.  So this morning, Romero is due back to recheck everything prior to running the sea trial.  That shouldn't take really very long.  The delay will be the financial responsibility.  So this is going to be interesting.  We will be working on this one by phone. 

So we splashed the boat yesterday.  I am still amazed at how easily and deftly the lift operator can swing this boat - at 43,000lbs - around the yard.  That big red thing is the boat lift, and doggone, I didn't get a picture of the boat in the sling - guess I was too busy marveling over the beauty of the boat!!

I am sure there will be more this afternoon, but chances are, we will be out of here and hopefully on our way to Port Canaveral to meet up with Renne's father for Father's Day.  If there isn't anything written for a couple of days, don't be too concerned.

In the meantime, it's early, how about meeting us for Bloody Mary's this morning at the Tiki Bar before Romero gets here.  Take care,

Jon and Renne' (JonNe')

New Outlook Today

We are still here in Coconut Grove, on the hard, and staying aboard - can we say hot and humid???  We decided yesterday, if there was a problem with who was paying for this boat repair, we would rather put up with no air conditioning than be stuck with $120 per night for hotel.  Last night actually turned out okay.  We are not used to this as we think we are pansy's, but it did cool off a bit last night and with 4 fans running in the aft stateroom, is was passably bearable.

Romero got here this morning just before 0900.  It took him 2 hours to get the 25 miles from Key Largo to here.  He left about 1300 (1pm) after meticulously reinstalling the new cutlass bearing and it's housing, the new prop-shaft, new coupler, and a polished up prop.  He had to completely realign the engine, transmission/coupler, and we have to let it sit 12-24 hours.  We will splash it this afternoon hopefully.  My friend Keith Davis (Davis Instruments and Repair in Hammond, La) texted me this morning to see if I was okay.  Fortunately, I have a new outlook today.  Regardless of when we splash, we should be able to leave tomorrow afternoon.

I am sure I mentioned Renne's toe yesterday or so, but she ran over to the Emergency Room at Mercy Hospital, to have her toe x-rayed.  Turned out I got a compliment on setting her toe from her attending.  That was cool!  All in all, it will just take 6-weeks to heal.

We will hit the Fresh Market next door in the morning, probably do the sea trial tomorrow afternoon, then set off as soon as we have settled up the bill.

We ran over to the Courtyard, by Marriott and swam for 2 hours.  It helped us cool off.  So we are back to feeling better.  We think tonite we may hit the Comedy Club after dinner.  Next stop Port Canaveral.

So we will see you over at the Tiki Hut on the other side of the Fresh Market for sundowners today.

JonNe'

I feel like I am bipolar!!

We are stuck here on the hard for one more day.  We received a call from Marathon Boat Yard today declaring our prop had really been hit!  There was a 1/4" bend in one of the three blades which they say would have caused the vibration.  I gave up arguing.  I am not really sure what the financial side of this is going to look like, but we are eating our funds up very quickly.  We actually believed a year's salary or so would give us the cushion we needed to do this.  Boy Howdy, have we found out differently.  Talk about discouraging!  I am sue we will be in better spirits tomorrow, but for right now, we are licking our wounds.  Not much more to say.  Hopefully we will have this behind us tomorrow and we will be out of here for Port Canaveral - 205nm north - 2 days.  Weather should be good - mostly motor-sailing.

To add to this, our renter is not happy today.  We have our repair guy headed over there today, so hopefully most of what she is looking for will be done today.  

I think I will start sundowners early tonight, so beware, I might be in my cups already by the time you get here - but then again, perhaps not.  I forget we have to get back up the ladder to crawl on the boat!

JonNe'

Great Food This Weekend

Although we didn't get anything resolved on the boat this weekend, Renne' and I spent a lovely two days relaxing a bit.  Both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful.  Now we are in Coconut Grove and a long way from Miami Beach, so we weren't able to make it over there.

We did however, have an opportunity to visit the home of Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe, the oldest home in Miami-Dade County still on it's original foundation.  It is a beautiful property on Biscayne Bay.  Built in 1891.  We had a very personal tour 1/2 hour longer than a normal tour.  Renne' was so facinated, she got a private tour of the library at the end of the tour.  I got yelled at for touching something and Renne' got special privileges!!  HA!! 

We have been riding our bicycles everywhere which is a good thing.  Renne' broke her toe a week ago and riding the bikes certainly takes pressure off of her toe.  It still hurts a bit, but appears to be mending. 

Lunch and dinners have been excellent.  Dinner Friday night was at Mr. Moe's, a North Carolina barbeque place.  Really excellent pulled pork and ribs!!  Had it again today for lunch.  Lunch Saturday was at Johnny Rocket's - although a national chain they have really great cheese burgers.  Dinner was a very interesting experience.  The best seafood ceviche' either of us had ever had!  We ate at the Jaguar Ceviche Spoon and Latam Grill.  We split the Ceviche Sampler for an appetizer.  The sampler was six distinctly different variations with sushi grade yellow fin tuna, calamari, a white fish, and three others we couldn't readily identify.  Then dinner was tortilla lasagna.  I asked the waitress about the origins and philosophy of the restaurant and she said the owners were from Mexico, but had Peruvian, Brazilian, and Venezuelan overtones.  Fabulous.

Sunday night for the NBA Championships, we watched the first quarter eating dinner at LuLu's with bacon wrapped dates for an appetizer stuffed with cream cheese, sausage, and a cheese I had never heard of before, followed by a very lightly grilled salmon and asparagus.  The second quarter was enjoyed at a local handmade ice cream establishment named Dolce Vita Gelato Cafe.  As Renne's Irwin was named "La Dolce Vida" (the sweet life) it was appropriate to stop there!  We were back in the hotel room by the end of the halftime conference and finished the watching the game in bed with rum/cokes and vodka/club soda's

So there you have it!  Although there was more to learn today, Monday, about the boat, it should be repaired tomorrow and we may well be out of here by tomorrow or Wednesday, headed for Port Canaveral.  The weather looks pretty good and we will probably be motoring now because there isn't much in the way of wind!

Mr. Moe's - www.mrmoes.com
Jaguar Cevichi Spoon and Latam Grill - www.jaguarspot.com
LuLu's -info@luluinthegrove.com
Johnny Rocket, Coconut Grove - www.johnnyrocket.com
Barnacle Historic State Park - www.thebarnacle.org

Come join us tonite at the Chart House for dinner and sundowners,

Best in Sailing,

Jon and Renne'

Another Day Under Our Belt!

More positives today than negatives.  First, they finally got JonNe' out of the water and on the hard!  As she came out of the water, there it was, the prop and prop shaft!!  It was caught on the Rudder Skeg and hadn't completely exited the boat.  The Boat Yard Manager, Tony, told me he really liked that safety factor.  We both laughed as we realized we will not be here as long as we feared.  Marathon Boat Yard asked Tony to take photos of the prop and propshaft as they believe we hit something and therefore not their responsiblity for paying to fix it or even fixing it.  Tony inspected them once the boat was firmly on deck and commented that in his professional opinion, there is NO damage caused by external influences.  So he sent the photos to Marathon and talked with the owner.  Tony's comment to him was basically "Man up, they just paid you $24,000 for a new engine and labor, just fix this and get over it".  We like that attitude!

So we are here in the Marriott for the weekend - nothing gets done in a boat yard over the weekend.  We will ask that a new prop shaft and cutless bearing be installed before we take possession of the boat again.  Monday we will know more.

While the prop shaft is out, I went ahead and changed out the Smart Switch on the bilge pump (sits down in the bilge and is very difficult to get to with the prop shaft in place) - had to go to West Marine to buy some new electrical connections to complete the project - and ordered a new bilge monitor to install on Monday afternoon.  With that, we will be comfortable in the knowledge the bilge pump will continue to work correctly.

For right now, we are safe and sound and will re-evaluate when we will leave this coming Monday or Tuesday.  In the meantime, meet us in Coconut Grove tonite for sundowners - we will buy the first round in celebration!  We miss you all, and thanks for being there with us!

Timing IS EVERYTHING!!!!

We left Rodriguez Key yesterday morning at 0645.  We were both very proud of ourselves.  Great communication between the two of us, no screaming, yelling, tantrums, etc. as we lifted the anchor and departed.  The new anchor windlass worked exactly as described by the manufacturer.  what a great device!  We got everything packed away and headed for our offshore route to Port Canaveral.  Now that required picking our way across the Key Largo Marine Sanctuary where the reef raises to the surface in various places and lies under the surface for unsuspecting, unprepared maritime travelers.  Oh, and the Parks and Wildlife Department wait for the unsuspecting, unprepared to smack into their reef so they can levy a HEFTY FINE!!  So we gently made our way through, zig/zagging to find the path with a depth of more than 6 feet (the depth of our keel).  We hit the currant about 10am offshore and turned East to finally get around the Keys.  By 2pm we were flying up the currant at an incredible speed of 7.8 kts sometimes.  As slow as 3.5 at other times, but in general things were going great.  We were motor sailing to make increased time as we wanted to pass the Miami and Fort Lauderdale Ship Channels prior to dark.

About 2pm, I began to pick up vibrations in the new engine and began thinking about stopping someplace to have a Yanmar dealer check the engine.  As I continued to check, by 3pm, Renne' and I decided it was the better part of Valor was to break off and head to Miami to see what was going on.  The vibrations began to increase, we were battling 7-8 foot seas and 30+kts of winds, both from the East, so we were getting pretty worn down.  By the time we motored through the ridge rising from 500' to 20' in a matter of 1/2 mile at the shore entrance to the Miami Ship Channel (believe me we were delighted not to have crashing waves to welcome us there), we had already received permission from the Coast Guard to make our way up the Main Ship Channel (the shortest route to an anchorage).  I mentioned to Renne' that the vibrations had gotten worse as we transited the ship channel.  As we made the final two turns into the anchorage at the Miami Yacht Club, we were preparing to set the anchor when Renne' lost control of the boat.  Fortunately, I was able to drop the anchor immediately (at Renne's request).  I ran below to check the engine to find a hole through which water was pouring, where the prop shaft had been previously!  The PROP SHAFT HAD DISAPPEARED!

Well a quick look above the engine room (in the spare parts garage), I located a tapered wooden plug and my hammer and jammed the plug in the prop shaft opening in the packing gland.  The water stopped gushing in and the leak was contained.  Renne' in the meantime had contacted TowBoatUS who showed up in 5 minutes with two boats, salivating over the idea of a full blown boat salvage!  Believe me, you don't want that to happen.  Boat salvage in Maritime Law is one of the oldest laws in history.  They take the boat and it's contents and you pray insurance will cover the cost.  That is how Key West became the richest community in the country per capita during the 1800's.  Ship Salvage!!  Needless to say, they TowBoatUS folks were a bit disappointed when I told them the leak had been stopped and we weren't sinking!  On the other hand, we were in 7 feet of water with a six foot keel, but if we hadn't been prudent, the water would have overwhelmed the bilge pump and we would have had a real mess on our hands!

A bit later, a gentleman from a neighboring boat came by in his dinghy to help us by informing us the spot we had chosen to anchor in was a bad bottom and it would be more prudent to move over to another area in the anchorage - we couldn't get a word in edgewise to tell him we didn't have a prop and we were stuck there - at least til the end of his sililoque (or however you spell it!).  Last night we slept in A/C as we ran the genset again last night.  We were not in the mood to sweat!

So now what to do.  I will be calling Marathon Boat Yard this morning to discuss the fact that THEY replaced the coupler on the prop shaft and the coupler itself is still attached to the engine.  The prop shaft is gone (and the prop).  So we will discuss what their responsibility is on this.

So this morning is better, we are still afloat, the plug remains intact, we can't move, but we have a lot to do this morning.

So you missed the sundowners with us last night - I was not in a sociable mood AT ALL!  I had a few rum and cokes then went to bed!

But perhaps you can meet us over at the Hurricane Boat Yard tonite for sundowners.

JonNe'

Rodriguez Key, Key Largo, FL

We got into the anchorage about 1830 (630 pm for those folks in Rio Lindo).  We are anchored 1/4 mile off the southwest corner of Rodriguez Key on the South side of Key Largo, Fl.  We were both a bit timid about this and just a bit nervous as we pulled in.  This is a new part of the adventure.  Renne' and I have never anchored out by ourselves, and only once in the past few years.  That was with our friends, Janet and Scotty - and frankly I did a poor job of choosing the site as it was near the Galveston Ship Channel and the wind changed during the night and we ended up not on the lee side of the island, but the windward.  So between some BIG ships passing and a 25kt wind that night it was VERY bumpy, but overall a bit ok!

Tonight, there are four monohulls here and it looks like a catamaran coming into the anchorage about a mile away.  We have the generator going and ice being made, so we will have sundowners as the sun sets!!  Lucky us.  We seem to be pretty well protected, but it is only 8' deep here and we draw a 6' draft.  Not too much room for slippage or going farther in to the island.  But, I think since the winds are pretty steady from the East - for the last week and forecast for the next 7 days, we are pretty well set tonite.  We will be out tomorrow.  We really consider this the beginning of OUR at sea adventure.  We are finally doing new things together and enjoying it!!!  YEAH!

All for now, I need to go enjoy the company of my sailing partner as the sun goes down and we prepare to sit tightly for the night.

Sorry you have missed the sundowners - perhaps the next time!!

For Now - JonNe'

25 deg 02.579N

 Pic of RenNe'

Rodriguez Key, Key Largo, Fl - one of the other monohulls in the anchorage!

080 deg 27.835W

On our way to Port Canaveral

Yesterday, June 6th, Renne', Ginger, and I met up with our friends, Dennis Franklin and Paul Barber, at Marathon Boat Yard for breakfast.  A short walk down Hwy 1 (Overseas Highway) to the restaraunt and enjoyed a nice breakfast at an open air table - granted it wasn't water side, but it was nice to be outside anyway.  I had to get back to the boat yard before the others to supervise the oil change and engine inspection.  At the same time, we decided to have one of the fuel tanks cleaned out.  We were glad we did that, as we had abit of difficulty with it on the way from Clearwater, before we got to Key West, and on the way out of the marina at Boca Chica.  Another $600 later we settled down for the rest of yesterday enjoying being in a new port.  Renne' got Ginger on the bus back to Boca Chica and we started getting ready for our departure.

Last night we had dinner with Dennis and Paul at our favorite Marathon restaraunt, Castaway's, and hit bed about 7pm.

We were up this morning at 0615 to be ready to pull out of the boat yard by 0730.  We were close - we were out by 0745.  Kent Brownhill and I had put 4 Gerry cans of fuel (24gal) on the deck before we left Clear Lake in February, and this morning, I added that fuel to the starboard tank for additional fuel for the trip to Port Canaveral.  I felt it would be easier adding the fuel in calm water rather than doing in 4-6 foot waves offshore.  Glad I did it.

It is 1325 right now, we still have another 4-1/2 hours to do today.  We are driving up Hawk Channel, motoring, as the wind is directly on our nose.  You know the old addage for cruising in a sailboat:  No matter which direction you choose to leave in, the wind will ALWAYS be directly off your bow!!  And that is the truth!

We are going to anchor out tonite on the back side of Rodriguez Key, adjacent to Key Largo, then leave at sunrise tomorrow.  We are retired, and just don't see a reason to be in a real hurry.  We hope to be in Port Canaveral on Friday.  We will be in the Gulf Stream tomorrow afternoon giving us a 2 knot advantage and 4 knot advantage over the current today. 

So come out to the key tonite and enjoy sundowners with us on the hook!

JonNe'

We are in Marathon

After a morning of getting ready and breakfast at Pepe's, we left NAS Boca Chica for NAS Jacksonville yesterday (Sunday).  Pepe's has been open continuously since 1909 and the food was fabulous.  It is located right across the street from Schooner's Warf and we highly recommend it!  Anyway, we have a warranty on the new engine and one of the requirements is a 10, 50, and 100 hour oil change and inspection of the engine by a qualified Yanmar dealer.  So we are back in Marathon at the Boat Yard today, hoping to get the oil change this morning so we can be on our way this afternoon for Jacksonville.  We are scheduling a stop in Port Canaveral where we will see Renne's dad and mom.  So we are on the first of three legs on this trip.  We are headed to breakfast this morning, so -
give us a day or so, and we will have sundowners with you in Port Canaveral!

Best,

JonNe'

http://pepescafe.net/
marathonboatyard.com

Woke up this morning

to the flash of lightning and a clap of thunder.  Tuesday at noon was the first rain Renne' and I have seen since we pulled into Key West on March 1st.  Even then, the rain at that time lasted only a few minutes.  Tuesday, it was a deluge for about 15 minutes.  People around here were ecstatic!  They have needed rain very badly. But JonNe' did get a bath, and that was important.  We thought Alan would be able to join us for a sail on Tuesday, but he had to beg out until Wednesday.  Renne' and I had spent the better part of 2-1/2 hours cleaning the boat for his visit.  As it turned out with the rain and winds, it was really better he had put it off until yesterday. 

Alan Rhody arrived at the gate about 11:15 yesterday morning.  What a glorious day for a sail.  We needed to get her out anyway to exercise her before we leave, so it was a great opportunity to leave the slip.  We got underway about 12:15 and sailed east on Hawk Channel.  The winds were out of the Northeast (060 at about 18-20 knots).  We only hoisted the jib and staysail though, as we didn't want our new passenger sick.  Waves in the channel were 1-2 feet and the sun was out the entire afternoon.  The engine purred as we exited the entry channel to Boca Chica.  Wow, I just can't believe the difference between this engine and the old one.  This one is quieter, faster, more balanced, did I mention quieter and faster?  What a joy!

We got Alan back in about 4pm.  He is headed for Merritt Island to play a concert Friday and Saturday night, and needed to leave.  We have really enjoyed meeting and talking with he and his wife this week.

After checking weather, it looks like we will leave here on Sunday for Marathon.  Hopefully, the boat yard will be able to fit us in - I have to call today - for an oil change and we will be on our way Tuesday - or even Monday afternoon for Miami. 

We will miss the friends we have made here.  Everyone has been really great.  I enjoy the prospects of meeting people along the way.  Renne' is torn between missing her friends at home and being on this cruise.  She wouldn't miss this for the world, but struggles with how much her friends at home mean to her.

So we should be in Marathon the next time you hear from us, so meet us on the dock tonite for sundowners -

JonNe'