Beginning of Trip To Italy - May 2015

May 13

I am a bit embarrassed about not finishing the story of our trip to Houston on Sea N' Stars.  Once we got back to Key West, to be honest with you, I was so tired from pushing from September to January with her, I just had to stop and collect my thoughts.

So for those of you who believe we are "Living The Life", this is the beginning of our trip to Italy to meet Doug and Barb!! "Space Available" flights are flights with the military which are already scheduled to fly from one base to another hauling military personnel or cargo, that "MIGHT" have just a little room aboard for "stowaways".

 In our past adventures, that has included a C-5 Galaxy

Or a C-17 Globemaster

or a 767 charter flight

All of these aircraft have had "Space Available" for us in the past whether we have flown from Charleston to Sigonella  or from Andrews AFB to Los Angeles 

So we found a "Free" flight leaving on Thursday, May 7, from Norfolk, Va on a C-17 to Sigonella which will be perfect for meeting Barb and Doug!  So. . . .to save a few bucks we depart KW and head for Norfolk:

Tues, May 5 - Leave KW and drive 15 hours north to Fayetteville, NC (excludes 3.5 hrs in Jacksonville for personal business) - 850 miles plus hotel room ($85.00)

Wed May 6 - Leave Fayetteville and drive 5.5 hours to Norfolk, Va, check in to room at Naval Station - 359 miles plus a night at the Navy's Gateway Inn ($75.00)

Thurs, May 7 - Last minute shopping, head for Norfolk Passenger Terminal for "Free Space A Flight" to Sigonella, Sicily.  Passenger show time 2:45pm, take off time at 5:45pm.  At 5:00pm we get word the C-17 is NOT taking any "Space A's".  Hmmmmm.  Go find another room at the Navy's Gateway Inn ($75.00)

Back on the computer and find two flights leaving the Norfolk Passenger Terminal on Tuesday,  May 12 - a C-17 first direct to Rota and Sigonella (Perfect) and a second 4 hours later if the first falls through to Rota and on to Naples, Italy, which will require an overnight ferry ride to Sicily (okay, but not ideal)

Friday, May 8 - Drive to Williamsburg, Va for some sight seeing - had a great time!  Love that city!  That and Annapolis are my favorites sites to see in the US.  Another night at the Navy's Gateway Inn ($75.00).

Saturday, May 9 - Drive to Hertsford, NC (family business) then on to Columbia, SC to see Renne's mother for Mother's Day, and the rest of her lovely family - 400 miles

Sunday, May 10 - Mother's Day relaxing and cooking dinner

Monday, May 11 - Drive back to Norfolk and order a trailer hitch to arrive when we get back from Italy to be installed first week of June - 420 miles and another stay at the famous Navy Gateway Inn ($65.00 - not the same room).

Tuesday, May 12 - Arrive at Passenger terminal at 12:30pm to ensure we are in line for 2:45pm show time for 5:30pm departure.  At 4:00pm, the C-17 departing for Rota and Sigonella is NOT taking "Space A" flyers. Register for Naples, departing at 10:30pm.  At 8:30 pm we are informed that the 767 with 199 seats available is full with Cat 2, 3, and 4 Space A's.  We are Cat 6 (lowest priority as retired military).  Oh did I mention, for this flight, there were some 250 people competing for seats!  Drive to Navy Gateway Inn to see if there is a room available - $55.00 tonite as it is a different room)

We got back on the computer - decided to go ahead and fly Richmond to Naples on Thursday.  US Scare, oops, US Air has a flight for less and we have the last two seats on the airplane - that leaves exactly 9 days and a bunch of money later than we had planned.  

Should have flown out of Miami and paid for a good flight!  So much for our "ADVENTURE"!

I am convinced all Renne' and I do is push through things.  This retirement thing is just a bit more than interesting.  We are always on the move!!  Arghhh!  Hehheh!

We will fill you in later.  In the meantime!!  We aren't anywhere you can find us for sundowners!

Jon and Renne'

Finally Headed NORTH On Florida's West Coast!

December 10

Left this morning from Ft Myers.  Granted, a little late.  Renne' had an appointment this morning with the Ships Store to show her books.  This lady works everybody!  If she is ever famous, it will be because of her undying efforts to sell her books!!  I am so proud of the effort she puts into this!  She is a better sailsman (oops!) than I!  www.sailadybooks.blogspot.com

The trip west out of the Caloosahatchee River, into San Carlos Bay, and north into Pine Island Sound was interesting.  It demanded constant attention to the channel.  Much of the water in this are is less than 4' outside of the channel, and in many places 2' or less.  The old saying, "Don't Go Where The Birds Walk" was very appropriate today!  

We passed the mouth of Charlotte Harbor and saw a few boats.  The current coming in was a bit stiff, but the depth of the water was sufficient, we didn't have to worry about being blown too far off course.

Just ran across these pictures from the past few days from Caroline McDonald.  She was always taking pictures!

Night Shot from our anchorage that first night at Merritt Island (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Just one of me trying to figure out how to make this thing go straight.  We were in the locks at Port Canaveral! (Caroline McDonald Photo)

The Locks into and out of Port Canaveral (Caroline McDonald Photo)

The Okeechobee Waterway (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Night Shot of Sea N' Stars at Roland Martin's Landing just off the South End of Lake Okeechobee (Caroline McDonald Photo)

Due to the late start, we didn't get as far north as we wanted, and stopped as we passed Stump Pass Marina, in Englewood, Fl.  We called as we were passing by, realizing we weren't going to get much farther north than here prior to sunset.  We were warned with the outgoing tide, the depth could be an issue, so we inched our way into the marina to the fuel dock, as we sure weren't going to get inside the docks!

http://www.stumppassmarina.net/p7-fuel-boat-marine-diesel-stump-pass-marina-full-service-englewood-fl.html

It was close, we had about 1/2 a foot below us, but we were able to get in.  The interesting thing will be in the morning when we leave!!

We had problems with the generator shutting down today.  Warren thinks it is the fuel pump.  We were able to order one from the service department here at the marina, and by 5pm, we had a new pump and $125.00 less in our pockets.  It only took about 15 minutes to change the pump.  Now we keep our fingers crossed we found the problem.

Dinner at the Stump Pass Grille this evening.  Not bad!!

So we should be in Clearwater tomorrow.  Meet us there!

Roland Martin - Ft Myers

9 December, 2014

We left Roland Martin Marina, at the south end of Lake Okeechobee enroute for Fort Myers, Fl.  We were out by 0630, through the lock onto the Waterway headed west.  The water on the lake yesterday was excellent - so was the temperature

Coming across the lake, the generator (genset) gave up the ghost, and we spent the rest of yesterday without AC power.  That meant the refrigerator, freezers, and cabin heaters weren't working until we arrived at the marina.  Warren was troubleshooting the system and found the ground wire was a bit loose.  After tightening that down, the genset ran.  Simple fix!  Voila'

When we left this morning, the gentleman who threw our lines asked which way we were heading.  When we told him westbound, he said that was good, as the lake was scheduled to have 3-5 foot waves.  Guess we got lucky enough to find the one day to make the crossing!

The water is very smooth, and westbound is the same as the east side of the Okeechobee Waterway, except for the oxbows that lead off to the north and south.  This is a meandering route!

The trip has pretty much been uneventful.  The ladies are having a great time

Warren is about as happy as he could be!

This afternoon, the temp began to drop into the low 60's with winds building.  The autopilot is active only in the upper station.  I finally decided to see what it would be like to pilot the boat from the lower station.  The autopilot went into standby, and I moved below to get out of the cold and wind.  That lasted only about an hour, as I was steering manually.  Boy am I glad I went ahead and purchased and installed the autopilot!!

We got into the Fort Myers Yacht Basin just at sunset.  We were able to get docked and refueled before the marina closed down.  Renne' has an appointment in the morning to talk with the marina store about stocking her books.  So we won't get out early tomorrow.  May not make Venice as I would like.

In the meantime, come on down to the docks this evening for Sundowners!  Look forward to seeing you.  We are easy to find!  Just watch for the dachshunds on the deck!

J&R

Work Order

When Renne' and I decided to purchase this trawler, to be honest with you, I was very much less than enthusiastic about the idea.

I had never spent time on a trawler, and consequently, never been at the helm with twin screws.  Of course we took the boat out on a sea trial prior to our purchase, and the broker was kind enough to spend time showing us the ins and outs of the "pleasures" of having twin screws rather than a single!  Out in the middle of Port Canaveral, I played with the systems and then Renne' got into the act.  It was very different.

Under normal circumstances, Renne' handles the helm of the sailboat, while I handle the dock lines and anchor detail.  She is actually better than I at doing that.  Our friend and very successful recording artist, Kelly McGuire, recorded a song a few years ago called "Woman Behind The Helm" with her in mind and that idea in mind as a matter of fact.  I have never understood why men are the ones at the helm and women are out throwing lines and trying to retrieve the anchor.  I know a woman who lost a finger in the anchor windlass.  I just think, for the most part, men are more adept for doing that!

http://redfishisland.com/audio/kingoftheisland/8WomanBehindtheWheel.mp3

(This is Kelly receiving Album of the Year for the Texas Songwriters Association)

So here was our challenge.  Renne' underwent shoulder surgery this past Fall, and I knew we weren't going to be able to manage this trip by ourselves.  First, I barely knew enough to make me really dangerous at the helm, and Renne' knew less than I did.  Therefore, Renne's position would be down at the anchor windlass or tossing lines to the docks if we had assistance, and scrambling down to the dock to tie lines if we didn't.  That wasn't going to work!!

The other, is, the engine in the sailboat is a small 54 horse Yanmar.  Simple in it's approach, and pretty easy to maintain.  The Generator, or Genset, sits just above the engine, and although it can be a pain to get to, I can reach 95% of all the engine and Genset without a great deal of difficulty.

This trawler has an actual engine room!

With two 135hp diesels.  They are Ford-Lehmans, which is the brand I preferred in a trawler, as they are pretty economical, but they are different than the sailboat, and I had NO idea what to do with them other than to feed them oil, coolant, and transmission fluid.  They are HUGE compared to the Yanmar.  Needless to say, I was apprehensive - not ready to make this step toward no sails!

Another issue was the fuel.  Renne' and I had just completed our trip north from Key West to Annapolis and Maryland!  We had had difficulties with the sailboat's fuel system all the way up and back. I think we ended up changing filters like the one below at least 15 times over the 5 months we were out.  Notice all the black sludge on the top!

I could see the same issue on the trawler, but not having any idea how old the fuel was, or what condition it was in, I could see being in the middle of the ICW, or more technically difficult, out in open water moving the boat north across the Gulf of Mexico enroute from Tampa Bay to Appalachacola, Florida, and an engine - or two - shutting down for fuel issues.  Then running down, working my 210lb body around the air conditioner and the engine,

stretching at full length to open the RACOR filter housings, spill fuel, pull the clogged filters out, spill more fuel, get black crud all over everything, put the filters into Zip-Loks, put the new filters in the housing, fill the filter with fuel, and then bleed the engine to get it started again.  All this time, worried about the huge barges and tugs one routinely runs across in the ICW!

And then do the other engine exactly the same way! Did I say I was rather apprehensive?

So the first big items I bought for the boat were rather large, rather commercial looking fuel filters from Gulf Coast Filters that had to be installed.

This included mounting the filters on risers that would withstand major map-treatment from waves and weather,

cutting into the fuel lines and installing inflow and outflow shutoff valves,

then filling them each with the 1.5 gallons of diesel fuel, and bleeding the engines so they would function.  I wanted the HUMONGOUS fuel filters to clog up before the little-tiny Racor filters I am accustomed to.  As a matter of fact, with the big filters in place, I removed the Racor filters, and fuel just flows through the housings now.

Jensen Beach to Okeechobee

12/08/2014 - Departed Jensen Beach this morning with Caroline sicker than a dog.  So she will remain in bed or cuddled up with a cup of tea all day long.  As we left the anchorage, the fog was so thick we could see only about 1000 yards ahead.  The winds were calm and temps in the low 60's.  We are thankful we have a chart plotter, radar, and AIS (which identifies commercial boats by name, speed, and location, and recreational boats if they have transponders aboard).

We made the turn west and then north onto the Okeechobee Waterway,  but found the chart plotter way off.  We were able to see the markers on radar as we were unable to see many of them visually, but our location on the chart plotter appeared to be 30 or so yards off of our selected path.

We had an interesting time when we arrived at the St. Lucie Locks at the St. Lucie South Recreation Area.

This is the largest rise in a lock I have ever experienced.  The water level rose 14' to the level of the Okeechobee.  It was impressive!

From here to Port Mayaca, on the East entrance to Lake Okeechobee, where we encountered our next lock, the waterway reminded us of the inland waterways and canals we traveled through North and South Carolina on the way north to Annapolis earlier this year.

 North Carolina (Sailboat)

Okeechobee Waterway (Trawler)

At Port Mayaca, we passed right through the open locks and into Lake Okeechobee.  By the afternoon, the temps had begun to drop into the low 60's again.  As Warren and I spent most of the day on the upper deck exposed to weather, we were dressed warmly and the ladies would make a quick trip out to make sure we were doing okay!

Of course, with two dachshunds on board, getting them ashore was a challenge.  You don't call this part of Florida Alligator Alley for no reason.  So the dogs either held it, or wandered around the foredeck looking for relief!  Actually from here a, most of the way to Houston was a challenge as the North end of the Gulf Of Mexico suffers from the same issue.

We finally docked at Roland Martin's Marina on the south side of the Okeechobee after an excellent crossing of the lake.

I didn't realize that Lake Okeechobee is the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the United States surrounded by US territory.  When we spoke with the DockMaster, he said that yesterday the lake had been 5-7 foot waves - Whew, that wouldn't have worked for us.

So stop by the boat tonite.  We aren't hard to find.  Come join us for Sundowners - oops, the sun has already set.  We only have 10 hours a day of travel as we won't do the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) after dark.  It is getting cold tonite!