Bobamala

Ahoy Mates!

It is believed that Friday is the worst day to start a journey and just maybe there’s something to that old sailor’s superstition. Our preparation was total, including a rig tuning, a new furling mainsail, as our original one was a bit stretched out.

On Saba, our 38 foot Hunter sailboat, we more than doubled our solar capacity to ensure comfort and plenty of power at anchorages. In addition, we accomplished the more mundane tasks of boat ownership such as waxing, waterproofing canvas and making sure all gear was ready, including a life raft and an “abandon ship bag” that we hope to never need.

After spending considerable time and resources to prepare for our Bahamas voyage, we were ready, the boat was ready and provisioned… so off we went. We slipped our lines from our dock at the Vinoy Marina in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at 0700 and slinked out of the harbor in a very light breeze. The light and unfavorable wind forced us to motor or motor sail through the entire 213 nautical mile trip to Marathon, Florida!

We arrived in Marathon very late on Saturday evening fighting headwinds on the way down… took 39 hrs. We were froced to slow down due to the wind, waves and fuel concerns.

Generally, it was a good run, but the increase in wind and sea state off of Boca Grande, Captiva and Sanibel was not predicted.  When we finally arrived at the 7 Mile Bridge at O-dark thirty, it was cloudy with no moon and black as pitch. We  gingerly attempted to pass between the piers of the old bridge and then under the  65 foot vertical clearance bridge and neither were lit! Approaching very slowly and even using a bright spotlight,  we just couldn’t see the bridge piers on either the old or new bridge. Knowing that it is bad form to crash into a solid concrete structure, we considered the alternatives.

So after travelling 39 hours, we anchored out at a never used but peaceful spot about 1 mile from the bridge and had a good nights rest in a surprisingly good makeshift anchorage.

We made our way under the bridge and over to the Marathon Marina in the morning on Sunday.

Fabulous Key Lime Pie at Lighthouse Grille

At the Marathon Marina we took on fuel which revealed that we only had 3 gallons left…that’s cutting it close! We are having a pleasant stay and had a mechanic come out to address the aft A/C which wasn’t cooling properly. Chris from Salt Marine arrived only one hour after we called on Monday and did a much more thorough job than I am accustomed to, the aft A/C is now working well after a 2 hour flush process and refrigerant adjustment. He gave it a good prognosis…may last a few more years.

We accomplished all we intended from our short 2 day stay and took a taxi to the Lighthouse Grille near the Hyatt in Marathon. This is where we started our “Key Lime Pie Tour” through the Keys in April and I wanted to savor the pie again. The pastry crust is unusual and marvelous!

We are planning on leaving tomorrow at 8 am and arriving at the West End of Grand Bahama on Wednesday morning. The weather looks very favorable for the Gulf Stream crossing, 5 – 10 kts wind from E to SE and less than 2 ft seas. Wow!!

We use several weather sources and countless charts and guides to aid our travels along with the usual electronic aids, such as GPS, Chartplotter and radar. Especially helpful is AIS or Automatic Identification System that aids in the identification on ships over 300 tons, a must have when crossing busy traffic lanes at night.

We left the Marina at 0800 and again had to motor sail against the East wind. When we left the protection of the Hawk Channel north of Key Largo we found that Marv lied. It was blowing 13 to 15 knots out of the Northeast! Thanks Marv. The seas were confused and buffeted us around for a few hours. As the evening progressed and the seas flattened to a more rythmic 2 to 3 feet, we picked up the Gulf Stream which added over 2 knots to our speed over ground.

Alternating watches through the night, as we always do, we made great progress. Robin had the first evening watch and performed admirably at keeping us on course although the Gulf Stream was pushing us 30 degrees off course. On my watches I encountered no less than 10 large tankers and/or cargo ships. I usually give the captain a call on the VHF radio to make sure he sees us and allow at least one mile for the closest point of approach.

As dawn arrived, I saw the western shore of Grand Bahama. Through the night the wind had moderated to 7 to 10 knots and the seas were a very kind 1 -2 feet. We prepared for landfall by taking down the jacklines that we use on deck to prevent an overboard mishap, hoisting the “Q” flag in preparation for customs and immigration and preparing lines and fenders for our tie up to the Customs Dock.

 

The West End is a very busy port with many visitors from Florida here for pleasure boating and fishing…me, I fish at Publix! Navigating though  Customs and Immigration took a relatively painless 20 minutes and a very painful parting of $300 in cash for a Cruising Permit, but you know me…I don’t complain!

We took our time to enjoy the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Yacht Harbor and relaxed on the grounds and by the pool… “Another Bahama Mama!”

Well, it’s time to prepare for a more relaxing kind of trip. From here on out we plan on sailing for the most part. We expect westerly winds tomorrow which should give us the opportunity for a great spinnaker run.

We’ll be anchoring out  over the next three nights until we reach Green Turtle Cay, where we’ll catch up with you again.

Until then, wish us fair winds and following seas.

Captain Bobby and the Admiral

 

 

 

 

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Ahoy Mates!

We have been planning our return to the “Islands in the Stream” since we visited last summer. Getting our modest Hunter 38 sailboat ready for this return trip was becoming part of a familiar routine: checking and repairing systems, bottom painting, rig tuning, engine maintenance, sail repair, hull and deck waxing, food and drink provisioning followed by finding a home for all of the clothes and stuff we are bringing. This trip we’ll have a brand new life raft aboard that we hope we’ll never need and I am bringing a full set of dive gear along with the snorkeling equipment and sartorials.

Needless to say there was quite a bit of preparation involved in planning a 36 day trip that will take us over 1300 nautical miles (that’s 1500 statute miles to landlubbers). Our Float Plan that we filed will take us to 19 destinations which is probably a bit ambitious, but will the final plan will be determined by wind, weather and our mood. Yacht Broker and writer Dom Degnon quips,   ” The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use”.

With a keen eye to the weather, which has been miserable in SW Florida for the past two weeks, the forecast from St. Petersburg to Marathon called for light to moderate wind at 6 to 12 knots out of the Southeast and 2 foot seas with occasional showers and thunderstorms. I’ll take it!! The longer range forecast for a Gulfstream crossing wasn’t quite as favorable, but it’s off to Marathon and we’ll check for a weather window then.

We cast off the lines at 0800 on Friday morning in flat calm and long awaited sunshine and motored out of the Vinoy Basin and bid St. Petersburg a fond adieu. Since I downloaded updates to my electronic charts and chartplotter we had to do a slow dance in Tampa Bay with our autopilot control in order to recalibrate it and avoid coming to grips with disaster.

Just two hours later we were under the Sunshine Skway Bridge soon to be heading South after we rounded Anna Maria Island. The weather was as predicted, but with the wind out of the Southeast and our heading of 150 the wind was on our nose for most of the trip. We unfurled a reefed main to steady the boat, but were very comfortable in 1-2 foot seas.

As the day passed, we dried out our wet docklines and went about our daily routines of monitoring weather, checking all systems periodically and meal preparation.

I discovered a leaky stuffing box due to a loose packing nut. Yes, I know it sounds like a nasty sexual reference, but I’ll address that later. We motorsailed on through the day, observed the expected sundown and began to settle in for some night sailing.

The 220 mile trip to Marathon travelling at about 6 knots will put us into Marathon at 8:00 pm just before sundown on Saturday. Most people seem to think that we tie up at a marina at night or perhaps anchor out and sleep. Well if we did that we wouldn’t travel very far in a day. We sail through the night by alternating watches every 3 hours so that we can cover about 140 miles per day. Night sailing on Friday was particularly wonderful and with the lack of total cloud cover the stars were out in force. Fabulous! Equally wonderful was that by using radar we were able to dodge the occasional storm clouds so were able to keep dry the entire way.

You know you’re in Marathon when you spot the Seven Mile Bridge. As you may know this bridge has been used in many films including “True Lies”. They shot the scene where there was a terrorist confrontation and vehicle conflagration, but I digress.  This older span was replaced by a new 65 foot fixed bridge, but looking up when you transit below it with a 62 foot mast is always a bit nervewracking. It always looks at though you’ll slam the stick into the bridge.

Robin brought us under the bridge without a problem and we turned for Boot Key Harbor in Marathon where I called ahead for a mooring. We choose this spot because of the 360 degree protection. There are over 200 moorings available and is geared for cruisers who may need supplies or marine services. In addition, there are full service marinas nearby. We picked up the mooring at 2000 (8:00 pm) and I got the grill ready for some Chicken Teriaki Kabobs. We relaxed with a libation and dinner and prepared for a lovely, peaceful and breezy sleep on a stable memory foam matress. AAAAHHHHH!!

The crucial parts of a successful trip are a worthy vessel, a competent  crew and settled weather. We have been following the weather daily for weeks and the current prognostication for the Marathon to Bahamas crossing has not changed significantly. It’s miserable! 20 knots of wind from the ESE and 5-6 foot seas. No Thank You!

Sunday morining, we decided to move the boat from the mooring, and on our way to the nearby Marathon Marina, fuel up at Burdine’s. We filled our tank and topped up what we transferred from the jerry cans on the trip and then tied up at slip 92 at the Marina. We expect the weather to improve on Wednesday when the winds will drop from 17 knots to 8 knots and seas from 5 feet to 3.

The day was overcast with heavy rain in the afternoon and more coming on Monday. Tuesday should be sunny, but windy with high seas. What a great time to address that leaky stuffing box! I promised an explanation. The prop shaft travels from the engine to the prop and passes through the hull. The stuffing box is what seals the gap between the shaft and hull and keeps the water out. If the stuffing box is loose, water rushes in and it could sink the boat. I know, it almost happened to me!

On a trip from Puerto Rico to Lauderdale traveling 20 miles north of Cuba on a Caliber 47, I went below to get a sandwich and found I was ankle deep in water!! That’ll get your attention. There were only two of us on board for this delivery, I called for my buddy Mats and he quickly diagnosed a problem with a blown suffing box and tended to it. As a very frightened man with a bucket, I became a very effective bilge pump. After 1/2 hour of frantic bailing we got the situation under control and then replaced the faulty bilge pump. Needless to say, I always monitor the stuffing box. Here you see Captain Bobby, the mechanic, tightening the aforemented equipment.

We have some other items to tend to while we wait for weather. Some are boat projects, some are not. Robin is voraciously reading and I am trading some of my open Stock Option positions. An options addict cannot stop cold turkey. As long as there is an internet connection, I’m in business!

Hopefully, our next post will be from Cat Cay in the Bahamas as we make our way to Nassau and beyond to the Exumas in the Central Bahamas.

Wish us fair winds and following seas,

Captain Bobby and the Commish