There are Rules

Found this link off Cruiser's Net. It's about the state of the anchorage in St. Augustine, and a public meeting about the issue.

Quote:

Among the plan’s goals are a management system determining where boats may anchor safely, requiring that live-aboard vessels properly dispose of waste, addressing the issue of derelict boats, and ultimately encouraging responsible boating and increased public accessibility to the water.

I'm not a big fan of rules and regulations. And I'm sure that whatever the government officials decide, will make it more of a hassle to visit St. A. (Hey, they already charge $10/day for their dinghy dock.)

But I agree that they have to do something. It's just out of control with the number of boats that have been "parked" there. It's unfortunate that the St. Augustine sailing community couldn't find a way to police themselves.

Fear

I awoke this morning expecting to do a 60 mile jaunt down to Daytona Beach. The wind was still blowing hard, but the weather service predicted that it would abate. I read a comment from Bill that it would be a better decision to go on the inside. I motored out of Salt Run and past the St. Augustine inlet. The wind was still blowing hard and I could see breakers out in the ocean. I decided to stay on the inside.

It was a decision I soon regretted. I don't blame anyone but myself. I'm the captain and take responsibility for my decisions. I've made good ones and bad ones. But the one's I've regretted, are the ones I've made out of fear.

I don't regret taking the boat across Mobjack Bay in November and destroying the rudder. The boat and I are both stronger for it. Well, at least the boat is, with the new rudders. However, I wouldn't take the boat out in those conditions again.

I'm writing this while sitting in Matanzas Inlet, after only making a few miles today, a lot of it under motor. There's a nice gentle breeze blowing, and I long to be out on the ocean right now. Instead tomorrow, I have a 25 mile motor through the ditch to the next anchorage.

I'm not angry about it. Just resigned. And I've promised myself that if I find a good weather window, in the future I will take it to sail. I promise that there will be a s*** load of sailing on the way back north.

Pic is a fish I caught today. It's the first fish I've caught on this trip. At least I can console myself with that. Also, I did work some bugs out of the stripped down Nautig. I think my heading should be displayed correctly, and the sailboat icon should move along as my position changes. These are things that I could only work on while underway.

Poet Laureate

On the occasion of our sail from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach, our resident Poet Laureate Buffy has written a few haikus.

Like any good vessel
I am easy to handle
If the wind blows right.

On frigid mornings
Grampa is the hero
as propane burns bright.

Our Captain Glad,
as a superhero should,
looks great in spandex.

One more sleepless night
Strong winds blow. Looks like we need
another anchor.


And Buffy says I can add the limerick that I wrote in response to her first poem.

There was a good girl from Yar
You could sail with her fast and far
She was easy to handle
Bright as a candle
And in her bikini she was the star.

Come Sail Away

I've been working on a rewrite of NautiG. The present version has become a bit bulky and slow. I've got a stripped down, simplified version in the sidebar now. If you click on "Enlarge", it will take you to a version where you can zoom in and see gps info. I wanted to get something up there for tomorrow's sail.

Tomorrow we're going to Daytona Beach. It's a long way. 60 miles or so. It will be a personal distance record. I imagine we'll reach Daytona sometime on Friday. There are no inlets along the way, so if we anchor it will be in the ocean. Winds tomorrow are predicted northerly 10-15 knots.

I'll try to keep the gps and webcam online. But if they aren't, don't worry. I'm fine. Hope you enjoy the ride!

Triathlon

Moved over to a St. Augustine anchorage in Salt Run. This place is much more my speed. The beach is yards away. This morning I kayaked ashore, did a morning jog on the beach, and then a swim in the ocean (in my Captain Glad Outfit).

There's a public boat ramp where later I went ashore on the town side and picked up some supplies. Boat ramps have been a real godsend on this trip. With my draft, I can often tie up to offload my bike or weather a blow. I should have been here and done that earlier. I could have easily biked to downtown St. A for any adventures. Today, I kayaked over and some nice folks at the yacht club let me fill up some water jugs.

Per Grampa's comment on the last post, there has been some brief wicked wind today. More is coming soon. Maybe I'll see a tornado. I'm tied up to a mooring, and I have my new anchor out.

Pic is a dead manta ray. I encountered one every hundred yards or so along the beach this morning. Not sure what that's about.

Dirty Laundry

It's now been nearly a month since I've paid for a night at a marina. Marinas are expensive on a nightly basis. They generally cost $1.50-$2.00 a foot. My boat is 30 foot long, so you do the math. Some folks have suggested that I'd run into hassles with the beam (width) of a catamaran, and needing a larger slip. But I haven't had any problem. My Gemini only has a 14 foot beam and if I were hassled, I'd just go to the next marina.

You don't get much of a price break for staying at a marina for a week. Three weeks on the hook, and a week at a marina would be ideal for me, but it's too expensive. You do get a pretty good break for a month's stay. It's only slightly more expensive than spending a week. Staying in Hilton Head for a month was about the cost of rent on a studio apartment in Fells Point.

But anyway, being on the hook for an extended period of time leads to a lot of issues that on land you take for granted. Among them are drinking water, sewage and laundry. I'll address drinking water and sewage later. They deserve their own posts.

I tried doing some laundry at anchor. Pic is my socks drying. I haven't perfected the process yet. I may still stink, but there is no one aboard to complain about it.

Rescue

YouTube video of the rescue of the sailors mentioned earlier:



Baltimore Sun Story
Sailnet Forum Discussion

3/1/08 additional video added.

Captain Sunshine

It's warm and sunny here. Though with a cool breeze off the water, it's still comfortable.

What the Sea Giveth...

A strong blow and some rain came through the anchorage last night. The wake up call sent me on deck to check that everything was secure. Unfortunately, we had dragged anchor and were only a few yards from another boat. I decided to raise the anchor, let the wind push us past the boat, and then try to reset. The pic is what I found when I raised the anchor. I figured that we'd snagged a crab pot, but I kept pulling on the tangled line and raised a chain and then a pretty nice anchor. I'd snap a pic of the new anchor, but it's presently holding the boat.

I'd deduct one anchor from the "Lost to the Sea" sidebar (the total had been four anchors), but I can't find that sidebar element. I don't remember deleting it. Maybe I'll add another sidebar "Lost to the Internet." I'd have to put on that list, huge amounts of time.

Earlier in the trip, weighing anchor at 3:30 am would have put an end to a night's sleep. I'd now be writing you from a sleep deprived trance. But I've gotten pretty good at putting myself back asleep after middle of the night physical activity. I've perfected my own method of "counting sheep."

Here's another reminder why I'm a coastal, not blue water cruiser.

Riding on the Wind

My schedule is firming up. Until now, my rudder situation, newness to cruising, the boat and the southeast coast made my schedule a little indefinite. Friends would ask, "Where are you going to be on such and such date?" My answer would be, I don't know. Now my schedule looks like:

3/3-3/7 :: Fred aboard for Bike Week in Daytona
3/11 :: Cape Canaveral for Shuttle Launch
3/14-3/21 :: Muffy aboard in Central FL
April :: Head North
May :: Marina in Baltimore/visit Muffy in NYC one last time
June :: Chesapeake to Martha's Vineyard with Muffy aboard
July :: NE Cruising
August :: Mass to Chesapeake
Sept :: Richmond

It's a packed schedule. And I am a little bummed that I won't make the Bahamas this time around, but what are you going to do?

Grampa sends this link which appears to be a "webcam" pic of Pluto aboard a space mission which I believe Grampa worked on.

Ross sends this link to a "plane" which might be helpful for fishing while sailing. I've been unsuccessful fishing thus far. Mostly because I've been motoring at speeds of 5 knots or so, and the lure tends to ride on the surface at that speed. I'm hopeful now that things are settling on the boat, that I'll have more luck on a slow overnight passage.

Also, I know people like to email me stuff, but I'll again encourage folks, that as long as the information isn't personal, too inflammatory or completely off topic, to post in the comments section. I've received some pretty funny/informative emails which I think others would enjoy reading. I'll reiterate my invitations to Amy and Grampa, and extend the invitation to Bill and Ross, to guest blog. I have no problem handing the wheel off to others. Ross, maybe you'd like to do a blog post about fishing? Bill, marine electronics?

A Penny Saved...

Muffy sent me this today. I wasn't sure why. But apparently she felt some guilt for clicking frivolously on the blog ads. For the record, the ads have generated $14.72 since I started the blog, and have been clicked on 35 times. I don't think I'm going to become a millionaire off google ads. However, I do find it amusing how the ads change, depending on the contents of my postings. For that reason alone, I'll leave them on the blog.

Pic is my generator, which I disassembled and cleaned yesterday. You can even see the piston sticking out from the removed head. It's running a little better now. I can run it with the choke half open, instead of completely closed. Its got a new spark plug, but I swear the problem has got to be the carburetor. I just haven't been able to figure it out. Even after cleaning it and adjusting all the intake screws.

Gotta Keep Them Separated

Anon and Ross have given me some good advice on batteries and a few other things. You guys will be happy to know that I separated my starter and deep cycle batteries today.

A starter battery is designed like the one in your car. An engine starter needs a lot of power in a short period of time to get the engine started. A deep cycle battery is meant to trickle out lesser amounts of power over a longer period of time. Don't ask me the engineering or physics/chemistry involved. I don't know. Maybe someone else can answer that question.

But apparently it's important to separate the batteries. Because they are differently purposed and sized, having them connected can lead to overcharging. In my experience, the water in the smaller starter battery boiled off over the course of a couple months. I was beginning to have troubles with starting the engine, and keeping other devices like my computer charged throughout the day.

The WTF is that there is a battery selector switch on the boat. But it was installed incorrectly so that you could select either both or neither battery. It reminded me of the plumbing on the boat. There is a y-valve that is to divert sewage either overboard, or to a holding tank. It was installed incorrectly, so that sewage could only be fed overboard, or nowhere at all.

St. Augustine

So I've been here a few days. Thought I'd give my initial impression of the place. I'm not that impressed.

Amy suggests that I'd be enjoying myself more if she were here. She seems to really like the place, and it's true that I'd have more fun if I had a partner in crime. I think part of my problem is perspective.

Yah, there is some nice architecture. The weather is for the most part nice (we just had thunderstorms pass through). There's an old fort, some streets with touristy shops, bars and restaurants. I can see that from the right perspective, someone might find the place charming.

But the place reminds me a little too much of home. I had all this crap at my doorstep in Fells Point and Baltimore. I didn't come a thousand miles for this (besides the nice weather in February).

What I would like, is a decent anchorage. I'd also like a dingy dock that didn't cost ten dollars a day for access. Most public docks are free, or cost a couple dollars a day for access. I'd like it if the power-boaters weren't such aholes. They're doing renovations on the bridge here. I even heard a construction worker on the radio chastise a power-boater for his wake.

I'd also like it if Sailors' Exchange were open. But it's not. I'd trade all the t-shirt and knick-knack boutiques for a decent, independent marine store.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I'm just getting crotchety in my old age.

Another One Bites the Dust

Installed the other new rudder cage this morning. The old one didn't go easy. I had to tear it apart, to free its death grip on the hull. It was holding on for dear life, as if to say, "It wasn't me. It was the other guy." But it had to go too.

I used my cordless drill and hole-saw bit to cut into the fiberglass. It's not the tool I wanted, but the one I had. There are a lot of tools I wish I had on the boat, but are sitting in my basement in Baltimore instead. When I was packing to leave, I thought, "What use will a saber-saw or hammer be on a boat?" Turns out they'd have been plenty useful.

A Miracle

The boat has been cured of it's affliction, and can sail again. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, and all the time I had on my hands yesterday. Now, when I turn the wheel, the boat turns in that direction. Previously, when I turned the wheel, the boat might some time later turn in that direction, or depending on the wind and waves, might turn in the other direction.

Electrical problems seem banished as well, despite fears that the low fluid level in the starter battery ruined it. The batteries hold a charge for much longer, and the starter worked consistently.

The engine is giving me a little trouble. It's always a little cranky (pardon the pun), when it hasn't been run for a few days. I decided that adjusting the idle speed screw would solve the problem of stalling while idling. But when I tried to turn it, the head broke off.

Also, I don't know what to do with the NWS predictions. They seem almost useless. Yesterday, they were calling for Northerly 15-20 knot winds in the morning, diminishing to 10 knots in the afternoon. Instead, the wind blew hard from about 8-9 am, then died. I motored most of the way down the coast, until the wind picked up a little from the East, and I was able to sail for about an hour.

Tomorrow We Set Sail

Here's a little something to get you in the mood. The webcam hopefully won't be as exciting as this. Winds are predicted Northerly 10-15 knots in the morning, diminishing to 5-10 knots in the afternoon. We should make Jacksonville.

Reminds me of sailing my sunfish when I was a kid. Although I never went that fast. I had a lot of fun sailing it, until Grampa burned it to the ground.

We Can Make It Better, Faster, Stronger

Installed one of Andy's old rudder cages from his Gemini Floridaze. I'm waiting to install the other until I test this one out. As we all know, it usually takes me at least two tries to get a repair right. But the installation went smoother than expected, and the rudder looks pretty stable for the time being. There are some issues which remain, mostly stemming from the fact that my fittings and push rods are not in the same location as on newer Geminis. I also need to replace the connecting rod which is bent and corroded. There's a store in St. Augustine that I've heard is pretty cool. Maybe I can pick up some useful parts there.

Old busted rudder cage which soon will be heading to the dump:

Electric

I've been having some electrical problems. Nothing major, just my batteries weren't holding a charge well. I've been running my generator at least once a day, and sometimes twice a day. When I first left Baltimore, I only had to run it about every other day.

For those curious about my electrical setup, here it is. The pic is a cheapo two cycle, one cylinder, pull start generator bought online from Northern Tools. It's not the most environmentally friendly solution. I'd like to get some solar panels too, but that's still in the offing. A lot of sailboats have a diesel engine with an alternator which charges the batteries, just like a car. My outboard engine does not charge the batteries.

Recently, the generator has only been able to run with the choke closed. I disassembled and cleaned the carburetor this morning, but there doesn't seem to be much improvement.

The generator outputs alternating current to a 10/20/40 amp battery charger attached to two marine batteries: one deep cycle and one starter battery. I cleaned the battery terminal connections and coated them with vaseline. I checked the battery fluid levels. The starter battery was low. I poured almost a half gallon of distilled water into it. I'm hoping the low fluid was the main source of my electrical troubles. You may remember that I was having intermittent problems with my engine starter. I bet this will cure that problem too.

The batteries run a bunch of 12 volt lights, pumps and instruments. I also have a power inverter into which I plug a surge suppressor. The computer, cellphone, etc plug into the surge suppressor.

Most of my appliances, like the laptop, run off direct current from internal batteries. My sailboat electrical setup seems a pretty convoluted system for charging them. I imagine a lot of energy gets wasted in all the conversions between direct and alternating current, and between chemical and electrical energy. But I don't know of a simpler system.

Moorings

As mentioned, I took a mooring the other day. I wasn't sure how this would work out. A mooring is usually a sunken piece of cement with a line/chain and buoy attached. It's more stable than an anchor. It's hard to drag a mooring. But I wasn't sure how I would motor up to the mooring and snag it singlehanded. Turned out not to be a big deal. I just motored along side, grabbed it from the cockpit with a boat hook, and tied off on a stern cleat. After we were settled, I transferred it to the bow.

In other news, Muffy's flying down for Spring Break. We'll be cruising around the Cocoa Beach area. No Hilton Head marina for Stuffy Muffy this time. She's demanding a new nickname for this trip, seeing as how she will be roughing it on the boat. Any suggestions? Also, I think there is another shuttle launch scheduled for early March. If true, I should make this one.

In the News

Abandoned anchor cut Gulf Internet cable

By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 8, 2:24 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt - An abandoned anchor was responsible for cutting one of the undersea Internet cables severed last week, causing disruptions across the Middle East and parts of Asia, the cable's owner said Friday.
more

I swear I wasn't anywhere near there, so I'm not responsible. In other news, rudder cages are on a UPS truck on their way to Fernandina Beach. Delivery is scheduled for Monday. Thanks Andy!

Gone Fishin'

I bought a new fishing pole at Walmart today. I'll be sure to post a pic when I catch my first fish with the rig. I should have gotten someone to take a picture of me riding my bicycle with a backpack filled with groceries and the pole bungied to the bike. It was quite a sight.

I kayaked back to the boat with all my purchases. There was barely room for me in the boat. And my two loaves of bread got pretty squished.

Fernandina Beach, FL

Took the boat into the Fernandina Beach Marina for a few hours today. I paid for one of their moorings for the night. Not because I wanted the mooring, but because I wanted to use their facilities. I dumped my garbage, pumped out my poo, filled my water tanks, took a shower, did my laundry and went shopping.

A note about laundry. This is the second marina I've been to where the washing machine is fed with cold water only. Please. Is hot water really so expensive? Pulling this move marks the marina as nothing more than a cheap ass, second rate marina. And trust me, you aren't saving any money off of me. I just go to the shower next door, fill a five gallon bucket with hot water, and pour it into the washer. If I weren't so environmentally conscious, I have half a mind to turn on all the showers and leave, the next time I'm at some lame ass marina that pulls this stunt.

Fernandina is an interesting place. Coming in the inlet, Amelia Island is really pretty. There are sand dunes and a nineteenth century fort. Old town Fernandina, where the city marina is located, is a few blocks of old buildings filled with touristy shops. The streets are filled with senior citizens. You're unlikely to see more than a few people under 60. On the waterfront flanking old town, are two factories. When I arrived, they were emitting an ungodly amount of smoke, noise and stink. They've calmed down now. But earlier in the week I was in awe of the amount of pollution they were spewing. And I'm from Baltimore, for Christ's sake.

I biked out to a convenience store and saw the truck in the picture for sale. I was tempted to buy it, but I don't know where it would fit on the boat. Besides, the salt water would probably corrode it.

gpsBabel

Pic is of my gps. As you might have surmised from the pic, it is no longer functional. I left it outside for a long time. I thought it would be ok, because it appeared to be a sealed unit. I was mistaken. It has a lot of rust and worked intermittently until it died. I tried to clean the rust, and tried soldering a rusted spot or two. No luck.

Fortunately, back in Baltimore Glen's Fred loaned me a handheld gps. (Everyone should have a Fred. Glen has his, and I have mine. They're quite handy.) Unfortunately, the gps Fred loaned me is a garmin etrex. Garmin, in its great wisdom, has decided that the open standard for gps does not apply to them. To hell with the nmea standard and com ports. (I know this is gibberish to most readers, but trust me, these are important for getting autopilots, gps, compasses, and other marine electronics to work together.)

Anyway, I found some open source software, GpsBabel, with which I was able to convert the proprietary rubbish from the garmin into something useful. GpsBabel is not the most user friendly software. The documentation is lacking. But if you are patient and persistent, you may find it helpful in translating the output of your gps into a language you can understand and use.

Saltier Every Day

I finished my first overnight sea passage yesterday afternoon. Amazingly, nothing broke and no one got hurt or seasick. So this is going to be a very boring post. The lack of excitement was likely due to my choice of weather window. Nothing more than 5-10 knot winds were called for. I've been the victim of bad weather predictions more than once. Most recently, on my first day out of Hilton Head when the NWS called for northerly 10-15 knot winds. Those winds turned out to be easterly and more like 15-20. The swells built up quite large on the long fetch across the ocean that day.

I figured that if the weekend weather predictions were wrong, I'd either be motoring down the coast in no wind, or having a speedy sail in 10-15 knot wind. I didn't think the NWS could get it so wrong that I'd be caught in a gale. As it was, they were pretty much on target and we proceeded down the coast at about walking pace. As Ross mentioned in the comments, this would have been ideal conditions for some fishing, but alas my pole is broken.

I left Sapelo Sound at dawn on Saturday and sailed until about 7pm. I tossed out an anchor in about 15 ft depths and slept for a few hours. I awoke around 11, had coffee and sailed from 12-4 am. The stars were pretty on a moonless night and I saw a few shooting stars. Anchored and slept a few more hours, then sailed until reaching Florida in the afternoon.

Most singlehanders would have had their autopilot running and sailed through the night, taking cat naps. My boat still requires active steering, and besides, I felt a lot safer anchored in shallow water while I slept. There's little chance of being run over by a freighter in 15 foot of water.

Pic is of the beer coozies I was given in Hilton Head. The dockmaster must have thought that I would be drinking a lot of beer and needing a tow. Neither was the case this weekend, as I ran out of beer earlier in the week.

Empty Pantry

It's been a week since I've been anywhere near a grocery store. I hopefully took my wallet ashore when I tied up at Barbour Island, GA. Unfortunately, there are no roads or stores on the island. Just a bunch of houses and a grass airstrip. Bill and Sandy, whose dock I was invited to tie up at, provided me with 30 amp electric, water and fresh citrus. I stayed there two nights while waiting for winds to calm. I'm presently on a two day passage off Georgia. I just woke from a three hour nap and am about to do some night sailing. Should kiss Florida by Super Bowl kickoff.