Friday!

Welcome to a glorious Friday!

Temps have finally inched above 6o degrees, and the sun is splashing the outside with warming sustenance.

I have swapped cats in the sunroom, so the Siamese will have to stay in the shade and allow Hyacinth Bucket a chance to thaw.

Hyacinth is probably ready for some boat action. This is how she would look if she was human:



Some gratuitous nudity:
Hobie sailing off of Mayport and having dolphins visit.

Beach shot of Hobie number 2.


Anything depicting a seashore is invigorating.

I hope my two readers have a great weekend!

Thirsty for adventure Thursdays

Winter is still present and accounted for in North Florida. Temps are still in the teens at night, and merely cold in the day.

Won't stop me. I see a weekend on the Barco approaching, and we have heating if we need it. No worries on the ice maker, I don't suppose it has come on in a week.

I ran into a pack of boat vagrants at the Moon River Pizza, Wednesday. We pretended not to notice them, but they came up to force us to acknowledge them. Feeling sorry for us "non-cruisers". I asked if they would be leaving anytime soon... Of course, they said "We're off to the Abaco's, this weekend!"

Bastards.
http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/abacos

I wouldn't mind a little two week jaunt to the Bahamas. I would probably head down the coast, perhaps the Intracoastal if the winds were busy, to Daytona. Stay the night at the Halifax River Yacht Club http://www.hryc.com/. Halifax is a very nice club with a wonderful dining room and a great little Marina. They are just to the North of Daytona's city marina.


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Depart at 0-Dark-Thirty the next morning. Head South through the "Haulover Cut" at Cape Canaveral. But go slow; there are hundreds of Manatees in the lagoon by the drawbridge! All right, I'm fibbing about 'hundreds'. Tens.

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Gotta love Google Maps! A mariner can really plan a journey with the great tools available on the web.

After clearing the Cut, the next delay will be on the Nasa Causeway. They stay closed during commute times, so stay flexible and bring a snack.
This boat caught an opening.

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So, now we buster as quick as possible down the Indian River. We have to make Eau Gallie for our next RON! (Remain Over Night)

So we would arrive at Eau Gallie. http://www.egyachtclub.com/fw/main/Home-1.html
Not quite as nice as Halifax River, but great location. Fuel is about a hundred yards away. There are stores within walking distance to reprovision the larder.

Underway before sunup, we should be able to make Fort Pierce by late afternoon.
Once at Fort Pierce, choices can be made. You can anchor in a snug little lagoon, or pay the big bucks to one of the marinas that specialize in boats heading south.

We would be at a point to consider going off shore for the next stop, West Palm. South of Fort Pierce is the land of Burt Reynolds and Greg Norman. The Intracoastal gets narrow and the millionaires don't like us going too fast or stay too long in their private waterway. I prefer offshore.

Once you get to West Palm, Lake Worth is a nice place to spend the night. Go to Singer Island Marina to see various art shows and just the hubbub of big time fishing boats. Under the docks, which are lighted, you can see huge fish taunting the wannabee fishermen.

Then the fun begins!

I would do a good study of the weather coming up. One would not want to get under way with the winds coming from the South. Big. Fargin. Swells. in the Gulftream. Same if the winds are from the North. Only steep and squared. Doubleplusungood.

Ideally, winds from the West or East. (Generally, the winds will come from a more South-easterly direction, which is still good).

Set your GPS with proper waypoints, which I will not give out. I ain't takin' blame for someone hitting a hard bit! Be sure to check those waypoints with someone else. It is too easy to reverse digits, and cause yourself to run into a nasty bit of coral. Oh, don't forget to bring a "Bahama's Cruising Guide"! Good info with detailed maps for entring marinas and coves.

Pick a good time to depart (I like nighttime passages) and go. Grand Bahama island is about sixty miles away, figure 12 hours for a sailboat making an average of five knots.

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Anyone up for a trip?

Start of a new era

Well,
What can I say. The thought of the day is our new President. I hope that our new President has all the luck and that he is successful.

Back to boating.

Mao Cat Actual


Key Biscayne

More sea stories, T.I.N.S

January 1994 Inport Castries, St Lucia.

FFG-55 with HSL-44 Det 3 Embarked. Better known as the World Famous Rod and Gun Club!

Fast forward to the past, 1994. Having spent all of 1993 in the Med, our good ship Elrod, FFG-55 (I think the name was Spanish for the 'Shaft', but I only heard that third hand) was dutifully embarked on a most important mission;

Showing the Flag at the island of Saint Lucia, helping the locals celebrate Independence Day. Our ship was the big guest along with the French Foreign Legion Detachment from across the way, based in Fort De France.

I had never been to St Lucia, before. The clear aquamarine waters brought a happiness to the soul, reggae to the ears and the availability of cheap rum and other island treats. Oh yes, we did indeed partake in the four dollar rum, Mount Gay flowed and we were definitely gonna be in our cups. Total badness!

Get this; We had to actually form up on an early Saturday and march in a parade. Three Quarters of the good ship's crew were mustered in whites and standing in the cricket field, near downtown Castries. I had been on Shore Patrol the night before, so I was not in any kind of hangover condition. But the Gent about two rows from me was feeling it, and he passed out flat on his face with a great thump. This was in grass, so no one was actually hurt, except for his pride and the new trousers he was a needin'. It was that bad.

After the parade (my first since MCRD San Diego) we made our way through the shopping district. After an afternoon of rum and bad barbecue, we repaired to the Mighty Elrod for revivifying naps. (Read: We passed out until the bus was scheduled to pick us up for a ride to someplace called "Rodney Bay.)

We show up at Rodney Bay, a little bay carved out of the North tip of a volcanic island. It was/is a yacht center with overpriced bars, foreign tourists and sailboats. By the way, you will hear of Rodney Bay, again.

I asked about boat rentals, and I was introduced to a fellow who owned the biggest bar, he was wanting us to charter his 75 foot Catamaran, with full bar. I told him that we were froma Frigate, not a CArrier. Our crew was about 200, not five thousand and we were essentially broke.

So he graciously allowed me to take this boat out, at NO charge.

Did I not say that things were getting better?


A Beneteau 39. Free, except a little "tip" for the local guide. I am wearing my "Green Parrot" bar t-shirt from Key West. It said, "See the lower keys on your hands and knees" on the back. I always act like I'm some sort of "cool" person. What a geek! http://www.greenparrot.com


We acquired a couple of cases of Piton beer, and we grabbed a few of the available shipmates from the 'Rod and off we went to sail down the island to the Piton's, about halfway down the island, along the western coast passing Castries and Marigot Bay. We made sure that everyone got a chance to steer the helm, while we worked up an incredible buzz on beer and life.


Some more of that "Hedonism"


Finally, back to Rodney Bay for gloating



I was startin' to really get better at this sailing thing! I'm glad to have found these pictures and pass on the story.

We returned to the ship with some great stories and some more beer. We had no cooler or fridge, and beer can't come aboard to get chilled, so we took matters into our own hands...

Be sure to use CO2 extinguishers. The powder stuff makes a tremendous mess...

Happy MLK Day!

There has to be nothing worse than working for a private business.

Back in the "bad ole days", us military types got every holiday imagineable off!

Nowadays, no such good deal. Gotta be at work (and yes, I am glad to be one of the lucky ones still working) and have to be ready to do for those still needing our office's services. Day after Christmas and New Year?

At the job. So it goes.

The past weekend was kinda cold, so we stayed onboard Barco on Saturday night. We were snug with the heaters doing the heating thing. I was having a final Sierra Nevada, and the Spousal Unit said, "You're done drinking beer today, huh?"

I agreed.

Shocking. I was actually not enthusiastic about wanting more beer.

Getting old before my time. Some days a person will actually run out of beer, but not this time. Beer will get you through times of no money, better than money will get you through times of no beer.

http://www.sailjax.com/

Sweetheart USO race is coming up for the NAS Jax Yacht Club, which will be held at the base. We might have to do this race with "White Lightnin'". But only if the weather is warm. I don't care for cold sailing. One does not volunteer for freezing.


You have to bundle up and the fingers never really perform as requested due to numbness. Plus, there is a lack of can-do because you might really want to scrunch up in a corner to save heat.

This is more like it:


Don't do this at home kids, only idiots sail bare-footed. It's a good way to lose toe's and literally your footing on deck. I saw a guy leap onto a dock barefooted, and get a two inch splinter in the big toe. Ruined. His. Entire. Fargin'. Weekend. This guy was about six foot three and an Ordnance Officer in the Navy, and I watched him cry like a little girl in pain from this little mishap. Of course, I'm not going to mention the infection and near loss of said toe a month later. I wear shoes when boating. But the picture is a fun looking one!

Back to cold weather sailing: The problem with cold weather is that the winds really blow hard, in cold weather. Nothing gentle about the back end of a cold front. I think the purpose of cold winds are to keep the dilletente's and poseur's off of the water, and leave them back home in front of the t.v. where they belong.

This is 'She Who will be obeyed' sailing White Lighnin' to victory, awhile back. (Ewe can still buy the sailboat for 6K!)




Have a great week.

Tall Tales Thursday

So I'm back on the early days kick, this because I saw some of the early photos.

The Spousal Unit and I really had some good times. This was from a sense of urgency that Military folks and their families regularly feel. You may only see your loved ones a day or week at a time. Navy folks will remember that we deploy at pleasure of those we serve.

My point is that out of the first five years of marriage, I was usually gone. Every day at home was to be lived to the fullest. As an aircrewman in a Navy helicopter squadron, there was a better chance than none that we would either be going or coming to some far off place. Some of my peers did not come home at all, so One just never knows so live it up when you can.

Live it up we did. A bottle of Mt Gay rum, two liter bottle of coke, limes, Jimmy Buffett or Bob Marley, friends, pour all into a sailboat and shake. Life was really good, when I was home!


When I returned from an almost seven month deployment on the Strike Trawler Deyo, along with the best welcome a Sailor could get, my loving Spouse showed me a little boat on the way home that would start us off for real on that sailing dream.

This Sovereign 7 Meter, built in 1979, was waiting on the side of Atlantic Blvd with a "For Sale" and the $7900 scratched out. Next to that was a $6900 and $5900 scratched out. $4900 American Beer Conversion Units could make this boat ours. We literally counted change from our large coke bottle (over 400 bucks!) and I had a paycheck or two on hand.



The deal was made for $4300.00 and I towed the boat home. It was like being a new father! I brought over a couple guys from the Detachment to show off the new boat. I reveled in the envy. Only problem was that I had to go back to sea the next week.

During the previous seven moths, I flew with a LCDR and a LT (usually on a Air Detachment, we had two complete aircrews and we would fly with the same three people routinely. Sometimes it was because of convenience or personalities meshing. The Officer in Charge was a "Born Again" type, and he preferred to fly with the other aircrewman, leaving me with my two buddies Steve and Lee flying, with me in the back.

Instead of constantly talking about girls, port visits, beer and the usual, we talked incessantly of boats and sailing. I had a video tape from MacGregor Boats, and we would come back from liberty beered up and would slap that puppy into the t.v. Once, we measured out the 26 feet of the MacGregor and taped the flight deck in the shape of a sailboat. We were jazzed on the idea of being on our own boat vice the Navy kind. I couldn't afford a new MacGregor 26, so I had to wing it.

Lee came back from that cruise and bought a 26 footer and I got the 23. Steve never did get a boat, his loving wife wouldn't let him. SO much for being a Lieutenant Commander with all of those priveleges and authority.


That was the first day in the water and was it was intoxicating, to actually have my own boat in the water. Life was exceedingly good!


Check out the torque on that tiller. I seriously had no idea how to trim sails or balance the helm. That, there is called "weather helm". But I looked really cool driving.

A few moments after after the previous picture, we learned about rounding up involuntarily. On minute heading north pulling a lot of strain keeping course, the boat tilted a little too far and VOILA! We were now heading on a sort of westerly course! So I had to look cool to my new bride, I snapped of a quick, "This thing tacks like a Yak"

Like I knew what had just happened.

What happened was the rudder had left the water and no longer was providing stabilization and a straight course so the boat turned into the wind that was driving us. Kind of a safety feature. Sorta not. But the Lord watches out for fools and drunks and I was the former.

She who will be obeyed coined the new name, "Wildebeest" which is in honor of the National Geographic films showing herds of Wildebeest' suddenly making 90 degree turns while in full gallop. Quite exciting...

That name was judged to be right and correct. And the Wildebeest promptly ran into a piling when I lost directional control while traversing the Doctors Inlet bridge. You can see the new custom bend in the bow pulpit in the next picture!

This a pic of our trip to the Mug Race in Palatka


My buddy from home, Rich, in his natural environment, usually towards front of boat with a smoke in hand.


The Mug Race of 1992



Great memories. This boat got me through five years of sea duty because each time I got out on the water, it was like a real holiday trip.

If you can, try out sailing. If you happen by Jacksonville, I can arrange it for you. 'White Lightnin' is a San Juan 28 which sail much, much better than the ol' Wildebeest. (P.S. You can buy 'White Lightnin' for 6K!)

But you have to buy the beer and snacks for the trip!

Sometimes, when a couple of boats are near each other, either a race or party begins. This photo shows our buddy Dave and his boat "Niagara", on a typical Saturday night. I took the photo and She who will be obeyed is the good looking one.




Have a great Navy day!

Barco Sin Vela Photo Changed

I changed the title picture because it looks more like a boat havin' fun. This boat is our previous
BarcoSinVela 2004-2008. It was a Marine Trader Sun Deck 40 with twin Cummins 210 diesels. It was a very nice boat and we traveled up and down the coast of Florida on board her. When we lived in Fort Lauderdale, we kept her on a dock at the condo we lived at, and loved to confound the old folks by going out on weekend trips to Elliot Key. (The condo commando's would grouse about the ruckus we would make when leaving or arriving--the elderly from NewYawkTaxachusettsNooJursey hate to see anyone having fun!)

We endured two nasty hurricanes with nary a scratch. It was a tough boat. She met her match last summer, when a 30 foot boat broke loose from her mooring and drifted into the Barco, causing her to sink.

Always keep your insurance active, and make sure you have agreed value coverage. Some company's will only give you what they consider "fair cash value". Talk to your Agent and make sure you know. The other feller had 100K in Property Damage coverage, so my insurance had to cover this little bit of undercoverage.

I love to learn lessons through someone else. First law of thermodynamics in the Navy: Flame on YOU is Flame off ME.



T-minus two days until the weekend, which of course means time to go boating!