December 16, 2013

We were scheduled to be put back in the water Monday, December 2nd at 10:00, so we were standing by ready to help with the launch.  The travel lift finally had us in the water at 11:30,  Alex and Jesse, the 2 guys who operate the Travel lift, did such a great job we just stood by and watched till they had Time 2 Go tied to the dock.  In the afternoon we started some of the in-water work...we got the jib on, the dinghy in the water and tied to the boat, and test ran the engine.  

Tuesday Dave found out the raw water pump had oil leaking from the seal and he arranged to order a new pump.  We managed to get the main sail on and Dave did an oil change, before our day ended early.  Today was the date that one of the Thanksgiving week parties was rescheduled to, due to last week’s weather.  Tonight was the Wine Tasting Party, which besides for more wine then anybody really needed, there was a great meal and a really good band that played all the songs that we all could dance to.  The night ended with a grape stomping competition that neither of us had enough wine in us to want to participate in but was fun to watch.

The next morning we went into town for last minute errands and checked over the van prior to taking it to the storage yard.  In the afternoon the new raw water pump arrived and Dave installed it.  Today ended early as well because it was the second postponed party from Thanksgiving week.  Tonight was Reggae night, complete with a Caribbean meal, a keg of beer, a steel drum band, and later limbo dancing.  We made this an early night, as we were planning to leave in the morning.  

We took a bit of a ribbing about our destination as we were only going about 10 miles down the St.Lucie Canal to a campground and marina run by the Army Corp of Engineers.  This marina is similar to the one we stayed at last spring at the Franklin Lock, very quiet and peaceful.  We are still finding Tree Frogs on the boat at night, gave 4 the heave ho last night.  After one night we headed east again to Stuart and their mooring field.

Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage is a popular spot for people to stop and wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas.  There are good facilities at the marina for anyone staying there including laundry,  showers and a boaters lounge with decent WiFi.  Nearby there is a good selection of shopping, including a Publix grocery store within a short walk from the mooring field.   We were fortunate to be able to get a mooring ball.  Waiting for a weather window here isn’t as boring as it sounds at first.  The new outboard motor we brought down is a real treat... not having to wonder if it will start when we climb into the dinghy to go someplace, is wonderful.  There are quite a few of the people that we had met a Indiantown Marina here and we have been getting loads of suggestions about places to see when we get to the Abacos in the Bahamas.  On one of our trips in the dinghy, Dave spotted a large Wharram catamaran and when he told the people that we had a small 17’ Wharram cat at home, we were invited on board to tour their boat.  Their boat  was the prototype for the 46’ Tiki model and they knew James Wharram personally.   Ann and Neville were a neat couple!  Ann has sailed over 50,000 miles, including a solo crossing of the Atlantic and Neville at 78, had similar experiences.  We had a wonderful afternoon having British tea and hearing of different places and getting advice as to when to cross the Gulf stream and where to stop over there.

There was a possible weather window coming up on Sunday December 15th so we decided to leave Stuart on Friday and go south to the Lake Worth anchorage to be closer if it happened.  Six hours and eight bridges later we dropped the anchor in the north end of Lake Worth in West Palm Beach.  Saturday the weather window closed, the forecast was for 14+ knots of wind and 4’-6’ of waves on Sunday.  We took a slip at nearby Old Port Cove Marina, to give our batteries a good charging.  The dockmaster told us about a 72’ Sportfishing boat that had tried to go out and had to turn back due to the waves at the inlet.  While we were checking out the boaters lounge we met Ed, who drove the marina’s courtesy van and he offered to take us to any spots we needed to go.  So we took him up on his offer and picked up some supplies.

Monday we moved Time 2 Go back to the anchorage to wait for the next weather window.

Alex & Jesse make launching a breeze

Grape stomping At Wine Tasting Party

Calipso band at Reggae Night Party

St.Lucie Campground and Marina, real quiet spot

Mooring field at Sunset Bay Marina, Stuart, Florida

Sunset Bay Marina and dinghy dock

Dinghy beach at Lake Worth anchorage

December 1, 2013

We left Port Elgin November 12 with an inch of slush on the road and started our trip south by visiting with family in Niagara for a few days.  On Friday we crossed over at Buffalo and started heading south.  Our plan was to take a week and see the sights on the way down, as we have never done the drive before.  The first day we just drove until we didn’t see any snow on the hills on the side of the road, stopping at Summersville, West Virginia for the night. 

 Saturday was a short day, as we stopped to tour Mount Airy, North Carolina.  This was the childhood home of Andy Griffith and is believed to be the inspiration for Mayberry, the town in the Andy Griffith Show on TV.  We toured some of the attractions and had an awesome pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch, next door to Floyd’s Barber Shop, before moving on again.  Stopping a couple of hours later for gas, we accidentally found the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame Museum.  We had a quick tour, as they were about to close.  The museum is run by volunteers and all proceeds are used for local charities.  Our second day ended in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  

Sunday we were starting to see some fall colours and a lot of small deer feeding at the side of the road.  We visited the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm (near Savannah).  It was in between their seasons, but we did see some beautiful and different orchids in their Orchid House.  We spent the night in Fernandina Beach, Florida, where we had been last year, during Hurricane Sandy.  

Monday we arrived in Titusville at noon and called Ron and Mary, friends from Glammis to invite them  out for supper.   Mary told us that there was going to be a space launch in about an hour, so we went over to their house and went with them down to the river to watch.  The launch site was about 6 miles away on the other side of the river.  We saw a little bright light going up in the sky.  It seemed a long while after, we heard the roar of the Titan rocket.  Had a nice visit with Ron and Mary in the afternoon and then to the Dixie Crossroads Restaurant to get Dave his Rock Shrimp.  

We decided to stay another day in Titusville to start buying supplies for the boat.  

Our plan was to take a day and go to the beach, but the weather was cold, so we drove south and got a campsite nearer to Indiantown.  

Time 2 Go was scheduled to be moved to the work yard Friday morning, so we travelled to Indiantown Marina Thursday afternoon with the hope of getting a ‘look over’ the boat.  That wasn’t to be, as it poured rain all afternoon.  

Friday, the work started, we were in the work yard and settled by 9 am. and finally able to inspect the boat.  The topsides were covered with a green slime and tree frogs.  The inside was dusty, musty, gooey and sticky everywhere, but not as bad as we’d feared.  The outside had to be scrubbed with Spray 9 cleaner to remove the green and the inside was vacuumed and then washed EVERYWHERE.  All our clothes and bedding had to be washed...8 loads!  

Down here Thanksgiving is a really big deal and we arrived the weekend before it.  Indiantown Marina has things planned for the three days before, as well as Thanksgiving Day.  All these events included free suppers and free drinks.  They were a lot of fun and a great way to get to meet the other boaters.  It did slow down the work a little bit, but we got a lot of good tips from people who have been doing this for years.  

Nine days after being moved to the work yard, Time 2 Go is cleaned from top to bottom, new bottom paint, new lifting arm, solar panel, and solar vent installed, and is ready to be lifted into the water. 

Mount Airy, North Carolina birthplace of Andy Griffiths

North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame Museum

Orchids at Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens 

Alex is ready to serve Thanksgiving Dinner

Time 2 Go in the work yard

It was not all work