Still in Fort Pierce, FL

Fort Pierce, FL - June 29-30, 2016

Miles Today: 0
Total Miles:  23 SM

It's still really, really hot.  It just saps the get-up-and-go right out of us!

We decided to ask Karen Siler, our boat name artist, if she would come up to Fort Pierce from Stuart and put Bazinga on each side of the stern.  Remember when we went through the Roosevelt drawbridge during training and the bridge tender had to ask us our boat's name?  That's because the name is being blocked by the dinghy hanging off the stern.  Adding Bazinga on each side of the stern should help with that somewhat.

Karen arrived and had the name affixed in short order.  We spent awhile visiting in the air conditioned salon.  We had met Malcolm, the dockmaster, when we arrived 2 days ago.  He'd come by for a visit and a chat yesterday and we learned he makes Fish Dip and sells it to various restaurants in the area. Karen had never had fish dip either and we suggested that she stop by Malcolm's boat on her way up the dock and buy some to try.   We said our good-byes.  Ten minutes later Karen was back with a gift of Fish Dip for us!  We've met the nicest people!

Karen Siler and Bazinga

Our air conditioning wasn't keeping up with the +105° 'feels like' temperatures.  We thought we'd walk to a nearby Starbucks with internet and cool off for awhile.  First, no Starbucks in Fort Pierce. Second, this marina is somewhat isolated on a man-made island and the closest internet fast food place is over a mile away.  Normally, we love to walk or bike for exercise, but Georgia was wilting just thinking about walking anywhere!  Called Uber and the driver was very familiar with all the internet restaurants in the area.  We settled on a Wendy's right next to a Publix grocery store.  Cooled off over lunch and then shopped for provisions.  We love Uber!

Malcolm brought his wife by late this afternoon to see Bazinga.  He is a retired lobster boat captain from the Northeast and currently owns a small trawler here at the Harbour Isle Marina, while he is working as the Dockmaster. He was impressed with Bazinga's layout and spaciousness in only 37 feet and wanted to show it to his wife.  We had a lovely visit and enjoyed listening to his sea stories.  It reminded Georgia of all the stories her Dad, also a commercial fishing captain in New York, used to tell.

We did brave the heat in the evening and walked over to Chuck's Steakhouse across the street from the Marina.  Excellent seafood with a pretty view of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Interior of Chuck's Steakhouse, Fort Pierce, FL

View from outside deck of Chuck's Steakhouse

Seafood Platter - Yum!

More Docking Practice - Fort Pierce, FL

Fort Pierce, FL - June 28, 2016

Miles Today:  0
Total Miles:  23 NM

Since our last on-the-water training day in Stuart was so windy, Capt. Chris suggested we meet again for 4 hours of stern-in (backing in) instruction and practice.  As mentioned in the prior post, the Harbour Isle Marina has lots of space between its docks and would provide an excellent place to practice.

At 8am, Chris was aboard, we went over our checklist of things to check before leaving the dock - engine and generator oil levels, shore power disconnected, loose items stowed away, blinds up and clear visibility ensured, flybridge cover removed and stowed, binoculars, waters, vhf radio, sunglasses, cruising guides, chartplotter, route plan available at the lower or upper helm, engine on and checked, thrusters on and tested, all gauges working, air conditioning working using the generator, dock lines readied for easy removal, etc., etc.  It can takes at least 20-30 minutes to ensure you are ready to leave the dock.

It proved to be a perfect day to practice docking.  Chris really put us through the paces.  We learned that Bazinga (like many trawlers) doesn't respond quickly to steering changes - especially when she's moving slowly.  Speed makes the rudder respond faster.  Unfortunately, using speed is quite tricky when you are trying to dock!  And even the slightest breeze can affect how the boat responds to steering changes. Backing-in proved to be quite a challenge!

This was our last training day with Chris.  We were sad to see him leave.  But we know we will see him and Alyse someday soon.  They are very active in the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruising Association) and offer training seminars in Vero Beach, boat shows and at the AGLCA Looper Lifestyle Seminars.

If you'd like to read about our training on Capt. Chris's website and watch a short video of us leaving the dock, click here.

Thank you, Capt. Chris Caldwell, for such excellent training!  In between those moments of anxiety, we had a lot of fun.   Looking forward to seeing you again soon over a Dr. Pepper.

Whew!  We made it thru training!

Finally! We're on our way!

Heading North to Fort Pierce, FL - June 27, 2016

Miles today: 23 NM
Total miles: 23 NM

We spent the early morning taking the car to the storage facility we found 4 weeks ago when we stored our travel trailer.  Jim disconnected the battery and secured the car cover with ropes for protection against the harsh Florida sun and windy, heavy rain storms.  A ride from a friendly Uber driver had us back on the boat by 8:30am.

Our car and travel trailer all tucked in at
a storage facility for the next several months.

The sun was shining, the wind was light and our nerves were a bit tight as Bazinga pulled away from the dock at Mariner Cay.  We slowly motored up Manatee Pocket, turned to starboard (right) and headed to flashing red marker 240.  At that marker, we turned to port (left) and entered the Intracoastal Waterway (the Indian River).  This was it - the first day of a new and exciting adventure!

Keeping the red markers on our port and the green markers on our starboard, we glided along at about 7 knots (roughly 8 mph).  Yup, this will be our blazing average speed for the entire trip!  We can actually go as fast as 12 knots (13.8 mph) if needed (hold onto your hats, people), but at that 'fast' speed we'd be guzzling fuel.  Between 6-8 kts we'll average about 2 miles per gallon of diesel.

On the ICW, the amount of water below your boat is always the issue - as in, 'is there enough?'  On this day, we experienced depths below the boat of 7-12 feet all along the route to Fort Pierce.

Amazingly, once we turned north on the ICW, there were very few boats sharing the waterway.  It was kind of a kick to cruise along following the shore road we drove to Fort Pierce, only a few days before to purchase the helm chair.   Though the temperature was in the high 90's, the breeze on the flybridge helped.  Along this part of the ICW, there are houses on both sides - the land side on our port (left) and on the peninsulas, islands or spits of land on our starboard (right) side that separates us from the Atlantic Ocean.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs from Norfolk, VA to the Florida Keys.  It is made up of a network of salt water rivers, natural inlets, bays and man-made canals.  What our family most appreciates is that we will rarely have to traverse the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean!

It was a beautiful ride.  We probably saw a handful of 'go fast' boats either passing us or heading south.  We overtook a funny looking boat that was part paddle wheeler, part trawler, part tug boat. Friendly guy - gave us a hearty wave as we slowly passed so we wouldn't jostle him with our wake.

A bit of an unusual vessel puttering along the ICW

There was a good amount of shoaling as we approached Fort Pierce.  The rule is ALWAYS follow the markers you see, rather than your chart plotter.  The charts on your plotter are usually a year or more old and cannot always represent the changing conditions of the waterways.   As we approached the Fort Pierce Bridge, where we would turn to starboard (right) to enter the channel to get to our marina, there were temporary markers (red floating buoys) that indicated we had to head hard to port to avoid shallow water.  The chartplotter on the other hand would have had us going straight over very shallow water.

We soon made our starboard turn and followed the narrow marked channel to Harbour Isle Marina, Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce, recommended by Capt Chris for it's large fairways (the waterway between the docks - the larger the better for maneuvering).  We radioed ahead that we were making the approach and dock master, Malcolm Rowand, caught our lines for an easy docking.

The Waterway Guides is one of the reference books we use to get information on navigation, marina facilities, on-land sightseeing, etc.   The online version of Waterway Guides offers the ability to click on a marina icon and get a lot of info on that marina, including how to approach and it's facilities. Here's a sample for the Harbour Isle Marina.

Harbour Island Marina, Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce, FL
(From Waterway Guide, Southern Edition)

Approach and Docking

Call first to confirm a reserved slip. Marina is ~2.5 miles from Fort Pierce Inlet. South of the Fort Pierce 65' Fixed South Bridge. Off the ICW(RED #188)heading East in channel(RED #2, GREEN #3)to ~(GREEN #11) entrance to the marina(you can't see the marina until the port turn into the marina seawall/jetty entrance, as condos surround the marina)Slip #'s up on white piling caps.

Dock Type:	Floating
Approach / Dockside Depth:	9.0 / 9.0 ft.
Largest Vessel:	120 ft.
Total Slips:	63
Transient Slips:	10
Moorings Offered:	No

Our approach and the temporary slip we were assigned.  See how
much open water surrounds the docks - that will make it a great place
to practice stern-in docking with Capt Chris tomorrow!

More Training; More Repairs

Still in Port Salerno/Stuart, FL - June 13-26, 2016

Since the steering issue curtailed our training a week ago, Capt. Chris returned on the 13th to continue docking and close quarters maneuvering practice.

We headed out of the Manatee Pocket to the ICW to test the steering first.  Something still was not right. This time we called Chuck Ruble and he had us return to Hinckley so he could jump aboard and go for a test drive.  Yup, the steering was still very loose, so back to a Hinckley slip we went.

By the end of the week, the steering was perfect. We want to especially thank Russ, the technician who wouldn't give up on the repair - even calling the manufacturer.  The final solution was bleeding the air out of the hydraulic lines several times, rather than only once.  Every technician we met at Hinckley was professional, knowledgeable and friendly.  Chuck bent over backwards to make sure all our issues were fixed and we were satisfied with the work.  We can't say enough good things about our experiences with Hinckley Yacht Services of Stuart, FL!

All repairs completed, we moved back to Mariner Cay Marina.  Does this feel a little like ping pong? Leaving Hinckley this time, Jim expertly maneuvered Bazinga out of the slip, past the $1million boats with their 'claws' straining to snag us and up the Pocket to Mariner Cay.  We stopped at the fuel dock to fill up and pump-out and neatly eased into our slip on the face dock.  Hey, we might be getting the hang of this boating thing!

FROM:  A few more days at Hinckley Marina for repairs

TO:  Our favorite face dock at Mariner
Cay Marina
(That big Kadey Krogen yacht has departed
and Bazinga enjoys more open views)

We still had our car to run to Home Depot, West Marine, restaurants, drug stores and the like.  During one of our training sessions, Jim almost fell over backwards out of the helm seat on the flybridge.  We soon discovered the foundation of the seat had rotted out - in fact, there were mushrooms growing under it! Capt. Chris advised we drive 24 miles to Marine Connection Liquidators in Fort Pierce and purchase a gently-used or new-older model helm seat.  It turned out to be a lovely drive north along the Intracoastal Waterway - the route we would take with the boat in another few days.  We found a perfect new helm chair (those things are expensive!) at 1/2 the retail price.  Installation went well - an added bonus!  Right now, we're rather giddy when anything comes together easily!

Father's Day, 2016.  Finally we can get back to on-the-water training!  Capt. Chris's plan to accomplish today:
1.  Bridges:  Three bridges all in a row.  The Roosevelt Bridge (65' above us), a railroad bridge (that is usually in the open position), and a bascule bridge (drawbridge).  We go pass thru this obstacle course on the way back.
2.  Anchoring
3.  Picking up a mooring ball
4.  Docking - especially backing into a slip

All three bridges are very close together and it's imperative not to get stopped between the bridges. As we approach the high Roosevelt bridge, we call the drawbridge on the VHF radio, channel 9:
"Roosevelt Bridge, Roosevelt Bridge; Bazinga."
Drawbridge:  "Bazinga; Roosevelt Bridge."
Us: "We are a west bound white trawler,  requesting an opening."
Drawbridge: "Come ahead Bazinga. We'll be open for you."

It was a narrow passage for us newbies, with a little bit of current and wind to make steering more challenging, but all went well and we were through in a few minutes.

Us: "Thank you, Roosevelt Bridge.  Bazinga is clear of the bridge; standing by on 16."  (Which means we are monitoring Channel 16 on the VHF radio, in case anyone wants to reach us.   Actually, the bridge tender did radio us back and asked for the name of our vessel again.  We realized he couldn't read the beautiful name on our stern because the dinghy was covering it.  That's a Coast Guard no-no, so we'll have to figure out how to get the name more visible.)

On the way back thru the 3 bridge challenge

The wind started to pick up to 15 knots and the sky indicated a rain storm could catch us.  Capt. Chris wanted to get in a few tries at anchoring.  We had some experience in anchoring on sailboats and on the Selene we chartered in the San Juan Islands in 2012.  The anchoring practice went well and by the time we were done, the rain had gone around us - but the wind had climbed to 20 knots.

Well, picking up a mooring ball would be a trick in this wind, but if we could do it now, it would definitely be easier in calmer wind and water.  Off  to the Sunset Bay Marina anchorage we went. Jim steered the boat between a catamaran and a larger trawler to an empty mooring ball.  Capt. Chris and Georgia grabbed a boat hook and leaned over the bow rail to snag the small loop atop the mooring ball pennant.  In the 15-20 kt wind, the boat is bobbing up and down. You are leaning way over the railing, trying to get your boat hook into the loop, pull the loop up and pass your bow line thru the loop quickly - while also giving hand signals to the captain to tell him which way to steer the boat to make all this easier!  We had to make several passes and soon discovered we were using a boat pole that made 'picking up the pennant' more difficult.  Once we traded out the boat pole we had success!

Hooked up to the mooring ball, we decided to take a break, have lunch and go over what we learned: wind and choppy water are a miserable combination when performing mooring ball gymnastics.

Not our boat - we were too busy to take pictures!  But it gives you a good idea of a mooring ball, the loop at the top that you try to snag with a boat hook, while leaning over the rail.  I wish it was this calm and peaceful the day we practiced!

After lunch, Georgia steered the boat while Jim had a go at tying to the mooring ball. First try was a charm! (I know what you're thinking and I modestly agree.....it had to be all due to the person who was now steering the boat.)

After heading back thru the 3 bridges, we found some empty slips to practice backing in.  As the wind was still a constant 15-20 kts, with some higher gusts, slipping the boat was quite difficult.  Those beautiful windows at the back of the boat provided the perfect 'sail area' for the wind.  We learned how much the wind loved to push the boat around.

It was an intense learning day!  We survived to tell the tale.  Now, where's the wine?

Waiting Around for Repairs

Hinckley Boat Yard; Marina Cay Marina - June 4-12, 2016

This last week has been interesting!   Have I mentioned before that it is bloody hot?!

The Hinckley tech, a really nice guy named Russ, came and worked long and hard bleeding our hydraulic lines for the flybridge steering.  We'll give it a good workout when Chris comes back for our training on the 13th.

We came back from dinner one night and all the lights were out.  We were worried about the house batteries since the sea trial in March, when it was discovered that all the batteries were dry.  Having them finally die wasn't a surprise but we had hoped to put off replacing them for awhile.  No such luck. At least we were connected to shore power for the air conditioning - which struggled to keep it 85 degrees during the day and 79 degrees at night.

Treasure Island Battery gave us a great quote on 4 new house batteries.  They would also take the old batteries out and put the new batteries in.  Each battery weighed at least 50 pounds and had to be detached, hauled out of the tiny space under the salon floor, carried thru the boat, loaded on a cart, and then wheeled up the rickety wooden dock to the parking lot (repeat the steps in opposite order to get the new batteries onto and into the boat).  We surely appreciated the two big guys that did all that work!

The inverter that was fixed as a condition of the sale kept showing faults, so Chuck at Hinckley decided to replace it with a new one under the warranty.   Thank you, Chuck!

Jim fixed the holding tank sender.  Darn, we didn't get any pics of him suited up in homemade hazmet gear (googles, gloves, breathing mask, plastic bags).  I think that was because I made fast tracks to get OUTSIDE as quickly and as long as possible.

The refrigerator died.  I knew it was going when I could hear moans coming from the motor in the still of the night.  Fixing the motor on a 10 year old marine refrigerator is as expensive as replacing the whole refrigerator. Unfortunately, if we wanted to upgrade the refrigerator we would probably have to have the cabinet resized.  Chuck at Hinckley came thru again.  He found a new refrigerator, the exact same model at a competitive price and could have it installed within the week.  I won't tell you how much it was - we're still in shock.  Let's just say for a 4 foot high refrigerator that has to be defrosted regularly and barely fits enough items to get us thru 4-5 days of meals, it costs as much as a full size, beautiful, brand new, side-by-side, self-defrosting, stainless steel refrigerator in your home!  For now, we're living out of a cooler filled with ice.

Out with the old refrigerator

In with the new 

The air conditioner kept shutting off and showing an HPF reading.  Found out that means High Pressure Fault and is common in this area.  There's a lot of silt in the water churned up by the boats going by, as well the occasional plastic bag that can be sucked up into the cooling lines.  Sometimes we just had to wait a few hours before it would clear and we could get cool air running again. Have I mentioned it is bloody hot?!

Cleaning the air filter on the forward air conditioning
unit located under the bed

Tight spaces

One of the nice perks in the Manatee Pocket is the free 'M.S. Poop' boat.  Yup, it's just what it sounds like. Our holding tank has to be emptied about every 5-7 days.  Usually, we move the boat to the fuel dock at our marina and use their pump-out, but the 'MS Poop' will come to us for free. After a long week of major and minor repairs, combined with 110° heat index, we were exhausted and would rather not move the boat over and back to the pump-out at the marina.  The 'MS Poop' pulls up to the boat, connects a hose fitting to our waste outlet on the deck and voilá - away go troubles down the tube!  This particular morning, the captain of the 'MS Poop' was chatty.  Jim and I stood in the doorway trying to be friendly but also holding our breath, as the smell coming off the poop boat can be pungent.   

The conversation kinda went like this:  

Capt of MS Poop: "Nice boat you got here."  

Us: "Thank you. We've only had her for a month or so." 

Capt of MS Poop: "Have you owned a boat before?"

Us:  "No.  This is our first."

Capt of MS Poop:  "Welcome to Hell." 

Did we mention how dramatic and unusual the sunsets are here?

On-the-water Training

Manatee Pocket, Port Salerno, FL - June 3, 2016

It was a beautiful morning, although already in the 90's, when we headed out of Manatee Pocket, made a turn to port (left) and entered the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to practice maneuvering and docking, along with navigation review.

Chris had us plot our course to the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort.  We'd have practice following the red and green Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) markers (red triangles or green squares on posts in the water, but can also be floating red and green buoys).  It's imperative to stay between the red and green markers to avoid the shallow waters along the ICW.

Bazinga draws 4 feet - that means she must have at least 4 feet of water under her keel (the lowest part of the bottom of the boat) at all times or we will run aground.  The ICW is usually between 7-12 feet deep in the center of the narrow channel and you can find yourself in much shallower water very quickly if you aren't paying attention.

In all the years sailing off of CA and during our charter in the San Juan Islands, we rarely needed to worry about 'skinny water'.  The waters on the West Coast are very deep even in the harbors and bays. We were more challenged to find water shallow enough to drop our anchor.   The ICW is a completely different cruising experience - it's all about navigating in shallow water and trying to keep your boat off the bottom!

The entrance channel to the Marriott was a sharp starboard (right) turn just before the long A1A causeway bridge.  The wind had come up, hitting us on our beam and pushing us out of the channel. Jim and Chris realized that our steering was really loose and it was difficult to keep Bazinga going in a straight line.   With some challenges from the wind and steering, we pulled up to the face dock (a long dock that is usually parallel to the waterway and easier to pull into than a narrow slip with boats on either side).  It was time to take a break and have lunch.

On the return trip back to Manatee Pocket, our wake looked like a drunken sailor was driving. We called Hinckley Yacht Services and Chuck, yard manager extraordinaire, agreed to have a tech come to our marina in the next few days to work on the steering.

On-the-water training day

Let's celebrate at Cody's Roadhouse

Peanut appetizer

Three peanuts in one shell - that's gotta be a good omen!

Please, don't let Jim's doctor see this picture

Hands-On Training

May 31 - June 1, 2016

It was time to move out of the Hinckley Boatyard and over to the Mariner Cay Marina across Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno, FL (just south of Stuart) for 3-4 days of hands-on training with Capt. Chris Caldwell.

We have experience sailing 28'-42' sailboats in and around San Diego.  We also chartered a 38' Selene trawler for 10 days of cruising in the San Juan Islands, WA in 2012.  But we really had little experience with diesels engines and the complicated systems that go along with owning and operating a sizable power boat. Being trained on our own boat by the experienced and highly recommended Capt. Chris was the way to go.

Our fearless and patient trainer, Capt. Chris Caldwell

The first morning and the first order of business - move the boat out of the Hinckley Marina and over to Mariner Cay - about a 1/2 mile down the Manatee Pocket.  Seems like a simple assignment. Have I mentioned that Hinckley Yacht Services is home of the very beautiful and very expensive Hinckley yachts? As Chris pointed out, we were surrounded by million $$ boats and each one had a 'claw' on the bow (the anchors), ready to snag Bazinga on the way past.  Jim deferred to having Chris manuever the boat out of the narrow slip and into the open waterway!

On the way to Mariner Cay, it seemed the steering on the flybridge was very mushy and loose.  The wheel would have to be turned many times to get the boat to turn.  For the next two days we would concentrate on being trained in all the various systems on the boat - inside and out.  On-the-water practice with docking and maneuvering was planned for the third day, so our steering at both the upper and lower helms would be fully exercised then and we'd discover if we really had steering issues.

It was a long day, in sweltering heat, learning all about diesel engines, generators, bilge pumps, fuel pumps, water lines, holding tanks, toilets, electrical panel, chart plotters, radio, marine air conditioners, batteries, battery chargers, inverters  - and the list went on and on, filling many, many pages in our notebooks.  I am particularly fond of the page that is titled 'To Buy or Replace,' as $$$$ danced before my eyes.

On Day 2 of training, Jim and Chris continued going over every inch of the boat, climbing into unbelievably small hatches and spaces.  They had a merry ole time discovering things like the holding tank - which holds refuse from the toilets and which must be pumped out as it gets close to the 30 gallon maximum. Unfortunately, the 'full' sensor was not working, so we were never really sure when it was getting close to full. Now, let me emphasize how important this is - without a working indicator that tells you it's getting close to no-more-flushes-allowed, you don't really know when the tank is full and you can no longer use the bathroom on your boat!   Hopefully, there's the option of walking up to the marina bathrooms - usually a mile away and, in Florida especially, being eaten alive by mosquitos if you just can't wait until morning.   One of Jim's top projects for our first non-training day would be to open the holding tank and replace the sensor.  This will involve full hazmat preparation.  Until then we kept track of our 'head usage' on a piece of paper - figuring we had about 20 flushes before we had to hike up the dock.  Chris shared his wise advice, 'whenever you are on land, find a head (toilet) before going back to your boat.'

While Jim and Chris disappeared into Bazinga's bowels, Chris's wife, Capt Alyse Caldwell, spent time with Georgia reviewing navigation how-to's, galley tips, and overall tips and tricks about living comfortably on a boat.  What a wealth of knowledge both Chris and Alyse have!  And their patient and positive attitude was so appreciated.  Jim and I must have started looking a bit cross-eyed by afternoon, as Chris and Alyse assured us that feeling both overwhelmed and exhausted was quite normal.   Are we having fun yet?!

Mariner Cay Marina

Bazinga's bow is peeking out from behind the larger boat.  We're on the
face dock (the T at the end of a dock) and had a great time watching
the variety of boats pass by, as well as a lovely view out the Manatee Pocket
toward the ICW

Although prolific in this area, we didn't see any manatees.  It could be
the water is too warm. 

Bruises are a part of owning a boat!