Unerway Again!

Weather: Bright and sunny all day; high 79o Low 65o; winds less than 10 knots north clocking to NNE as day progressed. We were able to motor sail at 8+ mph for a couple of hours.

Comment: Hey, we’re underway again! It feels great to be moving, but there is a certain melancholy since Shelley and Sandi and kids left for home yesterday. Sailing north on such a beautiful day will certainly ease the melancholy!

Our plan was to head over to the pump-out dock and be waiting for the operator when he opened shop at 0800. To accomplish this goal, we slipped our lines and put the engines in reverse at 0730. To spin the boat motor up the lagoon, I needed to put the port engine it forward while keeping the starboard engine in reverse. Only the port engine would not shift into forward. Once I got it into neutral, it wouldn’t shift back into reverse. We backed the length of our fairway and made our way to the pump-out dock.

The attendant couldn’t get the pump to work. He made several calls to the office and two other guys arrived to help. While this was going on, I lifted the helmet off the port engine and inspected the cables. All seemed to be in order. I reached the controls and slipped the engine into reverse. No problem! Then I shifted past neutral and into forward. No problem! The problem resolved itself? You know it’s going to reoccur don’t you?

Meanwhile, the guys got the pump working and by 0815, we shoved off, turned the boat with one motor in forward and the other in reverse. As we passed the Gibson Houseboat, we waved good bye to Bob and Cindy. They’ll be heading north on Monday.

As planned, we made to 0830 opening of the Route 3 Bascule Bridge and motored out the canal toward the Indian River. Once there, we turned north, and in the company of “Serenity” (they left the same marina to make the bridge opening), we motored and at times motored sailed through the northern stretches of the Indian River, the Haulover Canal and Bascule Bridge, the Mosquito Lagoon, the southern portion of the Halifax River and into New Smyrna Beach.

We arranged for a tie up at the NSB City Marina to pock up Joe and Dee Fritz who have signed on as crew for a few days. Being such a lovely evening, we decided to stay tied up the a “T” head for the evening. We strolled through the town and had a great steak, fresh asparagus, and salad dinner on the boat.

We talked for hours and finally hit the sack at 0130.