A hoot of a Hootenany! (Day 157)

Lay Day: Vero Beach, FL MM 966.2

Weather: Mostly sunny, temp range high 60s to 80; wind began light and built to about 20 knots

Comment: It was a great day for a beach walk, which we did. We also walked around the beach town for a bit and took the bus back to the marina. We met George who took us to his campground for the hootenanny. We had great fun singing along with the musicians. The show lasted for two hours, after which we went to the Henkel’s “Shack on the Track.” The Shack is a neat place. It looks like George and Pat will have fun there for years. They have a great crowd of friends and everyone is very friendly.

Dinner was great (as usual)! We had a great visit and made it back to the boat before boaters’ midnight. Thanks George and Pat!

Back in Vero Beach (Day 156)

Thursday, March 19, 2009 Day 156
From: Faber Cove, Ft. Pierce, FL AIW MM 966.2
To: Vero Beach Municipal Marina, Mooring Ball 57 AIW 951.7
L/L: 27 39 84N 80 22139W
Distance Traveled: 16.9
Hours Underway: 3.5
Hours Motoring: 3.5
Hours Sailing: 0
Elapsed Time: 3.5
Average Speed:

How did we get to Maine?

Weather: Mix of showers, clouds and sun; temp range high 60s to 80; wind generally light and out of the NE, clocking to the E

Comment: Vero Beach is our destination. With less than 20 miles to travel, we expected and experienced an easy travel day. Fully one-half of the time we were underway, we traveled in a foul current. The trawler “Adios” radioed to tell us that they were turning over their “slowest traveling boat” award to us. I told them we are always the slowest boat (especially when bucking a strong foul current).

We made it to Vero by 1230 hours and expect to be here until Monday. We will visit our long time friends the Henkels and have invited them to dinner aboard on Sunday. I hope it is good barbequing weather.

After securing SUNSHINE to Rich and Carol’s "The Great Catsby," we took care of some business in town, did a bit of grocery shopping and bought a few boat supplies. We had a light dinner on board. Tomorrow, we’ll meet the Henkel’s who have invited us to one of George’s famous Hootenanys. We’ll also check out the theater to see if any shows are playing, and, as usual, we’ll do an early morning beach walk, weather permitting!

Mile 0 (Day 155)

Okeechobee Waterway Mile 0 (aka the Crossroads)

From: Riverwatch Marina, Stuart, FL Okeechobee Waterway MM 9.5
To: Faber Cove, Ft. Pierce, FL AIW MM 966.2
L/L: 27 27 95N 80 17 75W
Distance Traveled: 35.1
Hours Underway: 5.5
Hours Motoring: 5.5
Hours Sailing: 0
Elapsed Time: 5.5
Average Speed:

Weather: Morning showers then cloudy all day; temp range mid 60s to low 80s; wind range 10 – 12 knots East

The defective part (a CDI)

Comment: “Sunshine” was repaired in the late morning and by 1250 hours we were underway. We motored back down the St. Lucie River, past Sunset Bay Anchorage and to the Crossroads and the AIW. The weather was warm and overcast with generally light wind. The foul current turned favorable as we rode the flood tide toward Faber Cove.

The radio log included notations about the Lady Michelle on fire in Port Everglades inlet. Apparently a cruise ship was treading water near the inlet, waiting for permission to enter and proceed to her dock. Two fire boats were discharged and Coast Guard Sector Miami was in close communication with them as they were made their way to the scene. Later in the day, we heard the cruise ship received permission to enter the inlet, but never heard the disposition of the Lady Michelle.

Bring in the Calvary! (Day 154)

From: Southpoint Anchorage, Stuart FL Okeechobee Waterway MM 7.9
To: Riverwatch Marina, Stuart, FL Okeechobee Waterway MM 9.5
L/L: 27 1 0 10N 80 15 20W
Distance Traveled: 1.4
Hours Underway: 0.75
Hours Motoring: 0.75
Hours Sailing:
Elapsed Time: 0.75
Average Speed: 3.8

Weather: The day begins in calm and a clear sky with temps range from the mid 60s to the mid 80s; rain in the PM; wind from calm to 15 knots out of the south in the PM

Comment: We have backtracked a couple of miles to Riverwatch Marina where we need to have the starboard engine repaired. My modest attempts at repair (replaced plugs, filter, fuel connector and bulb) proved inadequate. The mechanic investigated and said the problem was the CDI. That part rarely malfunctions, but it appears this one has!

The part was ordered and should arrive mid morning tomorrow. In the meantime, we enjoyed the surroundings and the facility.

Stuart, FL (Day 153)

Lay Day: Southpoint Anchorage, Stuart FL Okeechobee Waterway MM 7.9

Weather: Mostly sunny; temps from mid 60s to mid 80s; light wind build to about 10 knots in the afternoon.


From the Stuart, FL Riverwalk

Comment: Howard, the boater we met yesterday, offered to take us to the Yamaha store so we could get parts. We picked up a fuel assembly hose and installed the bulb and fuel connector when we arrived back at the boat. Sadly, the repair was ineffective, although those parts needed to be replaced.

After thanking Howard for his kindness, we made arrangements to take SUNSHINE to Riverwatch Marina, about two miles back up the Okeechobee Waterway. around downtown Stuart, which has a fine tourist area with interesting shops and restaurants. We stopped at Duffy’s for a burger, which was excellent. Anna Marie declared that it was the equal of Myrtle Beach’s Margaritaville Cheeseburger in Paradise!

PING! PING! PNG! (Day 152)

The 49' RR Lift Bridge looms ahead

FROM: Tied to Dlophins @ the east end of the Port Mayaca Lock, Okeechobee Waterway, FL
TO: Southpoint Anchorage, Stuart FL Okeechobee Waterway MM 7.9

Distance Traveled: 31.2 Hours Underway: 6.0 Average Speed: 5.2

Weather: Cloudy and partly sunny; ½ hour of thick fog; light S wind in the morning built to 15+ in the afternoon; temp range 63 to 81


PING! PING! PING!


Comment: PING! PING! PING! The sound of the VHF antenna perched atop of the mast as it struck the bottom of the railroad lift bridge, some 49’ above the water. We made it under the bridge without losing the antennae or any of the wind instruments that live at the mast head. Relieved with our success, we motored along the waterway in thick fog for about ½ hour before visibility improved.

A few alligators made their presence known, but we didn’t see nearly the number we saw yesterday.

A serene day on the waterway

Several boats passed us, but we were lucky enough to catch them at the St. Lucie Lock. They must have been waiting to lock through for almost an hour. I’m not sure why the lock was so slow, but we didn’t have time to rest. No sooner had we arrived then we were told to prepare for a port side tie. Fortunately, our fenders were already set up on the port side, having been left there yesterday when we transited the More Haven Lock. During our eastward travel on the waterway, the Franklin, Ortona and More Haven Locks raised us about 12 ½ feet above sea level. Only the Port Mayaca Lock had both sets of doors oen. The St. Lucie Lock dropped us back down to sea level.

Our only problem for the day occurred when the starboard engine stalled twice while we were waiting for permission to enter the St. Lucie Lock. The engine refused to start. We made it to Stuart, where we picked up a mooring ball at the Southpoint Anchorage, on one engine. After settling in, I changed both spark plugs and the fuel filter. Still, the engine would not start. I believe there is a fuel problem and will purchase a new fuel connector and squeeze ball. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to call in some help.

ACross the Lake (Day 151)

Masts on display from the cow pasture at Glades Boat Storeage on the Waterway

FROM: Tied to Dlophins @ the east end of the Port Mayaca Lock Lock, Okeechobee Waterway, FL
TO: Tied to Dlophins @ the east end of the Port Mayaca Lock, Okeechobee Waterway, FL

Distance Traveled: 53.7 Hours Underway: 9.6 Average Speed: 5.6

Weather: Varying amounts of sun and clouds; temp range 63 – 84; wind variable mostly less than ten knots out of the east, but we had some sustained gusts of 15 knots

Burning the Sugarcane Fields

Comment: We had no problem disconnecting from the dolphins. It’s nice to add another option to our docking/anchoring repertoire.

Gator!

The word for the day is GATORS! That’s right, GATORS!! We saw lots and lots of them. So many that we actually lost count. We believe we saw over 75 of the creatures. Most of the gators were about four feet long, but we saw larger (much larger) ones and some that appeared to be perhaps two feet long. Besides gators, the waterway is filled with bird life. It is a bird watchers dream. There were many species we could not identify, particularly some of the smaller waders.

Entering the Lake

We crossed the 25 mile Lake Okeechobee in fours hours. The wind strength and direction allowed us to motor sail a bit, but not all the way across. At time we experienced gust of 15 knots when the boat speed reached 7 ½ mph. More often than not, we were cruising at about 6 mph in about 10 knots of wind.

On the east side of the lake, the Port Mayaca Lock was opened. It is usually open when the lake water level is high. We motored through and tied up to the dolphins on the east side of the lock. Tomorrow we will hold our breath as we pass under the 49’ RR lift bridge. We have not had any issues with the depth of the water on the waterway. We have read that if the lake level is high, the clearance for the RR Bridge is less. We’d like to have more (not less) clearance at the RR bridge.