Back in St Petersburg

Keeping a sharp lookout on the return trip

Captain Jim is happy to be back ashore

Fort Jefferson

 

 

Ted and I snorkel around the outside wall

More Dry Tortugas Photos

Paddling the dinghy

 

Snorkeling to the wreck

19 million bricks

More Key West Photos

Return trip

Thursday
10 am we're 35 miles west of captiva. Fog so thick we can't see anything. Capt Jim is worried someone might run us over. Don't worry says I, anyone out in this will have radar. (except us of course.) We have motored the entire way back so far.
I didn't realize until we were half way back that we had only stayed one night at the Tortugas. All the days and nights run together when you don't sleep. My watch is every other 4 hours starting at 4 am to 8 am.
the fog is gone thanks to the storm that came in. Temp dropped 20 degrees, wind blowing 20 on the nose, waves 6 to 8'. We take green water over the bow. Every screw, bolt, port, hatch, and window on this boat leaks. The v-berth cushions are floating (as is everything I brought onboard.) Trying to sleep is impossible. You have to hold on to the bunk with both hands and still you go flying off when we go crashing down a wave. Of course I wear my rain gear inside the boat because of all the water leaking through. Looks like we will get back to st pete about 7 am friday. Maybe.

Loggerhead reef

Wednesday
we watched manta rays, sharks, etc all around the boat last night. Watched the greatest sunset ever. Capt Jim and I gave the other 2 capt's a eucher lession.
The park rangers gave us the lat and lon of a shipwreck we could snorkle over. This morning we picked our way around several reefs, so as to not become another wreck and worked our way into the shipwreck. There was a mooring ball to tie to so we didn't disturb the wreck with our anchor. The wreck was about 50 yards upwind. Capt ted put on a lifejacket and the two of us snorkling off. We went about 10 yards, and ted couldn't go on because the waves fulled his snorkle. I continued on another 20 yards or so, but I tired quickly. I had snorkled several hours yesterday and my legs wouldn't push me into the wind and waves. And I was now alone except for the large barricuda following me. The water was 15' deep. I was pretty well exhausted, so I returned to the boat.
We started sailing NOrth about 11 am. We were joined by two different pods of dolphins that put on a show for over an hour. I sat up on the bow rail waving to them as they rolled over to look up at me. I kept imagining that they wished they had arms. Then I could envision how they were lining up to time their jumps to bite off mine. They were thinking "too bad that guy doesn't have fins."
We had planned on sailing into Charlotte harbor and spend tomorrow night anchored there but the wind has died, and it looks like we will sail and motor straight to Tampa bay. We are 95 miles from the nearest land. 160 miles from our destination. Going 5 mph. It's about 88 degrees and very humid. Perfect
Dinner tonight included tuna, sardines, vienna sausages, followed by peanut butter and jelly on saltines. Scrumptous ! I guess everyone is over their queasy stomachs.

Ft jefferson

Pumped up the dinghy and rowed ashore. Toured fort jefferson. The largest brick structure in the western hemisphere. 16 million bricks.
Ran into a woman on island packet "Why Knot". Keep their boat on E dock at burnt store. Asked if she knew Priscilla. Silly question. They've been here over a week.
After a nap (we sailed all night) we went back to the shore to snorkle. Got my money's worth the first 15 minutes. Hunderts of colorful fish and some barricudas.
Back aboard the boat, we watched a 5 foot long goliath grouper swimming in the crystal clear water directly under the boat. My phone does not take underwater photos, but I attached one.
The weather is here...........
We have already forgotten the unpleasant trip down here.

LeavIng key west

monday night
The harbormaster in kw insisted we leave a little before 2. Watched dolphins, flying fish and man-o-wars as we went out the channel.
Capt Ted ran the macerator when we were about 20 miles out. I went down below to nap and the cabin stunk! I asked ted to check if the holding tank was empty. He had connected the pump wires backwards and pumped into the tank and up into the head.
We dined on beanie wienies tonight. Each of us had our own can and spoon. Served properly at room temp. Followed by a little debbie. Delicous.
We again encountered elec gremlins tonight. I was assured by the captains in kw that all was solved. But the power went off again tonight. Since the waves are only 2 feet, I was able to get into the battery compartment. I was holding a flashlight while Ted checked the voltage of a battery. It was obvious to me that the negative wire was not connected on 1 battery. Hope that solves the problem.

We're a long way from anywhere tonight and the sky is clear. Stars, stars, more stars.
The weather today and the stars tonight is what the picture in the brochure looked like when I signed on.
4:30 am I asked capt ted what those lights are ahead. Buoys marking the park boundry says he. As we get closer it's a boat says I. The people on the boat were yelling at us in some unknown language as we passed within 20 ' of them. I think I understood the meaning.
Arrived at ft jefferson at 8 am.

Try again

We're leaving key west about 4 this afternoon and sailing to the dry tortugas. We want to arrive in daylight so we'll sail overnight and arrive about sunrise. The entrance to the channel is tricky, and we would prefer not to hit the reef.
So we have a few hours to kill in key west. Not sure what we will do, but at least it won't involve snow.

Scooters

We rented scooters today. Got the 24 hour rate. Probably ride all night. Ran it wide open up and down A1A. 32 mph
The weather has turned much nicer. I think we're sailing out to the tortugas tomorrow.

After breakfast at Pepe's, we looked into the electrical gremlins. We found why the autopilot etc shut down. One of the captains sleeps in the quarter berth next to the battery switch. When he rolled over, he shut down the batteries.
While we were sailing down here and found the batteries low, I asked the captains if the refrigeration was on. "No!" Tied to the dock in KW, we found it had been on the entire trip. Refrigeration drains batteries quickly.
I'm not one for finger pointing but it seems our electrical problems can be traced back to the "Captain Gremlins."

Tarpon

key west tarpon cruise the docks waiting to be fed. Me too

Green man group

When we got out into the gulf, there were 4 to 6 foot rollers. Both captain dan and capt jim became seasick. You"ve heard of the blue man group. We had the green man group. They were both unable to stand watch. So much for sleeping.
By friday night we had not seen the sun. The moon. Or a star. Showers and thunderstorms. Big rollers left over. Capt ted an i alternated watches while capt dan and capt jim fed the fishes.
We also had some electrical issues with the boat. As in no electricity. The autopilot went out, the lights went off, and the bilge pump that had been frequently pumping out the leaking water.........etc.
I thought the motor wasn't charging the battery so capt ted took his multimeter down to check. He said one battery showed 8 volts and the other one 10 volts. Not good. I wasn't seasick but there was no way i could work under the back berth on the electrical system.
all these things coupled with the weather caused us to decide to turn towards key west. We were 85 miles n of the dt's and about 75 miles offshore out in the gulf.
later in the night, while cpt ted was on watch, i could feel the boat behaving strangely. When i went out i saw that we were going in circles. ted thought the autopilot was not letting him steer. He actually had the wheel hard over trying to turn farther. He thought he was in the bermuda tringle since his compass was spinning in circles.
we made it to key west. Shower and a nap.

Navagation

captain Ted & captain dan just spent an hour trying to program a waypoint in the chart plotter for the dry tortugas. Don't think they ever got it right. Havana here we come.
Our watch schedule is 4 hrs on 4 hrs off. I'm 8 to midnight and 4am to 8am. Last time we sailed to key west, i slept about 2 hrs in 12 days. We drove straight thru, got on the boat and left. Stayed overnight in key west but rented scooters for 24 hrs. Didn't want to loose any time there so we rode them all night. This year i've got it figured out. Sleeping pills and no doze. Got the idea from Elvis.

Away

we filled the diesel, bought ice, and departed the st pete marina at 3 pm.
sunny skies and light winds. We motored all the way to the sunshine skyway bridge.

Provisions

Little debbies, sardines & peanut butter

dt Departure

The weather forecast is much better today than it was monday. The gale force winds are here today but will be further west and north of where we will be sailing tomorrow. Now, NOAA calls for 15 knot winds and 4 foot seas on thursday. Manageable. But rain every day.
I,ve attatched a photo of the 3 captains on this trip.
We're staying in a condo tonight because the boat is rocking too much in the slip. There's three beds........three captains........guess who's sleeping on the floor.
When we had a planning meeting a few weeks ago, the 3 said no dinghy this trip. Today, we loaded a dinghy on board. I wanted to snorkle at the DT's, but didn't think I could without a dinghy. Since we now have a dinghy I can. So I got Ted to take us to a sports store and I bought a cheap mask and fins. On the way into the store a woman walking out gave me $10 off coupon.
Merry Christmas to me.

Dry Tortugas (D.T.'s)

Off on another boating adventure this week--but not on my boat.  Wednesday, I'm flying to Tampa to join three other guys for a sail out of St. Petersburg to the Dry Tortugas.  The Dry Tortugas are a group of small islands 70 miles west of Key West.  Our course from Tampa Bay is 180 degrees--due south for 200 miles.  If we make a slight navigational error, and miss the islands the next stop is Cuba.

They're called the Tortugas because Ponce de Leon thought they looked like turtles (very small islands) when he discovered them.  There is no fresh water on the islands so they're "dry."  Ft Jefferson is on one of the islands, but that's about all.  The islands make up one of the least visited U.S. National Parks.

Our plan is to leave the St Pete municipal marina on Thursday, and arrive at the Dry Tortugas sometime Saturday.  Spend a couple of days there, and then sail over to Key West for a couple of days, then sail back to St Pete.  I'm checking the Thursday marine forecast for the gulf, and NOAA predicts 40 knot winds, and 10 to 14 foot seas.  I haven't spoken with the other crew members yet, but I think there might be a change of plans.

I sailed to Key West in '07 on the same boat with one of the guys making this trip.  It's a 34' C&C.  "Key Breeze"  Home Port is Indianapolis.  (Just in case you read about it in a Coast Guard report.)

I've added internet access to my cell phone.  I can check the weather and emails and other simple tasks, and will attempt to post to my blog from it.  Of course we won't have service when we're offshore, but we should pick it up again in Key West.  My phone is not a "smart" phone--but as F.G. would say "I'm not a smart man."

End of Chesapeake

Got home about 10 pm last night.  An uneventful trip--the best kind.

I have a couple of unfinished model ships lurking in a closet somewhere.  For some reason, I feel the urge to get them out and finish them up.  Something to do until the Florida trip.

Back to Ferry Point

Thursday 10-8-09

Got back to Ferry Point this afternoon to start preparing for the trip home.  Deflate the dinghy, load the truck with the bicycles, dinghy & motor, generator, etc.  Plan to put the boat on the trailer in the morning.

Reed and Judy from Filamingo (another Rosborough) stopped by to have dinner with us. They've been on their boat since the Lake Champlain rendezvous in July.  They cruised through Canada (eh?) and then trailered their boat here a few days ago.

They say they might return to their home in North Carolina at some future date.

Baltimore Part II

Wednesday, 10-7-09

After checking the weather forecast , we decided to make the run from Chesapeake City back into Baltimore Harbor yesterday to avoid the strong winds today.  The wind today is blowing steady over 20 mph, and gusting up to about 40.  Glad we're not out on the bay somewhere.  We can't stand up in the boat, and we're tied to the dock in a sheltered marina.  Thanks NOAA for the warning.

We visited the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at the Maryland Science Center.  The Da Vinci exhibit was interesting, as was the remainder of the center.  It's set up mostly for kids, so I fit right in.  They even had a bed of nails for me to nap on. 

We stuffed ourselves later at an all you can eat seafood buffet.  Crab cakes, crab imperial, clams, mussels, shrimp, oysters, and even tried some crayfish.  (That would be crawdads to you Hoosiers.)

It's our plan to return tomorrow to Ferry Point Marina where we launched the boat.  Hopefully, our truck and trailer will be waiting there for us.  We will deflate the dinghy, load up the bicycles, etc. and make ready to pull out the boat and start home Friday.

We heard from more Rosborough owners Reed and Judy on Filamingo (that's how they spell it) that they also launched their boat at Ferry Point, and are staying at a friends dock nearby.  We'll probably see them there tomorrow evening. 

Overnight Chesapeake City

Tuesday morning  10-6-09


The temperature dropped into the forty's overnight which made for a chilly evening.  It's free to dock here, but they want $15 to plug into their electric service.  If you understand how cheap I am, you know there was no electric heater running on our boat last night.  
The cool temperatures made for fog on the canal.  The barges and big cargo ships run all day and all night.  We got the spot on the city dock closest to the canal, so we had no trouble hearing their exceptionally loud fog horns and feeling their three foot high wakes rock the boat all night long.

Off to Baltimore

Chesapeake City

Monday 10-5-09

We left the Havre de Grace city docks this morning and went up the Susquehanna River a little ways.
Amtrak runs through town.

Wasn't sure about navigating on the river, but we maintained the same course as this experienced riverman.

Met the Liberty Clipper coming out of the C & D Canal.

Got into Chesapeake City a little before 3, and bid farewell to Frank and Pat on Grey Goose.  Their marina is about 5 miles on up the canal in Delaware.  We arrived early enough to get a spot on the free city dock.

We walked through town, and over to the Canal Museum to see some model ships. 
When we returned, we were surprised to find another Rosborough tied to the city docks.

I left my card on Nautical Noose, and later, got a phone call from the owner Richie Michael.  They came over to our boat and said hello.  They keep it in the water near Turkey Point.

Havre de Grace

Sunday 10-4-09

Left Still Pond and motored over to Havre de Grace ("Harbor of Mercy" as spoken by Marquis de Lafayette)

I've been unable to find a free unsecured wifi signal for several days.  There's lots of signals, but someone must have warned them I was coming.

On the way over, I was careful not to stray into the restricted area. 

We again saw the Mystic Whaler.  Same boat we saw in the marina in Baltimore.

NOAA issued a small craft warning again for today.  You can see from this shot of Grey Goose how hazardous it was where we were.

I wanted to stay at the Havre de Grace city marina (cheap).  I tried to call from Still Pond to make a reservation, but we had no cell phone signal.  As we got out into the bay, I was able to reach them.  They close at noon today, but told us to take any open end of their "T" docks.  Not sure what the tidal range is here, but at low tide it's a good place to study how the dinghy fits on the roof.  I tried it right side up this time.  Pulled it up over the transom.  Got the bow on the outboards, went up on the roof, and pulled it on up.  Don't think I like it this way.

We took our bicycles for a tour of the town.  They don't have any model ships in their museum.  Havre de Grace is the "Duck Decoy Capital of the World" so their museum is full of model ducks.  

Here's a photo of our boats in the marina.  We're on the end of pier 4.

Here's a little closer shot of the end of pier 4 with Frank waving.

  

Frank and Pat will be leaving us tomorrow.  We really enjoyed having them as well as Mike and Lita join us. 

We're headed to Chesapeake City tomorrow.  It's a small town along the C & D Canal.  After that, we plan to turn around and start back south.  I think we'll stop in Baltimore again to go to an exhibit about L. Di Vinci at the Science Center.  The marina where we stayed is still offering the "free" rate next week.

Still Pond

Saturday 9-3-09

It rained overnight, and a little this morning.  Almost enough to wash the salt off the boat.

Mike and Lita listened to the NOAA weather forecast, and decided that this morning might be their best opportunity to return to Ferry Point Marina up the Magothy River.  The forecast was for small craft warnings this afternoon all the way through Monday.  So they left us at first light.

NOAA was wrong about the small craft warnings today.  At least where we are.

I kept hearing a booming noise, and at first thought it might be thunder.  Then, I remembered that we are close Aberdeen Proving Grounds.  They're dropping bombs over there.  (Probably on the boats that wander into the restricted area)

We had a short run up to Still Pond Creek.  After we set the anchor, Grey Goose rafted up, and we went out exploring in the dinghy. 

There's a small Coast Guard station up in Still Pond Creek

I haven't done much fishing, but I knew there were stripers here in the bay.  So I put on my best striper lure, and sure enough.........................................STRIPER !!

I didn't weight this striper, but I don't think it's the largest one I've ever caught.

Fairlee Creek

Friday 10-2-089

It was interesting to see the Mystic Whaler coming into our marina. 

Baggy wrinkles and all.

Baltimore harbor was busy as we left this morning.

I thought maybe this boat was unloading dental supplies  ("open wide".)  But as we passed it, we could see it was loaded with semi truck cabs, and a school bus. 

As we were going out the river, we heard a call to the Coast Guard on the VHF radio.  The man said in a very calm voice that he was on a 48' motor boat, and that they had hit an object in the water and the boat was now taking on water. 

CG:  How much water is in the boat?

He replied 12" deep.

CG: How many people on the boat?

Two people, one dog

CG: GPS location?

He gave his Lon & lat

CG: Still taking on water?

It's about 16" deep now

CG: We have rescue assets on the way

(This whole time, the man on the sinking boat was talking as if it were a normal conversation about the weather--never a note of panic in his voice)

The CG broadcasted a warning to mariners in the area regarding the sinking boat.

The man on the boat said he was going to go into the closest marina.  The CG phoned the marina and told them to make ready.

We heard later that the boat made it into the marina, and they were able to keep it afloat.

I think we were more excited listening to the event than the people (and dog) it was happening to.

Glad it ended well.

We had a sloppy crossing over to Fairlee Creek, but once inside the creek, we were protected from the wind.  Mother (Grey) Goose dropped her anchor first, and Tonic and Hawkeye came alongside to raft up. 

As I began getting our grill ready to cook dinner, Lita from Hawkeye started passing over "appetizers".  First some fruit bread, then delicious fried spring rolls, then some shrimp chips, garlic peanuts, chicken on potato rolls, followed by watermelon, and on and on.  Needless to say, our grill didn't get used tonight.  Those rather ordinary pork chops can wait until tomorrow to be consumed.  Thanks Lita.

 

We sat in the cockpits watching eagles until dark.