Burnt Store Marina

Monday, December 29, 2014

On our way after sad farewells at about 9 AM. The drive seemed a lot longer going south. We will miss the little guy. Traffic was very heavy in Florida, to the extent that we suffered thru a few miles of "stop and go" on the I-75 in a couple of places. Back on Tide Hiker by about 10 PM and very happy to sleep in our own bed. The rental car has now done over 3,000 miles, and is undamaged.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The mechanic who was scheduled to have a look at our generator last week never turned up and after a few phone calls we discovered he was now on vacation. So started hunting for a replacement and after a couple of tries have a guy coming in the AM

On a happier note, the company that had the outboard called and said the motor was ready for pick-up. They had not been able to solve the problem so had requested and obtained a new carburetor from the factory that had solved the idle problem. We drove over and picked it up.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Mechanic arrived as promised and removed the heat-exchanger/exhaust manifold from the gen and took it to his shop for pressure testing. It passed the test, so now we have to look even deeper Because of the NY Holiday we will not see him again till Monday or Tuesday.

This afternoon we lowered the dink onto the dock and with some help from the neighbors attached the outboard motor

We were invited to dinner at Dawn and Ricks place, very pleasant. Returned to the boat and watched a movie till midnight. Late for us oldies.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

The marina is home to many manatees. Most of them seem to wallow around at the head of the marina and head out to the bay eat late in the afternoon, often passing Tide Hiker. The fully grown manatees are about 10' long and fat but sleek (just like me). They do not have a breathing hole like a whale or a porpoise, and need to stick they ugly mouth out of the water to take a breath. I often stand on the dock with my camera to get a decent photo but the following is the best I have managed so far.

Manatee

Friday, January 2, 2015

Not much seemed to happen today.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

The last two times we have rented cars they have been damaged. The first time was in Charleston where some truck backed into our car while we were away and left a ding in the lift gate (it was a minivan). We do not take insurance when we rent (we have liability insurance) and the rental companies really rip you if you damage their cars (including "loss of use") so we found a "paint-less" repair place and paid them $150 to fix the ding.

The next time we rented a car was in Jacksonville and one day when we were shopping (we only rented it for two days) the door was dinged.It was just small enough to avoid a claim.

So we are super careful with the cars, especially when we park for shopping. This time we had rented the car for 30 days and driven 3,500 miles and it was damage free. Today we needed to take the car back to get the contract "renewed" and on the way I stopped at West Marine for a quick bit of shopping. While the car was in the parking lot a pick up backed into it and did a lot of damage! Now we are in the middle of a full blown damage claim.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Farewell dinner for Ricky and Dawn, the crew of "Independence" and our hosts in Burnt Store. Dawn drank a lot of red wine and seemed to have a great time.

Monday, January 5, 2015

The mechanic turned up as promised and "we" removed the "head". In the process discovered a bent push rod and a bent valve, but still no specific answer to the coolant leak issue. The "head" has now been sent to a "head specialist". Deidre thinks I should go too.

I can see what I think is a crack in the #1 cylinder wall, but the mechanic thinks it is a watermark.We will die test it later this week.

Rust on top of the engine "head"

Farewell drinks on "Independence" - they are heading back to the Bahamas on Tuesday.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Our Canadian neighbors left this morning at low tide, ran aground in the marina and did not actually exit the marina channel until about 2 PM. So much for sailing boats with 6' draft.

This afternoon I installed my Xmas present - a new anemometer.

Out for Mexican dinner

From L to R: WiFi, Anemometer, GPS, VHF antennas

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Another perfect day. The weather has been really nice since we returned from Charleston, although a change is expected tonight. Decided to take advantage of the day and launch the dink so we could explore the marina and surrounds from the water and enjoy a picnic on the water.The outboard started and ran well - thank goodness.

Family of soldier crab skelatons

Thursday, January 8, 2014

Deidre got a hair cut

Friday January 9, 2014

Andy the mechanic did not turn up
Went to the movies "Imitation Game"

Saturday January 10, 2014

Met Barb and Jim Pesnachek for dinner in Venice.

Sunday, January 11, 2014

Drove to tarpon Springs for the day

Sponge Boat

Sponge Bike

Monday January 12, 2012

Andy turn up this morning with the "crack test" stuff. First the red die, then the cleaner and then the developer. Any crack is meant to show up as a red gash. The test was inconclusive, so we tray again. Same result.

Andy is stumted. he suggests I try and talk with the local NL agent again. I have tried this before without success, but agree to try again. Tw or three calls later the guy calls back. We discuss the situation, he has no idea, he cannot make a house call for three bloody weeks.

I decide that we are at a dead end and could stay here another 6 weeks and be no closer to a solution. Set departure day for Wednesday.I ask the mechanic to return all our parts and give me a bill.

Tuesday January 13, 2015

Supermarket in the AM to top up the larder. I pack all the generator parts in oily rags and stow in plastic boxes in the lazarette, and generally clean up engine room. Finish the installation of the anemometer. The new TV aerial arrives via UPS. Farewell drinks on the dock with our neighbors John and Kathy.

Back for Xmas at Kylie's

Monday December 22, 2014

Easy drive back to SC. Some fog as we came down out of the Virginia mountains into North Carolina. We took our time and arrived late at about 11 PM

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Kylie had the day off so the two ladies were able to plan Christmas dinner and get the shopping done. I popped over to 21 Yacht Harbor to attend to some minor issues.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Framed and mounted in "our room"

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Opened gifts in the AM. 90% of the loot was for Mason.

The Taylor clan arrived at about 2 PM for a late turkey lunch. All went well.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Sunday, December 28, 2014

At Adam and Kathie's

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

We were on the road at about 8:15 AM and stopped for a few minutes at McDonald's for breakfast, and to top off the tank at $2.21 a gallon. The route north was amazingly direct - I 26 to Charlotte and I 77 to Cleveland, about 750 miles. The weather and road conditions were perfect all the way, but the temperature dropped as we made miles north, and just south of Cleveland it started to flurry.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

We attended a concert at Roxbury School. Ruby was a performer and Indy was in the audience.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Last day of school for the kids and Indy had arranged to take Deidre and I to school for 'show and tell". His class is currently studying Australia and so we were tapped to answer some questions. It was fun.

Friday night Kathy arranged for us to meet up for drinks and slacks with Leslie and Elliot (my long time business attorney) and Lauramae and Ronnie Simkoff (Kathy's parents)

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Christmas party at Steve and Annette's, Adam's camping friends.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Attended one of Indy's indoor soccer game. Indy scored half his team's goals, but he did not appreciate Grandpa calling "Go Indy!" from the sidelines.

Sunday afternoon visited the Simkoff's for Hanukkah dinner and to watch the Browns lose again.

Afterwards popped over to Fairfield Oval and visited "the last of our neighborhood friends" on the oval - jay and Lovey.

At Kylie and Ryans

Thursday December 11, 2014

On our way by 8:30 AM and arrived after dinner at about 7:30 PM. It was a pleasant day and an easy drive. Deidre had made a cut lunch and we stopped by a lake to take a break and eat. The drive was very cost efficient - 540 miles, averaged 42 MPG and gas was only $2.51 a gallon.

Mason was up when we arrived and gave us a great welcome. (Ryan and Kylie were there too.)

Friday December 12, 2014

Both the kids were off to work so we had Mason to ourselves for the day.

Saturday December 13, 2014

Kylie had to work, Ryan was off so we started on the garage project. At the end of the day we had the dry wall installed and all the joins "stage one" grouted.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Breakfast out. Ryan and I went straight to Lowes and picked up the lumber. By 5 PM the shelves were all installed and the work bench framed up. A good weekends work.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Burnt Store marina

Wednesday December 3, 2014

26 45 646 N

82 03 579 W

Another perfect weather day for the 35 NM trip to Burnt Store marina. We have enjoyed frequent porpoise experiences since we left. Now on the west coast the sea water is significantly clearer and today we had a great chance to shoot some video. The two porpoises stayed with us for quite some time and one of them consistently rolled over and looked at me as I lent over the rail with the camera. 

The video did not want to work - so I put it on Face Book instead.

The west coast of Florida less developed and prettier than the East. Our run from FMB to Burnt Store was very pleasant with blue sea and skies and green islands. So much more appealing than the Bahamas.

The name of Burnt Store relates back to a minor iIndian uprising where the local Calusa tribe, led by Chief Billy Bowlegs destroyed the trading post and killed or drove out the few white people. The area is now a "resort city" based around a big marina and the usual golf courses. 

Arriving in the channel.

We went straight to the fuel dock and picked up 500 gallons at $3.20 a gallon. I had researched fuel prices on the way across Okeechobee and Burnt Store had the best deal, and on top of that reduced the price another $0.20 that morning! We were then directed to our dock for the month. 

The docks are "fixed" (as apposed to floating) and we wanted to back Tide Hiker in. When backing Tide Hiker I can see very little behind the boat and rely on Deidre calling distances and instructions from the stern. But as we were backing in the landscape crew were "mowing and blowing" and it was impossible to hear her.  But all ended up OK

The marina is surrounded by multi level condos and immaculate landscaping. There is a large marina store and a fancy restaurant. Very nice. We celebrated our arrival by having dinner at the restaurant.

Thursday December 4, 2014

We were up early so we could watch a NASA launch at Cape Canaveral. We expected to see it on the computer and see the trail in the morning sky. They messed around for an hour or so and then scrubbed the launch. Will try again tomorrow. 

The rental car company picked us up at 10 AM and we had our car by 11 AM. We have rented the car for a month. On Dec 11 we plan to drive to Mason's house in Mt, Pleasant. Its about 600 miles from here. We will rest up there for a few days and then drive to Ruby and Indy's house in Cleveland - that drive is a long day - about 700 miles. Then after 4 or 5 days back to Mason's for Xmas and then back to Burnt Store in time for New Year's Eve. The rental will probably be due for an oil change when we hand it over!

Friday December 5, 2014

We slept thru the launch. Friends we met in the Bahamas and call Burnt Store home arrived back from a cruise today. I started work on a few jobs around the boat including removing the elbow. 

View of Tide Hiker and the Condos

Saturday December 6, 2014

The elbow is now off and it looks healthy - damn. I was able to get some rust out of it, but it was a long way from being blocked. That means we are back at square one with this problem. Went to the Stephen Hawking movie and pizza dinner.

A still life - Sunday comics, elbow, removed rust and screwdriver

Sunday December 7, 2014

Lazy day. Packed a picnic and headed of in the car to Pine Island. Later I rescued some of the oil removed from the generator and mailed it off for analysis.

Decorated boats  in the marina

Monday December 8, 2014

The new elbow was meant to arrive today - it did not, so I got hold of UPS only to discover that it had arrived and been "rejected by the recipient" and returned. Turns out the address on the order was wrong. A new "cruiser" boat arrived and we invited them over for "docktails". 

Regular Visitor

His girl friend

Ft. Myers Beach

Monday December 1, 2014
26 27 305 N
81 56 512 W

Currently on a mooring ball at Fort Myers Beach. I am feeling a bit grumpy because we broke two boat hooks in the process of securing to the ball and even then needed help! Last time we were here we had similar problems because the mooring facilities were in bad shape, but it had been reported that a new entity had taken over and the field was now in good shape. Well, we beg to differ! The person who fixed up the field had obviously never taken a mooring ball. What a mess.

Broken boat hook! (Taken at Burnt Store)

We like Ft. Myers Beach and planned to stay two nights.

Tuesday December 2, 2014

Launched the dink first thing and we were ashore by 10 AM. We paid our bill and headed into town. The beach town is on a narrow barrier island and is quite touristy. The beach side is very attractive with a wide strip of sand and a pier. The harbor side is very busy with just about every boating and fishing and eating establishment that you could imagine.

We bought the New York Times and a couple of espresso coffees and settled down in the sun for a read. As in many touristy places, the city provides a "Lolly the trolley" bus service, and so for $0.50 each we enjoyed a one hour tour along the coast road. Half way back we jumted off and found a place for light lunch. Back on the boat by about 3 PM for a snooze.

TV reception was great - we had a good choice of shows.

Franklin Lock

Sunday Nov 30, 2014
26 43 363 N
81 41 817 W

Started the day with breakfast at the local place. Two eggs, bacon, hash browns and all the coffee we could drink - $12 for both of us including tip! I like small town America. Its a sad town.

There are few anchorages in the river/canal so we decided to tie to the "dolphins" at the Franklin Lock. We had not done this before so I "endlessly" discussed the details and the pros/cons with the Admiral. When we arrived I saw a great anchoring spot and that is what we did instead - but good planning is never wasted! The night was amazingly calm.

I was up at sunrise - very calm

This is what "dolphins" look like

Moore Haven

Saturday November 29, 2014
26 49 904 N
81 05 405 W

Long day today, 53 NM. I find the trip across Florida's middle quite interesting because there is quite a lot of farming to see. This area is the heart of the sugar cane industry. The lake water was very muddy looking.

We arrived at Moore haven about 4 PM and tied up to the City dock. A "very black guy"with dreadlocks (no offense, just being descriptive) turned up after dark asking for the fee - he had a identity card and issued a receipt so I assume he was on the up and up. He told us where we could get breakfast in the AM

Lots of "jungle" down to the water's edge in places

I liked this house

The lock into the lake

Plenty of sugar cane

Water hyacinth islands

Sugar cane burning in the distance

River Forest Marina

Friday November 28, 2014
27 05 653 N
80 17 816 W

Steve said he could look at the #2 Gen if we got to River Forrest marina by 1.30 PM. We went back and forth with emails on Thursday and finally settled on 2:30 PM. To manage this feat we needed to leave at first light on Friday, and so we were up and away by 7 AM. It was a clear morning but pretty cool with a Small Craft Advisory for fun. Steve owns a boat just like Tide Hiker, is Captain in a 100' yacht and has worked on Tide Hiker before.

On the way we passed thru "the Crossroads" which is a heavy traffic area with the ICW meeting both the St Lucie Inlet and the Okeechobee Waterway along with traffic for Manatee Pocket and the St Lucie River.  There are frequent large sportfish boats traveling through here at speed and there are various shoaling issues. Plus it was blowing pretty hard.

As we felt our way thru I spotted a "fishing kayak" in trouble (Why was the idiot out there? Is that not the ultimate "small craft"?) The silly fellow was in the water, and trying to wave his paddle in distress. He was nowhere we could approach and so we radioed the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard is pretty good, but calling them on the radio can be a bit onerous. The first problem is that the person who stands by the radio seems just out of high school and has been given a list of 'all purpose" questions to ask, and has zero discretionary authority. But the benefit is that "everybody" hears the call and while the Coast Guard is asking you the color of the kayak, the rest of the boating community is reacting to the location info we provided. Sure enough, a local "Towboat-US" had heard the call and was quickly on the scene.

Of course, now we were famous and next boat we saw radioed us with a "Good Job, Tide Hiker"

The Diagnosis

After 2 1/2 years "all at sea" I have decided that the biggest problem with fixing boat operations issues is knowing precisely what they are. It seems that to many times the resolution is a "process of elimination" rather than a specific diagnosis and a specific solution. Its like pulling a tooth every week until you pull the one that is aching.

Not the case with Steve and #2 generator. I now know exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. The problem is serious, but it has an "easy" solution and a "expensive" solution.

There is a notorious device in a marinized diesel engine called an "elbow". This is where the hot exhaust is mixed with salt water (that has already been used to cool the engine). Hot salt water is rather corrosive and so the elbows tend to fail. When they fail salt water gets into the engine.

The elbow on the generator engine has failed. When Tide Hiker sat at Palm Coast the errant salt water was madly corroding the inside of the generator engine, causing it to "freeze up". So when I tried to start it the starter motor could not rotate so blew the 250 amp fuse.

The "better" solution

Steve and I were able to break the engine free by rotating it with a big wrench. Then I drained the oil (it was a disgusting color) and flushed the engine twice with diesel fuel, cranking the engine (but not starting it) between flushes. Then changed the oil filter and cranked the engine still it started, running it for just enough time for the oil to circulate.

Next step will be to order the part and have it delivered to Burnt Store where I will install it. If the generator runs consistently after that we will have dodged the bullet. If not, the engine will need to be rebuilt. That would be expensive.

That evening we went out to dinner with Steve and his wife Diane.

Vero Beach

Sunday November 23, 2014
N
W

Vero Beach is one of our favorite ports of call. We have now visited Vero several times. It is a very boat friendly place. The mooring field is very protected and they only cost about $18 a night. There is an hourly free bus service that will take you either to the shoping or to the beach side. For Thanksgiving the City supplies cooked turkey and ham to a visiting boaters party. The boaters provide the labor and the side dishes etc.

The celebrations are very popular so I was quite surprised when I called and the marina said they would squeeze us in. It is understood for this week that moored boats will "raft up" three wide. We arrived at about 3PM and pulled into the fuel dock for a pump-out and to take on water. While we were there we received our mooring assignment - #56 out of a field of 57. It seemed we were a bit big to raft to most of the (sailing) boats there, so we got the second last mooring and told to expect company over the next couple of days.

Rafted sailing boats

Monday November 24, 2014

Good nights sleep - no anchor to think about. Launched the dink after breakfast and headed into town on the free bus after signing up for the Thanksgiving party. Beautiful sunny day, quite humid. There was enough sun for the solar panels to keep the batteries charged most of the day.

Dinner out at the River House, up the ICW under the highway bridge. They have a dinghy dock. On the way we popped in on another DeFever ("Salty Turtle") to say Hi. But the outboard would not re-start. So the captain took us over in his dink and picked us up after - at which time our dink decided to start!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Caught the free bus over to Vero Beach (the part of town on the Atlantic) for breakfast and a stroll around town. Waiting for the bus, Deidre stood in a fire ant nest and was bitten a dozen times. Immediately went to a drug store and purchased some Benedryl tablets for her, and all seems well.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Lots of rain and a cool change last night. Rain and wind squalls coming and going all morning. In a break we rode the dink to the marina and took the bus to the mall. We just wandered around doing a bit of light shopping and enjoyed late lunch at Burger King.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Cold night, beautiful clear, sunny morning. So much so that the panels cooked breakfast and are putting some amps in the batteries. Headed off to the party in the dink at about 12:30 PM. The venue was about a mile away up a deep creek. There must have been about 150 cruisers there. We fell in with a table and ate our fill.After lunch was over several people brought out musical instruments and organized a sing along. Back on Tide Hiker about 4 PM we recovered the dink and generally tidied up. Early morning tomorrow.

Dinghy parking

The spread was pretty impressive

My lunch

Banana River

Saturday November 22, 2014
28 50 141 N
80 48 347 W

We slept OK although it was a bit windy during the night. The batteries were a bit low when we awoke so we decided not to make coffee etc until we were underway. The engines started well and the windlass managed the anchor. (That dealt with two of my night terrors)

We have two diesel generators. We normally use #2 to charge the batteries and for cooking. It obviously has an issue in its starting circuitry - outside of my pay grade. The #1 generator is larger (14KVA) and that will run every 110V and 2220V system on the boat, including the HVAC. I did not want to try it last night in case the electrical fault was shared by both generators. We only had the one spare fuse. So we waited until we were right outside the Titusville City Marina to give it a crank - and it ran OK. If it had blown the DC circuit again we could have visually navigated into the marina, taken a slip and called an electrician. So we are safe to proceed "on one generator" until we get to Burnt Store where we will have time to find an electrician and order parts if needed.

The rest of the day was pretty ordinary. The sky was overcast with a low ceiling and rain on and off. The wind was blowing 15/20 mph with gusts to 25 but we were in sheltered water. We are now anchored in the Banana River.

We have noticed lots of porpoise activity the last couple of days. On Sunday morning they were very active in the anchorage. When I was in the shower they were so close to the boat that I almost could have reached thru the port hole and patted them. As we were leaving one of the other boats called us on the radio and said that the porpoises looked like they were "scratching their backs on our hull"

Gloomy morning, Banana River anchorage

Strange boat

Mosquito Lagoon

Friday November 21, 2014
28 50 135 N
80 48 337 W

Underway promptly at 9 AM. The engines and all of Tide Hiker's many systems seemed to start up OK. Not a great forecast but we will be on the ICW all day so no big deal. We were fortunate in that we rode a favorable tidal current for 75% of the day. The forecast strong winds did not eventuate and we enjoyed weak sunshine most of the day.

The sun has just set and clouds are building but we are in a very secure spot so "no worries".

A lesson learned.....

In the above paragraph I wrote: "Tide Hiker's many systems seemed to start up OK". Any sailor worth his salt would recognize this error. We met a fellow in the Bahamas who was a professional fisherman in Texas. He had many rules about boats and boating, including the following:
* Never start a voyage on a Friday
* Never say "Everything is running well"
* Never say "The weather has been great"
* Never bring bananas on board!

Tonight just before bed I attempted to start the #2 generator to top up the batteries. Instead of the expected "crank and fire" I heard nothing, and then all the lights went out. We were in the middle of nowhere and the sky was 100% overcast so there was no natural light. We have a bunch of flashlights arranged around the boat so we soon able to function. The 110V system was OK (so the frig and the TV were OK) but the 12V system was totally dead. (The 12V systen runs 90% of the lights, all the pumps, the windlass, most of the navigation etc)

We started the port engine because that has a 280 amp alternator bolted onto it that would look after the batteries while I looked for the root issue. I started looking for "main" breakers and fuses and eventually found a "big" fuse on the engine room bulkhead that looked promising. The previous owner had left me a box of electrical stuff and found what looked like the right sort of fuse, and swapped them over. Bingo, we had lights again.

Decided not to mess with the generator that night as I had only found one fuse and we need 12V to get anywhere.

Back to Tide Hiker

Monday November 17, 2014

We fly back on Wednesday so we are now in closing and packing mode.

We had discovered a few termite trails on the slab so called the termite people and they came and treated the affected area today. I had a haircut - lovely lady cut my hair and in the course of our conversation asked me if it was possible to "drive to Canada from Arizona?"

Tuesday November 18, 2018

Bill and Tonni arrived back from PV late yesterday. We enjoyed breakfast with them this morning. On the way over we drove passed a few hot air balloons touring the desert.

Bill had taken a spill in the hotel and hurt a leg. Our mutual friends Elliot and Leslie Kaufman had been in PV at the same time, and Leslie had taken a spill and broken her hip! She needed a hip replacement, done at a local hospital.

Breakfast at "Harolds"

Balloons off Carefree Highway

Wednesday November 19, 2014


Closed the house up and on our way to the airport by 11 AM. Flying these days is a pain in the rear, but we arrived Jacksonville safely and on time. We had booked a car for the 90 mile drive to Palm Coast and Tide Hiker was pleased to see us at about 1:45 AM. 

Thursday November 20th, 2014

Made good use of the car replenishing the larder and enjoyed lunch and dinner out with our hosts. I am feeling fat. We plan to head out in the AM. All the Tide Hiker systems seem OK - we will know for sure tomorrow. 

You can see Tide Hiker on the other side, behind Phil and Sara's boat

Vereran's Day

Nov 11, 2014
Anthem, AZ

Anthem is a great town. I think I could settle here quite happily. Its in the foothills so its handy to the mountains and a bit cooler in the summer. The entire city is new and landscaped and the public facilities are just amazing. The city park is in walking distance from our house. There is not a blade of grass out of place.

Today is Veteran's Day so we went over to the memorial for the 11 AM service. It was well attended and tastefully presented. The actual memorial is arranged so that at 11:11 AM the sun shines thru a series of circular openings and highlights the Great Seal of the USA. Very cool.

And it still works!

The kid's train in the local park

The new play ground

The water park

New Plans

Anthem
November 7, 2014

We have made flight reservations to return to Palm Coast late on November 19th. We hope to resume cruising soon after, and head to the West Coast of Florida.

The Specialist

Tuesday November 4, 2014
Mayo Clinic

To make a long story short, an operation on Deidre;s knee probably would not help. There are issues with the meniscus and some "floaters" but the basic issue is arthritis, and that cannot be treated surgically. Some time in the distant future when pain becomes a real issue a "knee replacement" might be appropriate. But for now a quarterly shot of cortisone is the most intervention she can expect. They gave her a shot on the spot. I did not look.

This is not the result we wanted or expected to hear. We were hoping for "Sure, we can clean up the joint and you will be back on your feet in two or three weeks". Now we have to figure out what happens next.

We were back on the street by 11 AM so we decided to head for lunch in Sedona. It was a beautiful day, Sedona is a very scenic part of the world, and we have a couple of favorite restaurants there. So that is what we did and it was very pleasant.

The view from out table

Anthem

Wednesday October 29, 2014
33.86325 N
112.14029 W

Good night's sleep - the anchor did not drag but the view had stayed the same. Water and gas were  turned on by 9 AM, just now waiting for hot water for a shower. As usual Deidre is having trouble getting used to all the space.

From now on I will only make a blog entry if "something happens"!.

Palm Coast (Dock behind private house)

Friday October 24, 2014

Easy run, only 25 miles, and for some reason we had the tide all the way, even after Matansas Inlet. We called our contact (Barry Kipnis) when we arrived at the canal that leads into the development and he met us at the dock 10 minutes later. The dock is behind a house towards the back of the development, in a well protected "corner".  The various feeder canals are quite narrow so it was fun looking into the backyards as we worked our way in. Barry invited Deidre and I to join them out for dinner that night.

Entering Palm Coast

Saturday October 26, 2014

Rode my bike into town this morning and did a bit of light shopping. Another perfect weather day, lots of warm sun, light breeze, great day for a ride. Spent the rest of the day sorting out the boat.

Sunday October 27, 2014

Another perfect morning. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. We have a couple of days to eat our way thru the refrigerator.

Monday October 28, 2014

Another perfect day. Deidre picked up the rental.

Tide Hiker on the other side.

Tuesday October 28, 2014

Left Tide Hiker at about 10 AM EDST and arrived in Anthem at about 8 PM MT. All was well with the house, we were in bed early.

St. Augustine (Mooring Ball)

Thursday October 23, 2014
29 53 286 N
81 18 430 W

Mooring Field at St. Augustine

The port engine cranked but did not want to start this morning. I quickly checked the various fuel line connections for tightness - the one just before the injector pump took a quarter turn and the 6 machine screws around the perimeter of the low pressure fuel pump took about a 1/4 turn each. Then I bled the fuel filter assembly and tried the engine again - and it started. Amazing.

The 25 miles to St. Augustine were otherwise uneventful. We rode the tide the whole way so it was pretty fast. When we arrived it was low tide so we were able to "squeeze" under the Bridge of Lions and take a mooring ball. We launched the dink just so we could start the engine and run it out of fuel so the gas would not be sitting in the carburetter for the two months we were away - the source of all our issues since.

We did not go into town - been here done that, and we need to eat as much food in the frig as possible in the next 3 days. Perfect afternoon and the solar panels are making 650 Watts.

The "Bridge of Lions" north of the mooring field

Palm Cove (Marina)

Wednesday October 22, 2014
30 17 410 N
81 25 914 W

Big Change of Plans

Back in Marsh Harbor Deidre took a spill off her bike and landed on her knee. She was really hurting for a few days but after a while her knee felt better, but not great. In Charleston she went to a doctor and received a cortisone shot in her knee and arranged to get an MRI.  The cortisone helped but the MRI showed a damaged meniscus and some "loose bodies" and a bit of arthritis. Over the past few weeks she has not been able to ride a bike and can only walk a few hundred yards without experiencing pain. A few days ago she took an awkward step and experienced lots of pain. So we have decided to delay our winter cruise and have her knee issues to attended to with surgery.

We have made arrangements to store Tide Hiker at Palm Coast. Deidre has been in contact with Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and has arranged a consultation on 11/3. Hopefully the procedure will follow soon after. Being in Arizona means that Deidre can recuperate in our house at Anthem. We will arrive in Palm Coast on Friday and fly to Phoenix on Tuesday.

Shipping on the St. John River

Jacksonville Landing (Free Dock)

Tuesday October 21, 2014


We decided against heading further south on the river - we have cruised on plenty of rivers and there did not seem to be anything of particular interest on the St. Johns. So we waited for the tide and headed north. On the way back we heard friends on the radio ("Rickshaw") and arranged to meet back at Jacksonville Landing.

Green Cove Springs (City Dock)

Monday October 20, 2014
29 59 660 N
81 40 473 W

Another easy day - maybe we are just getting into a cruising mind set after 2 1/2 years on the water. Our target was the City Dock in Green Cove Springs, just 21 NM away. This is where our "mail house" is located and we have decided to give it a visit.

The Straus Railroad bridge crosses the river in Jacksonville and it was scheduled to be open between 9 AM and 10 AM so we were off the dock at 9:20 AM and under the bridge. Heading south the river was wide and calm. There was only one spot at the GCS City Dock that we would fit, and when we arrived the place was deserted so there was no issue.

We lowered one bike and I rode a few miles to the mail-house and picked up the current batch of mail. Back at the boat met a South African couple on a sailing boat and invited them back for a beer.

Green Cove Springs 

Jacksonville Landing (Free Dock)

Saturday October 18, 2014
30 19 467 N
81 39 665 W

Long day with a good fun ending.

Its desirable to catch the tide for the 25 mile run up the St. Johns River to Jacksonville, otherwise you can be pushing a 2 1/2 knot current all the way. So we had consulted the tide tables and timed our departure to arrive 1/2 hour after the flood started. But because of the dinghy motor problem we were delayed a day. So I checked the tide tables and adjusted our Fernandina departure 1/2 hour earlier.

We dropped the mooring right on time at 8:30 AM and headed out into the Atlantic. It was a nice sunny day with a long 1-2 foot swell and virtually no chop. We were making great progress when I realized we would arrive at the entrance an hour early - I had adjusted our departure time the wrong way! So we slowed Tide Hiker back to about 4 kts to delay our arrival. What a drag.

Our target was a free dock at "Jacksonville Landing" - this is in the middle of the Jacksonville entertainment district. Because it was now the weekend - and a football weekend - we were doubtful that there would be space for us but we lucked out and squeezed in at about 5:30PM. The place was really hopping.

Mixed into the restaurants is a stage with live bands till after we wet to bed. The theme was all latino and had the whole place hopping. Most notable was the number of large gyrating asses. Deidre and I had pizza dinner.

Sunday the Cleveland Browns are in town to play the Jaguars. Let's hope no-one throws any batteries at Tide Hiker.