Sunday, May 29, 2016

Sunset celebration

On Friday night we went to "Times Square " for the weekly sunset celebration. Heard a really unusual band called  High Tide. Good vocals, one of the cleanest sound I've ever heard in a live performance. Their specialty seems to be creating medlies from songs you'd never think would fit together.  Like "Ain't no sunshine" and "Get up Stand up." Or "Into the Mystic" and "Into don't want to wait in vain." Van Morrison and Bob Marley?  Yep. It works.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Ft. Myers Beach

Getting settled in for the holiday weekend here in the mooring field at Ft. Myers Beach. The balls are inconsistent. Some have good pennants,  some not so good.
We had a nice pleasant sail from Naples. Beam reach all the way. A little slow because of light winds but a nice relaxing day.
Went ashore yesterday and did happy hour at the Yucatan Beach Stand. Good jerk wings,  but not quite enough heat. Went across the street to the House of Brews. Great selection of craft beers on draft. 50 beers on tap and 200 bottles. Tried a few of the local brews. Definitely going back.
On our way now to sunset at the beach.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:26.45575
Longitude:-81.94799
GPS location Date/Time:05/25/2016 16:05:12 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Saturday, May 21, 2016

Dianne's portrait of Morgan

Dianne Wickes

Dianne, Paula and Clancy

Back on the ball & Rob Mehl

After our required 24 hours off the ball, we are back on the mooring in Naples. Last night we lost some sleep worrying about storms that threatened but never materialized. Scary anchored in close quarters when you're not sure of the holding.
Today we rented a car an drove up to Lake Suzy to spend the afternoon with Rob Mehl. (See the link to his music in our links section. )
We brought Morgan along in his backpack. When we got to the Nav-a-gator a woman walked up and asked us to join her at her table in the shade. She knew we had a bird because she recognized the backpack. She was there with her African Grey named Clancy. Her name is Dianne Wickes and she painted a portrait of Morgan, on a Schooner Wharf coaster.
We got to hear Rob sing some of our favorites and heard his friend Charlie I messed too.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Naples

Spent a little time on shore yesterday. Did some laundry, had long showers then went to Napoli on the Bay for some pizza. If you need some really good NY style pizza,  that's the spot.
After we got back to the boat we were glad we had a mooring ball. The rest of the night was marked by several lines of strong thundetstorms that rolled through the area. We woke up several times during the night to lightning and thunder nearby. We had a lot of rain and wind but the storms stayed either north or south of us. The mooring held fast and we were fine.
I was nervous because the moorings here don't seem nearly as well built as those in Marathon. The pennants are quite slender compared to the hausers they use in Marathon. But they held through the 30 to 40 knot winds we had last night. Tommorrow we have to go out to an anchorage for one night. Naples rules. Then Friday we will come back to ball for the weekend.  We reserved a rental car for the weekend so we can drive to the Nav-i-gator to see Rob Mehl.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Sunrise

Last sunrise over Marco Island. Bev clicked this as we were pulling anchor this morning. Now we're in Naples. We plan to stay around here for a while. Saturday we hope to rent a car to drive up to the Nav-i-gator to see Rob Mehl.

Naples

Finally pulled the anchor at Marco Island. Motored up the inside pass to the Naples mooring field. Filled our water tanks and bought a little fuel.
Mooring here is a little odd. You can only stay 4 consecutive nights. Then you have to leave for one night. Then you can come back for 4 more. There's only one other boat here, so why not just let us stay? Politics probably.
So we're getting settled.  Tomorrow laundry and a little exploring.

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:26.13125
Longitude:-81.79367
GPS location Date/Time:05/16/2016 12:12:23 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Thursday, May 12, 2016

T Bird at the Marina

These old car don't like ethanol but run just fine on marine gas.

Sunrise at Marco Island

Sunrise at our anchorage in Marco Island

Marco Island Brew Pub.

Great food. Great beer selection. Nice spot walking distance from Rose Marina.

Little Shark River

Start of our spring cruise.

Spring cruise 2016

Sorry about this long post. We've been out of communication range for some time, there's a lot to catch up on.

After some last minute shopping we finally slipped the dock lines at about 9AM on Monday, May 2, 2016. It's been quite a while since we were cruising. (We nearly lost the mast about a year ago due to some failed rigging, so we docked the boat and got the rig repaired and made some other improvements.)
We motored out to Moser Channel (7 Mile Bridge) and as soon as we cleared the bridge, we rolled out the jib and shut down the motor. It was a glorious day! A steady east wind, a little chop – maybe 2 foot seas – and an average speed of 5 knots the whole way (on just the jib) to Little Shark River. Just a beautiful, relaxing sail. Those of you who stayed in Boot Key Harbor missed one of the best sailing days imaginable. But then, things went to h*&^.
Our first night at anchor in Little Shark River was OK, just a little buggy. We made the mistake of leaving the solar rope lights on in the cockpit and woke up to the entire cockpit black with bugs. Yuck. And don't forget there is no communication here at all. No cell phone, no wi-fi, not even weather radio.
On Tuesday morning we decided to try to reach the Indian Key Anchorage outside of Everglades City. The day started out OK, we pulled the anchor about 8:30. The wind was not as favorable as the day before and we weren't making much speed. About 9 miles out we finally picked up a weather forecast and it said things were going to get nasty as a cold front was on its way. We decided to head back to Little Shark to wait it out. As we turned around, the wind and seas picked up, dead on the nose, of course.
Not wanting to be out if the front caught us, we fired up the “iron genny” and started to motor sail. Not long after, the engine alarm sounded as it had over-heated! Quick! Shut it down. Now what? We started tacking back and forth, trying to made some headway south. After about the second or third tack, the wind started to shift, just a little. Some careful sail trimming and cautious helmsman-ship and we stared to creep southward. Bit by bit the wind shifted just enough, and we pinched up just tight enough that we could just about make the entrance to the river on one good tack – but – there was a shoal in our path. The chart said 4 to 6 feet and we draw 4'3” so we were a little concerned that we might have to tack again. As luck would have it, it was high tide and we never saw less than 7 feet on the meter.
When I could finally see the outer mark, I took a bearing. It was at 153 degrees. Looking at the compass, our heading was – wait for it – 153 degrees! The wind had shifted just enough to carry us right to the mark. Rounding the mark, we eased the main, rolled in the jib and glided into the river pretty as you please. As soon as we felt we were in a safe spot, we dropped the hook, dropped the sail and had a beer.
Wednesday was “repair the engine” day. The weather was going downhill but hadn't quite hit its peak. We tinkered all day with the cooling system and found that an impeller had shattered in one of the pumps. 4 of 6 fins had broken off, but only one was still in the pump. We replaced the impeller and the seal (thank goodness we had spares) and tried the engine. No water flow. Ugh, gotta find those missing fins. Just about dismantled the whole cooling system looking for them. And where did they turn out to be? In the first place I should have looked, about 1 foot down stream from the pump. Next time I'll know.
By then the weather had turned ugly and we discovered that our “safe” anchorage was really not so comfortable. A swell was rolling in from the Gulf and flying right up the river. Wind and current and waves bouncing us hither and yon for hours. About two in the afternoon there was a break in the wind and rain so we fired up the motor, pulled the anchor and went up river about two miles. We could no longer see the river mouth so no more swell. We set the anchor, had some dinner and watched a DVD.
Some time during the night, the weather came back. Wind and rain and debris in the water, strange noises all night long. Not much sleep, but no damage, no anchor drag, no problems.
On Thursday we woke up to a beautiful morning, sun shine and light winds from the west. Since we knew the seas would not lay down for another day or so we decided to stay put do some boatkeeping, and retest the engine. Found a couple of minor leaks in the reassembled cooling system, made repairs and otherwise relaxed the rest of the day.
Now we wait for another easterly.
As it turned out, we didn't get favorable conditions until Sunday. Friday and Saturday we just relaxed and did a little exploring in the Little Shark River. When Sunday rolled around we pulled anchor and headed out. We tried to sail, but the wind was just too light, we couldn't make any speed. We really didn't want to make a 36 mile trip into an overnight, so we motored up to Indian Key. The anchorage there was a little too exposed, so we went in another mile or so to Russell Pass.
On Monday, things looked good for a passage around Cape Romano. The Cape is well known for having shoals that extend for miles out into the Gulf, so careful navigation is required. We sailed out of our anchorage at about 7:45 and had a pleasant, if slow, sail out to the Cape. Once we reached the Cape shoals, the wind was directly at our back. Sailing directly downwind is a delicate balancing act since any slight change in wind direction can cause a “jibe.” A jibe is the sudden, violent and dangerous movement of the main boon from one side of the boat to the other. If the jibe is planned and carefully managed, it's OK. But a sudden and unexpected jibe can damage the rigging and any heads that happen to be in the way!
We managed to thread our way around the shoals without any accidental jibes. It was still an uncomfortable time as the seas had picked up and we rolled side to side quite a bit. Once we cleared the shoals, we could turn north and put the boat on a more comfortable broad reach. After a few hours, the wind died away and we had to motor the last few miles into Capri Pass. Just as I had hoped, we reached the pass at slack water so didn't have to contend with the current which can get quite swift there. We looked into Factory Bay, but the anchorage there looked crowded, so we dropped the hook just across the river at Stingaree Island. We plan to dinghy in to shore to stretch our legs and see the town, maybe have lunch at one of the restaurants there.

Tuesday May 10, 2016
Went ashore (thank you Rose Marina) by dinghy. The folks at Rose Marina are very accommodating for anchored boats. $5 gets you dinghy dockage for the day. We brought Morgan along with us in his special back-pack. (He's a hit wherever he goes.) We found a great brew pub to have some locally brewed IPA and a great lunch: grouper tacos and fried shrimp. We bought one of each and mixed and matched. Too much food, and a reasonable price. The pub is in the same complex as a Publix supermarket, so we stopped in and stocked up on a few provisions.
For those planning on cruising the Marco area, be sure to check out “Paradise Seafood” on Bald Eagle Drive, a short walk from Rose Marina. Great selection of locally caught seafood and a boutique wine selection. Be sure to ask for the owner, Scott Young. Nice guy, very knowledgeable and helpful.
Just a block or two farther on the opposite side of Bald Eagle Drive is Sweet Annie's, an ice cream shop with a game room for the kids. (Milky Way ice cream? Yep, wow!)
Within walking distance of the Rose Marina there's a thrift shop, a Bealls Outlet, a Publix, a NAPA store, West Marine, etc. Just about everything a boater could need. There's even a “pet resort and bakery.”

Wednesday May 11.
Went ashore again and had some ice cream at Sweet Annie's, bought a few bits of clothing at Bealls and came back to the boat to call Naples' City Dock to see if we could get a ball for a few days. Seems they're having some sort of event on Saturday so we'd have to leave. So we decided to stay in Marco another few days. We'll head for Naples on Sunday. Special thanks to Capt Blake of BOAT/US for providing us with local info on the passage to Naples.

Thursday May 12
Came ashore again to look for some free wifi to make this post, have a little lunch and pick up a few things at Publix. Morgan decided not to join us this trip, so we are a little anxious about him on the boat all alone. Gotta run. Hope to post more in a few days.
 

Monday, May 9, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.97409
Longitude:-81.72534
GPS location Date/Time:05/09/2016 16:42:17 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.83598
Longitude:-81.44147
GPS location Date/Time:05/08/2016 16:18:22 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Friday, May 6, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.33117
Longitude:-81.12591
GPS location Date/Time:05/06/2016 16:43:19 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Thursday, May 5, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.33115
Longitude:-81.12598
GPS location Date/Time:05/05/2016 16:37:29 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.33117
Longitude:-81.12618
GPS location Date/Time:05/04/2016 18:12:14 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.32723
Longitude:-81.14264
GPS location Date/Time:05/03/2016 14:06:57 EDT

Message:This is Bev and Mike on board Queequeg, just letting you know we're OK. Click the link to see where we are!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Monday, May 2, 2016

Check-in/OK message from SPOT Mike's Spot

Mike's Spot
Latitude:25.32836
Longitude:-81.13979
GPS location Date/Time:05/02/2016 18:49:22 EDT

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Almost ready

Almost ready to head out. A little last minute provisioning, get Morgan groomed, a little laundry, etc. Then it's watch for a window to cross Florida Bay to the Everglades. Monday? Tuesday? It all depends on weather.
Once we head out we will not have cell phone or internet connection for several days. Watch this blog for our SPOT updates.
Wish us luck!