The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Papillon · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject:

Jim,
I think that you have been caught in the Bermuda Triangle and thus will have to repost your last few days of travels due to the server snafu.

I started your truck up today and gave the batteries a little charging since it was so cold outside just in case you needed to be hauled out to thaw out the "Wild Blue Machine". Watch out for those ICE BURGS..

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:26 pm Post subject:

Back to Boot Key Harbor. According to the tracking, our new battery charger should arrive today. We stopped for fuel and ice on the way in, then dropped our main anchor. The weather is supposed to turn chilly and windy again, so we got the dinghy down and set a second anchor.

I fussed with the batteries, certain that they are on their last legs. I called a dealer here in Marathon, and found out it would be two weeks before he could get replacement batteries in. That won’t work for us, so we’ll limp by with what we have. Fortunately the new charger did show up, so maybe that will help our battery situation.

Brent and Dixie invited us for supper on their boat - they made steaks, Joan made pasta. It’s hard to imagine we lose weight when we are cruising, but it must be because of the extra exercise we get.

The city is putting in new mooring balls, so the marina came right out when we anchored to let us know that we had to be out of here by Sunday. Yes, we already knew that... I also let them know that we have been kicked out of nicer places than this! It’s no problem - if we decide to stay longer than Sunday, we’ll just find a different place to anchor.

Saturday, February 17th. One of those “getting things done” kinda days. First up was laundry, this time in the laundry room in the marina. We were the first ones in there, so Joan got all three washers. Dixie came in just as our machines opened up. Easy.

Next, installing the new battery charger - the install went well, the charger works, but there is definitely a problem with the batteries. We’ll deal with that another day.

Installing the new charger...

Finally, grocery shopping. We walked the mile or so to the store, filled a shopping cart, and took a cab back to the marina. There was barely room for us in the dinghy with all the goodies. We may not have the biggest boat, but we we sure eat well!

Brent and Dixie came over to our boat for the evening; more good conversation and some trip planning.

Sunday, February 18th. The wind really ramped up. Gale force winds with rain as I write this. With our "eviction", along with everyone from the east end of the harbor, it's putting twice as many boats anchored in half as much space. In the heirarchy of things, it's better than being "out there" (Captain Ron reference), but not as good as having decent room to swing. Having a boat that doesn't draw much has let us tuck into a small space with a little shore protection, but I had to tighten up the scope. Lots of boats (including us) moved yesterday while the weather was decent... so, we've seen a few boats drag as the light came up. We took the motor off the dinghy, snugged the dinghy into the stern, and have the main motor down and ready... just in case.

The partial view of the anchorage from our window...

We provisioned yesterday, have full fuel, the generator is keeping everything topped off, freshly showered, and while it's only going to be in the low 60s, we're snug in the cabin. We're supposed to meet Casey and Sandy from NakNek onshore for lunch... looks like we may just wave at them from the boat. We certainly hope there will be another opportunity to meet up.

The forecast is for this to hang in there most of the day and night. If so, we'll be taking turns sleeping tonight. Anyone heard the Ken Gill song, "Blowing a Hooley Tonight"?

Afternoon Update: one particularly strong gust pulled the second anchor loose. 50 feet of chain on the primary with a Delta is holding fine. Joan handled the bow while I got the dinghy ready and reset the second anchor. Other than that little chore, we have been entertaining ourselves in the boat (Yahtzee, Phase 10, and gin... rummy, not the drink).

Our plan is to get out of here as soon as the weather breaks; just a few too many boats in close proximity for my comfort level. Joan asked me, "When does the 'kicked back, relaxing part' you promised start?" Shucks, I got a short nap in before the anchor reset... it's windy, but not much fetch, so there isn't a lot of wave action... if I had a couple feet more room between boats, this would be a walk in the park! Wink

Molly got a nap, too...

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Several updates since we were without the site for a while!

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:35 pm Post subject:

Dora~Jean · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:40 pm Post subject:

Jim, on your anchor, I hate it when that happens... Glad you were prepared and kept your head. What kind/type of anchor dragged on you? How much chain, what scope? Did you reset it differently than the first time? We can all learn from your experiences. Crowded anchorage, short scope = The Pits.

On the caloric burn rate, I read somewhere that the motion of the boat, however so small, makes your body react to counter each move. Those little tiny bits of muscle exercise adds up 24 hrs per day which accounts for the higher burn rate. Sounds plausable to me. I experienced it too on a 10 day trip and the 3 1/2 wk trip in the Bahamas. Great not to worry about dieting - but wait till you get home!

thataway · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:55 pm Post subject:

Cruising= fixing broken parts in exotic ports. Not sleeping every night because of anchor watches.

You might consider NAPA as a source of batteries. I have used them on the boats--there is a NAPA there in Marathon--and I suspect it will be cheaper than at the marine store. If you decide you want the "orbital" they are similar to AGM--but lead acid may well be aequate for the aft battery groups. One advantage of NAPA is that the warantee will be good at all NAPA stores...Don't know if your origional batteries are still under warantee.

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:51 pm Post subject:

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject:

R-Matey · Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:41 pm Post subject:

Hi Jim and Joan,

Sure happy to have the C-Brat site up and running as we missed reading your posts about your adventures on Wild Blue. Molly sure looks comfortable. Windy, choppy and cold here. Not to many good C-Dory days lately. Please tell Dixie & Brent hello for us. Take care.

Ruth and Joe
R-Matey

Dora~Jean · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:28 am Post subject:

Jim,
I have the same two anchors! My 22# Delta is also on the front windlass, I use the Danforth as my stern anchor or backup for bow. I have 30ft of chain on the Delta, about 20ft on the Danforth. Yep, you probably just had too much wind for the 4:1 scope.

Lets all hope for better weather for you guys, want to see more pictures...yes! BTW, we've spent some time with Brent and Dixie on several past cruises, great couple. Amazing though, you guys seem to be such a perfect match to be cruising together, what a great combination and time to be well and alive!

Casey · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:52 am Post subject:

Jim, Joan, Brent, and Dixie,

Yea ... sorry lunch yesterday didn't work out - but hope we can get together before you depart northward.

I haven't followed your battery situation, but if you're having problems finding them let me know. We can easily drive up there (sort of looking for an excuse anyway...) and we'll just go up the Keys until we find the proper batt's.

Give me a call.

Casey and Sandy
(currently in Key West)
CELL: 602-418-8267

JamesTXSD · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:55 am Post subject:

dotnmarty · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:22 am Post subject:

I am enjoying your posts, and your pictures, very much-learning a lot too. Thanks for taking the time to post.

JamesTXSD · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:17 pm Post subject: Now, this is mo betta...

Joan and Molly, snug in bed, waiting for the Wallas to heat up the cabin...

A quick check of weather on the computer showed that the wind should be diminishing as the day went on; we made our plan to get the heck out of Boot Key Harbor. Joan made muffins and cut up fresh fruit. I pulled the dinghy up on top of the boat and pulled in one anchor. By the time we cleaned up, we were ready to move on. We pulled up the main anchor and threaded our way through all the boats to meet Discovery at the back of the harbor.

Our plan: head up the Keys a short distance to an anchorage that Brent had heard about that wasn’t marked on the charts. Less than an hour after leaving Boot Key, we were slowly working our way into a small, winding channel. If you didn’t know it was here, you wouldn’t see it... and it is beautiful! The water is clear and turquoise; the channel opens into a small cove. Two other boats were already anchored in there... this place is paradise compared to the overcrowded mess at Boot Key. As an added bonus, the winds were, indeed, dropping some, and this place is very protected.

We saw a small state park as we made our way in. After anchoring, we took the dinghy in to check it out. Great campground that looks brand new... and showers that we should be able to use if we want.

We came back to the boat for lunch and then decided to take the next step with Molly: her first dinghy ride to shore. She was a bit apprehensive, but with her kitty life jacket on, we made our way to shore. Joan topped off a couple water jugs while Molly entertained folks walking around. I carried the 80 pounds of water back to the dinghy and we came back to the boat. Molly was a real trooper; I know she didn't sign on for this when she adopted us. Time for all three of us to kick back and relax.

While still chilly (mid-60s) with just enough wind that you want a wind-shirt, the sun is shining and the water here is blissfully quiet. The anchor rodes are hanging limp; such an improvement over all the tugging of the past couple days.

Brent and Dixie are off exploring in their dinghy; we'll be meeting up on one of the boats for sundowners. Yeah, this is mo betta! Laughing

Glad to be able to get some pretty water photos again.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

thataway · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:13 pm Post subject:

Jim,
Have you got a lat/lon for this "secret cove"?

Temp has been as low as 26 degrees several nights in the Panhandle--but back to the high 60's today. Thanks for the great thread and photos!

Pat Anderson · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:57 pm Post subject:

Bob - this sounds like one of those "I could tell you but then I would have to kill you" things! Sort of like the lat/lon for Dusty's secret spot prawn place...