December 29, 2011 Averill Park

 The holidays are rapidly coming to an end.  We feel most fortunate to have been able to visit some family and lots of friends and neighbors since returning home from Melbourne in late November.  Our health is once again assured as evidenced by numerous doctor visits with OK's from all of them!  Wow!  Other things will occupy my "concerns list" instead.

Missing Fiu goes without saying, however, I have enjoyed my time here at home.  Bonnie has, as always, created a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere with her exceptional Christmas decorating skills! I am, though, looking forward to listening to more eclectic music!

We are moving right along to gather the requisite items to return to Fiu this Tuesday, January 3rd.  Packing will be light with a mix of clothes and small tools filling my bags.  I am hopeful the new canvas enclosure around the cockpit will be as nice as I envision. It's necessary to make Fiu as comfortable as possible since it is our home for several months each year.  The enclosed cockpit becomes an extra room while at anchor not unlike a covered porch at home.

Tentative plans include traveling to Marathon in the Keys then on to another great adventure to the Bahamas in early March.  Our buddy boats have both been there before and will be great assets to us on our trip. Fiu is an ocean-going vessel I am excited to see how she behaves on an extended stay away from the mainland!

Repairs were made to Fiu while I remained behind in Melbourne in late November.  The freshwater leak in the raw water cooling exhaust was small and is fixed!  The oil pressure gauge is 100% now and provides a large measure of comfort while motor-sailing.  Both head (bathroom) hatches no longer leak and one can relax while there during a rain storm without fear of taking an unwanted shower!

My nephew, a Melbourne resident, checked on Fiu with an "OK" delivered  to me just the other day.  He is an exceptional young man who has worked diligently and continuously to achieve his 200 ton masters captain's license.  He is currently awaiting his very own tug to captain.  Interestingly enough he is scheduled to travel with diesel fuel deliveries to the Bahamas from Miami this winter and spring!  Perhaps we will pass each other enroute.

Enough for now.  I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Captain Sid

November 11-18, 2011 Melbourne, FL

 Notice the very rough surf a a result of the off shore low pressure stalled!  It's great to be off the water for a while and being able to sit and walk at the beach!

Bon at Melbourne rough surf!

surf at Melbourne

Sunset is at about 6:20pm!

Bike ride on Merritt Island quiet neighborhood

Still a little windy after several days here

These are some of the things we have seen in and around Melbourne on our bikes!

Captain Sid

November 10, 2011 Thursday Titusville to Melbourne, FL

Our trip today was about six hours and the weather was warm and sunny!  Pulling up the anchor was relatively easy.  When I get to Melbourne I'll remove the electric motor and have it tested.  It just may be time for a new windlass.  Ouch!

Thinking about being here in Melbourne reminds me of my three reasons for heading south for the winter:  sun, warmth and salt air at the beach!  Also, just a side thought, the most worriesome part of the entire journey was not the rough seas on the Chesapeake Bay or the ocean legs around New Jersey and Beaufort, NC to Wrightsville Beach, but instead it is crossing Route A1A and US 1!  I have said it before but it it so apparent when one rides a bike on these heavily traveled roads.  The volume of traffic is so heavy!  It is critical as a driver that you stay with the flow and  virtually race between stoplights and enter the flow from  a side road at any even small break in traffic and immediately "floor it!"  While there are bike lanes it is not bike friendly.  Bon and I cross at intersections and only when the walk light is on.

We are staying at the Anchorage Yacht Basin at 96 E. Eau Gallie Causeway, Melbourne, FL.  I need to have the windlass fixed before we return from home after New Years.  I will get an estimate for a new canvas enclosure of the cockpit and I have to troubleshoot a slight raw water leak somewhere on the engine which gathers in the bilge.

Looking forward some time off the water.

Captain Sid

November 9, 2011 Wednesday Daytona to Titusville, FL

We said our good-byes to Ed and Patty Ann and Ed helped us get out of our slip.  We will reconnect in early January when we head down the coast to the Keys.

While much of the day was cloudy we still had plenty of sunshine at anchor here in Titusville.  Our 7 hour day on the water included some motor sailing, large wakes from the dark side and more dolphins than one can count!  Again, I have no pics of Flipper since they are only above the surface for a half second!  My auto-focus camera takes a full second to snap the pic!

Rian Syd

The windlass is acting up again.  What this means is I have to manually drop the anchor (45 lbs) plus pay out the chain!  Leather gloves are my best friend in this situation.  I think the electric motor is having an identity crisis!  The hardest part will be to pull up the anchor and pile the chain in the chain locker without incident!  There are only 50 feet of chain out since we are anchored in 8 feet of water with no noticeable tide change in this part of Florida.







 We will reach our goal tomorrow and arrive at Anchorage Yacht Basin in Eau Gallie by early afternoon.  We will work together to get Fiu back on line.  Bonnie returns home November 17 and I will stay to see that other necessary work is completed on Fiu for the second half of our adventure.  I return home December 6.

AJ

Thought you might like to see our granddaughters!  We miss them very much!








Captain Sid

November 6, 2011 Sunday St. Augustine, FL

We stayed an extra day due to the high winds (25-30kts) at Rivers Edge Marina.  I suppose sailors who are racers would enjoy the high steady winds! We need to feel comfortable with Fiu and these persistent winds take some of the fun out of our journey.

We walked about 4 miles today and managed to get a few necessary items off our list.  The exercise feels great and there are only so many laps to make on deck!  Getting off the boat periodically is important.

We will debark in the morning and try to get to Daytona before early evening.

Captain Sid

November 7-8, 2011 Monday Tuesday St. Augustine to Daytona, FL

Great location and break wall

 We had a wonderful day motor sailing from St Augustine to Daytona.  After all the wind it was fun to be in the sunshine!  Many of the homes and break walls were quite striking while some were just over the top.  The power boaters send wakes that are harsh treatment for any break wall!  Residents here tend to spend a lot of money and energy to build lasting waterfronts.

 The motor sail to Daytona took most of the day.  Ed and Patty Ann were gracious hosts and we slept away from Fiu for the first time since Charleston.  We took a slip at Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona.  The price was right and the services were above average!  Ed met us at the Fiu (his boat is docked here) and he drove us to their condo at Ormond Beach .

Condo view

 The surf has been rough and advisories warn against swimming and surfing!  The rip tides can be deadly!  This three week period of northeast winds has created high surf and many small craft advisories.  The beach is littered with seaweed!

Difficult to take a walk

I'm still waiting to get my "day at the beach!"  While some of the weather has been uncooperative we have had some fun and we did relax here on the beach for a short time!

End of a fine weather day!

 Captain Sid

November 5, 2011 Saturday Ft George River to St. Augustine FL

Delinquent Sailboat in St Augustine

I am skipping back to the original posting settings to see if your comments can be received without you logging in to a site!  The problem here is that now you can't see the location.  Dilemma!  I think it's most important to see the exact location of Fiu on any given day.  Therefore, I will once again return to the new format with location and comments if you are willing to sign in.  Personally, I don't like to sign in places in general so don't feel obligated.  I'm just glad you are reading about our trip!

Bridge north of St Augustine Harbor

Today will not be forgotten!  We started out with clouds and cool winds.  The winds eventually changed to gusts and then changed still again to steady high winds with gusts!  In English this means by early afternoon the wind was a constant 20 knots and the gusts reached 31 knots.  Keep in mind a gale is 36 knots of wind!  We tried two recommended anchorages and both were bogus!  The water was much shallower than reported and we were at near high tide!  We traveled down the Matanzas River five miles south of St Augustine, FL to reach the second anchorage.  It was so shallow I nearly became hung up.  That's it!  I turned around and headed back to a marina in St Augustine I like from previous trips.  While this seems like a waste of time and fuel we were safe and had peace of mind that we wouldn't be up all night worrying about the shallows or anchor dragging in the high winds.  I treated the cost of the marina and Bonnie treated me to a seafood dinner and draft beer at "Happy Hour" at Hurricane Patty's!





There are few pics from today because we were so concerned about the high winds and their effect on the water and the safe handling of Fiu.  While sailing requires wind sometimes the wind is at extremes.  We are not equipped to handle this kind of wind and enjoy it.

Ft in St Augustine Harbor

Captain Sid