It was an easy trip to Charleston once the storm blew itself out over Fernandina (and the rest of the south) on the Saturday of Palm Sunday weekend.  We had pulled into  Fernandina to wait it out and it was a good thing.

Stormy  Weather

 The winds began to rise early Saturday morning (April  16th) and continued to build throughout the day.   A trip to town ended quickly as the skies darkened, causing us to scurry  back to Orion to weather the storm  there.  As the dinghy left the
shelter of the marina’s docks for the open waters of the mooring field, Dave was  having trouble making forward progress against the winds and current, which were  combining forces to push us north, when we needed to head south.  Once we made it to Orion, we  switched to dry clothes and finalized the preparations for the storm.  Dave put an extra line (a 5/8” dock  line) on the dinghy, in addition to the painter and dinghy bridle.   He had already added another line to the mooring ball.  
 

Through much of the day, the wind howled, but no rain fell.  The “15 to 20 knots” forecast, was more  like 25 to 35 knots, gusting to 50.   For much of the day, we benefited from the alignment of the southerly winds and the ebbing current, but by mid-afternoon, when the current began to flood, we knew it.  Orion was now beam to the wind and the waves, with the current trying to point her to the north and the winds trying to point her south. 
While this is typical for harbors with current, what was unusual this time was the strength of the two forces, and the resulting gale force winds pushing on Orion’s beam.   As we were working down below, the first indication of the change in our position was an unusual sound on deck after a particularly strong gust.  “It’s the solar panels”, Cathy said and  we both scrambled on deck to check.   Sure enough the flexible panels on top of the bimini were working their way loose.  While Cathy held the panels secure, Dave tightened the existing ropes.  However, the way the wind was blowing, the wind was finding its way under the long side of the panels and kept lifting them off the bimini.  We needed to reduce the windage.  So, Dave ran some more lines from the stanchions across the solar panels to the jibsheets on the other side of the bimini.  It was a temporary solution, but it kept them from lifting with higher gusts of wind. 

With the wind forecast to die down before midnight, we knew we just had to wait it out until the current changed, which would be about the same time.  In the meantime, we took a look around the harbor with this change in current.  It was a dramatic show.  A couple of our neighbors were full keel boats, and the current was having a more dramatic effect on them.  One, Tarwathie, which was closest, kept
swinging in 360 degree arcs around its mooring ball, causing her to frequently be pointed stern to stern with boats nearby. This was particularly alarming for another full keel boat, the schooner Harvey Gamage, who was at anchor north of the mooring field.  This double-masted boat was also doing 360’s and making for some very close passes by some of its nearest neighbors.  Many boats in the anchorage dragged, and we felt sorry for the couple on Yoda who arrived during the height of the storm and tried for over an hour to get an anchor to set.  At one point, the wind picked up a dinghy off one of the moored trawlers and flipped it upside down, its outboard now dangling beneath it in the water.  We watched helplessly as
the owners tried to set the dinghy right-side up in the water and retrieve the motor to no avail.  (There were able to retrieve it the next day.)  In the midst of all this wind, a trawler arrived to pick up a mooring nearby.  Despite the wind and their height above the water, they managed to snag the penant and secure their line to it. 

By evening, the worst of the winds had passed and they continued  to ease overnight.  The next day  dawned clear and cool, with a light northerly wind – a welcome relief from the  prior day’s turmoil.  These same  storms had spawned tornadoes further north and we checked in with relatives to  make sure they were OK.  We had a lot to be thankful for as we joined the local parishioners for Palm Sunday
services and a procession down Center Street with
our palms in hand that Sunday morning. We had weathered the storm with little drama, and were thankful to have been on a strong mooring surrounded by boats similarly securely attached.  And our loved ones had managed to stay out of the paths of the storms further north. 

Out of Florida

You could see the masts lined up in the distance ahead of us as we trailed them out the Saint Mary’s inlet and into the ocean on Monday, April 18th.  We had made a decision at the last minute to take this window and head out for Charleston.  With the winds forecasted to be around 10 knots, it was going to be a gamble whether we could sail much of the way.  Tuesday had better winds forecast, but
it felt a little odd to let a calmer window pass in favor of a windier one.  So, as the sun was beginning to rise Monday morning, we got into gear to get ready to leave.  Dave dinghied ashore to return the shower key, while Cathy began to prepare the cockpit and stow stuff below.  By the time Dave returned, she was ready to help haul the dinghy.  While Dave secured it on deck, Cathy worked on the enclosure, cleaning the morning dew off the panels to ensure we could see as we headed east into the morning sun.  It was shortly after 8am, when we cast off the mooring and got underway,
about an hour having passed from our decision to move. 

We didn’t want to arrive after dark on Tuesday, so we decided that we would have to make at least 4 knots under sail or we would have to start the engine.  Shortly after leaving the inlet, we set the sails and killed the engine.  For the next few hours, we sailed well enough to keep the speed up, but
as Cathy’s luck would have it, by the time her watch started the winds began to die.  She waited about an hour and a half before resigning herself to starting the engine. Not long after that the headsail came in. By sunset, we were still motoring and we decided to furl the main.  That was the last we saw of the sails on the trip.  
 
We kept in touch with some of the boats ahead of us throughout the trip as we could – It’s About Time, Carpe Diem, Argonauta, Star.  The boats were headed to a variety of destinations – Charleston  (of course), Winyah Bay to Georgetown,Cape Fear to Wrightsville Beach and, the furthest destination, Beaufort.  Although we lagged behind most, our AIS was providing valuable navigation assistance as the boats ahead of us tried to dodge the big ships coming in and out of
Savannah.  With the confusion of the many ships, the sailboats in the lead were struggling to understand how to thread their way through the shipping lanes.  Dave sorted out the various targets and gave the names of the key vessels and helped guide the others through.  Once we made it through this gauntlet, the night settled down.  With the help of the full moon, we continued our journey north.

By morning, the water was glassy calm, the winds were less than  5 knots from astern, and the cockpit was damp from the dew that had clouded the
enclosure panels overnight.  With little hope for more sailing, and an ETA that would bring us up the
Cooper River at the tail end of the flood current, we powered on. Shortly before entering the inlet, we passed the schooner Spirit of SC on a sail south.  We hailed them and found they were on a Spring Break cruise.  Just after noon, we found ourselves on the dock at the Maritime Center, a little over 3 months since Orion had last been on a dock, and we planned to enjoy one more stay in Charleston.

Boat Stuff

Since Orion was due for an oil change by the time we arrived in Charleston, we took advantage of the warm engine and the nearby used oil disposal bin to take care of it.  Having been off the grid for 3 months, we wasted no time in getting on shore power.  However, the batteries were doing well and it didn’t take long to top them off.  A few days later Dave equalized both banks to bring them to top performance.  The Maritime Center's free washer and dryer make this a good place to do some spring cleaning, so Cathy washed all the cushion covers and curtains.  To minimize any galvanic corrosion while on the dock, we suspend a zinc plate on a metal wire into the water and clip it to a shroud.  The clips need to be replaced periodically, so Dave took care of this before putting it in place again.  
 
And, since we were in one place for a while, we had our mail forwarded to us, which brings its own set of catch-up work.

Spring in  Charleston  


With Easter coming so late this year, despite our later than usual arrival in Charleston, we were here once again for Easter Sunday.  We returned to The
Circular Church for a beautiful service and their annual Easter Egg hunt in the graveyard.  Later, we enjoyed some seafood at Hyman’s, the first of a few meals to be enjoyed in Charleston’s smorgasbord of restaurants.  We discovered Blossom, which had some delicious artichoke hearts, and made a return trip to Southend Brewery.  
  
We aren’t alone on a northerly migration, and we ran into a number of familiar faces.  Bill and
Bettye arrived on Sea Mist, unfortunately with engine problems.  But they weren’t too unhappy about being “stuck” in Charleston.  Bo and Joyce arrived a little later on Dream Catcher, after a rougher passage up from Jekyll Creek.  They were glad to take a break here as well.  We got together one night on Orion for dessert before we started to head our separate ways again.   

Sue, our friend from Hampton arrived just as April was ending for a short stay as she takes time out between her life in the military and her re-entry into civilian life.  (It seemed ironic that the day after she left the military, Osama bin Laden was killed.  We asked her whether this was just a coincidence.)  While she was here, she dove on the boat to clean the prop and the bottom, then she cleaned thw decks.  Orion hasn’t looked this good in months. Sue also joined us for our second trip to The Circular Church, when we joined them for Earth Sunday.  The lesson was given by a noted local artist, Mary Edna Fraser whose batiks are inspired by aerial views of the earth and the poet laureate of SC, Marjory Wentworth. Afterward we joined them for a potluck lunch on the lawn. 

This time of year, Charleston is at its best.  With flowers everywhere, the scents and colors surround you.  The ships and sailboats are an endless pageant unfolding before you and there seems to be no bad place to go to take a walk. We have another week here, but it will disappear quickly and then it will be hard to say goodbye.  

Fernandina?  So, what about the Dry Tortugas?  Isn’t that where we were headed?  Well . . . We started looking at the weather most seriously as March was coming to an end for a run out to this westernmost outpost of the Florida Keys.  And as
frequently happens, we could find the weather to get there with no problems, but coming back was not so easy.  You see, when the winds shift west, which is a good direction for coming back from the Dry Tortugas, that usually means a front is coming through. Therefore this is not the weather you typically want to travel in, much less anchor in
the very-exposed Marquesas, the only stopping point between Key West and the Dry Tortugas. 

With the risk of being stuck out there, and with the temperature and humidity continuing to rise, we decided it was time to turn north.  If we are meant to go to the Dry Tortugas, it will happen, but it won’t be this year.  We turned our eyes north and began to make our way out of the Keys.

Traveling Again (or What are those white things for?)

With an eye toward sailing as much as possible for our travels, we looked for traveling weather that had the right winds that would make this possible.  But we were also anxious to get started.  We had scheduled a bottom cleaning for Orion before leaving Boot Key Harbor, which turned out be a very good thing.  The warmer temperatures had accelerated growth exponentially in the last couple weeks of our stay.  The diver said that our prop looked like a basketball, and that no underwater surface was untouched.  With the growth accumulating that fast, we didn’t want to stick around too much longer, so we took a less than perfect window to leave the harbor early on the morning of Thursday, April 7th.   The east wi nds were too much on the nose to sail and when we realized they were not going to moderate or shift (as some earlier forecasts had indicated) until the next day, we were forced to change our plans.  Anchoring at Rodriguez Key, which has no protection from the east winds was going to be very rough.  So, we decided to stop early the first day and anchor near Channel Five (to get in the lee of Lower Matecumbe Key) in Matecumbe Bight.  As we were discussing where to go with Lunar Sea (our traveling companions), fellow cruisers on Symmetry, a catamaran, broke in and recommended this anchorage as a good alternative.  Other than the 2 of us, there was only one other boat anchored in this huge anchorage. We used the extra time from our early stopover, to top off our fuel tank and finish preparations for the overnight to take us up the coast.

We weren’t exactly sure how the next day would play out.  Dave and Renee suggested some
alternatives of taking the inside route from there or cutting through from Hawk Channel to the ICW at Angelfish Creek. None of these looked appealing to us. The inside route south of
Angelfish Creek is notoriously shallow, and Angelfish Creek (according to BoatUS) would only have enough depth for us at mid-tide.  Our best timing to this spot would put us there just before low tide, and with no attractive alternatives for anchoring, since the winds would rule out Rodriguez Key again.  Also, we were headed to different destinations.  We were heading up the coast as far as the weather would take us.  Dave and Renee were headed for Pompano Beach, near Fort Lauderdale.  They needed to go slow so that we wouldn’t arrive at the inlet before morning.  We weren’t in a hurry, but we were going out for the long haul, expecting a multi-night overnight. 

As we headed out the next morning, we tested the winds and decided we would keep going into the night, either in Hawk Channel or out to the ocean at Turtle Rocks through the reef opposite Angelfish Creek.  With this decision made, we cut the engine and began sailing on the headsail. 
Our speed dropped, but we would still get to the decision point in daylight, and since we were going to travel with Dave and Renee as far as Fort Lauderdale, we were in no hurry.  This could work. 

But  things weren’t going to go quite as planned. In the middle of a tack mid-afternoon, our headsail got caught on a spreader tip and was torn.  It was made worse when it backwinded later on.  We then had to furl it to keep it off the spreaders, but this slowed our
progress.  As we examined our alternatives for leaving the Keys, the option of staying in Hawk Channel until  we got to Key Biscayne was less attractive. There are many unlit daymarks on the
channel, which would make travel at night harrowing.  We recommended heading out Turtle Rocks.  Since the Gulf Stream was supposed to
be 22 miles off shore, we could stay out of it and travel slowly up the coast to Fort
Lauderdale.  As we motored through the reef, Cathy kept a close eye on the water, looking for the brown color that indicated reefs to avoid. The channel was well-marked and the light was good, so it was an easy trip out to the ocean.  However, the rough water in the ocean and our speed indicated we had been mislead about the location of the Gulf Stream.  We were in it almost as soon as we left the protection of the reef.  We tried to sail on our headsail alone, but as the sun started to set, we had concerns about its condition.  If it was damaged further during the night, we wouldn’t be able to see it.  So, we furled it in and pulled out the main. This would allow us to sail closer to the wind and should allow us to coast along to Fort Lauderdale till morning,

No such luck.

At some point, Cathy awoke with a start.  One of the (sizable) beam waves gave Orion a toss and she heard what sounded like a ball bearing rolling around on deck. She popped up to ask Dave
what it was. He gave her a blank look.  What noise?  She tried to go back to sleep, but then heard it again.  This didn’t sound right.  She looked through the portlight near where the sound came from. Sure enough, there was something rolling around.  She opened the portlight and picked it up.  It was a 2 inch long 3/8” diameter pin with a hole through it.  This didn’t look good. 
In showing it to Dave, he didn’t know where it used to sit in the rigging.  We scanned the rigging
with a flashlight, but initially saw nothing amiss.  Until, we looked at the boom as it attaches to the mast. Only it wasn’t attached.  It was swinging free, held in place by the tension of the main and the rigid vang. We realized our sailing was done for this trip.  We started the engine, furled the main, and then Dave went forward (carefully) to lash the boom to the mast for the rest of the trip.  Our
problem now was that we couldn’t go slow.  With the engine engaged, we would have to run at very low rpm’s to keep us from arriving too early at Fort Lauderdale.  This is not good for a diesel engine.  So, Dave talked to Lunar Sea and explained our dilemma.  We would have to power up and go on up the coast.   We wished each other well and said goodbye. 

Once we were under engine power, our speed soared.  For almost 9 hours, we were traveling around 10 knots, thanks to the Gulf Stream current.  We didn’t leave it until we approached Fort Piercearound noon the next day.  By that time the seas were glassy calm, and we had the calmest transit of the Fort Pierce inlet ever (well, except for that large cargo ship that we had to avoid on the way in).  We were tied up to a mooring at Vero Beach by mid-afternoon.  Soon thereafter we had the headsail down and had studied the boom connection to the gooseneck at the mast.  This looked like it might be as simple as a cotter pin.  In hindsight, we both remembered seeing a cotter pin lying on deck at Marathon, but we couldn’t find where it came from. Now we knew.  After we were showered and fed, we fell asleep early, knowing despite the problems it had been a good run and it was good to have some miles behind us.

Patching Up

One of the reasons we planned to head to Vero Beach was the fact that Tom and Dau (Cathy’s distant cousin) were docked at Fort Pierce nearby.  When we called with our tale of woe, they immediately gave us the name of a local sail repair place and offered to take us there.  We called and left a message with Mack Sails in Stuart, but since we were arriving on Saturday, any response would have to wait until Monday. In the meantime, Dave exchanged e-mails with Bruce Empey, who was the  Neil Pryde representative who designed the headsail.  As usual, he was very responsive and had good suggestions of things to consider about the repair.

On Monday, Tom picked us and the sail up and took us down to  Stuart.  Dave had read more about Mack Sails and learned that they are  sailmakers.  We called to follow up on our original call, and they graciously agreed to look at our sail, although it was obviously their busy time.  (All those boat up north that are about to go into the water want their sails.)  When they checked out the sail, they said it was a simple fix, but that they would recommend we add a spreader patch.  Since Bruce had already mentioned this, we readily agreed.  Amazingly, they said we could pick the sail back up in the afternoon. When we returned, the sail was ready as promised and the price was very reasonable.  We were thrilled.

In the calm of early morning the next day, we installed the sail back on its furler.  But we weren’t done with this fix.  Both Bruce and Travis from Mack Sails had recommended we put spreader boots on the spreader  tips to minimize chafe.  So, Cathy was up the mast with the new boots from West Marine, along with some rigging tape.  This was a little different from other mast adventures, since she had to swing out to each side to get the boots installed.  (If this had been required on the first trip up the mast, it would have been a no-go.  Now, it’s old hat.)  However, their installation was pretty straightforward and it wasn’t long before they were in place and Cathy was back on deck. 

Now, we had just one more repair to make.  Dave had tried to find the right cotter pin among his supplies on board, but found that a very long, thin one was needed.  A fellow cruiser, Frank, on Dream
Weaver, offered his expertise and cotter pin supply to help with the repair, but still we couldn’t find the right one.  A trip to the nearby Ace Hardware got us the exact dimensions (2-1/2” x 1/8”), but nothing
that fit.  Finally, we made the trip to West Marine to buy a pack of 3. With the right pin in hand, the repair was simple.  Dave added some Lanacote to deal with problem of the dissimilar metals and the boom was back in place.  We were ready to sail again.

Will It Work?

Our chance to test the repairs came on the next leg of our trip.  We planned to hop out at Cape Canaveral and travel north to either St. Augustineor Fernandina Beach. After a day of motoring north to
Cocoa Beachon the ICW, we were positioned to head out the canal the next morning.  It was déjà vu all over again.  We had tried this in the fall, but were stopped by the canal having been closed. It had re-opened the Saturday before we arrived (we checked).  So, we passed through the Christa McAuliffeBridge at 8:30 and arrived at the lock by 9am.  In our passage, we were accompanied by another small fishing boat and the Sheriff’s patrol boat, along with some dolphins, a manatee and several pelicans.  An unusual assortment of creatures and crafts.  After the quick lock-through, we hailed the 2nd bridge and were through to the harbor on our way out the inlet.  All of the big ship traffic (cruise ships, gambling ships, cargo ships) were not moving, so we had an easy exit to the ocean.
We motored out the inlet and once we had turned to reach our cruising course, we set both sails and turned off the engine.  The winds were on the beam and at a perfect angle for sailing.  For the rest of the day, they needed little to no adjustment and the auto-pilot held the course without effort.  It looked like Orion’s repairs made her as good as before – or maybe even better.  As the sun set, we furled the main sail with the hope that the headsail would carry us through until morning.  But the winds didn’t cooperate.  The winds shifted behind us, causing the sails to flog in the swells, so
we turned on the motor.  We motorsailed until mid-morning, when it became apparent that the headsail wasn’t doing anything.  We furled it and arrived at Fernandina Beachmid-afternoon Friday under power, but with renewed confidence in our sails.

Other Boat Stuff

with our departure from Marathon, we finally had to fold up and stow the Porta-boat dinghy.  We practiced once in the marina’s project shed, but found it was pretty straightforward. The trick was doing it on Orion’s foredeck.  Dave rigged a new
bridle to hoist the dinghy out of the water.  Cathy learned the hard way, while winching the boat out of the water, that this one weighs considerably more than our little Zodiac.  With the Zodiac still on the foredeck, it was a bit of a challenge to get the seats out, but we did it and Dave managed to lash it on to the lifelines securely for our travels.  It took longer than it takes to stow the Zodiac, but we’re still getting the process down. The good news is
that we managed to fold it and stow it as we had hoped. We do have a lot of its parts in our V-berth however.  We need to find some ways to reduce the space that it takes up down below.

Relay For Life

When we discovered we were going to be in Marathonfor another weekend, we signed up to participate in the Relay for Life on the Cruisers Team, that had been actively fundraising all winter.  We looked at the sign-up sheet and discovered that the time slots available were those between midnight and 5am.  We chose the midnight to 1am shift.  The day of the event dawn hot and humid. 
After making an appearance at the noon opening ceremonies, we made some rounds of the various booths and then retreated to find some shade.  We were grateful our shift would be out of the sun’s glare.  We returned just before the luminaria lighting ceremony at 9pm.  The Luminaria are placed in memory or in honor of loved ones with cancer and line the inside perimeter of the track.  Then some outline the word HOPE in the middle of the circle.  It was an amazing sight.  Since we still had time before our shift, we walked up to the movie theater to watch The Adjustment Bureau, with Matt
Damon, and arrived back just in time to pick up our PFD’s (the Cruisers team sign) and start on our hour-long walk.  With the music and activity, the hour passed quickly. We were glad we had a chance to help out.  The Cruisers team raised over $5000 in support of the American Cancer
Society.  Marathon as a whole raised over $100,000.  Another record-breaking year, thanks to a very committed group of volunteers.

Kindness of Friends (Family)

We had a great time with Tom and Dau during our stay in Vero.  We enthusiastically accepted an invitation to dinner on Sunday, that found us at Dau’s mom’s house, where we enjoyed the luxury of a swim in a pool and air-conditioned comfort for
dinner.  Wow!  The next day, when Tom wasn’t taking us to one or more marine chandleries, we spent some time on Windward at the Harbortown Marina. As a way of doing something in return,
Cathy took a trip up Windward’s mast to run a new spinnaker halyard.  After a few false starts, we finally managed to run it through the mast
and out through the hole at deck level.  After a dinner at a wonderful little café in downtown Fort Pierce, we headed back to Orion, with lots of thanks and hugs goodbye.  We couldn’t have made the repairs to Orion so quickly without their help, and we enjoyed spending time together during
our stay.  As always we’re dependent on the kindness of friends, strangers, or (in this case) distant
relatives.

Wind – Too Much or Too Little

It’s all about the wind. There’s either too much or too little. At this point, there is way too much.  Since we’ve seen over 30 knots inside the Fernandina mooring field, going offshore is not in the cards until the front passes through.  So, we wait for the wind to calm down, but not too much, so we can hop up to Charleston.   We’re not alone, since lots of boats here in the harbor are having the same discussion about weather.  So, we wait, but it’s been only 9 days since we left Marathon, having traveled 500 miles along the length of Florida, it’s not bad to take a day or two to regroup and get ready for the next run.  We can wait for the right wind.