We're Coming Home

DECEMBER 14, 2006 (Turkey Creek to HOME) We fly home today. We are all very excited to see our family and friends.

Turkey Creek

DECEMBER 13, 2006 (Turkey Creek) First thing this morning, Joyce knocks on our boat and introduces us to a neighbor who is going to drive us to the airport tomorrow (about an hour away). Amazing. We’re all getting really excited to go home. We will spend the day packing up and “prepping” then boat for leaving. Oh, that Krogen 42 that is across the way from us, I knew it looked familiar. Before we bought our boat I had pictures of 3 boats with all their specs and notes from the owners of them, on our wall at home. This was one of the three! I never came down to see it, but had been in touch with the owner a number of times trying to make my decision….what are the odds! Dawn called and her & her daughter will try to meet us at the airport for lunch, before our flight.

Ft. Myers to Turkey Creek

DECEMBER 12, 2006 (Fort Myers to Turkey Creek) Exciting day…we head to our final destination before going home. We will be leaving our boat behind someone’s house in Turkey Creek. This is the home of a friend of the friends we met back in Pebble Isle, Tennessee (Stan & Linda). Amazing how cruisers help one another in so many different ways. Off the subject a little, but the other day John (ML) was trying to find o-rings. I told him I have a selection that would rival any hardware store. I let him take some of all the sizes so he would have some stock in an emergency. He was appreciative. Later when he was helping me work on my genset, one of my cables was bad. He said he had just had marine cables made and they were a little too short for his, but I was welcome to them….and they fit like a glove! Amazing how everyone helps everyone. Just another example of how great the cruising community is. Anyway, the cruise to Turkey Creek was AWESOME! Back into fresh water again. No longer were we in the “cookie cutter” Florida that you see in all the pictures. We were cruising down, relatively, narrow passages and you started to feel like you were in the country. We went through a lock and it got a little more rural. Beautiful homes and properties but there were cows, horses and wild life all around. We really love this. Our second lock, we locked through with a fan boat. Shortly after we came to Turkey Creek. I was very apprehensive, because when Joyce had just called and let him know we were arriving he mentioned our boat would tie on the end of a “T”, amidship (meaning our bow and stern would overhang the dock-that’s a big concern for me with wind and ripping his dock off). As we progressed down the creek it got narrower and shallower. I asked Joyce if he new the size of our boat? She confirmed that he did. As we approached the first canal (ours) I looked down and couldn’t believe we would fit. Narrow, shallow and boats on both side. I saw him standing on his lawn (I assumed it was him) down the canal. I had Joyce call again, because it was windy and there was no room for me to turn around if I got into trouble. He assured us it was tight but we would be fine. He said at the very end we could maneuver a spin if we had to… so in we went. I noticed a 42 Krogan across the canal from where we would dock. It is a full discplacement trawler with around a 5’ draft. That gave me comfort in the depth….on that side anyway. We got down the canal and squeezed into our space. All went well. He had land anchors for bow and stern so that put me at ease too. As tight as this was, it is a GREAT place to leave the boat. It is almost a “hurricane hole”. The owners of the house are Mark & Joyce….great people! We got to know them quickly and they invited us to eat with them and then to a community Christmas singalong and celebration tonight. It was great. What a nice community and great group of people. Interestingly enough, most of the residence are, or were, cruisers. We really like it here. Everyone is sooooooo nice. We headed back to the boat for a good nights sleep.

Sanibel to Ft. Myers

DECEMBER 11, 2006 (Sanibel Island to Fort Myers) We only have to travel about 16 miles today. Really like it hear, too bad we couldn’t stay a little longer (but we have to fly home soon). Windy day, but nice. ML closed his loop at mile marker 101! We were very happy for them. Got to Fort Myers we all (ML and us) started prepping our boats for going home. ML will leave their boat here for 2-3 weeks and we will leave ours further ahead. Although they competed their loop, they will continue on to the Bahamas. We will keep in touch and hopefully travel with them again. While cleaning the boat, I looked up toward the end of the dock and there was some sort of Iguana on the ramp. I called to Joyce and Jaycie to come take a look. Dawn & Chuck came by with their kids (Jesse (11) & Samantha - Jaycie’s age). What a reunion. Nice to see someone you knew so when they were young, doing so well. Not only did she move down here, but her parents, brother and in-laws…great people! We went out to dinner, visited family and showed us all around…what a night! Jaycie had a blast. We will try to get together again while down here.

Sanibel Island

DECEMBER 10, 2006 (Sanibel Island) Great nights sleep! Feeling much better and more rested and relaxed. The wind has died down (a little) and the temperature is very comfortable. The marina dropped off a newspaper and some fresh muffins on our deck this morning. Joyce called Dawn (a former gymnast/student/friend) who she has kept in touch with over the years (about 20 to be exact) and lives in Fort Myers. We are looking forward to getting together with her (and husband and kids…sheesh….we’re sounding old!). We left to tour the island by bicycle at about 10:30-11:00. Really nice island. Stopped in some shops, ate at a really cool 50’s type place called, Cheeburger, Cheeburger (and they made an awesome cheeburger). Went biking some more. They have bike trails all over the island. One part of the trail (a narrow, nature path) warns you to be careful, you are in a alligator habitat (very comforting). We kept a close eye on Jaycie and rode through. We went to the beach to collect shells, then doubled back to Cheeburger, Cheeburger to get some shakes (one of the best shakes I ever had- peanut butter/oreo MMMMMMMM). Did more riding. We really ride at a mellow, comfortable pace. Interestingly enough, Joyce asked how fast we were riding and I told her 11 mph (that’s faster than we travel by boat : ). Rode to the other side of the Island to see the lighthouse and by this time it was getting dark. We had been biking ALL day.

Cabbage Key to Sanibel Island

DECEMBER 8, 2006 (Cabbage Key to Sanibel Island) We were really tired from last night. The wind was still ripping, but the water was not as rough as yesterday. I hear Joyce talking with John on the radio and saying, “I think the wind has died down quite a bit”. I am in the back of the boat listening to canvas flapping and wind whistling…are we on the same boat? Although I am a little apprehensive, since it was so windy (and we at least have a good anchor where we were), higher authorities (Joyce) decides to move on. Winds are still steady and gusting pretty high and I have my concerns about docking later in the day. We go to pull anchor and our BRAND NEW, USED ONLY 4 TIMES, windlass is BROKEN! Are we having fun yet? The gypsum freewheels (the “gear” that pulls the chain in). I have a snubber (rope and hook attached to the chain to prevent “shock” to the boat as it goes up and down) which is holding the chain from running out. I don’t know when it broke, or how, but there is no way to get the anchor in. I could pull it by hand, but the wind is so strong, it is impossible. And if, while I am pulling it in, Joyce loses control of the boat- high probability in this wind- the chain would free flow out. Luckily John (ML), comes up with the idea to raft to us and he will control our 2 boats, pulling us forward as I pull in the chain and anchor by hand….it works! We left to chain on the deck to clean later, since it was full with weeds and mud. We un-raft and head on our way. John calls on the radio and says, “3 things went bad in a row…you should be done now“... I certainly hope so! Traveling most of the day was “with the wind” so it was a pretty pleasant cruise. Sun kept going in and out, but basically nice most of the day. The water was still quite choppy and again, especially rolly when passing the inlets and larger bodies of water. Still “skinny” water everywhere. You have to be real careful. The wind and current kept pushing you out of the channel line… no relaxing here! Dolphins everywhere (had to put in something positive). We get to Sanibel Island marina and are told to wait an hour for the water to come up (they had a negative tide (lower than low)…which we already new about). Then someone else chimes in, “No it’s o.k….just stay to starboard”. The opening is narrow to start with and half of it is shallow with sand showing. There is a strong cross wind to starboard and on that starboard side is a concrete pier…stay to starboard!? Long story shorter, stress was high, but we got in fine, docked fine and what a beautiful marina. We all decide that we will stay tomorrow and tour the island by bicycle. ML makes us all well needed margaritas. A stressful couple of days comes to an end….we hope! I guess they can’t all be good days…even in paradise. We are looking forward to a good nights sleep (I’ll stop whining now).

Sarasota to Cabbage Key

DECEMBER 8, 2006 (Sarasota to Cabbage Key) We left Sarasota, in light wind (5-10), for Cabbage key (despite warnings of winds 20-25 mph -we usually chose “marina alternatives” , but most of them were full or weren't large enough to accomodate us…so we had no option). As we cruised along we saw trees filled with pelicans just itting (probably too windy for them too). We cruised through some of the shallowest waters so far (I would have had nice pictures to post, but we grabbed the video camera instead). You really needed to pay close attention to your charts and markers. During an engine room check I felt the boat listing. When I got back up to the helm, Joyce had drifted just a little out of the channel and we were running on the bottom with our keel while the wind was pushing us over (hence the list). We passed the first town and decided it was too soon, so we kept going. Passed by a few inlets and through me large bays and by this time the wind was picking up and the water was getting choppy and swells. Of course the dolphins were playing around us again. We came to the first anchorage but it looked too unprotected with the wind from the NE and a long fetch (distance for wind to build swells) before it. Besides it was right next to an inlet, which we also didn‘t like. We traveled further and found a second anchorage which seemed much better (seemed). It was across from Cabbage Key which is a small Island with a population of about 70...and a resturaunt. Cabbage key is famous for Jimmy Buffet writing some song with the words “cheesburger in paradise”..or something. So we anchored out and decided to dinghy over to the restaurant. The wind was really picking up and the water was getting really choppy, but we didn’t have far to go. As we got away from our, somewhat, protected waters it definitely was getting worse...and colder. We tied to the dock and made sure our dinghy wouldn’t blow under it. We walked the island, climbed to the top of a wooden water tower and had a fun time. We went into the restaurant and (we heard about this) the walls and ceilings are COVERED in dollar bills. They were EVERYWHERE! People write their names on them and then tape them up (Jaycie’s name is now on the wall). There was NO ONE there, but they tell us it is usually crowded. That should have been the first hint that NO ONE is coming out tonight. We had a great dinner (they even had a fire going) and then headed back to the boat. The wind was howling, making the forecast come true (maybe even a bit more). We get in our dinks and we are getting soaked. It’s black out, the chop and wind have increased and water is spraying us constantly. Just then our dink dies. I try to restart…but it won’t. The wind is blowing us into some bushes and branches hanging over the shore line. Joyce and Jaycie grab onto some branches while I try to figure out what happened. Then I feel that somehow the gas line has disconnected from the gas can… although I have no idea how it could have happened?! I reconnect re-prime and we are back on our way. Again getting splashed and it is cold (by this time Jaycie is in tears). We left our anchor light on so it wasn’t too tough to find. ML goes to their boat and we go to ours. We’re too cold and wet to realize that our boat is no longer where we left it. John, who was on our side is now well ahead of us. As we get aboard and start settling in we realize we are dragging (anchor through the bottom). I’ll admit, panic sets in. The boat has moved, while we weren’t here, about 75 yards. The boat that was well behind us is now a lot closer and a little to the side of us (thank God we didn’t crash into him). It is then that we realize we are he is getting off to the side of us….we are still draggng. By this time I already have the engines started and we’re trying to figure out what to do. Then suddenly we stop moving. The wind is blowing so hard and it is so black it is hard to get your bearings. People are swinging on their anchors so it’s not easy to tell who is moving and who isn’t. We get a bearing on the boat (now) off our side and a slight silhouette of a tree on the shore. Then once again we start to move and then resets AGAIN. I can’t decide if I should pull the anchor and try again in the dark (we already had trouble grabbing the first time). We have 75’ of rode (chain) out in about 6’ of water…should have been fine. We put on radar so I can a least see the boats and land around me and set an anchor alarm to warn us if we drag. We also mark the boats around us to see if we are still dragging…but we are not…for now. But there is no way we are going to go to sleep. We are sailing heavily at anchor (swinging side to side from the wind). We shut down the engines and stay on the couch in the salon “just in case”. We dozed in and out most of the night keeping a close eye on the situation. Luckily, everything went well the rest of the night. Side note: The main reason we came here was to see the “tunnel of love” (a dinghy ride)…which was no longer here! Lesson learned #1: Don’t anchor out in 25+ winds unless you have a mountain nearby to block the wind. Lesson learned #2: Florida doesn’t have any mountains!

Sarasota Stay

DECEMBER 6, 2006 (Sarasota) We rented a car and ML went to pick it up. Drove to a few stores and checked out the town (city). After lunch we drove to the Barnum and Bailey Circus museum. Well worth it. It was a huge estate consisting of 5 different buildings, right on the water. They had a miniature circus museum that was incredible. Someone actually spent their whole life building it…AMAZING! We also got to go into his mansion which was as decadent as they come. He was also an art collector, which he built a huge museum-like building to house the collection….WOW! Jaycie lost Joyce’s good sun glasses and we actually got them at the end, because someone turned them in (I wonder if they would have been returned in NY?). That took most of the day and we headed back to the boat. We had dinner on our sundeck with steel drum music playing and a huge party going on, on the dock. Very nice day. Funny side note: While driving with ML the word “station wagon” comes up and John asks Jaycie if she knows what it is. Jaycie replies, “Oh yeah, I saw one of those in a museum”. A few days earlier she also commented on the “round phone” (dial) she saw in a museum…ouch…I’m starting to feel old (and to all you young whipper snappers, I remember gas when it was only 25 cents a gallon too! : ) DECEMBER 7, 2006 (Sarasota) We like Sarasota and decided to stay another day. It is a real party atmosphere. When out on anchor the other night the generator had trouble cranking over and wouldn‘t start. It wasn‘t a big problem because we have 8 batteries on our inverter system, which can easily get us through the night. However, if we are going to go to the Bahamas for a couple of months, we will be anchoring out a lot and I would want to have my generator trouble free. I went over to help Miss Liberty install a shower drain (although he was almost done) and then John came over and helped me go through my electrical/generator/inverter systems. He’s an electrical engineer and knows quite a bit. After going over my electrical schematics and previous owners notes he explained my system. Without getting too involved, the system has a battery charger, an inverter/charger, a battery combiner, 2-8D starting batteries, 1-6D staring battery, 8- 6 cell batteries and a generator. All integrated into an amazing electrical system. Now if I can just understand all of it and how they integrate with one another. John gave me a good understanding of it all. The generators battery wires contacts needed to be cleaned, so we replaced them instead. The generator cranked over fine after that…but still wouldn’t start. I noticed that a wire tie was stopping a solenoid from engaging. I moved it and we got the generator to start. However, since it had this problem for a while it damaged the solenoid and it now has to be replaced (not that big a deal). I’m glad that is all it was. We took a bus into St. Armand’s Circle…downtown. It was really nice and we had a great time. 4 more loopers came in today along with Janie O. We will probably leave tomorrow, but forecasters are predicting 20-25 knot winds….hopefully they will be wrong. Side note: The owner of this marina is the former owner of Augusta Raceway… really nice guy. At the Marina

Manatee River to Sarasota

Dolphins are jumping more than ever. We actually believe they love to perform for you.

Tiera Verde to Manatee River (Bradenton)

DECEMBER 4, 2006 (Tiera Verde to Manatee River) It’s pretty windy today but Joyce wants to move on, so off we go. Only a short run today (about 2 hours), so we didn’t have to leave until after lunch. Nice day, although quite windy. The bay was quite choppy, with the swells quartering us for the last leg of the journey, making steering a lot of work. When we got into the marina the wind had picked up and was hitting us broadside. That being said, the dock went smoothly. First class marina. Heated pool, Jacuzzi and everything well maintained ($2.00/ft - marinas are back up in price). Walked around town with ML (Miss Liberty). His dad used to live here. Really nice town. Even their back alleys are clean. A little strange though. There are houses and condos everywhere. You see cars parked everywhere….but almost no life! The entire walk we saw very few people walking or driving. Like a ghost town. The town was lit up for Christmas all along the waterfront. Got back to the boat and went for a late night Jacuzzi and swim with Jaycie. DECEMBER 5, 2006 ( Manatee River to Sarasota ) You could here the shrimp/fish nibbling on the hull last night. It sounded like a light clicking sound. There was a full moon last night, the tide was REALLY low this morning (although we weren’t sitting on bottom). Went into town for breakfast and then headed over to a museum to see the manatees. Joyce got in for free (as a teacher) with Jaycie and I went back to the boat so we would be ready to leave when they got back. Joyce and Jaycie had a great time at the museum. They got to see the oldest Manatee alive, he was 58 years old. (unheard of as far as Manatees go). We had about a 3 hour cruise. We went through some really skinny (shallow/thin) water, even in the channels. When we headed out into another bay, along the way, we noticed 100’s of dead fish floating on the top of the water for as far as you could see. They were about 18” long. We tried to contact a marine conservation officer on channel 16...but no one responded. A little further along we saw Triumph ahead of us. They were just leaving as we were coming in. We’ll see them further along. ML and us anchored out in front of Marina Jack’s. We rafted up amongst lots of sailboats. Tomorrow we will head into the marina and stay another night.

Clearwater to Tiera Verde

DECEMBER 3, 2006 (Clearwater to Tiera Verde) We left around 9am and the weather was really nice. We decided to travel on the “outside” (in the gulf) rather than in the intercostals because it would save us more than an hour and John (Miss Liberty) was meeting his sister. The water was beautiful with dolphins jumping (as usual). All along the shore you could see large condominium complexes. As we came in the inlet you see amazing homes (with no property). The variety of color homes are really beautiful (most of them-although you can keep that pumpkin color). We arrived at the marina/resort and it has a HUGE freeform pool and giant Jacuzzi. We spent the afternoon washing and cleaning the exterior of the boat (it was WAY overdue). When we were done we bicycled into town and had dinner at Billy’s crab house. A really unique place with a bar that is on the 3rd floor and open to the outside scenery…really nice. Joyce’s eye is feeling much better, but still very sensitive to light and gets tired easily. We will probably move on tomorrow, but waiting to hear about weather since high winds are expected.

Clearwater

DECEMBER 2, 2006 (Clearwater) Interesting morning. Beautiful and calm (although cloud covered). We decided to stay here another day. Joyce went in to get Boo from Jaycie’s top bunk, but Boo was a little over excited. As Joyce picked her up, she scratched Joyce’s eye. Joyce’s eye was bothering her enough that we needed to see a doctor. Miss Liberty, who also opted to stay, went up to the office with us to get a cab to go to the hospital. The woman behind the counter offered her car to us…did I mention…unbelievable! John and Sue (Miss Liberty) went with us and then took Jaycie shopping with then while we were at the emergency room. After doing a test, they found out she had an abrasion (not a cut) about 1/8” in diameter, in the color portion of her eye, just missing her pupil. They gave her a tetanus shot, pain killer and anti-biotic eye drops. They told her to stay out of the sun, no reading, TV or computers (oh no…that includes chart plotting!). Thank goodness I took the piloting and advanced piloting classes too (although I didn’t enjoy them the way Joyce did). While we were at the hospital, Jaycie called from the hardware store to see if I needed any “blue crimps”…which I did (she’s good….she’s very good….with my help, she could be the best! : )! We went back to the boat to get Joyce some rest. Bright light will be very uncomfortable for Joyce. Maybe I can find a pair of those really stylish black sunglasses (you know, the ones that look like horse blinders) for her. Sue told me that Joyce shouldn’t cook tonight and invited us over for dinner.

Tarpon Springs to Clearwater

DECEMBER 1, 2006 (Tarpon Springs to Clearwater) Ready to leave first thing in the morning, but then we heard they were going to “splash” the big workboat at about 10am…so we stayed. It was worth the delay. Very exciting to something that big, just slide down railways into the water. Then a wave (small) of water comes across the cove…very cool. All the wood that supported the vessel is now floating all over and small workboats run around and collect it all. We check weather and see a small, but intense, storm coming our way. It shouldn’t be here until later this afternoon so we head out. It’s only about a 2 ½ hour run, but the winds pick up from 10-15 to 10-20. You can see bad weather on the horizon, but we should get in well ahead of it. The water is a little choppy (1-3) and swells when we pass the open gulf. Other than fishing boats, we don’t see any other boats along the way. Shortly we will be in the intracoastal. Still seeing dolphins jumping out of the water near our boat. Lots of falcons and even bald eagles. Thankfully, the work I did yesterday works out great and the boat runs without a hitch. We are now seeing lots of condos and big buildings, fancy waterfront homes and dense population….don’t really like it (look forward to getting back to small towns). Passed a “go fast” fishing boat with their name down the side in big letters: “The (picture of a manatee) Mauler” -(Janie O would not be happy). We arrive at Clearwater with pretty high winds. Our friends from Miss Liberty are here and help us get in. Luckily, the surrounding buildings help block much of the wind. The water is really clean here and there are fish of all types, colors and sizes right under the dock. That night we head down to the beach and pier. They have a sunset type festival, like key west, with street performers and vendors. Unfortunately, the wind is still high so there are not a lot of them and very few spectators. We watch a juggler, who puts on a very entertaining show. He has a real wise attitude, which we really enjoyed and, of course, Joyce got picked to help with his performance…what a surprise (believe it or not, this happens quite often). We walked the docks (not by our boat) and saw a boat we liked (56‘ Navigator). When we went up to get a closer look at it, we met the owner who then invited us aboard to look around. He gave us the grand tour, right down to the engine room….AWESOME! Nice layout with a really comfortable feel (maybe our next boat?). We talked for a while and they had lots of questions about “The great loop”. Ends up they were having a “guys night out” and invited me to stay for the party…but Joyce wouldn’t let me! :) So we headed back to our “little” boat in the “low rent district“. We stopped for dinner on the way home. An interesting observation is that once again we noticed that people, on the street, are very withdrawn and not outwardly friendly. If you say hi, they respond (sometimes), but try not to make eye contact. We’re hoping Florida is going to get better.