We are on our way!

It's finally begun, we are on our way north and what a journey it has been. We are sharing the journey with friends from Carolina Moon, Bejay and Mike Gracken. From Stuart to St. Augustine was great and uneventful. So much that the next two weeks are making up for it!  First was the line of storms that caught up to us just south of Fernandina Beach. Then the two, yes two, tropical storms that have stalled us during our trip.  This will take more than one entry to cover all that has happened so far.

Leaving Stuart was exciting and sad at the same time. New experiences vs. leaving good friends we made at Loggerhead. We will miss them all!

Loggerhead Friends

            Good bye Stuart!

Traveling companions were everywhere

Carolina Moon at anchor at Titiusville










We anchored every night until we reached St. Augustine. The sunrises and sunsets were fantastic.

Sunset at Cocoa

     
Another gorgeous sunset










Titusville was a great place to anchor as we were close to the Kennedy Space Center, where Spacehip X was waiting to launch.

Space shuttle museum

  Launch and assembly areas










St. Augustine was a great place the first time we visited, and even better this time. The next entry will have more on the time spent there.

Until then, fair winds!

The Journey North begins...

Apologies for no posts lately as we have been getting ready to head North for the summer. We have left Stuart, FL and are going up the ICW with fellow sailors, Mike & Bejay Grackin on "Carolina Moon". As time and WiFi allow, we will be posting more and adding photos. Here is just a sample of the views we have had the past 4 days. Till the next time, fair winds to all.

 Sunset at Cocoa

Sunrise at Cocoa

Evening visitors at anchor at Cocoa

We are a sailboat again!

Finally after 8 weeks of waiting and working and more waiting, Soteria is complete and moving! Ok, if only on the St. Lucie River, but we can move. A friend went out with us to calibrate the auto pilot again(seems we didn't tell it we were a sailboat the first time!) and the wind instrument, while her friend went around us taking some great photos.

Enjoy the following and will post more as we get ready to head North for the summer.

The silence is deafening, and can be expensive......

Sorry for the long lapse since the last post. It has been a rough winter as far as repairs go. Late January we discovered a problem with the compression post and deck. Long story made short, the post was vibrating much more than acceptable and Elden thought that the deck was a bit delaminating. It has taken almost 7 weeks of waiting and working to get to the place where Soteria is back together.

Feb. 3 we pulled into Allied Marine to pull the mast and get started. Mack Sails has been doing the  work, but had a very hard finding a carpenter to check and fix the deck(almost 3 1/2 weeks!) Finally, a local carpenter was able to come, check out and repair not only the deck situation, but replace the water tank top in the V-berth.                                                                                                                                                                         

Before

After

Finished

The deck delamination was not as severe as first thought. There was none behind the mast and very little in front. Both the tank and epoxy fix were done in one day.

New deck plate under the mast

Finally, the crane is requested for the installation of the mast, but still has some things to add before it's lifted. Seems the boss didn't relay the instructions for a wind indicator or new main halyard, and the rigging was only partially attached. After a morning of catching up, the mast finally was reattached and we returned to the marina as a sailboat again!

Final adjustments

Fianlly! A sailboat again!

The big lift

Attaching the roller furling drum

Since the work took longer than anticipated, the wiring had to wait until the next day. So now we are sitting at the dock, waiting for the riggers to come back and do the final tuning to the standing rigging and wire the wind indicator.

Til then enjoy the photos and will post more as it happens!

LED Spreader light

Steaming & Deck light

Wind Indicator

Final mast top configuration

Spreader boot

                                                    

Just when you think you're ready...no go for the Bahamas this year :-(

We were ready to start provisioning for the Bahamas, when Elden noticed the compression post vibrating during a recent wind storm. Ok, not just vibrating, but moving about 3/16 inch or so in either direction. Upon further inspection, the deck around the mast is delaminating. Really NOT a good thing, especially when we thought it was fixed less than 2 years ago in Washington, NC and paid for! That really ticked us off, as now we have to postpone our trip to the Bahamas til next year as the cruising kitty will be depleted to re-repair the deck. It's not worth the effort to go back to the marina and try to get reimbursed. So while the mast is removed, we decided to have the standing rigging replaced (which we were planning on doing next year) and have a wind anemometer added to the top of the mast. It seems by the time we're done, we will have a new boat! :-) And I can think of worse places to be. After the repairs and upgrades are complete. we will still have time to explore the coast or go thru the Okeechobee to the West coast before heading North for the summer in late April.
Will keep information posted as it becomes available.
Until then, enjoy the attached photos we have had the pleasure of taking while here in Stuart.

Sunrise on Christmas Eve morning

                                           Daily visitor to our docks.

We have arrived!

Finally we have arrived in Stuart, Florida for the winter. It has been a challenge with unexpected expenses and repairs added to what we planned on doing.  The new main, engine water pump, knotmeter/depth sounder were scheduled and budgeted, but the stuffing box/drive shaft were not. Credit has to be given to the guys at Indiantown Marina for catching a potentially dangerous mechanical problem. The stuffing box (where the drive shaft is attached the engine and goes thru the hull) was definitely not correctly installed and could have resulted in a major leak. This should have been caught during the initial survey, or at least when the engine mounts were put in while we were in Washington, NC. Suffice to say we will definitely not be going back to that marina for any work.

New Stuffing box correctly installed and clamped

 Finished fiberglass and realigned and treated drive shaft. With the realignment , our speed was increased at higher RPM's than we originally had on the trip down. Goes to show you what good mechanics can do!





On to better things, the new main with all the bells and whistles and the autopilot have been installed. Calmer winds are needed to test out the main and to finish calibrating the autopilot. We did the initial compass calibration successfully, but the auto-correct kept doing circles. Seems the wires to the wheel motor needed to be reversed!

We were able to finish the autopilot calibration and sail with the new main.  Winds were enough to sail at about 4 kts. but had to cut it short as it looked like a front was moving in.

We have had a great time reconnecting with boaters we met last season and meeting new friends this year.

More to follow as we get ready to head out to the Bahamas in March. Til then fair winds!

Finally back on the boat, well sort of....

We are finally back on the boat, even if it's still on land. Indiantown marina has a work yard that we are currently occupying to check on some items and replace others.  Good thing, too, as the thru hull on the air conditioner wasn't set up right. Very little caulk and the water pump was sitting on the thru hull. One set of rough waves could have knocked it out and we would have been swimming! The depth sounder and knot meter are being replaced as well as the engine water pump. A new main is also on the list, but that will wait til we get back to Stuart. It never ceases to amaze me, just how much work it takes to get the boat back in shape to get it back in the water! Between the cleaning, waxing and restocking, it makes me think twice about pulling Soteria out next summer.

So far the weather has been sunny and warm, at least for us,  but Rina looks to be bringing some rain later this week. It's taken a week for us to start getting back into shape. Who knew climbing a ladder was so hard!
The people we have met since we've returned are as anxious to get back in the water as we are. The yard is the busiest we have seen and have been told it gets busier! Loggerhead Marina was beginning to show signs of activity when we visited last week to catch up with friends. Still a little empty, but that will change after Nov. 1 when boaters start heading back South.

Well, it's back to work and God willing we get in the water by Oct. 31 and head back to Stuart to start this years adventures. Till then fair winds to all.

Summer travels, by land for a change.....

It's been an interesting summer, being on land instead of water. Family matters were taken care of, so we had time to travel and explore the country. Kansas was the first stop, with a visit to the Oz Museum. Didn't see the Wizard, but the movie memorabilia displays were great.

                             The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion

Camping was a favorite, so we went to Colorado for a week to re-explore the Pikes Peak area. Cave dwellings, Cripple Creek gold mine and the Cog Railway were well worth the trip.

Camp site at Golden Eagle Campground, Cheyenne Mtn.

Cave Dwellings at Manitou Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Cog Railway at the top of Pikes Peak, 14,115 ft.





Next was to Arkansas for a family visit and camping at Buffalo National River and canoeing. No sailing, but still on water having a great time with my brother and his family and NLC friends.

Beautiful scenery and great company!






Last on the itinerary was Mammoth Cave National Park, and more camping. We took several tours, the Historic, New Entrance and a short walk/talk on how slavery was involved with the caves. The best one was the New Entrance as far as rock formations. The Historic covered the saltpeter mines and it's impact on the War of 1812.  Both worth the time to do.

 Saltpeter mines and main entrance

Stalactites, stalagmites and columns








That's all for now. The traveling south begins and back to Soteria to get her ready for the next adventures. Next post will cover the road back to Florida with any stops along the way.

Til then, fair winds!

It's About Time!

Finally, I have a chance to update this blog. Between family issues, hurricane season and lousy internet at times, I have not been able to get this done. Now at last, I have the time and connection to get this accomplished. So without further ado, here goes...


The last post dealt with the new traveler installed and not much else. Since then, we traveled to Orlando to spend some time with the kids and grandkids, relaxing and traipsing around SeaWorld and Disney's Magic Kingdom. Needless to say, SeaWorld was the favorite. We were able to do and see more and at a more leisurely pace. Abby & Anna got to feed sea lions and manta rays, and Grandpa was the designated rider on the rollercoasters. Go figure: I can handle ocean swells, but can't stand those things!  The dolphin and orca shows were great, and we were smart to sit higher in the stands.

Dolphin Show

Orca show

Atlantis Water slide with Elden, Abby & Anna.









Magic Kingdom was fun, but I had hurt my foot the day before and was hobbling along behind the group, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world! My favorite: Pirates of the Caribbean!

Capt. Jack Sparrow was recruiting for his next adventure!





All in all it was a great time with the family and since we are only 2 hours away, we can go back anytime!


Next post will have the story of hauling out for hurricane season and the landlocked adventures we are having.

Till then, fair winds and warm days!