High and Dry

Well, those blowing winds out of the east last night and a low low tide this morning left me high and dry.
back into the water went the kayak, down the stern ladder went I, and paddling to the dinghy dock we go.
kayaking is enjoyable and all... but, this isn't the reason I pay to be at the big boy dock!
most certainly didn't feel like kayaking back to the boat after arriving back home from work late at 9pm... particularly with tide back in and the ability to step onto the boat from the dock. but, can't risk not being able to get to work tomorrow morning, so, it's into the kayak we go...
It's been a long few weeks at the "new" dock. and, unfortunately, a live-aboard life with work mixed in makes things a little trickier.
Seems it's definitely time for sun to set on this short chapter as well...
pic is sunset view looking northeast over northern rip rap breakwater.
Weather permitting, plan is to depart Punta Gorda Saturday for a week long sailing adventure... and returning to a new berth...

Sea Knots

Wind is blowing blowing blowing out of the east tonight after the most recent cold front.
At least it's out of the east. I can enjoy the sounds of the winds and not worry so much about being plastered to the wood piling when the winds are out of the east... We are getting rocked a tiny bit, but dock lines seem in good position for now.
Which makes it that much more relaxing for catching up on some internet nestled in the cabin with peppermint patty-cakes.
While I was surfing around, I realized I have not yet mentioned another sailing site I've been enjoying lately. If you're a sailor, and not already on the site, you might be interested in checking it out too. The site is Sea Knots. The link below takes you to my page on the site. From there, you can check out what it's like to have a page and explore more...
www.seaknots.ning.com/profile/Jen

No water Nowhere Everywhere Else

It seems there's not much water for sailing in Florida.
Been having difficulty finding a nice wet boat slip with some water in it relatively close to work.
Left the Venice area in hopes of finding more water.
Still, no true success.
Woke up this morning with the keel probably a good 1 to 2 feet into the silt... there was definitely no turning of the rudder, which is kinda not a great thing as I wonder about the silt getting into the lower rudder bearing.
Looking east to the 41S bridge, there were mud flats showing that don't normally show... even at low low tide, and, of course, it's the worst the yacht basin staff have seen it in years this morning....
Well, it has been quite the winter so far this year, and, it's not even officially winter yet!
There was no "easy" step off the boat this morning. Instead I used the stern ladder and the kayak. Dinghied to the dinghy dock. Kinda weird to dinghy to the dinghy dock when the big boat is already at the dock...
5 hours after low tide... I was still aground, though, I was at least out of the mud enough to hoist myself up onto the dock the usual way by hugging the large wood piling I'm usually trying to keep Athena off of, and stepping onto the nondescrip step that can be seen in the photo on the left.
For "fun" I've included the look to the south at the neighbors aground. You can definitely see the rudder of the sailboat two boats over, and the fixed dock high above the boat decks.
It's been all I can about deal with worrying about the SV Athena in the new home...
Spent most of the day cleaning the boat and napping, since I was kinda stuck on her most of the day.
Needed the sleep though... been working hard yes, but also having been woken up at least two nights this week, and three within the last less than two, with the wind like a freight train coming through the yacht basin out of the northwest, and having to get up at 2 AM to adjust the lines to save poor Athena from smashing up against the large wood piling on the south side. Makes for a stressful fitful sleep, oh wait, I'm not sure I really fell back to sleep on those nights... Particularly since the winds from the fronts were so strong, it was difficult to pull her tight enough to another piling to get off of the piling she was dangerously close to.
Imagine stepping out into the dark cold windy night and wondering if when you undo the dock line to tighten it, you might actually loose her closer to the piling because the wind is blowing so hard... After attempting to tighten her, I'd crawl back down below, listen to the winds, the creaks, the banging of the halyards on the mast (no fixing of which did anything in these winds), and wonder if a tornado was coming... or, if we'd just be smashed up against the piling.
I've been reading Steven King's "Duma Key" and his books are pretty scary, but, I'm not sure which is scarier... nightmares from scary story book, or nightmares during fitful sleep worried about sailboat...

Now, I'm sure you're all thinking... surely there are other boats in the marina... yes, yes, there are. Most of them hire someone to take care of their dock lines, or they have this elaborate contraption of dock lines going, which is what I was trying to avoid...

The other thing I've discovered about this particular yacht basin is the nice dock hands go around loosening everyone's dock lines when they get tight when the tide goes out... but, they never loosen back up again! then, wouldn't you know, the tide rises, and the cold fronts come through, and the boat is free to bang the pilings. The problem herein is that, my life doesn't currently revolve around being at the boat continuously to follow behind everyone that undoes everything. I need to be able to tie her and go...

So, I've been thinking about moving again... torn with what to do.
I moved here hoping to get out and sail more. of course, this weekend was a no go for sailing with the keel in the mud more hours than not... but, that's not every weekend. and, cold fronts don't come through every night... but, there are still 8 dock lines to contend with. It's just not an easy dock to singlehand in/out to/of.
Not to mention that one evening this week coming home late from work I actually threw my back out getting onto the boat in an apparently bad way because she was difficult to reach since I've been trying to set the lines to keep her off the piling... urgh. can't seem to win on this one.
I guess these are some of the trials of living a daily working life from a sailboat.

Hardly ever a dull moment..

Second full day at new marina and I'm off to work, but my mind is on Athena and her drip drip dripping stuffing box. wondering if the batteries will last with the almost constant running of the bilge pump. I return home from work to tighten her up as previously done earlier this year as instructed by Russell and documented in May 11, 2008 blog entry... I printed out the blog pics and instructions and went to work. It's a little "scary" as one cleans up the stuffing box parts with corrosion blocker, and starts "banging" on the tools to get the parts to turn... water now streaming into the boat and setting off the bilge pump once more... hidden down in the engine "room" with darkness surrounding the boat...
But, we got 'er done. and, so far the rest of this evening, no constant bilge...

First Morning - New Home Dock

Up early first morning at new home dock.
The remainder of the day was not quite as peaceful...
Upon returning later in the morning the strong front blew through and was swinging SV Athena to and fro in her very narrow slip, her hull banging against one of the wood pilings and scratching her up.... according to the neighbors that retied her... and yes, I found the scratch marks :(
Well, I'm not too fond of others retying the boat... however, it's better than having her smash apart! I spoke to the dock-master to try and get a wider slip. We'll be moving into a slightly larger slip in a couple weeks, and working on a new bumper board. Hopefully after season, we can get an even wider slip... Spent the most of the rest of the day watching Athena and her lines, formulating a better plan of attack for dock lines and bumpers, and securing the banging halyards more better ;)
Meanwhile the stuff box keeps drip drip drip dripping... a drip that has been rather quick since a couple weeks before departure from Nokomis...

ICW Anchorage

Pic on the top left: Sunset over Punta Blanca and hidden cove looking west from new anchorage to the east of the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW).

Pic on the right: Sunrise looking southeast.


Pic on the bottom left: Sunrise looking southwest at SV Blue Highway.

Waters worked up a bit more in the morning as the winds from the south started to pick up during the night with an oncoming strong front...
Time to say early morning good-byes to Lynne & Russell and head separate ways. They back to Naples, and we onward to new spot in Punta Gorda!

Cabbage Key Water Tower Views

More views of my new "backyard."
These pics are from the old wood water tower on Cabbage Key.
If you click to enlarge the pic on the right and look very very very carefully, you may just see a bunch of sailboat masts peaking out from the hidden cove... Don't mistake old white mangrove branches for masts though ;)
The mast of SV Blue Highway stands above them all...

To the right of the far island in the pic on the right is the area of water outside the cove where we anchored for the second night of the trip.

Cayo Costa

From our hidden cove we explored. the waters were beautifully clear. "dry snorkeling" as Russell says...
In addition to Cabbage Key, we visited the northern portion of Cayo Costa.
Pic on the left is looking north towards the Boca Grande inlet we had passed through beneath the dark of night.
Pic on the right is looking south.
Russell and Lynne showing me around my new backyard ;)

More Florida History...

You know, I never use to much be into history...
I find Florida history fascinating however. I think because so much of it has happened in the recent past, and Florida's landscape has changed so drastically right before my very eyes, even in the short time I've lived here.
So, this story goes...
You see these short pilings left in the water (left pic). They're not too far from the hidden cove. They use to be a fish camp, and before that, they use to be an ice house, most likely built by the Punta Gorda Fish Company.
Well, at the time the fish camp became just the pilings they are now, the fish camp was supposedly privately owned by someone that didn't much like that fishermen were using a certain controversial size gill net for fishing. The day before the net ban was to go into effect, the fish camp owner was said to be standing at his fish camp telling all the gill net fishermen, "well, today's your last day boys" in a middle-finger-up kinda way. Well, not too long after that, the fish camp burned to the water.
so the story goes...

Some of these historical fish camps still exist. It seems many were likely built in the 1920s. Even the historical registers don't quite know the dates...
The controversial gill net ban went into effect via voter referendum in November 1994.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

There's rumor that Jimmy Buffet was inspired to write the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while visiting the restaurant on Cabbage Key...
Cabbage Key is only accessible by boat, down the ICW a short ways from the hidden cove. The house, now restaurant and Inn, was originally built in 1938. And, yes, they do serve cheeseburgers. They do not however serve chips... They don't serve any fried foods as a matter of fact! So no, you can't get chips and you can't get fries, which are probably sometimes still called chips, with your cheeseburger!
It is still however, a piece of paradise, as those living in southern Florida often refer to our current state of residence.
There is also a tradition at this little ol' Florida spot of taping signed dollar bills to the wall/ceiling. The story goes something along the lines of fishermen taping a dollar to the wall in case the fishing wasn't good and their pockets were empty, they'd still have money for a beer.
I think the beers are a little more than a dollar these days...
Now the story goes that as the dollars fall from their heights, they are collected and donated to charity. Apparently thousands of dollars fall each year...

Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Upon entering the Boca Grande Inlet, we tip toed through the ICW channel markers in the black of night, not a moon to be seen... The dark waters mixed with the sky. We passed between even darker bodies of land... And like statues in an old garden, channel markers would suddenly come into vision, sometimes a little unexpectedly...
The current pulling us swiftly as the anticipation to drop anchor grew...
Then, suddenly, in the dark of the night, two pirates in a small air filled ship were upon us. In a flash they slammed their hull into ours and before weapons could be raised, one of the pirates was upon our deck! We found ourselves seemingly overtaken by many as our eyes were quickly blind folded and we were forced from the helm. The second pirate, still in the air ship, with depth pole, slowly and cautiously, led us into the secret cove...
Upon tying SV Athena to their main ship, we were among friends ;)
And, in the morning, we found ourselves in a beautiful hidden protective cove.
Although, as one can see from the pics, we were hardly alone. The cove itself is not actually hidden, for it can be seen on the charts, however, it is difficult to enter for a deep draft boat, and most do not make the attempt to enter in the dark of night....
The pic shows a large raft-up of 13 sailboats!! The Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society (kinda a strange name for a sailboat group...). SVs Athena and Blue Highway are in the far left of the pic, separate from the chowder society, tucked into one corner of the cove. We have met this society previously at another favorite spot, Panther Key!

Sunset Sail Day of Thanks & Giving

On the day of thanks and giving, we had a beautiful sail in the Gulf.
Left the dock mid day as tide was just about to a low high, with a wondering whether we'd make it through the shallows... one of the boatel gang helped guide us out. Thank you Rick!
And, the bridge tender at Albee Road Bridge over the intercoastal waterway (ICW) actually remembered SV Athena from her first trip in. We had a great exchange over radio channel 9 and my nerves began to ease as we passed through the opened bridge.
As exhilarating as it was to be out of a slip that has been so stressfully shallow, it was sad to be leaving.
But the sail from Venice to Boca Grand inlet, and the sunset were beautiful. And two, what appeared to be bright planets in the sky, stood out. You might be able to see them in the pic on the right if you click on the pic to enlarge...

Sailing Kite

A little more rewind.
My last evening on Casey Key, at the beach, there was this wicked awesome kite shaped like a sailboat!
I saw the kite and immediately thought of my dad, who just loves kites!
Unfortunately, I found out the kite is from the islands on the other side of the world...
well, it will be a while before my dad gets this kite for his b-day.
but, how about just knowing there's a kite like this somewhere in the world.... pretty cool :)

Patty Spot

Has it been too long since we've had a Peppermint Patty spot...
Here she is helping get ready for trip by keeping an eye out ;)
Although I'm not sure how keen on sailing she is, she sure is a good cat.
She and I are both pretty tuckered out from the trip.
so, off to bed we go.
more later gators...

Safety

As I'm getting ready for trip,
I double check all safety equipment required.
I check my flares, etc. and find them expired!
So, new safety equipment was acquired.

Beep Beep Beep

With so much to do before moving, it was hard to keep up with all the doings...
Another task in the works is a new dodger... in Athena's soon to be new color, Mediterranean blue, as we slowly change things over.
I wasn't sure about the color from the swatch, but now that I see it in the makings, I'm really liking the new color.
The making of the dodger has involved quite the practice of patience though...
For months the friend of a friend has been working on the dodger...
And, although I don't like to be a pest, especially with friends of friends... it was getting down to the wire, and one can never tell what the weather will ever really be, until one is out on the water, and for those that aren't awares, the dodger can be a very important protective piece.
It also helps make my sailboat feel more like home.
Well, to get ready for the trip, the clasps ended up being done by none-other-than, myself. Which, I guess is perhaps how it should be anyways, since those working on the dodger had no intentions of making it up to Nokomis to actually fit the dodger... So, next piece of learning, I borrowed a very special expensive tool, see pic on top left, from Capt. John, to install the clasps, pic on right. Installation takes quite a few hands. thank you to Michelle for being extra hands!
and, Thank you Capt. John, for wicked awesome tool !
Although the final trim is not yet done, at least we had a dodger for the sail from Venice to Punta Gorda. And, unfortunately, it doesn't fit quite right, having been made using the pieces of the old dodger as a pattern, which I'm told doesn't usually work anyways, though one would think it would...
Note to self, hire someone local to sailboat next time canvas pieces are being made.
Anyways, it's close; thank you to Nick and Jeremy for their work on the dodger.

Moving On

There's so much more to tell about the past five months, but with minutes ticking away to departure from Casey Key on this most beautiful day of thanks and giving...
Thank you everyone for your support!
Thank you everyone for your help!
Thank you everyone for being in my life, and perhaps other lives...
Thank you everyone for loving kindness!
I'm grateful and thankful for all that I have, that mostly being the experiences I have with all of you in this wonderful universe.

Blessings to all of you!

And, remember those we don't normally think about that need our blessings too. Compassion for all living beings, without exception.

Much love and inner peace from me to you, whoever you are, wherever you are!
Love,
Sailorette :)

Glorious Handrails...

Well, there's nothing like a sailboat, never mind life itself, to teach one lessons...
Besides the often mentioned fact that it's very difficult to be a perfectionist when working on an old sailboat...
When handrails crack and things don't go the way one wants them to go, one also gets to practice patient acceptance of the way things are and letting go of expectations when things don't go one's way.
Here's to glorious handrails with epoxy instead of varnish! and the many opportunities we're given for practicing patient acceptance!

More Handrail Work...

Well, I finally had to give up on sanding the handrails.
Trying to get them beautifully smooth is about to make them disappear... and, unfortunately, I think I sanded too much and had them off the boat too long, because... they cracked upon re-installation :(

After looking at the price of new handrails... I wish I'd done that sooner, I should've/could've/ would've bought new ones. but, hind sight is always 20-20 for sure!
for now... I've reinstalled the current rails, and instead of spending more valuable time varnishing cracked rails, I just got out the two-part epoxy!
Pic on the bottom right is port side rail reinstalled.
Had help from new friends to get the rails on, which required holding top deck while installing screws from below...
Thank you Mike!

Enjoying the Last Moments

Moving date is upon me.
I've been trying to take in the scenery amongst attempting to accomplish a long todo list...
I will miss the beach.
A beautiful quiet beach.
Casey Key.
Many beautiful hours spent at the beach over the past 5 months.


I've always dreamed of living at the beach.
My wish came true, even if for just a short time.

I'm very grateful and thankful for all the beautiful blessings in my life.

And... here's to living a different type of cruising life!
On to the next location location location ;)

Sailing....

SAILING
Christopher Cross

"Well, it's not far down to paradise; At least, it's not for me.
And if the wind is right you can sail away, and find tranquility.
Oh, the canvas can do miracles; just you wait and see...
Sailing takes me away...
To where I've always wanted to be.
Just to dream the wind to carry me. Soon I will be free.
Well, it's not far back to sanity; At least, it's not for me.
And if the wind is right you can sail away...  And find serenity.
When I'm sailing..."

No Water

In southwest florida, it can be difficult to find water. especially in the "winter..."
My current wet slip is no exception. With the low low tides of the winter season on their way, this seems only the beginning, seeing as how it is only November...
Lack of water is one of many reasons I'm planning to pick up house and home and move...
This morning provided an example of what we've been experiencing lately. see pics here from this morning.
Sure, it was nice to be all cuddled up in the v-berth with the cold winds streaming across the thin patch of land between us and the Gulf, racking the halyards on the hollow aluminum mast that extends down near my head to the keel... hiding beneath thick layers of fleece blankets in a warm cocoon. cuddled up forcibly against the sides, tucked up beneath the cabinets...
the reason? a cold front came busting through last night bringing cold strong winds and, we were healed over.
Not because we were sailing, but because we were stationed, and the water was gone.

Low low tide and cold front winds further pushing the water out of the bays left us high and dry. She would be leaning more if it wasn't for the dock lines to the pilings...
In the pic on lower left you can see the rudder out of the water, even the propeller is just about above water, which is a little unnerving (although you can't perhaps see that in the pic). From the pic on the lower right one might be able to get a sense of the lean if one compares the stern rail to the mangrove shoreline.
It was difficult to walk through the salon this morning, the rug ready to slip any minute beneath my feet on the slant. An occurrence which has already happened in the past two weeks under similar conditions, the occurrence which prompted a quick study of other marina options!
Not sure this is that great for the boat. She should probably be tied such that she doesn't lean so much. The tide, I'm not sure if it ever came in today. This evening we've still been aground, although not quite as high and dry.
These are no conditions for wanting to go sailing. With sailing season upon us, it's time to find some deep water and escape from being tide restricted!!
Not to mention this crazy cold for Florida. One of these days I just might have to move to the equator to stay warm ;)

Winter Sailing Season in Florida

Yup, it's about that time. The "cold" fronts are upon us. It seems the hurricane season, although not officially over until the end of November, has come to a close. Perhaps a seldom thought is that a hurricane can form any time of the year...
anywho, with the latest cold front whipping through this evening, I'm not worrying about hurricanes until next year!
The boat is wonderfully rocking in "breeze."
Much more wind drag on the boat now that the sails are back on! Always a task each year to remember how to put them back on... and, how the reefing lines go... pic is from the sails on day. Quite a bit of work really top put the sails back on with just one person.

Hurricane Season...

Living on a barrier island in Florida, although great for beach access... isn't the safest place to be during hurricane season...
Barrier islands are protection barriers changing all the time.
The pic is of SV Athena getting set for potential hurricanes...
extra dock lines, dinghy tied down, and sails and canvas all down below.
Summer in Florida isn't necessarily the greatest time to live aboard. It's hot, humid, and stressful...
if you worry about hurricanes that is ;)
There were a few that put me on notice this season, and one that caused a little more stress than I'd like to admit. I wasn't too comfortable with the sturdiness of the dock system, nor the neighbor's ability to tie their large floating condo...
First fear was hurricane Fay, which was predicted at one point to come our way...
tied and sprung out from dock, Peppermint Patty and I took stock.
To stay or to go. With the predicted path heading our way, we decided to stay.
got a room in the motel and waited for the swell.
That night the hurricane took a turn, and walked across Goodland, where we use to live.
when one lives on a boat, and a hurricane is coming, it's much easier to reflect on how everything could be lost in one swoop, and what that might be like.
A good practice for remembering impermanence. Everything can change in an instant.
Year 2008 also brought us what I like to call Hurricane "yIKEs"
The waves on the beach after some of these gulf coast touching storms were amazing and beautiful.
We all felt a sigh of relief when the first "cool" front of the season came in late September. cool fronts are always a good sign. they have a tendency to keep away or break up potential hurricanes. the Gulf also cooled quite quickly this fall with a relatively cold cold front early in the fall season.

Time off in July - Thread Through the Eye

Peppermint Patty checks out the new "art installation."

With my time off from work dwindling down in July, I squeezed in some more sewing adventures and finished off upgrading some of the cushion in the v-berth and sewing new covers. I think I use to have photos of the old retro cushion covers, but they were lost when my computer crashed a year or so ago....

Puzzling some new firm foam into the existing foam wasn't easy, and the job was far from perfect, but, you can't tell the way I take the pictures ;) and Patty and I are sleeping just fine!

thank you Lynne and Russell for the firm foam put to good use!
thank you Beth and Brian for your sewing support!

Patty and I enjoy our home as it gets cozier and cozier all the time :)

Five Flying Months

Well, I can't believe it, but it's been five months since my last post.
Although not much work accomplished on SV Athena over these past months...
Sometimes the seas of our mind can be more difficult to traverse than waters of the Gulf.
Not to imply that the past five months have been bad, on the contrary they have been quite wonderful.
And, not to say there's been no work on Athena....

With June came the rains of summer... and the leaks...

In between wetness, I tried to clean up the old sealant (pic on left) and apply new silicone (pic on top right) to minimize the water that continued to find paths from the outside in.

Even with the new sealant, water still manages to be a cause (pic on bottom right) for practicing patient acceptance.

Posting this now in November, it's difficult to remember enduring all the rains that we had this past summer. It has hardly rained in the past two months. If I think back, I can recall searching for leaks with a flashlight. I found a leak soaking my undies in one compartment (yuck!). I didn't stop the leak, but I sealed up the location where it was accessing my clothes. I found water leaking in the galley shelves and from the two overhead lights in the aft of the salon. I have a sneaking suspicion it's the sliding hatch that's leaking. But, I never did get around to taking the hatch off... which will be quite an undertaking, but on the list before next rainy season. The portlights seem to be a never ending battle, so I just accept. The leak in my closet has also stained a bunch of clothes. I try to get these cleaned and shift things around a bit. I think I need to re-seal where the chain plate goes through the deck.
ah, the life of a sailboat owner ;)