Boat trip 2012
1-18-12
Oh boy…………
We arrived back in Palm Coast from Cape Cod in October 2011, with plans to stay straight through till June of 2012 now that Susan retired in September. We arrived with visions of R and R in our heads until our vacation to Mexico about three weeks later, but it was not meant to be. We discovered on our arrival that we had a leak in our living room ceiling and our kitchen ceiling, our air conditioning was broken, our pool pump was broken, our lanai door had blown off and out lanai was full of wasps, and to our greatest horror, Sundance had a leak in one of her two fuel tanks. Sundance was hauled in St. Augustine. We decided to have both fuel tanks removed, and two new tanks had to be fabricated. This entailed having the engine hauled out, the fuel emptied out of tanks, the tanks ripped out, the hull cleaned and repainted, the new fuel tanks put back in, then the engine put back and everything re wired. We also had the bottom repainted. Initially we were told the boat would be ready for December 3rd for the Christmas boat parade here in Palm Coast. Well, add about six weeks to that, and the boat was finally getting launched back to swim last Monday,1-7-12 when it was discovered we needed a new shaft and cutlass bearing. SO, more cha ching, and finally Sundance arrived back home today. Our original thought of having one month to get ready si down the tubes, and once again, as usual we are down to the wire. We are hosting a party this weekend which is requiring time and attention, and we only have five days to get the boat completely cleaned, put back together and provisioned to leave on 1-23-12 for ten weeks. I am cautiously, cautious, that may be we will actually leave next Tues. – my fingers and toes are crossed !
Thurs. 1-18-12 4:00 PM
Breaking news !!!!! We have a new grandson - Caden Everett Hardy - Mom and baby both doing great !!!!!
1-18-12
Oh boy…………
We arrived back in Palm Coast from Cape Cod in October 2011, with plans to stay straight through till June of 2012 now that Susan retired in September. We arrived with visions of R and R in our heads until our vacation to Mexico about three weeks later, but it was not meant to be. We discovered on our arrival that we had a leak in our living room ceiling and our kitchen ceiling, our air conditioning was broken, our pool pump was broken, our lanai door had blown off and out lanai was full of wasps, and to our greatest horror, Sundance had a leak in one of her two fuel tanks. Sundance was hauled in St. Augustine. We decided to have both fuel tanks removed, and two new tanks had to be fabricated. This entailed having the engine hauled out, the fuel emptied out of tanks, the tanks ripped out, the hull cleaned and repainted, the new fuel tanks put back in, then the engine put back and everything re wired. We also had the bottom repainted. Initially we were told the boat would be ready for December 3rd for the Christmas boat parade here in Palm Coast. Well, add about six weeks to that, and the boat was finally getting launched back to swim last Monday,1-7-12 when it was discovered we needed a new shaft and cutlass bearing. SO, more cha ching, and finally Sundance arrived back home today. Our original thought of having one month to get ready si down the tubes, and once again, as usual we are down to the wire. We are hosting a party this weekend which is requiring time and attention, and we only have five days to get the boat completely cleaned, put back together and provisioned to leave on 1-23-12 for ten weeks. I am cautiously, cautious, that may be we will actually leave next Tues. – my fingers and toes are crossed !
Thurs. 1-18-12 4:00 PM
Breaking news !!!!! We have a new grandson - Caden Everett Hardy - Mom and baby both doing great !!!!!
Sundance launced in St. Augustine, getting ready to head back home - thank goodness there is a Sea Tow right next to her - ( Just in case !)
Tues. 1-24-12
New Smyrna
Well, we actually made it out, only one day passed our original planned date of departure which is just short of a miracle. Now the real miracle is those Pats making it back to the superbowl – yahoo !! We spent most of the weekend getting ready, then cleaning up from a country western party we had Sat. night for about 30 people. We spent all day yesterday frantically getting the boat ready, but is was all worth it because today was perfect day, and you won’t hear that often with Sundance. She seems to be enjoying her new fuel tank, gauges, rewired alternator, shaft, cutlass bearing and bottom painting. Now that we have bought Sundance again, maybe we can get a year with no drama. I did tell her that we have purchased a another boat for the Cape, a 25 foot Rosborough pocket trawler, so she better start behaving our she will find herself tied up to a dock all of the time ! It was only a 45 mile day, nice and relaxing – and tomorrow is only 52 miles to Cocoa beach. We have decided to take it slow easy this trip – no hurry, maybe will = no worries !
New Smyrna
Well, we actually made it out, only one day passed our original planned date of departure which is just short of a miracle. Now the real miracle is those Pats making it back to the superbowl – yahoo !! We spent most of the weekend getting ready, then cleaning up from a country western party we had Sat. night for about 30 people. We spent all day yesterday frantically getting the boat ready, but is was all worth it because today was perfect day, and you won’t hear that often with Sundance. She seems to be enjoying her new fuel tank, gauges, rewired alternator, shaft, cutlass bearing and bottom painting. Now that we have bought Sundance again, maybe we can get a year with no drama. I did tell her that we have purchased a another boat for the Cape, a 25 foot Rosborough pocket trawler, so she better start behaving our she will find herself tied up to a dock all of the time ! It was only a 45 mile day, nice and relaxing – and tomorrow is only 52 miles to Cocoa beach. We have decided to take it slow easy this trip – no hurry, maybe will = no worries !
Where is everyone - I am ready to party !
Still waiting !
Susan and Jon - trying out the "Wanted poster !"
Sally, Susan and Danette
Danette, Jon and Jim
Jon and Susan at the "Sunset cafe"
Jim and Danette
Phil and Sarah
Barbara and Barry
Lee and Vern (I love Lee's expresion !)
A stern faced Penny and Jim
Dave and Pat
Crew in the middle of a group of women !
Pat, Debbie, Jo and Sarah
George
Chow time at the Mess Hall
Jon and Dave kick off Karaoke - I laid the camera down for the rest of the night so no pix of games, dancing and more karaoke !
What Jon packed to bring on the trip
What Susan packed to bring on the trip
Night before leaving - our front yard
Night before leaving - our back yard on the water
Starting out from our house in Palm Coast
Daytona
Boat at New Smryna
Departing New Smyrna there was just a ribbon of fog that you could see both above and under - very cool .........
More of the fog ribbon
Entering Haulover canal
observers
Wed. 1-25-12
Cocoa Beach Marina
Another uneventful day on the water – so – this is how it feels to have a boat that is working – devine !
We pulled into our slip at Cocoa beach about 2:30 PM. Slips are a cursing and a blessing. It is a pain to get all of the lines tied and the power cords hooked up, only to have to undo them all in the morning. No matter how I try, the power cords always twist and turn and end up a jumbled mess of spaghetti. The nice part of anchoring is you just drop the anchor, then pull it up when you are ready to leave, and you have many more options of where to overnight. For us though, having Crew, we would have to take three dinghy trips to land and this becomes time consuming. Speaking of Crew…… yesterday he was right up the ladder no problem, and we did a quick sneak attack and got him down relatively easy. Well, when we went to get him down today, he was ready for us !! I started to lower him down, his back to me, his face to Jon, and somehow he managed to get both of back legs on Jon’s shoulders, then lowed himself so that Jon’s face was in his belly – the more Jon tried to get Crew off of his shoulders, the more Crew wrapped his legs around Jon’s neck - I think you get the visual…….. Jon was yelling and trying to get Crew off of his face, but Crew was having none of it. I finally was able to lift Crew back up, Jon unpeeled his legs, and we finally got him down. All I can say is six more times of up and down the ladder, and I have a feeling Crew is already scheming his next line of defense ! We have decided to do shorter runs this trip, and not to set the alarm, just get up and go when we are ready – much more relaxing this way. Our plan is to go to Murdocks tonight for dinner – our favorite restaurant in Cocoa village. On to Vero beach tomorrow for fuel – time to test out the new fuel tanks and gauges, then staying overnight.
Cocoa Beach Marina
Another uneventful day on the water – so – this is how it feels to have a boat that is working – devine !
We pulled into our slip at Cocoa beach about 2:30 PM. Slips are a cursing and a blessing. It is a pain to get all of the lines tied and the power cords hooked up, only to have to undo them all in the morning. No matter how I try, the power cords always twist and turn and end up a jumbled mess of spaghetti. The nice part of anchoring is you just drop the anchor, then pull it up when you are ready to leave, and you have many more options of where to overnight. For us though, having Crew, we would have to take three dinghy trips to land and this becomes time consuming. Speaking of Crew…… yesterday he was right up the ladder no problem, and we did a quick sneak attack and got him down relatively easy. Well, when we went to get him down today, he was ready for us !! I started to lower him down, his back to me, his face to Jon, and somehow he managed to get both of back legs on Jon’s shoulders, then lowed himself so that Jon’s face was in his belly – the more Jon tried to get Crew off of his shoulders, the more Crew wrapped his legs around Jon’s neck - I think you get the visual…….. Jon was yelling and trying to get Crew off of his face, but Crew was having none of it. I finally was able to lift Crew back up, Jon unpeeled his legs, and we finally got him down. All I can say is six more times of up and down the ladder, and I have a feeling Crew is already scheming his next line of defense ! We have decided to do shorter runs this trip, and not to set the alarm, just get up and go when we are ready – much more relaxing this way. Our plan is to go to Murdocks tonight for dinner – our favorite restaurant in Cocoa village. On to Vero beach tomorrow for fuel – time to test out the new fuel tanks and gauges, then staying overnight.
Morning sunrise at Cocoa Beach Marina
Crew taking Jon for their morning stroll
Pelican strip
There are alot of Pelicans on this tiny strip of sand bar
Thurs. 3-26-12
Vero Beach Marina
We had another nice day on the water except it was a bit windy with steady 15 knot winds from the south direct on our nose, and current against us most of the way. We got settled in and then brought Crew to the dog park and threw the ball for him till he was crawling. We then headed around the bend to a nice dinner on the water at the Waterfront Grille. We had a slow walk back and enjoyed a little league team practicing. Tomorrow we are off to Stuart which is about an eight mile detour off of the ICW, but we want to hang out for the weekend to avoid all of the weekend warriors on the water.
Vero Beach Marina
We had another nice day on the water except it was a bit windy with steady 15 knot winds from the south direct on our nose, and current against us most of the way. We got settled in and then brought Crew to the dog park and threw the ball for him till he was crawling. We then headed around the bend to a nice dinner on the water at the Waterfront Grille. We had a slow walk back and enjoyed a little league team practicing. Tomorrow we are off to Stuart which is about an eight mile detour off of the ICW, but we want to hang out for the weekend to avoid all of the weekend warriors on the water.
How Crew and Susan start off in the AM
Jon in the AM
Crew and Susan by 10:00 AM
Bridge opening iwth Miami in teh background !Sat. 3-28-12
Sunset Bay Marina – Stuart
Yesterday was a bad day……….. We headed out and they were predicting winds at about 20, but we only had about 40 miles to go so we were not too worried about it. Once under way they put out a weather alert direct on path for winds with gusts up to 60, blinding rain, hail and to seek shelter – really ? It started to blow so hard, so quickly, we knew we would not be able to dock the boat. We talked about whether to try to anchor to wait the storm out or keep going, and we decided to keep going cautiously with hopes the system which was to the south of us, passing east at 30 mph would miss us. Luckily we did not have the blinding rains, but the winds were howling at one point a steady 30, with some serious gusts that would catch us and even push our boat as heavy as it is. The winds continued our whole trip to Sunset Bay and we could not get in quick enough. We finally docked at about noon time, frazzled but safe. We are the last boat, about 30 boats out on the dock which means one long walk to get to land which is a pain with Crew. The Wi Fi at the boat is awful, there is no cable, and we are rocking and rolling. We were too tired to go out to dinner, so we ordered pizza at 5:30 to be delivered at 7:00 PM. We waited from 6:45 to 8:00 for the pizza up at the marina office, and we were just ready for bed when it finally arrived. I was so excited to sleep in today, but I forgot to shut the alarm off so we were awoken by the alarm at 6:00 AM. We are next to a highway, and route 1 which has a drawbridge that sounds the bell about every fifteen minutes, and next to a very active train rail, it is noisy. Today we made a dedicated effort to turning our sprits around as we are here till Monday. We ended up having a really nice day and walked down the river walk to the historic part of Stuart, then did some shopping for forgotten items.
Sunset Bay Marina – Stuart
Yesterday was a bad day……….. We headed out and they were predicting winds at about 20, but we only had about 40 miles to go so we were not too worried about it. Once under way they put out a weather alert direct on path for winds with gusts up to 60, blinding rain, hail and to seek shelter – really ? It started to blow so hard, so quickly, we knew we would not be able to dock the boat. We talked about whether to try to anchor to wait the storm out or keep going, and we decided to keep going cautiously with hopes the system which was to the south of us, passing east at 30 mph would miss us. Luckily we did not have the blinding rains, but the winds were howling at one point a steady 30, with some serious gusts that would catch us and even push our boat as heavy as it is. The winds continued our whole trip to Sunset Bay and we could not get in quick enough. We finally docked at about noon time, frazzled but safe. We are the last boat, about 30 boats out on the dock which means one long walk to get to land which is a pain with Crew. The Wi Fi at the boat is awful, there is no cable, and we are rocking and rolling. We were too tired to go out to dinner, so we ordered pizza at 5:30 to be delivered at 7:00 PM. We waited from 6:45 to 8:00 for the pizza up at the marina office, and we were just ready for bed when it finally arrived. I was so excited to sleep in today, but I forgot to shut the alarm off so we were awoken by the alarm at 6:00 AM. We are next to a highway, and route 1 which has a drawbridge that sounds the bell about every fifteen minutes, and next to a very active train rail, it is noisy. Today we made a dedicated effort to turning our sprits around as we are here till Monday. We ended up having a really nice day and walked down the river walk to the historic part of Stuart, then did some shopping for forgotten items.
Draw bridge with train passing behind it, right next to the marina
I guess this is why the call it Sunset Bay Marina
Sunday 1-29-12
OK – I was sure I shut that alarm off yesterday, but sure enough, it sounded again this AM at 6:00 ! uggghhhh….. Keeping in mind how for down the dock we are from the land, we are especially thrilled that Crew has developed another case of stress colitis like he had two years ago on the boat. We were fortunate enough to get him seen by a vet at the local Pet Smart at 2:00, and also we were fortunate that we met another couple here at the marina who are members of MTOA (a boating organization we are members of), and Peter gave us ride to the vets. A couple of hundred buckaroonies later, it was confirmed that Crew does have stress colitis, and along with antibiotics, probiotics and prescription dog food, the vet has given us some doggy Xanax - I am already thinking- hmmpphh - about 1/2 hour before trying to get him down the ladder should do the trick........Because of Crew’s status, we are unable to leave him by himself, and we cannot take him to a restaurant in case he gets a “wave” so, we ate on board last night and will be doing so again tonight. We had to wash Crew’s bed and some rugs, hopefully the medication will kick in and we will not have any more issues. They are predicting winds about 20 for the next three days, hopefully they will not be off by 10 to 15 like they usually are ! We can not wait to get to Marathon and settle in for a couple of months with nothing to do. If all goes somewhat well, we should be pulling into Marathon on Thursday.
OK – I was sure I shut that alarm off yesterday, but sure enough, it sounded again this AM at 6:00 ! uggghhhh….. Keeping in mind how for down the dock we are from the land, we are especially thrilled that Crew has developed another case of stress colitis like he had two years ago on the boat. We were fortunate enough to get him seen by a vet at the local Pet Smart at 2:00, and also we were fortunate that we met another couple here at the marina who are members of MTOA (a boating organization we are members of), and Peter gave us ride to the vets. A couple of hundred buckaroonies later, it was confirmed that Crew does have stress colitis, and along with antibiotics, probiotics and prescription dog food, the vet has given us some doggy Xanax - I am already thinking- hmmpphh - about 1/2 hour before trying to get him down the ladder should do the trick........Because of Crew’s status, we are unable to leave him by himself, and we cannot take him to a restaurant in case he gets a “wave” so, we ate on board last night and will be doing so again tonight. We had to wash Crew’s bed and some rugs, hopefully the medication will kick in and we will not have any more issues. They are predicting winds about 20 for the next three days, hopefully they will not be off by 10 to 15 like they usually are ! We can not wait to get to Marathon and settle in for a couple of months with nothing to do. If all goes somewhat well, we should be pulling into Marathon on Thursday.
Our dock was sooo long, you could not even see the end from our boat !
Leaving Sunset Bay - going back under the draw bridge, then the railroad bridge, then the big bridge !
Pretty morning sky !
This sure looked like a "Go Patriots" kite to me !!
Sunday 1-29-12
OK – I was sure I shut that alarm off yesterday, but sure enough, it sounded again this AM at 6:00 ! uggghhhh….. Keeping in mind how for down the dock we are from the land, we are especially thrilled that Crew has developed another case of stress colitis like he had two years ago on the boat. We were fortunate enough to get him seen by a vet at the local Pet Smart at 2:00, and also we were fortunate that we met another couple here at the marina who are members of MTOA (a boating organization we are members of), and Peter gave us ride to the vets. Because of Crew’s status, we are unable to leave him by himself, and we cannot take him to a restaurant in case he gets a “wave” so, we ate on board last night and will be doing so again tonight. We had to wash Crew’s bed and some rugs, hopefully the medication will kick in and we will not have any more issues. They are predicting winds about 20 for the next four days, hopefully they will not be off by 10 to 15 like they usually are ! We can not wait to get to Marathon and settle in for a couple of months with nothing to do. If all goes somewhat well, we should be pulling into Marathon on Thursday.
Tues. 1-31-12
Lighthouse Point Marina – Monday
Crandon Park Marina – Tues.
It was windy, again yesterday…… we left Sunset Bay at 6:30 AM, and had 72 miles with bridges to cover. We did not know the marina closed at 4:00 PM, but the dock master was kind enough to wait for us for 45 minutes to help us due to the high winds. We got in easy enough as there were no other boats on the face dock, but we were nervous about getting out this AM because the wind was blowing us directly on the dock. Jon has it in his mind that we have to be in Marathon by Sundy or otherwi se the Patriots will be at risk for loosing the Superbowl. We were up early this AM and decided to try to get off. I somehow managed to get my arm caught between the piling and the strut on the boat to trying to push our stern off, as Jon was powering the boat forward - it was by the grace of God that I did not snap my arm – now that, would not have made for a happy Susie ! It is still windy – blowing 20 from the northeast – Is it always windy this time of year – or just when we are on the boat ? We arrived at Crandon marina about 3:00 PM. We radioed ahead again for assistance because of the wind. We arrived – to our assignment on a face dock, with no help. So , I jump off of the boat, in the wind, trying to tie off the stern, then get a spring line so we don’t slam into the boat in front of us. Finally got it all secure, when dock girl slowly strolls down to the point if she were walking any slower she would be walking backward, and observes – “oh, you look all set” Next we go to check in, and as we have done for the last three years, we put Crew on the leash and walk toward the office. Now remember, this is Crew’s third year here, no one has ever said anything about pets, but now the dock mater sees us and tells us no pets are allowed – Really ?! SO, I have to run, then walk him across a four lane highway to get to grass that was loaded with burrs. I had to run back, then spend the next half hour with a fine tooth comb tormenting Crew trying to get all of the burrs off of him – uugghhh ……… Not the way we planned to spend our afternoon because we have always loved it here, especially taking Crew to the beach and watching the sunset – well, those days are over. We thought about spending tomorrow here if the winds don’t lie down because it is not fun being on the open Bay with high winds, but we will be leaving no matter what at the crack of dawn -
Bahamas Express - in for a rough crossing today !
Love watching these monster coargo ships get loaded up with cargo in Ft. Luaderdale
Bridge opening up with Miami in the background
2-2-12
Banana Bay – Finally – yahoo !!!
The nicest day on the water today that we have had the whole trip down, just as we were pulling in, the winds started to pick back up again. We arrived around 1:30 pm, but skipped cocktails down at the point because we were still getting the boat in shape until about 6:30. We did get to say hello to allot of friends we have not seen since last year. This is our fourth year here and we see many of the same people year after year. As tired as we were, it did not keep us from getting over to Hurricane’s for wing night - they were as delish as I remembered and for .25 a piece – you can’t go wrong . We caught up with Larry - our dockmaster adn his finace Bonnie, and it was fun ctaching up on teh past years events.Getting ready to head to bed, it so nice to know we do not have to get up and go anywhere – perfect !!
Banana Bay – Finally – yahoo !!!
The nicest day on the water today that we have had the whole trip down, just as we were pulling in, the winds started to pick back up again. We arrived around 1:30 pm, but skipped cocktails down at the point because we were still getting the boat in shape until about 6:30. We did get to say hello to allot of friends we have not seen since last year. This is our fourth year here and we see many of the same people year after year. As tired as we were, it did not keep us from getting over to Hurricane’s for wing night - they were as delish as I remembered and for .25 a piece – you can’t go wrong . We caught up with Larry - our dockmaster adn his finace Bonnie, and it was fun ctaching up on teh past years events.Getting ready to head to bed, it so nice to know we do not have to get up and go anywhere – perfect !!
2-3-12
How would I describe today ? No good adjectives come to mind. Jon was up this AM and took Crew for a walk and rolled his ankle, fell, and limped home with a swollen ankle, bruised knee and elbow, and a wrenched back. With a history of a bad back, we came prepared with some muscle relaxers, so Jon took one, I plied him with ice packs all over, and he has laid low all day. I think if he is this sore today, tomorrow will be a real uncomfortable day for him. While Jon was laying low, he went on line to check bank accounts, and low and behold discovered that someone had tapped into his ATM card and just about emptied one of our checking accounts. The bank as replaced the funds, and told us the card was being used in England, and appearas to have been pirated when we were in Mexico. The bank told us they also tried to tap my card, but luckily despite may attempts to use my card, I had forgotten my PIN when we were in Mexico so I was unable to use my card for withdrawals. I have quickly pointed out to Jon that although he may not have been happy that I did not have any money in Mexico and had to spend all of his, it has all turned out for the best because my account has remained untapped ! I spent the day catching up on paperwork, getting the cable box hooked up, and reading. Crew had about enough of not going to dogtails, so Crew and I went down to the point at sunset so he could say hello to everyone. He met a cute little female beagle and I do believe he is a bit smitten ! He is totally able to get off and on the boat independently , but he never does unless he is with us. I am a bit worried if he figures out where the new girl lives, he may start acting out on some of his adolescent rebellion ! I grilled chicken and sweet potatoes on board for dinner, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jon wakes up tomorrow no worse for the wear !
How would I describe today ? No good adjectives come to mind. Jon was up this AM and took Crew for a walk and rolled his ankle, fell, and limped home with a swollen ankle, bruised knee and elbow, and a wrenched back. With a history of a bad back, we came prepared with some muscle relaxers, so Jon took one, I plied him with ice packs all over, and he has laid low all day. I think if he is this sore today, tomorrow will be a real uncomfortable day for him. While Jon was laying low, he went on line to check bank accounts, and low and behold discovered that someone had tapped into his ATM card and just about emptied one of our checking accounts. The bank as replaced the funds, and told us the card was being used in England, and appearas to have been pirated when we were in Mexico. The bank told us they also tried to tap my card, but luckily despite may attempts to use my card, I had forgotten my PIN when we were in Mexico so I was unable to use my card for withdrawals. I have quickly pointed out to Jon that although he may not have been happy that I did not have any money in Mexico and had to spend all of his, it has all turned out for the best because my account has remained untapped ! I spent the day catching up on paperwork, getting the cable box hooked up, and reading. Crew had about enough of not going to dogtails, so Crew and I went down to the point at sunset so he could say hello to everyone. He met a cute little female beagle and I do believe he is a bit smitten ! He is totally able to get off and on the boat independently , but he never does unless he is with us. I am a bit worried if he figures out where the new girl lives, he may start acting out on some of his adolescent rebellion ! I grilled chicken and sweet potatoes on board for dinner, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jon wakes up tomorrow no worse for the wear !