Dockside Bar and Grill provided the place. Steff provided the service. A casual minivous of the following boats:
ALTER EGO Audrey and Griff
CHARMED Debbie and Craig
KESTREL Ed
OPTIMYSTIQUE Judy and Bill
PLAN SEA Loretta and Jim
TANGO Lana and Bob
PAPILLION and WITCH OF ENDOR are here, but we could not raise them to have them join us.
At first it was disappointing. Two hundred plus boats and just two Island Packets! We could only look to the Krogen crowd for society. But then way deep in the harbor we found the IPs all nestled together. There are a half dozen of the fleet here. Enough for a Marathon Minivous.
The bump in the night was at three AM. We both bolted out of bed to find Miller Time, a fifty eight foot cruiser, up against Charmed. Pounding on their superstructure woke them. Their anchor had dragged in the calmest of conditions.
Miller Time had about twelve feet of rode out in water ten feet deep. We watched them retrieve it. The reply to the question of how much rode was out, “we have plenty out.” In ten feet of water and all chain rode, Miller Time should have had from forty five to seventy five feet of rode out.
With due respect to Captain Stengel, you just can’t say you have experienced cruising the east coast until you have spent considerable time in Miami. It is easier and cheaper and more comfortable than New York City. It gives you much the same, attractions, arts, humanities, sciences, services. The gurls are way more beautiful, and they wear way less clothes.
First, the weather. You just can’t complain when the weather is over eighty during the day in January and February, and a bit below seventy at night.
Second, the Columbian and Cuban food. You just can’t complain about a $6.00 breakfast that includes bistec, huevos, arepa, arroz, frijoles, and café con leche. Then, when you want a great jazz bar with more elegant food and entertainment, you go to Van Dykes!
Third, you find two Publixes within an eighth mile of the dinghy. (Granted the dinghy tie up is less than ideal. It is odd tieing up to a bridge and clambering over the guardrail, but it is normal here.)
Fourth, you find Enterprise Rental Car within a sixteenth mile of the dinghy.
Fifth, you have Miami International within a $20.00 cab ride of the dinghy.
Sixth, you find a world class beach less than a mile from the dinghy.
And it goes on and on . . . .
Charmed was just out Angelfish Creek for a short trip north in Hawk’s Channel to Key Biscayne and Hurricane Harbor, when a calm and clear “mayday, mayday, mayday,” was heard on Channel 16. We immediately turned greater attention to the radio. There was no response from the Coast Guard. A bit later the mayday was repeated. Again, it was calm and clear. Again, no response from the Coast Guard, or anyone. We were surprised. We also know we tried to contact the Coast Guard more than one time here in south Florida to determine whether Government Cut was open to us. We know our radio works well and cannot explain why the Coast Guard did not respond to us. We were pondering what to do when the mayday call came again.
We responded to the call. To two men in a twenty foot Proline in the ocean off Elliot Key. The engine wouldn’t start. The anchor just went over the side unconnected to the boat. There were no injuries. There was no distress. Lifejackets were available. Charmed relayed the message to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard did respond to Charmed, and the Coast Guard used us to gather additional information. Interesting, once the Coast Guard was involved Tow Boat US also got right involved and dispatched a tow boat. Tow Boat US could not hear the Proline either.
Locating the Proline precisely was challenging. The men claimed they were two miles offshore and could see Adam’s Key. Adam’s Key is on Biscayne Bay. But, the Proline was drifting safely. The weather was calm. Finally another boat hailed Charmed to tell us the Proline was near Green 17 in Hawk’s Channel, around a number of other boats, including them. They confirmed the Proline was safe.
During the time Charmed was involved, the Coast Guard periodically asked us questions. Some seemed irrelevant. Tow Boat US initially claimed a five minute ETA. Thirty minutes later, they stated their ETA would be thirty five minutes. Once Tow Boat US got to the Proline, we stopped paying attention.
It is surprising VHF communications were so poor for the Coast Guard and Tow Boat US. At worse, the Coast Guard was twenty nautical miles away. Lesson learned for Charmed, if a mayday call goes unanswered, respond immediately. This call did not require immediate attention. It was not even a proper mayday. However, you just never know . . . .
Among the bajillions of small fish, you see sharks, rays, snook, and blowfish.
A nurse shark, about four feet long:
A spotted ray:
I must get better with the underwater housing for my digital camera. There are twenty buttons and levers to operate a Canon Powershot S1 IS. You can't read what they do when they are in the housing. You have to remember.
Small green coconuts have soft gel like meat that you can eat with a spoon. Large brown coconuts have thicker meat that tastes more like what you buy in the store. The meat of larger brown coconuts must be carved off with a sharp knife.
Medium to large green coconuts have sweet milk. Even when the Sun is up and heating everything it shines on, coconut milk is cool.
Harvesting coconuts is fairly easy. Opening a hard brown coconut is as simple as throwing it down on a hard surface, hard on its end. You get what you get when it busts open.
Green coconuts can be opened methodically. First, you carve off one slice from the branch or stem end:
Then you carve off another slice:
And another slice:
Once at the three eyes of the coconut, you poke around for the one that is soft, and open the coconut at that eye. You end up with a fine drink from a fine drinking vessel:
Notice the plastic owl, which is supposed to scare birds away.
We were excited to see this "catch" and called over to the guys on the boat that they must have had fun! They replied affirmatively. Then we saw the boat again a few days later with a plastic shark that looked suspiciously similar to the one in the photo. Hence the question.
Yesterday with VIP guests we cast lines at 10:30 am, and headed out of Government Cut for a daysail. Sailing east with light winds from the southeast and head seas we made only 2 to 3 knots boat speed at 50 degrees apparent. Falling off to 80 or 90 degrees provided higher speed. Charmed sails comfortably about half wind speed in close to broad reaching conditions, when being set by a head sea. Boat speed falls to a third of wind speed when Charmed points to 35 or 40 degrees apparent against head seas. Once winds strengthened to 9 knots or better we were able to point 55 degrees apparent or better against the seas and make half wind speed. Charmed plows along on train tracks.
After finding the edge of the Continental Shelf and having depth exceed the limit of the Raymarine instrument at about 500 feet we turned back toward Miami. With the light winds and following seas, we were able to easily sail 40 degrees apparent and make half wind speed. In winds 6, 7, 8 knots we were able to comfortably run downwind, with boat speed only 2 knots, but with jib filled. When the wind gets to 10 knots, Charmed will make 6 knots in any direction from about 40 to 160 degrees apparent, with fair seas. Above 10 knots performance just gets better.
Our sail ended after dodging a huge Maersk container ship who wanted Government Cut the same time as us, and after learning the Main Channel is sometimes closed to recreational vessels without securites or some other warning except a police boat zooming at you when enter it.
In this picture you cannot see color or number, but you can see shape:
The two pictures above were taken within minutes of each other, one forward and one aft. The sun is ahead of us. The marks ahead are backlit making color and number difficult to see until they are very near.
To make things challenging, marks and buoys along the ICW also have a waterway designator. See the yellow triangles in the pictures below. They confirm these are waterway marks, and they tell you which they are by shape. The yellow designator could also be square in shape. All is simple when the mark shape and waterway designator shape are the same, as in the first picture. When they are different shapes like in the second picture it gets complicated. This might be the case where the ICW follows or intersects creeks, inlets or rivers. The second picture indicates both the left edge of the Beaufort River off Port Royal Sound, when returning, and the right edge of the ICW, when returning, hence the different shapes.
With due respect to a fine Island Packet sailor who has tossed the boom overboard, the staysail and Hoyt boom on Charmed will remain as rigged by the factory! And I opine, no IP should get sold without the boom and staysail, now an option on some models.
Today was a pleasant and fast downhill run from Cocoa to Vero Beach. Wind was 20 knots, with gusts and long periods of wind well over thirty knots. Direction varied from about 150 degrees apparent starboard tack to 150 degrees apparent port tack as we meandered down the waterway. The staysail added well over a half knot, maybe a whole knot at times, to motoring speed, and it smoothed the ride on the “very rough ICW”. There were whitecaps the whole way and two to three foot seas in the bigger lakes.
The picture above shows the staysail set from the cockpit. You can see you need the boom to manage the clew of the sail in heavy winds from behind. Singlehanding the sail including controlling the gybes was easy even in the narrow waterway.
After a wonderful warm, even hot, fall and beginning of winter, we found ourselves reading weather reports that included snow flurries for our trip from New Smyrna Beach to Vero Beach. While sailing in New England we never had to worry about snow while sailing. Now sailing in Florida we have to worry!
Yesterday and today were without a doubt the coldest days ever spent sailing on Charmed. Temperature measured on the boat remained in the forties. Wind chills measured in the mid thirties. We are glad temperatures last night were as low as they will get this weather event, and hope we are gone for the next event.
It once was that we hoped to become runners, but after initial training and introspection, we have decided to become more, walkers. We want the physical benefit of a greater quantity of exercise, and we want to lose weight. However, we also want to socialize. As runners, we wouldn’t be talking while exercising for six months!
The goal is to walk at least twenty five miles each week. From week one and over the last few weeks we have easily met the goal. Since we began cruising we had been walking for enjoyment and out of necessity. To reach the goal, we will have to put in additional purely recreational miles.
On the technical side, walking burns a lot of calories. Debbie will burn over 1700 calories in twenty five miles. I will burn over 3300 calories. Simply put, work equals force times distance. Burning these calories while walking, and including the residual benefit of the regimen, mean we should shed weight in a healthy manner. Provided we complete relatively long walks we will shed mostly fat.
Running is surely a better aerobic exercise than walking. Factoring any difference in benefit, injury possibilities, and motivation issues, walking suits us just right.
As we get nearer fabulous snorkeling grounds interest in scuba or breathing air compressors grows. I am PADI Open Water certified. Debbie is not. The bulk of scuba gear including four tanks makes scuba undesirable. Being tethered makes a compressor undesirable.
Last week I had the opportunity to again closely inspect breathing air compressors being used on the docks. Surprisingly I have been able to look at about five over the last month. Also surprisingly, only one was commercially supplied for underwater breathing. The balance were a mixture of right-from-Home-Depot air compressors to user-built-probably-plagiarized designs. All were simple and included similar oilless connecting rod or rocking piston compressors, although system manufacturers describe using diaphragm compressors, too. All including the one commercially supplied included only commercial or industrial intake air filters. Nothing special at all. What you would buy from the compressor manufacturer as an accessory.
The location of the air intake on electric compressors was not special. It was at the head of the compressor. The air intake on the gasoline powered compressors was routed up a short maybe eighteen inch mast oriented higher than engine exhaust.
Two manufacturers of bare compressors: http://www.gastmfg.com, http://www.thomaspumps.com. On their website Gast describes using their compressor in shallow water breathing applications.
Several manufacturers of breathing air systems: http://www.supersnorkel.com, http://www.hookahdivegear.com, http://www.browniedive.com, http://www.seabreathe.com.
It seems if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you could easily, inexpensively, and safely build your own compressor system.
NASA Space Shuttle Mission STS-122, the mission we so wanted to see off, has been delayed again, apparently indefinitely. We have given up plans to see it and removed it from our calendar.
