January 31, 2007

Well, this has been the best of days and the worst of days. It all started off this morning early after a night with some more showers and a blustery wind out of the east when I got up to start breakfast. I turned on the stove and nothing happened so I tried different things but nothing seemed to help. Finally I called Kenny at Three Rivers and he talked me around to the right diagnosis on the stove. The hose that sucks the fuel up was not going deep enough into the container for the fuel; tried that and it worked. The problem encounter was in the head, no flushing would occur, the switch was dead. Or something like this because evidently it blew a fuse. However changing the fuse has not helped so I will be searching for someone at my next marina stop to fix it. And I know you all are thinking that well he's full of it anyhow so probably screwed up the head. Then this afternoon, changing fuel tanks, I think I accidentally switched the fuel totally off and had a real problem getting fuel to flow. But through all of this Kenny Hum kept a cool head and worked with me so all in all the day was not a loss.

As I came through Gasparilla Sound and the area around Charlotte the wind was really kicking up and I had some two to three feet chop at times. I passed numerous sailboats slugging it out and a couple of Grand Banks 36's and doing about 10-11 knots with no slamming of the hull. When out on the Sounds there is not much to look at so you might just as well get across them and back to where there is something to see.

Tonight after a dinner of a Mazzarello's stuffed pork chop heated on the stove and added some carrots to it. I still have one left and if its as good as its predecessor I will be doing alright tomorrow night. I am not lacking in food at all.

Tonight while the boat swings at anchor there a a beautiful bright moon and just a while ago the train trestle bascule bridge came down and a passenger train went across. I am just outside the Okeechobee Waterway so I hope all the traffic is gone for the night as there has been no one buy since dark.

January 30, 2007

This morning I left Madiera Beach at about 7:30 AM. It was Yankee cold this morning and I had the heater on for about an hour. The sun was just rising as I left the dock and it was absolutely gorgeous. The ICW at that point in the day was so smooth with a few ripples here and there. You have to travel at no wake speed which is not all bad if you are a tourist. The colors, the architecture, the wildlife that is right in the cities all so nice to see them living together. I traveled down the ICW till I reached Tampa Bay and then you go directly across the bay and you have to not only keep an eye out for traffice but for the next light you need to hit to maintain your course. I went across and met two ships in the middle and gave them the right of way because there size demands it. One was a cargo ship and the other was an ocean going barge and its tug. The left me some big wakes to cross. No problem though Shorty was up to the task. Once I got across and back into the ICW it seemed as though we had mostly left the big city until we arrived in Sarasota Bay which goes past downtown and the Ringling Museum. Onward we went south until tonite when anchored out in the Englewood Beach area as I waited too long to get a slip. I need to start searching at about 3 PM. I cooked up some mac and cheese and have the pan to wash up in a little bit. During the day I ate some power bars, and the rest of my sandwich left over from Mazzaro's in St. Petersburg. Tomorrow if this happens I have some stuffed pork chops from Mazzaro's for dinner and tomorrow morning it will be bacon and eggs and I can't wait.

The boat is dancing around on its anchor and supplying me with all sorts of views and since it is now totally dark you try to tell if you are moving by looking at the lights on the shore. It is so quiet just the lapping of the water against the boat. To me it is relaxing and sitting here I am really getting relaxed. The winds are supposed to get up to 10 knots and we are expecting rain since it has been overcast since noon.

Today a 46 foot Carver went aground in the middle of the channel. I was following him and when I saw it I tilted my motor up looked out the window and had probably 2 feet of water left so I looked around me to see where the bar ended and worked my way back to a channel which led me around him. I felt sorry for him because you could tell he was hard aground just from the sound. You have to be paying attention all the time because they even allow them to set crab traps in the channel. I bet they don't but you still find them there. I may have forgotten something but all the alertness takes it toll; you just get really sleepy even though it is only 7 PM.

January 29, 2007

Today was prep day for tomorrow's run. The wind has finally dropped some but now it is supposed to be down in the 30's in the morning. I have paid my dock fees, filled the one fuel tank that I thought was totally empty but it only held thirty gallons before it was showing totally full. I guess I will run one until it is totally empty because that means the empty one still had 20 gallons in it when it was solid on the empty post.

Today one of the liveaboards came down to look at the boat and then Tony invited me to lunch with him at Mazzarello's in St. Petersburg. What a deli, it was a big as a Tom Thumb in Dallas and would take a long time to describe all that it held. Everything possible thing you can think of in the way of Italian Food was in this place.

I am certainly good for local economy's as I move along. At this one I had to buy a 50 foot 30 amp power cord because my 25 would not even come close to getting to the shore power and the extra one the Marina gave me also was a bad cord- it said I had reverse polarity which had not shown up prior to now.

Tonite I am docked next to a commercial fisherman and on the other side I have a 56 foot Carver with everything possible on it. Shorty, however, is not sulking, just wait till tomorrow mornings extremely low tide and we will see who leaves first.

The last two days here are one's that have extremely low tides and high ones so at 7 AM this morning I had to climb to Shorty's roof and then jump up to the dock. I am getting too old for this. If the next marina does not have floating slips, its good by and onward to the next or better yet just get in a nook and drop the anchor.

Just said good by to my friends and while there mooched another shower. She even dried the bath towel. I sure am lucky, we are going to stay in touch and on weekends they are going to help me crew in Florida if at all possible.

January 28, 2007

Last nite after calling Marilee and telling her about my day. It was time to go to bed, I did not feel like eating anything as I had been eating power bars and drinking water during the day.

This morning I met the dockmaster, signed in and got my key to everything and the gate so I can live it up and come home late. I spent the day with my friends Wayne and Debra Dabinet and had a wonderful breakfast with them at a place called the Frog Pond just a short distance from the Marina. We enjoyed talking over old and new times and the world problems and many other things but the best thing mooched today was a wonderful hot shower and clean clothes plus a great evening meal. Very tempting to just stay here for the shower use but must move on. I put them in charge of finding me good friends with hot showers while I am in the state of Florida.

After breakfast we went to the boater's favorite department store as my shore power cord of twenty five feet that came with the boat would not reach the power source and the one plus mine that the marina loaned showed reverse polarity. So I bought a new fifty feet power cord and tonite I have microwave power and can charge all my batteries, cell phone, etc.

We also walked down to the beach and the gulf which had probably a foot and half chop the day before, today had waves of six to eight feet washing its sandy shores. So weather will play an important part of my moves unless I am in the Intracoastal Waterway. Tomorrow is my day to work on the chartplotter and see what it is that I have done wrong and fill tanks for the next leg south to which I have not made a decision as to where but somewhere south of Tampa Bay when the water calms a bit. The wind is still blowing here but no as much as last night since the front has now passed us by. But their is more rain in the forecast but no thunderstorms yet.

Well with good Prime Country Music playing on my Sirius Satellite Radio, and some time tomorrow to do all the refills, etc. I can sit here in comfort while the cold north wind whistling outside and my cabin heater on thinking that so far life is good and we are going to be around for leg number two.

January 27,2007

This was Shorty's day to test his legs on the Gulf. The morning started when Mike came down and got me up and going at 6 AM. Then he brought me a list of things which keep Shorty and I in good shape and out of trouble for the trip. And he brought me a greatly needed cup of hot coffee.

I decided that on Saturday we were between two fronts and the weather was going to be nice. We made the run out to the last marker on Crystal River, took a deep breath, set a course of 270 degrees or west and then went looking for the first waypoint on the chartplotter, we found it breathed another sigh of relief and headed South on a heading of 180 degrees which after we cleared what is known as Gomez rocks we then changed course slightly toward land and there on the horizon was the next waypoint, this is good, we now headed for the third one when the chartplotter map quit scrolling with the boat image in the middle, bad news, I worked out a solution which I then used for the next waypoint which would take us to the Intracoastal waterway, hit it on the nose and a little further and there was the next one Green 37 right where it ought to be. Now we are going down the line when oops, here are so many different markers private and ICW and me being colorblind sitting there in the middle of them saying I think this it it and off we go again and I was right thank goodness. I would not want to show anyone our track which goes all over the place. It seemed like every time I thought I had gone by the last crab trap bouy well here comes another line so I kept changing course and slaloming through them. Going down the intracoastal was different with traffic and things to watch for. I got to Clearwater area and things got busier. I was headed for Madiera Beach Public Marina which is close to my friends who live in Redington Beach, Fl. I got their directions over the phone and made wrong turn when I turned for a cruise tour boat I was looking for. Wrong tour boat, so back I went and further south. I found the right one and this time when I arrived there was the dockmaster waiting to tie me up at the fuel dock. It was seven thirty at night and I was so tired from nervous exhaustion of the day that I just went to bed. Well about that time my pants pocket started to ring and it was my friends on the cellphone calling to say they were at the gate and could I let them in, well I was the last boat in so the night watchman had went home for a meal. We shook fingers through the fence and they said they would be over about 9:30 on Sunday. I went back down got in bed, listening to the howling north wind out in the gulf a couple of blocks away, said Good Night Shorty and slept through the night like a baby. Well maybe all babies dont sleep through the night, but whenever I awoke it was still howling wind and rain on the roof of the boat but I am snug as a bug.

January 26,2007

Today was not a very busy day. Studied Raymarine book on waypoints and late this afternoon put in the first set for my travels tomorrow. I also have them written down on paper and have them on a paper chart.

I went for my last meal at Charley's Fish House. It will be a long time and lots of water under the hull before my next meal there. When I close the loop it will be the first place to go because I will be so tired of eating what I cook that I will want to eat out.

Today since Shorty is in Mikes spot at the dock I took a customer out for a demo ride. He seemed to like the boat real well. I hope Mike will sell him one and then perhaps he will take the same trip.

It was really cold this morning and is supposed to be colder still tomorrow morning. The afternoons are nice. The sleeping bag is however still holding out the cold along with my old and holey sweater.

This was also a psyche day in that when you get ready to start a journey on someone else's boat it is okay and no problem but when its going to be on yours there are just lots of little things to do that sometimes don't like they mean anything but can screw something up. Like putting bumpers in place, getting your dock lines ready and a lot of other small insignificant things which can make a difference when added up.

January 25, 2007

It rained all night but this morning it cleared off as the rain moved away but it is cold enough that fog is rising off the water in the canal and the wind is out of the North. I have my Wallas heater on and it really feels good. With the heater on for warmth I thought well no better time than the present to cook my first meal. I made me a cup of coffee using the coffee press and this worked fine. Its cold so my next move was oatmeal which is so simple, how could I screw it up.
I could not find the measuring cups but I thought my eye was good enough. If my coffee cup is a cup I figured a cup of water in the pan, let it heat until it is boiling and then put the oatmeal measured in the same cup in the pan with the water, presto, oatmeal with splenda would be a cold morning banquet with the fog rising off of cold water. You know what happened, I could have fed three people with my oatmeal. After breakfast cleanup, a shower at Mikes house and I was off to the grocery store for measuring cups, no more guessing but I could swear we already had a set somewhere on the boat but I moved everything and I guess they just kept hiding in a new spot.

The rest of the day went a lot better. I have now what I consider to be my route to Tampa written down on paper but I will put it in the chartplotter as waypoints which will allow me to find my way on the Gulf of Mexico and hopefully keep me out of the thin water this area is noted for.

Tonight I asked Kenny Hum from Three Rivers Marine to go with me to try out the radar and to help me better understand what it does and how it looks compared to the chart plotter. We were out long enough to get back in that period of the evening where its not quite dark but very close. It reinforced my thinking that I must complete each leg of the journey before it gets dark and so will alter my speed accordingly as the sea conditions will alter this plan. But I need to feel confident enough that at a slow speed I can still do it with the instruments and a high powered flashlight to read the numbers. The problem is these instruments are accurate enough you can darned near hit the object before you can see it. Another help was setting the charplotter to look just like the radar screen and then overlay the radar on it because using the radar makes you the center of a 360 degree circle and so does the chartplotter but if they are not set at heads up you wind up with the chart going to the left and the radar going toward a point straight in front of you. If this makes no sense I can arrange for you to come with me for the experience of your life.

To top a night off you eventually have to bring the boat in and dock it or anchor it out. My head, my hands, and the motor behind me each have their own idea of how this should be accomplished and when this happens you just stop and have someone who understands all this take the wheel and dock it. Things always start out correctly but somehow I cannot get out of my mind that a sailboat pivots on its keel and a powerboat seems to pivot on the motor taking me and everything else with it until it wins. One of these days the motor and I will have to visit about its ability to control everything. I know more practice should help. Anyone who has been to the Caribbean knows that the anchor show happens every night. Well here in Crystal River I have the feeling I am as good as the anchoring show down there anytime. Hopefully I won't be docking in the dark too many times. Maybe anchoring and carrying a dingy is not such a bad idea but who would row??

January 24, 2007

They finished the screens for the boat by noon today. I paid the fee and Shorty was now off to Three Rivers Marine where they changed the break-in oils in the engine at 10 hours not quite twelve but very close. After they finished that this afternoon it was off to the Race Trac station for a fillup of fuel or more like topping off the two 55 gallon tanks. They needed thirty some gallons apiece. Then we launched Shorty and now we are sitting next to Mike's dock again. They say this coming weekend is Gasparilla Week in Tampa which is a pirate celebration and the place will be loaded with boats so the marina's are probably full and not a good time to start the trip. Also need to talk to my friend in Tampa and see if he want's to do the first leg of the trip with me. In the meantime I continue to look at the charts and become as familiar as possible with everything on the boat. The weather has turned cooler and they keep saying the wind is higher offshore than here where I am protected. After launch today I took a ride out to see for myself but the smoke on the power plant at marker one as you look right was going straight up so the forecast was wrong for that close to shore. That far out you can look to your right and left and still see land so I will be going out until I can clear the reef when headed south.
I saw Mike taking pictures of Shorty when we launched the boat so maybe he will be posting some on the Three Rivers Marine website soon. I took a few today and haven't checked them out yet but there was a different kind of bird today and all of the markers going out in the channel. I saw brown pelicans, a pelican with a yellowish head and I don't know his true name, and the everpresent gulls. One dolphin came alongside for a minute. Coming into Mikes dock and past Pete's Pier there was a sailboat the likes of which I have not seen before. The construction of it looked like sheets of plywood bent to a boat that looked like a Chinese junk. It had a small cabin top forward and aft was a glassed pilot house which was square to keep the captain out of the weather while sailing or motoring. Lucky for me the local people weren't out looking for speeders, I was watching another boat and went into the idle zone for manatees for about a hundred yards before I rapidly slowed to idle speed and hoped I wouldn't get stopped.

January 23, 2007

Shorty and I spent the day at JP's Canvas Shop where the boat is getting a set of mosquito screens added. The no see ums are worse than mosquitos but if we used the screen to get rid of them there would not be much ventilation through the mesh so we opted for a set that gets rid of most of one pest. Having the whole day on hard ground it was fun for me to observe how they measure the boat for the screens. They first do a template which is marked with all of the little nooks and crannies they have to cover so the bugs don't get through or at least most we hope are not smart enough to get through the remaining space. I had no idea the amount of hand work that goes into doing the screens, it is like thinking in 3 dimensions and the sewing and seaming work plus making sure all of the zippers are aligned properly. Well JP has done this for 35 years and can make this very difficult job look easy. After we got here this morning he had to move things around in his schedule to make way for us. It is much appreciated by us that he is taking the time fit us in. Being a family owned business they have built a reputation for the finest quality work and it certainly shows. The bimini, the interior canvas work, and now the screens carry the proud name sewn in to identify them as we make the trip.

The rain I expected more of today turned out to be a little shower as we were loading the boat to come over and the rest of the day was kind of an overcast with another nice sunset if you were watching. I have not listerned to the NOAA weather radio today to see what tomorrow is to bring but tonite it is very chilly. I am wearing a jacket in the cabin as I write this because I am getting ready to call it a day I though it would be a waste of fuel to heat the cabin for this short while.

Sitting here this morning I neglected another very important event which happened and that is Kymi Hum who did the work on Shorty's name on the side came by and added my Florida Registration numbers on the bow while Shorty was out of the water. She also call an Avon lady for me and I now have some Avon Skin So Soft to combat the mosquitos and no-see-ums and which has been touted on other Looper's websites as the thing to have for bugs.

January 22, 2007

Today started out nice. Just a fair breeze making it nice to sit on Shorty's back porch and read more manuals. The back porch is also known as the cockpit. Then all of sudden the wind picked up and it started misting. According to NOAA WX radio it said it was not going to be so nice for the next couple of days. It is supposed to get down to the 40's and rain which it was doing by two today. About noon I decided that the wind has pushed enough water into the canal that I might just as well saddle up Shorty and we would go for our daily exercise which consists of trying to get 12 hours on the lower gear oil so we can change it according to the book.

This morning while sitting outside I happened to notice something out of the corner of my eye. A manatee had arrived and was doing his morning feeding in the canal. Later on in the day after being out on the bay with Shorty for exercise I was sitting inside reading and Kenny from Three Rivers Marine came by to tell me tomorrow morning was going to be pullout day for getting the cockpit screens made and in place. Well guess what, looked over the side and here was another manatee not six feet from the boat but to deep to get a photo of her. The reason it is so difficult is they seem to just stick there snout above the surface an inch to inhale more air and then it is back to the bottom to eat more grass and weeds.

Tomorrow I will be land bound once again but I am going to stay aboard Shorty on dry land for a couple of days. Along with the screens, I am going to need help with the satellite radio it isnt connecting with me and I have tryed the procedures at least four times so I need big time help here. I think I have figured out how to do waypoints but I don't have figured out how to set up my route. I have two land days to do that.

At noon time today Three Rivers brought by a car for me to use while on dry land and out of my neighborhood. I don't believe I have ever met a nicer group of people who just keep doing things that I don't expect.

That's the news from Crystal River for today. It is now getting closer to cutting the ties to momma's apron strings and striding out of the bay for places not seen before and conquering what people call dockitis. I know Shorty is ready but am I?? The question will soon be answered in the coming days.

January 21, 2007

Said goodbyes to Marilee and Wilma. Sad and teary-eyed. Shorty and I have to go get it now. The water is sparkling clear as always, the mullet are jumping and the tide is going out this morning. The water returns this afternoon around two and it will be time to go learn some more. Time and tide wait for no man.
Started the generator and it works and will plug in tonite for a while. Charging my computer and the Wallas stove works, warmed up the place this morning - it heats and cooks. Temperature was 50 something so tried the heater portion.
Well, next I am going to try to update the blog on the internet before people quit looking. Also I have a really good cellular connection going here.
Still in the Shotwell's backyard as Tuesday and Wednesday I get pulled out of the water to do a little oil change and I will be getting the screens for the Bimini so I can sit out in the evening without the pesky mosquitos and no see ums.
A very nice thing happened, Mike and his family have asked me to come up for steaks. How nice is that.

January 20, 2007

Finished stocking the groceries and took Shorty for a short hop. Docked and undocked with very little help so as to get used to everything. Have shore power on and everything is working perfectly.
Went back to the hotel for last night of beds and showers.
One more night at Charley's Fish house, sure going to miss their food. My cooking is the weak point.
This is shorter because getting close to the dreaded moment of saying goodby to the wife until May. Lots of water will flow under the hull before then if all goes well.

January 19, 2007

We all took a day off and drove down to Tarpon Springs, Fl to see the old part of town. Tarpon Springs is where they still harvest sponges from the Gulf of Mexico and which is the Sponge Capital of the World. It has an Old Greek Heritage which is evident in the buildings in the older part of the town. Again it not only has the heritage but it has the great Greek food, bakeries and of course lots of souvenir shops because it is a big tourist spot.
I checked out the harbor facilities and talked to the dockmaster at the public marina about good places to anchor out. She said there is good anchorage behind Anclote Key so I will try to stop there on my way south.

January 18, 2007

Wilma Morgan flew in today from Euless and we went to Tampa, Florida to pick her up at the airport. She will accompany Marilee home and help with the driving. It merely reenforces what I know is coming. It will be tough not to have my wife with me while I travel the first third of this trip. I have some friends who will do legs of the trip but most of it I will be alone.
Shorty went for another short cruise this evening with us on board. The boat time is spent checking out all systems and for me to get used to docking the boat which is more difficult than I anticipated.
I am really going to have to get back to walking soon. All this good food down here is taking its toll on me.

January 17, 2007

Marilee and I are still stocking and arranging the stuff on the boat. Fitting them here and then moving them so as to set up different areas with different items like cooking, boat needs, etc.
Today we made a run to Walmart in Inverness to pick up a ice box and a few other things crept in.
We also purchased a little Honda Generator EU 2000 to run and charge batteries and operate a small microwave oven. Microwave oven!!!!!! Well now you Know who can't cook.
this is to save my life when Marilee goes home on Sunday only to rejoin me in the Chesapeake Bay section of the trip. Since the little generator put out carbon monoxide fumes we purchased an alarm for when the cockpit area where it runs is not well ventilated or there is now wind. I don't expect the generator to get a lot of use as the 200 HP Honda on the stern of Shorty has a large enough alternator to carry the load of instruments, radio, refrigerator, etc.

January 16, 2007

This day was spent shopping, shopping, shopping. West Marine got the majority of the money today. Now we are also in the stowing mode. The trunk of the car is empty and the boat looks like it went through a storm. We have limited space so if its not needed its not bought.
We are still hitting the resturants pretty regularly as we don't have our stuff ready to set up house. We are getting to be regular's at Charleys Fish House, Crackers, and a new one this evening Pecks which is located out in the country a good drive from where we are.
The weather though warm and sunny is fairly cool at night and early morning. Although the tide is small, only between one and two feet it kind of determines our travel periods and since we have been shopping and working in the morning we have been going out on the boat in the evenings or when the tide is in.
We are getting more familiar with Shorty each day and I have a lot of work to do studying all the new instruments, radio, etc. I have been taking stuff home to read each evening but somehow I just collapse and go right to sleep.

January 15, 2007

Well, Shorty is now in the water. Money's have changed hands but of course we have to be waiting for the insurance people to come around and man are they the fly in the ointment. Always one more thing before they will okay the policy to be written. Three Rivers Marine could not have been more helpful and more patient. The good suggestions from them helped things along and finally I believe it was about five in the afternoon and the engine was started and we went for our first ride along with Kenny Hum on the Crystal River and what an experience to be on a power boat instead of a sailboat. We saw our first Manatee in the river and also our first two dolphins when we reached the river's entrance into the Gulf Of Mexico. And we were also rewarded with a beautiful sunset on our first trip. Did we get photo's, no, too busy doing things and observing speed limits, manatee idle speed sections, and looking at the instruments that help run this boat.
The river is very shallow in places and the Shotwell's are allowing us to use their dock behind their home on a canal which is very pretty in itself. By doing this we are just a block from our other most needed place for equipment-West Marine. Also we are close to resturants, grocery store and laundromat. We are currently enjoying the cuisine of Charley's Fish House and of course the standbys of McDonald's for breakfast and Wendy's for lunch.
As we sit here after the ride the sunset is still progressing and the mullet are jumping in the canal.

January 14, 2007

Day two on the road and still making lists and thinking about a lot of little things. We arrived in Crystal River in the evening and of course went to Three Rivers Marine and their was Shorty, all 26 ft of him waiting to be launched as soon as the paperwork was all signed and insurance was gotten.

January 13, 2007

Finally all things have come into place and Shorty is waiting in Florida for us at Three Rivers Marine in Crystal River, FL. We are now on the road to Florida and thinking about and talking about what we are going to have to stock Shorty with to begin the Great Loop Cruise. The car is loaded with all of the essentials that we have at home and now we are making lists of what is needed. Rather I might add, my wife is making the lists and I am driving. It is a little bit exciting and at the same time daunting to know that a year from Shorty will be back in Crystal River having completed the loop. The day after we left the Euless area and Dallas-Fort Worth area was having as they say a wintery mix. Thanks to the Baumgardner's for offering to keep our Westie Bentley for us while we are in Florida for a week provisioning the boat. We hope that he gets along with their two dogs and dosen't get into too much trouble.