Stock Island

By on July 24, 2016 in Istaboa

 Stuck on Stock Island —

Easing out of Marathon and pointing toward Hawks Channel, we were enjoying smooth seas and clear skies. We settled into a nice quiet 1200 RPM and slowly made way toward Key West.
No hurry, it was a short day.

Mel had read good things about Stock Island Marina Village so we thought we’d check it out for a couple of days before going to Key West.
We eased into Safe Harbor, hailed Stock Island Marina, and backed into a nice new floating dock.
All good.

Surveying our surroundings, we see a gritty industrial area with fishing boats, research vessels, boat yards, and in the middle of all this is a little oasis of a marina, Stock Island Marina Village.
The marina was teeming with seemingly bright young folks, standing by with smiling faces, and eager to help catch lines.

We like the authentic, no nonsense, feel of Stock Island, it’s not at all busy like Key West Bight and  we’re thinking it’s our kinda place.

There’s a funky more Keysian/Conch side to the marina.

Walking down the road at Coconut Row is interesting. This is the Conch Republic and probably the last bastion of that lifestyle left in the Keys. Of course, gentrification rules just like everywhere else so…

After looking around Stock Island, we think this is gonna be alright.

Then I go down to the engine room…

Before leaving N Palm Beach I had replaced a keel cooler hose and lost coolant. Slowing topping that off to the appropriate level, it’s not unusual to add small amounts of coolant till the engine finds it’s happy spot. Add too much and it spits it out; that’s messy.
You can probably tell where this story is going.
The coolant level had dropped out of sight and I was concerned so I made a call. A knowledgeable buddy told me to check the engine oil. “There could be an issue with the oil cooler or something and it may be dumping coolant into the oil pan. Probably not, but check” my learned friend advised.

Surely not, I reckoned.

I reckoned wrong.

There on the dipstick, to my horror, was an extremely high oil level.

In my mind I was nervously sorting through all the possibilities: Cracked block, Head gasket, exhaust manifold, turbo… oh shit… large amounts of money… oh shit… stuck in the Keys, at their mercy… oh shit… oh shit…

I call my friend back and he validates my thoughts and fears… oh shit… oh shit… oh shit…

How could this be? We had such a nice run, the engine was humming like always, not overheating, no high oil pressure alarm, reading normal on the gauge, how could this be?

The next day I manage to find a John Deere authorized mechanic… things were looking up. (Thanks, Next Dance)
This guys shoots down the oil cooler diagnosis and leads with the more ominous and expensive causes. “You’ve got a serious problem”, he says and he says it in the flat monotone voice of an oncologist.
But, if there’s a bright side, he’s right next door and he can have a guy over the next morning.

So to make a long story shorter, it wasn’t any of the really bad things, it was the coolant/water pump. A relatively quick fix and inexpensive ($1200) part.
Istaboa doesn’t have cancer.

Now for the rest of the story:

I’ll tell it with emotional bullets:

  • Relief that the problem wasn’t catastrophic
  • Surprised that they could have part shipped overnight and start fix the next day
  • Happy to see the mechanic early the next morning
  • Patient when he says he’ll have some new hoses shipped overnight to replace old ones.
  • Peplexed when he doesn’t show the next day.
  • Annoyed when he doesn’t show the second day
  • Anger when I call Key West Engine Service and they tell me my mechanic won’t be back for two more days because he has to work on another boat 
  • Indignant – What’s wrong with my boat and all the overnight shipped parts sitting, waiting?
  • Frustrated when the power keeps going off at our slip
  • Weary from lack of sleep because I must go out on the dock to reset GFI breaker at all hours of the night
  • Exasperation when the seemingly bright young marina folks tell me the power problem is my boat and my fault, not the GFI. “Use your generator”, they say.
  • Elation when the mechanic returns, installs pump, and coolant problem is fixed (fingers crossed)
  • Respite – We move the Istaboa to another slip with good power (Obviously Istaboa’s not the problem)
  • Comfort – All ACs work in all room
  • Relax – I’ve slept all night without resetting a GFI or starting the generator.
  • Guarded optimism – The whole ordeal is over… we hope

So that’s where we are now. It’s Sunday and this all started 9 days ago.

We’ve spent much time in the Bahamas and we’ve done a lot of work over there. We understand Island Time.
The Keys operate on a completely different style of Island Time.
In the Bahamas that’s the way the islanders were raised … in the Keys, people from all over the world come here to get away from something… not work. And, for the most part they don’t or if they do it’s at their pleasure, not yours.

Kinda like New Yorkers with an island attitude. (Not fair to all New Yorkers, sorry.)

In the Bahamas: It’s de islands, Mon
In the Keys: It’s the Keys, asshole! Get over it. We’ll get to you when we get to you.

We did find a nice fellow who fixed a head pump.
The Head Honcho
305-923-7861
kwheadhoncho@gmail.com

Oh yeah…  the fritz list after a week on Stock Island?  Vacuflush Head Pump, a dead, (brand new), TV, and our poor generator just got older while at the dock.

Bad timing or a black hole? Don’t know.

We did find a few nice restaurants. Shrimp Road is a food truck with a bar that’s a cool place to hang out. Roostica has great pizza and other Italian dishes, Hogfish Bar and Grill is exactly what it sounds like with good fish and a good hang.

So today we’re booked into Conch Harbor in Key West Bight where we hope things will return to normal. We know we’ll have better WiFi; that’s something we control.
It’s rainy today, that’s nice for a change, and the forecast temps are going to be in the upper end of the 80s.

So, all good? We hope.

Adios,

Nordhavn Exumas Abacos Bahamas trawler Caribbean Pickwick Boat dogs
Memphis Downtown

Silent Sunday

By on July 24, 2016 in The Pearl

Hoonah to Craig

By on July 23, 2016 in M/V Alpenglow

Our stay is Hoonah was pleasant.  The store grocery and hardware store are well stocked and a new craft brewery with a tasting room has opened up.  We had an interesting conversation with the master carver for the panels in and on the Huna Tribal Long House being built in Glacier Bay National Park at Bartlett Cove.  The exterior panel (left photo) is complete and installed on the long house but the interior panel (right photo) was in the final stages of completion at the carving shop in Hoonah before being shipped off for the dedication on August 25.

2016-07-151x           2016-07-160x

2016-07-168xAfter two nights on the dock, we untied and headed east in Icy Strait then headed south down Chatham Strait.  The weather was lovely and along the way we stopped in Iyoukeen Cove and fished for halibut.  After about 2 hours effort, Marcia had 2 halibut aboard.  She cleaned them after we arrived in our anchorage for the night, Pavlof Harbor.

After the previous lovely day we were expecting more of the same but Chatham Strait fooled us by 15-20 knot head winds and a steep 3’ choppy head seas.  Both cats lost their breakfast in the subsequent pounding.  We pulled into Takatz Bay and found our “cousin” ship (same builder and hull design but different upper layout), Luck Dragon, already anchored.  We had last seen Ed and Carlene in Sitka nearly a month earlier.

2016-07-175xNext day, we continued down Chatham Strait in calm conditions to Gut Bay which we had visited previously this season.  There was a bit of wind across the bay so we anchored in a protected cove on the bay’s south side that is outside a small cove with a shallow entrance requiring it to be timed.  We dropped the kayaks and paddled into the inner cove and found a vessel, Navigator, anchored their owned by friends of the our neighbors in the marina at which our boat stays for the winter.  Lynn & Neal cruise with 3 Maine Coon cats so we, of course, have an affinity with them.

2016-07-189xOur original hope was to continue around Cape Decision at the south end of Kuiu Island but between the weather forecast and our desire to minimize stress on the cats, we decided to go around the north end of Kuiu Island and down Rocky Pass (Keku Strait).  Along the route, we stopped and fished Kingsmill Point where Marcia found two coho salmon attracted to her fishing lure.  Marcia cleaned her catch in Honey Dew Cove on the north end of Kuiu Island.

2016-07-197xTransiting Rocky Pass is not difficult but does require attention to timing (high slack water at the Devil’s Elbow station) and to navigation.  There are about 40 navigation aids but the number of hazards far exceeds that.  You tend to rely on your electronic navigation to show where you are and do your best to relate what you see outside with what the screen says.  We ended up following a commercial troller and being followed by another pleasure craft through the tricky part.

Continuing the inside water route to Craig, we went through El Capitan Passage, spending the night in Kaguk Cove before heading into Craig. 

While in Craig, we bumped into some cruisers from the Bremerton Yacht Club that we had also met in 2014 while in Icy Strait.  They had been doing some serious fishing in Craig so Marcia pumped them for local knowledge.

2016-07-200xAfter two nights in Craig we headed out to do some fishing.  There is lots of commercial fishing, both trollers and seiners so Marcia was hoping for something.  She did catch two pink salmon but both ultimately got away.  After one night out, we decided to sit out some upcoming windy & rainy weather at the dock and so headed back into Craig.

From here, our plan is to visit Hyderburg for a few days during their annual native cultural event.  Than we’ll continue around the south end of Prince of Wales Island and make our way across the border to Prince Rupert, BC.

22 – 28 May 2016 Mount Pleasant, SC, – Lottsburg, VA

By on July 23, 2016 in Kindred Spirit III
                           Uncooperative internet or I’d post photos.
22 May – There’s a delightful nature trail through the woods and around the pond/lake at Mt. Pleasant’s KOA campground providing a sense of being out in the boonies. The only sounds were melodious feathered friends flitting from tree to tree and the crunch of the earth beneath my feet. The trail was still rain soaked from the night before and my footprints were the only visible signs of roaming humanity. Very soul refreshing and spirit renewing. There were 2 rope swings. Who could pass that up—not me. The ropes were long, the branch high, and I had a ball swinging–all alone and by myself.

24 May – A year or 2 ago we met a couple whose boat was in the same marina as ours. We met Stel and Burke who are from Charleston. We joined them that evening for the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Concert. The concert was in a very old downtown theatre–so old that I used to have my dance recitals there.The performance was magnificent.

     End of my long tale. We’ve not been in contact with them but on FB, Stel saw that we are in Mount Pleasant. On the spur of the moment, we met them at Vickery’s on Shem Creek for lunch and completely delighted in their company and conversation. Now!!! We’ve been in this KOA for 2 weeks and have not met a single soul but were able to connect with a boating couple we met in 2014 and haven’t seen since. T’was difficult to say goodbye. Just another example of the vast diff in RV-ers and boaters.

26 May – Before leaving Mt. Pleasant, SC, more boating friends, Deidre and Bob, had us in their home for a ‘going away’ dinner. The story of how we met many years ago is another interesting saga of the attraction that Sea Urchins have to each other.

     Our drive north on Highway 17 has always been captivating as we “re-enjoy” the quaintness of that stretch—particularly Pawley’s Island.
28 May – Just arrived at the beautiful, tranquil, and pastoral Olverson’s Marina/Lodge Creek Yacht Club, Lottsburg, VA. Always been here by boat so arriving by motor coach is kinda weird. Their swimmable pool has just been refurbished and is beautiful. We’ll be here a few days as we pack for a trip to LA to visit son, Geoff; daughter, Courtney; and granddaughter, Alleigh. From there to Vegas where son, Andy, is wedding the love of his life, Whitney. Packing efficiently has never been my forte although friend, Jeanne, is my role model. She packed for a 10 week European trip in a 21” carry-on. That seems like what I’d need for just a weekend but will try to follow in her footsteps. Out here there’s only swaying wheat, tiny corn stalks, nature at her best. 


Until next month–
Bill and Laura aboard M/C Kindred Spirit 

Crankcase Pressure

By on July 23, 2016 in M/V Dirona

Our main engine now has more than 8,000 hours, so increased oil leaks are more or less expected. But up until recently it has leaked almost nothing and the change to leaking more happened quite quickly, so we decided to dig deeper. Oil seepage can be caused by loosening bolts, tired/old gaskets and seals, and…

July 22 – Windy Day in the Vineyard

By on July 23, 2016 in The Pearl

Windy Lake TashmooSo what would you do all day if the weather was too windy to go ashore…read, watch TV, nap, cook? I like spending my time playing with my photos in Photoshop. What do you think of this one?   Thanks for reading our…

THE MANI REGION OF PELOPONISSOS

By on July 23, 2016 in Envoy
Envoy is currently anchored at Ormos Manganari on the south coast of Ios Island in the Aegean.

A few days after Chris departs our Kiwi friends Kevin and Diane join us at Kalamata Marina for their fourth visit to Envoy. Kevin and Diane have been boating for many years, own a sailing yacht in Auckland and Kevin has been active in all sorts of other boating activitiess ranging from a long association with Auckland Coastguard (of which he is a former President and current Patron), to boating education and writing books on knots.

Kevin repairing a splice in our Dyneema RHIB hoist

Kevin and I visit the Port Police to have Kevin and Diane added to our Crew List – this is necessary whenever new crew join a boat cruising in Greece.

First thing one morning I ask Kevin’s Diane if she’d had a good sleep and she answers with a laugh “yes I had several good sleeps”.
This is a very good point to ponder as sleeping on a boat is quite different to home. There’s nothing as great as sleeping on a boat is there? Well maybe!
Firstly very few anchorages here are perfectly calm, in fact even most of the marinas and harbours have some surge. So you’ve got constant movement to some degree and this causes various noises – a creaking of the hull, a groaning of the anchor rode, a rattle in a cupboard, a drink can rolling in the fridge, the sound of the sea outside the open porthole, the occasional wavelet on the hull and in most places fishing boats and ferries moving around during the night making exhaust noise and causing small wakes. Then you have wavelets lapping against the RHIB moored alongside or astern. In a boat fresh water is circulated to the sink taps by a 12V electric pump which makes a humming noise every time any tap, shower or head is used as well as periodically for a few seconds even if not in use. We have four sinks aboard Envoy and three of them make gurgling noises as the boat moves to wave motion. In nearly every anchorage (but not in marinas) we use a GPS anchor position alarm to warn us if Envoy moves from her originally anchored position. It’s quite normal for a boat to move around a bit with wind changes but we do want to know about it so the anchor alarm beeping is yet another noise to add to the list. Often we can hear tavernas playing music until the early hours and this is worse in harbours often continuing until 0300 plus the traffic noise, particularly motor scooters with their loud exhaust. So Diane is spot on with her assessment that what you get is a series of short sleeps.

NIGHT CRUISING
With Kevin and Diane we retrace our steps to show them Koroni and Methoni and then with about nine hours cruising eastwards ahead of us to reach Porto Kaiyo we decide on a night cruise. Although Diane and I have done night cruising several times it’s much easier with someone of Kevin’s experience aboard to share the watches and Kevin was also keen to do this.
So what’s so special about night cruising? The first is safety and nobody can go for’ard of the Portuguese bridge after dark – it’s extremely difficult to locate a man overboard at night. If it were necessary to go for’ard the person would need to wear a life jacket with strobe attached and be under observation the whole time.
Other main issues are navigation and avoiding other vessels. During daytime it’s easy to see approaching vessels and their courses and to take avoiding action in plenty of time. By night we pick up other vessels first on radar and plot their course on screen to determine if they will come too close – if so a course change may be required to maintain a safe distance (see an upcoming Posting with more detail on this).
Another issue is that while it’s easy to leave your current familiar location in darkness it’s not so easy to arrive at a strange location by night, so we choose to leave Methoni after dinner at 2100 hours to arrive at Porto Kaiyo in daylight at 0600. It’s important to conserve your night vision by having very dim lighting (Envoy has red interior lights for night cruising) as if you inadvertently shine a bright light in your eyes it takes up to 30 minutes for good night vision to return.
Most days I enjoy a beer and wine or two after Envoy is safely anchored but when we cruise during the night we become a dry ship. We enjoy a smooth, uneventful but enjoyable trip under a full moon with the two Dianes sleeping all the way and Kevin and I standing 1-2 hour watches with some rest in between. We only see one sailing yacht, several fishing boats including some with no navigation lights, and several large ships at safe distances away.

THE MANI REGION
The central of the three peninsulas of the Peloponnisos is called the Mani, and the local Maniote people are very hardy, independent and isolated, and claim to be direct descendants of the Spartans. Historically many of them were pirates, operating from the region’s many hidden coves, riddled with caves. It’s from the Maniotes that our words mania and maniac derive.
The Manis have different clans who used to live in fortified castle-like houses with large central towers from where they conducted clan wars from the 17th century. Many of these are still used as hotels or Greek holiday homes.
Porto Kaiyo is a quaint small hamlet with a horseshoe-shaped bay providing reasonable shelter and several tavernas lining the shore.

Kevin and Laurie at monument to Maniote pirate and freedom fighter, Katsonis at Porto Kaiyo

Porto Kaiyo

An intriguing assemblage made from driftwood. This tavern owner was really friendly and helpful

 

Guess Where We Are!

By on July 22, 2016 in Avatar

The original title of this blog was going to be “Indecision” until I processed the above photo and had to post it for the header! My favorite saying that I picked up somewhere along the way is: “We don’t have a plan, and we’re sticking to it”. Read More …

Anan Wildlife Observatory

By on July 22, 2016 in Spirit

July 21 – Anan Wildlife ObservatoryThe weather is predicted to deteriorate over the next few days, so we investigated whether we could do a tour of Anan Wildlife Observatory.  Two spaces were available through Alaska Charters and Adventures, so we…

Let’s get ready to ROOMBA…

By on July 22, 2016 in aCappella

This past week Mom posted the following on Facebook:There are a lot of things I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that a floor painted chocolate brown is not a good choice with two yellow labs. Jeff says we should get a Roomba but can you run th…