Boston Light on Little Brewster Island is a National Historic Landmark. It’s the oldest working light station in the country and the only one still actively staffed by the US Coast Guard. Tours to Boston Light include a climb to the top of the lighthouse with its fabulous 81-inch second-order Fresnel lens and sweeping harbor…
FPB 78-1 Cochise Interior: First Look
The time has come to invite you aboard Cochise.
The photos are self explanatory.
More details to follow.
When Cruising Ends
WHEN CRUISING ENDS
Vuda Point Marina, Fiji
July 25, 2016
It is so strange to write this… “cruising ends; the end of cruising days; THE END…” The finality is harsh. The words glare back, a cold stare that cannot be averted. The End.
And you, dear friends, dear readers for the past nine years, are clamoring: “Say it is not so!…” “Give it another go…” “How are we going to cruise vicariously?” and “WHY?”
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| Traditional canoe in Vulaga |
When we started cruising 7 years ago, we asked ourselves “When? When will we quit?” Our kids were definitely asking that question, wondering when mom and pops would come home to be “fafa and nini” again. Our answer was standard: “We’ll quit when something breaks: the boat, the bank, or our bodies.” Never did we imagine that it would be our spirits that would break; never did we imagine that we would have enough of stunning anchorages and coconut milk. But here we are, at the end of the road.
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| Vulaga’s unique mushroom islands: so much to snorkel! |
It happened in Vulaga. In the most idyllic anchorage in all of Fiji, surrounded by talcum-powder-white beaches, the boat at rest in the lapis-blue lagoon dotted with sparkling green mushroom islands, JP and I stared at each other and asked ourselves, “What Next?”
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| JP & Sikelli celebrate a double-trevally catch |
The day had been perfect. We had snorkeled all morning with our host Sikelli, the boys had speared some beautiful Trevallys and I even speared a rockfish. They had collected a bag of those delicious Vulaga clams and I had found a splendid black Cowrie for my shell collection. I had just cooked a lobster caught earlier, made a tasty aioli, had piping-hot French bread cooling on the rack, JP had chilled a nice bottle of New Zealand Viognier. By all standards, this was Paradise. Yet, we stared at each other and asked ourselves, “What Next?”
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| More of those mushroom islands: lobster and trevally! |
We had talked of spending the next cyclone season in The Marshalls. But there was no place to leave the boat to visit the grandchildren. We had considered New Caledonia, but we would have to get out at cyclone season. We flirted with the idea of Australia, but the reports we had gotten were not encouraging. Indonesia? Too dangerous. Back to New Zealand? Been there, done that. It soon downed on us that we were finding excuses. Bottom line, we could not find a common destination and the thrill of cruising was gone.
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| Always good to catch a lobster… though these were in NZ! |
It hit me like the proverbial “Ton of bricks.” When JP verbalized the sinking feeling and proposed that we should sell the boat and live new adventures, I knew deep-down that he was right. Our cruising days were over.
DOMINO is now for sale with a broker whose name I will announce in the next blog.
While we wait for the happy buyer, we scrub, clean, paint, maintain and perk-up our girl like a bride before a wedding. It’s going to be hard to lead her to the altar. But she was built to cruise, not to stay at anchor.
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| The end of cruising… and a new day will rise |
What awaits our lovely DOMINO? What awaits us? Time will tell, but I have no doubt it will be an adventure for all of us, including the family (who, incidentally, seems happy that —at long last— we will behave as responsible adults instead of some hippie cruisers.)
What next? Till next blog…
dominomarie
Stock Island
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, eager to help catch lines, and standing by with smiling faces.
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.
Coconut Row
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 do it in 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 a New Yorkers with an island attitude.
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
Memphis Downtown
Stock Island
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
Memphis Downtown
Hoonah to Craig
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.
After 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.
Next 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.
Our 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.
Transiting 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.
After 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
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
Until next month–
Bill and Laura aboard M/C Kindred Spirit
Crankcase Pressure
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
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…
