After four months on land, the crew is back aboard Idyll Time and looking forward to getting out on the water. Other than a few cobwebs, we found IT in good condition. Hurricane Mathew caused major flooding here at Atlantic Yacht Basin a few weeks ago. The docks were all under two feet of water, […]
Starr Passage from Seattle to Honolulu – October 27 – Day One
Starr Passage from Seattle to Honolulu Day One: October 27, 2016 Departure Salmon Bay Marine Center: 0500 Arrival at Neah Bay: Our two friends Mike (Brownie) Brown and Douglas (Duke) Adkins are our “Fresh Crew”, joining us for our passage from SBMC to our alternative homeport in Honolulu. Both are experienced passage makers and CCA members who grew up sailing in the Pacific Northwest. Brownie was, for a time, a commercial fisherman and charter boat owner before embarking upon a distin…
FPB 78 Video: Sunset and Moonrise at Sea
The intrepid crew aboard Cochise sent in this lovely moment transitioning from sunset to moonrise while underway between Fiji and French Polynesia. …Read More
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is one of several that claim to be the second largest natural harbors in the world. Other contenders include Port Jackson at Sydney in Australia, Cork Harbour in Ireland, and Poole Harbour in the UK. However, Halifax Harbor is most definitely home to Canada’s largest military base with respect to posted personnel, and…
ENVOY CRUISES WEST BACK TO THE IONIAN SEA
Envoy is currently at Lefkas Marina, our Greek home base as we prepare to leave her for the winter next week and return home for the NZ summer.
As Nikos Kazantzakis’s epic book Zorba the Greek says, “Happy is the man, who before dying, has the opportunity to sail the Aegean Sea.”
We’ve certainly had that opportunity, sharing hundreds of days there in one of the world’s greatest cruising grounds with family and special friends during 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016.
Crete will always be a special place in our hearts. Spanning across the southern end of the Aegean Sea, Crete is a large island measuring some 260km from west to east and 50km from north to south with three mountain ranges towering to over 2,000 metres. Its topography is extremely rugged with few major inland roads and little traffic outside the main towns.
Talking of traffic, compared to what we are used to home in NZ the driving standard is certainly interesting – much like the rest of Greece. Few drivers seem content to sit behind you and will overtake on blind corners, double white lines or anywhere, often forcing oncoming traffic to move over to the verge. Speed limit signs seem to be a waste of space and there is little traffic law enforcement. Although the law requires helmets to be worn on motorcycles they seem rare and it’s common to see riders smoking a cigarette, talking on their mobile phone and drinking a balancing something on their lap all at the same time. This could also be happening while they ride the wrong way down a one-way street! Despite this we haven’t witnessed any anger, “road rage” or major accidents.
On every spare piece of Cretan land there are olive trees – over 21 million of them in fact and it’s hard to imagine how many trees with poor accessibility are harvested. Large nets are placed under the trees and then the branches are mechanically shaken to bring the olives down. This provides employment during the harvesting time of October to February when the summer tourists have gone.
Crete is very windy and windmills are still extensively used to pump water from bores. Wind farms provide much of the electricity and there are hundreds of these tall, silent wind towers around the island.
It’s now early September and we’re retracing our steps mostly to destinations we’ve already visited both in 2010 and this year, so our Blog postings will only cover any new destinations along with interesting events.
As a southerly wind increases we move to Dhiakofti, a great sheltered bay on the eastern side of Kithera Island with perfect shelter from the south. Later the two Australian couples we met at Soudha arrive in their catamarans during a deluge of heavy rain, part of the same weather system that caused massive floods, sadly with the loss of three lives in nearby Kalamata. Later a third Aussie cat arrives making this an exclusively Antipodean anchorage.
In company with one of the cats, Walanthea we cruise on to Mezapo on the mainland in a rising following easterly wind and when we pass one of the massive capes of the Peloponnisos we encounter strong katabatic winds up to 38 knots on our beam causing the seas to build in minutes from one to 2.5 metres with the top metre breaking. Sheets of spray cover Envoy and worried that our towed RHIB might capsize we turn into the seas until the squalls subside. Later our Australian friends say it’s the roughest sea they’ve ever encountered.
For the first time we anchor off Mezapo, which is rather bleak but offers good shelter from the east. Mezapo has several small coves suitable for shallow draught boats and used to be a haunt of pirates preying on the passing sailing ships. Nowadays it has one small shop doubling as a taverna, a church, a cemetery, and a few dozen houses, many of which are in ruins.
One of Mezapo’s small coves
Envoy and Aussie cat Walanthea anchored at Mezapo
Mezapo
Finakounda is another place we’d never visited before and we anchor here for a night. From the anchorage the village appears to consist only of tavernas lining the seafront but when we go ashore we’re pleasantly surprised to find an interesting main street and seeing a suckling pig roasting on a spit giving off great aromas we quickly can our on-board BBQ plans and enjoy delicious roast pork ashore.
Finakounda viewed from Envoy at anchor
The roast pork was too hard to resist
We’d visited Kiparissia in 2010 and head there again as it’s a convenient safe anchorage more or less half way to Cephalonia. This is not a tourist town and its fairly large harbour only has three other boats in it, but we need a Vodafone shop and find one here where our internet connection problem is sorted out in minutes (throughout Greece we’ve always found Vodafone shops have extremely competent and helpful English-speaking staff).
Kiparissia’s large but quiet harbour
Normally you’re not allowed to anchor within a harbour, but nobody seemed to mind here
We leave the Peloponnisos region cruising north-west to Cephalonia in perfect conditions to find another previously unvisited village – Poros and anchor off its beach. It’s a picturesque place but in the early hours of the morning the wind increases, turns on-shore and we have an uncomfortable night requiring an early move the next morning.
Poros’s harbour
Hunting Camps – Somewhere in North Carolina
Hunting camps are found in almost every state. The older camps make excellent photography subjects. They are found in various degrees of repair or sometimes disrepair, and I find them a nostalgic reminder of times gone by. The one below is located somewhere in North Carolina. One would almost think it was an abandoned building–that is until […]
The post Hunting Camps – Somewhere in North Carolina appeared first on Moosetique.
FPB 78-1 Cochise: A (Brief) Stop In Beautiful Fatu Hiva
When we are asked our favorite destinations from a lifetime of cruising… Hanavave is at the top of the list. …Read More
Sarasota Bound: Preparation
It’s that time again.
On Tuesday morning November 1 at 7:00 AM, we depart for the 1,430 NM voyage to Sarasota. Assuming cooperative weather (attention sea gods) and no mechanical issues, the plan is to run six and a half days direct to Clewiston Florida with a two hour pit stop in Morehead City. Then take two more days to finish the Okeechobee Waterway and run north from Fort Pierce to Sarasota. I’m estimating arrival in Sarasota at 2:00 PM. My ability to make this schedule is pretty good, again assuming no weather issues, as I can increase speed as necessary.
Explanatory Note: When you are running 24 hours a day, a 1 knot increase is speed adds 24 nautical miles or a time reduction of three hours each day. Two days of running knocks off 6 hours. Of course there is a corresponding fuel penalty. The 63 will burn an an additional 5 gallons per hour to run at 1600 RPMs. That translates into 120 gallons per day. Since we carry 1,300 gallons and will have full tanks leaving Morehead City the extra fuel consumption is not a problem.
Essentially, I hope to replicate what we did last November, when we knocked off an entire day’s travel by getting to Clewiston, which is located on the southwest end of Lake Okeechobee, on the seventh day. While optimistic, this plan is doable. The key is getting past the Mayaka Lock before 5:00 PM, when the lock closes. You will notice in the detailed plan below that I’m estimating arrival at the Mayaka Lock at 15:26 (3:26 PM). Again this is based on last year’s run. Once on Lake Okeechobee we have clear sailing to Clewiston. The only “problem” is that the sun sets at 17:36 (5:36 PM). This will necessitate running the last 90 minutes in the dark. Considering that the final stretch (see photos below) is well marked, along with our night vision and the fact that I have a programmed route, that I’ve run twice before, the problem is surmountable.
Besides the sunset, it turns out that there are two more “wrinkles.” First, Lake Okeechobee” water levels are high at 15.7 feet. Second, the Ortona Lock is under construction which necessitates limited openings.
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| Southwest segment of Okeechobee Route 1 |
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| The final stretch is a narrow but well marked channel |
The first wrinkle has two implications. The first is good. The water levels on Route 1 is 9.26 feet. Last May we noted clearance of only 2 feet at the southern section of Route 1. The second implication is that the Clewiston Lock is now operating. Last May, and in fact on all of our previous trips, it was open 24/7. However, this does not pose a problem as long as we are on schedule (7:00 PM arrival). The lock closes at 8;00 PM giving us a 60 minute buffer.
Now to the Ortona Lock, The Okeechobee Waterway website shows a Notice to Mariners indicating that the lock is under construction until October 14. I called to the lockmaster today and learned that the construction will last until November 18. Planned closures are between 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. As indicated by the proposed plan below, we should arrive at the lock at 12:09 PM. Back to the Clewiston Lock. Fortunately it opens at 5:30 AM. Allowing for locking time we should be clear of the lock and on our way by 6:00 AM. However, we are looking at a crack-of-dawn departure from Roland Martins Marina which is located inside the Clewiston Lock.
This year’s crew consists of myself, Guy Aries and Morgan Watt. Guy has experience with this trip having accompanied me last year with Skip Roper. Guy is an experienced boater with a captains license. Morgan Watt, who is flying in from Sarasota, is also highly experienced. He too has a captains license along with years of experience as a commercial pilot. This is my most experienced crew to date.
Now to the weather. As of today (Tuesday) we have limited information as NOAA marine forecasts only go out six days. That said, at Day 6, Sunday, NOAA is showing high pressure dominating the east coast with the isobars (pressure gradient) far apart. This makes for light winds. Our Tuesday departure will depend on how fast that high moves off the coast and what fills in behind it. The other critical factor is tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes. At the moment there is no tropical activity in the Atlantic. Obviously this can change but as a general rule, the hurricane season is over by November 30 and storms are rare in November. Our insurance company requires us to stay north of Cape Hatteras until November 15. However, we have “special dispensation” to cross the boundary a few days early. However, that comes with a $200,000 wind deductible.
Finally, we have food. The captain and the crew must be fed. This year, Chef Bernard Kinsella at Good life Kitchen is providing our evening meals. I met Chef Bernard last summer when he had a shop in Hingham. His take out meals were excellent. This year, the chef prepared two of each menu item for me to sample. I’ve had a ball tasting his fare. I’ve included the menu. You will find it below the Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan.
Written by Les.
Proposed November 2016 Cruising Plan
Explanatory Note: The calculation of days miles divided by speed. The ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is based on log entries from last years run.
| FROM | TO | MILES | CUM | TIME | CUM | RPM | KNOTS | DAYS | ETA |
| Depart Hingham | 7:00 | ||||||||
| Hingham Mass | Morehead City | 641.5 | 641.5 | 76.4 | 76.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 3.18 | 12:30 |
| Fuel Stop | 0.0 | 641.5 | 2.0 | 78.4 | 0.08 | 14:30 | |||
| Morehead City | Fort Pierce Inlet | 574.7 | 1216.2 | 68.4 | 146.8 | 1400 | 8.4 | 2.85 | 7:20 |
| Fort Pierce Inlet | Okeechobee R240 | 23.7 | 1239.9 | 2.8 | 149.6 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.12 | 10:10 |
| Okeechobee R240 | Roosevelt Bridge | 6.5 | 1246.4 | 0.8 | 150.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.03 | 11:02 |
| Roosevelt Bridge | St Lucie Lock | 8.4 | 1254.8 | 1.0 | 151.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.04 | 12:00 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1254.8 | 0.7 | 152.1 | 0.03 | 12:42 | |||
| St Lucie Lock | Port Myaka Lock | 15.0 | 1269.8 | 1.8 | 153.9 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.07 | 15:26 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1269.8 | 0.7 | 154.6 | 0.03 | 16:06 | |||
| Port Myaka Lock | Clewiston | 23.0 | 1292.8 | 2.7 | 157.3 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.11 | 18:56 |
| 6.55 | |||||||||
| Depart Clewiston | 6:00 | ||||||||
| Clewiston | Moore Haven Lock | 11.0 | 1303.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.05 | 7:24 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1303.8 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 0.03 | 8:06 | |||
| Moore Haven Lock | Ortona Lock | 14.0 | 1317.8 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.07 | 9:27 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1317.8 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 0.03 | 10:09 | |||
| Ortona Lock | Franklin Lock | 25.0 | 1342.8 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 1100 | 8.4 | 0.12 | 12:09 |
| Locking | 0.0 | 1342.8 | 0.7 | 8.1 | 0.03 | 12:51 | |||
| Franklin Lock | Captiva | 33.4 | 1376.2 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.17 | 16:51 |
| Locking | 1376.2 | 0.7 | 12.7 | 0.03 | 17:39 | ||||
| 0.53 | |||||||||
| Depart Captive | 8:00 | ||||||||
| Captiva | Sarasota | 53.5 | 1429.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 1400 | 8.4 | 0.27 | 14:00 |
| 0.27 | |||||||||
| Optimum Number of Days | 9.00 | ||||||||
Menu Le Bateaux Guided Discovery
Breakfast:
- Bagel Deluxe. Everything bagel with smoked salmon and fixings of your choice (cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, and onion)
- Cascadian Farms Fruit and Nut Granola served with fresh blueberries, raisins, walnuts, and banana
- Oatmeal Supreme. Steel cut oatmeal infused with banana, blueberries and raisins topped with raisins, bananas, blueberries, walnuts and milk
- Joe Dillon’s Protein Shake. 16 oz non-fat milk, 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder, ground seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin) and one frozen banana
- Assorted dry cereals and yogurts
Lunch: Deli sandwiches:
- Choice of ham, roast beef and mesquite turkey
- Choice of cheese (provolone, Swiss, cheddar)
- Condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, pickles)
Snacks:
- Hummus
- Assorted cheeses (Blue, St Angel, Brie, etc.)
- Back to Nature Multi-grain Flax and assorted crackers
Dinner:
Salads:
- Avocado Salad: Herb greens with avocado, plum tomatoes, onion, walnuts, pine nuts and raisins with Newman’s Own balsamic vinaigrette (or light raspberry with walnuts)
- Caprice Salad: Tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese over baby arugula greens with Diamond balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Entrees: By Good Life Kitchen
· Chicken Parmesan with Bow-tie Pasta and tomato sauce
· Salmon with potato and vegetable
· Lasagna with Turkey Bolognese
· Alfredo Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli
· Eggplant Parmesan
· Lobster Raviolis with Tomato Cream Sauce and Mixed Vegetables
Desserts:
- Ice Cream
- Medjool Dates
- Brownies
Beverages:
- Diet Coke
- Classic Coke
- Ginger Ale
- Kendall Jackson 2014 Chardonnay
- Trefethen 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
- Sam Adams
- Cigar City Jai Alai IPA
- Polar Seltzer (Bubbly Water)
- Bottled Water
Hawse Holes
In harmony with her size, Red Head has numerous nice, large hawse holes. If you don’t happen to be familiar with boats and don’t know what a hawse hole is, the Champman Piloting book defines them as “an opening in the hull, through which mooring lines …
