3.10.10
We finally made it to Melbourne, where we are docking for a short bit - long enough to say hi to Brad's family, get a home-cooked meal, restock on supplies and do some laundry! (many thanks to Fred and Carol for their ever-generous hospitality!!) The marina we are staying in is quaint and filled with sailboats (usually there are nothing but powerboats). This has been wonderful for us because older, more seasoned sailors love to talk about their travels. And each one is eager to tell you the best way to go, the best place to anchor and the things you need to make sure you have before you go. We are learning so much and are even more eager to get started on our Caribbean adventure.
From here, it is south to Miami to meet up with a friend and hopefully catch a Miami Heat game!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Koa's big news
3.8.10
Last night we anchored off of New Smyrna Beach and left this morning at 6am in hopes of making a long day-trip down to Melbourne. We were making great progress (with me at the helm of course!) We were 3 hours into our trip when we reached a swing bridge that required us to radio ahead to have it opened for us - a routine procedure when traveling the ICW. However, when we called, we were told that the bridge was under construction and was getting a new motor and would not be opening until 1-2pm. It was 10 in the morning!!!
So we had to set anchor and then began making repairs on the boat while we waited. SO FRUSTRATING!!
Nothing exciting about this post, except for some new Koa developments! We built a ramp for his to go up and down the steps leading to belowdeck; they are steep and he didn't seem interested in navigating them by himself. He used the ramp reasonably well, but recently he has completely mastered going up, and more astonishingly, down the stairs all by himself - without the use of the ramp!! He is progressing much more quickly than we had ever dared to hope!
He has mostly been staying confined to the cockpit and not feeling the need to adventure out on the rest of the boat. While we were anchored that morning, he followed Moo around to the bow of the boat! Once he was out there, he freaked out and came scurrying back. Then he looked at us, started wagging his tail and that was all she wrote - he has owned this boat ever since.
Our biggest concern was that he was having trouble peeing and pooping on the boat, but with this new development he goes up front, takes care of business and comes back to the cockpit. We were so excited!! (I know it sounds crazy, but it's the little things for us sailors).
So, Koa has transformed into a real boat dog now. He goes wherever he wants, barks at the speedboats when they go too fast and tries to eat the seagulls that dare come too close to our boat. And although we couldn't be happier that he is adjusting so well, we now realize that we have created a monster...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
How much do you love me?!
3.7.10
We left at the crack of dawn this morning, despite the fact that I was running on little to no sleep. We motored further down the ICW and made it as far as the Matanzas Inlet (if you have no idea where this is and you are an avid follower of our adventures, you should now go out and invest in a FL map so that you can follow along!) At this point, all of our books and charts say "BE AWARE OF SHOALS!!" so we were carefully navigating along this very narrow inlet. We saw some dolphins beside us and were avidly watching them off our portside when suddenly we hit a shoal. We checked our location on the chart and compared it with our physical location in the inlet and realized we had traveled only a few feet outside the channel. Realizing our mistake, we navigated off the shoal and back into the channel. Not more than 10feet later, we hit another shoal - while still being completely in the channel!! This time, we were stuck good. We tried and tried and tried to get off that shoal, but it was just not in the cards. About the time we were ready to give up, a large power boat came flying into the inlet. We quickly regrouped hoping that his wake would dislodge our boat. No such luck - as he slowed down to make his way around us he suddenly got stuck too! He backed our pretty easily and tried going around our other side but got stuck again. We radioed over to him and found out that it was dead low tide and there was no way either of us (both drafting 6ft) were going to make it through this channel at that time.
Brad and I decided to call for a tow. Unfortunately a tow cost $800 - the towboat told us to hang in there until high tide. Bummer.
I pulled out my book and Brad went down to take a nap - we were in it for the long haul. 30minutes later, Brad came back up and looked at me with a lopsided smile. He said, "How much do you love me?" His bright idea - to have me shimmy out to the end of the boom and hang there while he swung the boom out 90degrees over the water. Hopefully this would make the boat heel over enough that we would lift the keel somewhat out of the sand and be able to get off the shoal.
Although I was hesitant, I was ready to do whatever it took to get out of this inlet. So up I went. He swung me out over the water and the only thing I could think was "it sure will be cold if I fall in!!" It worked enough that we were able to maneuver off the shoal!!! Finally!!! The power boaters looked on in awe as we passed them and then laughed when I looked up and waved.
Having successfully navigated that, the rest of the day seemed bland and straightforward - although that was completely alright with us!!!
We motored down to Daytona and stayed there for the evening for some much needed peaceful rest and a trip to West Marine to replace our batteries!!!
We left at the crack of dawn this morning, despite the fact that I was running on little to no sleep. We motored further down the ICW and made it as far as the Matanzas Inlet (if you have no idea where this is and you are an avid follower of our adventures, you should now go out and invest in a FL map so that you can follow along!) At this point, all of our books and charts say "BE AWARE OF SHOALS!!" so we were carefully navigating along this very narrow inlet. We saw some dolphins beside us and were avidly watching them off our portside when suddenly we hit a shoal. We checked our location on the chart and compared it with our physical location in the inlet and realized we had traveled only a few feet outside the channel. Realizing our mistake, we navigated off the shoal and back into the channel. Not more than 10feet later, we hit another shoal - while still being completely in the channel!! This time, we were stuck good. We tried and tried and tried to get off that shoal, but it was just not in the cards. About the time we were ready to give up, a large power boat came flying into the inlet. We quickly regrouped hoping that his wake would dislodge our boat. No such luck - as he slowed down to make his way around us he suddenly got stuck too! He backed our pretty easily and tried going around our other side but got stuck again. We radioed over to him and found out that it was dead low tide and there was no way either of us (both drafting 6ft) were going to make it through this channel at that time.
Brad and I decided to call for a tow. Unfortunately a tow cost $800 - the towboat told us to hang in there until high tide. Bummer.
I pulled out my book and Brad went down to take a nap - we were in it for the long haul. 30minutes later, Brad came back up and looked at me with a lopsided smile. He said, "How much do you love me?" His bright idea - to have me shimmy out to the end of the boom and hang there while he swung the boom out 90degrees over the water. Hopefully this would make the boat heel over enough that we would lift the keel somewhat out of the sand and be able to get off the shoal.
Although I was hesitant, I was ready to do whatever it took to get out of this inlet. So up I went. He swung me out over the water and the only thing I could think was "it sure will be cold if I fall in!!" It worked enough that we were able to maneuver off the shoal!!! Finally!!! The power boaters looked on in awe as we passed them and then laughed when I looked up and waved.
Having successfully navigated that, the rest of the day seemed bland and straightforward - although that was completely alright with us!!!
We motored down to Daytona and stayed there for the evening for some much needed peaceful rest and a trip to West Marine to replace our batteries!!!
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