May 2022: Cruising the Southern Loop

Our Track on the Southern Loop

 After a few months of delightful Florida “winter” weather, and equally delightful visits from family escaping the cold climes up north, it was time to take Ghost Rider on an extended trip.  We were all caught up on boat maintenance tasks – including the repair of some old gelcoat chips and a complete wash-polish-wax of all fiberglass surfaces – so we were anxious for an extended sea trial in preparation for an upcoming sortie to the Bahamas. 

The “Southern Loop” route is a (very) miniature version of the Great Loop covering about 460 miles via a largely circular path around the southern third of Florida.  While it can be attacked in either direction, we headed upriver from Fort Myers to Clewiston on Lake O, then to Stuart, down the east coast to Fort Lauderdale, thence to Marathon in the Florida Keys, and finally back home going up the west coast of the state.  We were one of five other boats from our local Grady-White club, most of whom were new to both the brand and extended cruising.

Wed, 18-May, Fort Myers to Clewiston

Compared to the other five boats in our small fleet, this was a short leg for us.  They had to run nearly two hours south from Punta Gorda to reach the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, whereas that’s where we were starting.  Nevertheless, all had to traverse three locks enroute to Clewiston on Lake Okeechobee, so combined with several go-slow no-wake zones along the way, it still took about five hours to cover the 70+ miles to Roland Martin Marina on the southern shore of Lake O, arriving around 1500.

Our Small Fleet Heads Upriver

By now Roland Martin’s has become a historic fixture on the Okeechobee Waterway, and a very convenient halfway stopover point on the inland route across the state of Florida.  Docking is dead-nuts simple on their long stretch of floating dock, their outdoor Tiki Bar serves up decent food and drink at reasonable prices, and they have an onsite (although modest) motel for boaters needing accommodations.  (We were the only cabin boat in the fleet, so that was an important marina feature on this Loop journey.)  It’s location between the lake and the Everglades, however, demanded generous amounts of Deet as sunset neared. 

Parallel Parking at Roland Martin's Floating Dock

Thu, 19-May, Clewiston to Stuart

A flood control gate separates Roland Martin’s from Lake O and for some unknown reason it was closed as we prepared to depart the following morning; but by 0930 we were finally underway again.  The 25 mile trip across Lake O was a smooth cruise and passing through the lock at Port Mayaca was as easy as it gets – straight through with no water level change.  Unfortunately the railroad lift bridge on the east side of the lock was just lowering to accommodate a passing train (after many crossings, a first for us), so we still had to loiter for about 20 minutes.  (Interesting side note: that lift bridge can raise no higher than 49 feet above normal water level, making it the limiting factor for vessel air draught when transiting the Okeechobee Waterway.) 

The Mayaca RR Lift Bridge Being Lowered

We saw quite a bit of boat traffic on this leg of the journey, most of it headed east as well.  We came upon a low-moving trawler at one point on the St. Lucie River, and in exchange for a slow pass (which we would have provided regardless) its skipper offered to take photos of our small flotilla.  He made good on his word and posted them to Google Pics at this LINK.

By the time we arrived at the last lock around 1230 (St. Lucie) and its 14-foot water level drop we had eight boats wanting to transit….it was a tight fit but we got all eight squeezed in and locked through.  We arrived in Stuart and Manatee Pocket about two hours later, but before proceeding to dock at Pirate’s Cove Marina we stopped about a quarter mile short to take on fuel at Sailfish Marina – mainly to avoid queuing up with all the others at the marina fuel dock.  And nothing quite illustrates the cost of boat ownership as much as pumping 150 gallons of 90 octane ethanol-free fuel into your tanks in an inflationary economy.

Squeezing Eight Boats Into the St. Lucie Lock

We enjoyed a group dinner together at the marina restaurant, and given the iffy weather forecast for the next day agreed on an earlier start for the next leg to Fort Lauderdale.

Fri, 20-May, Stuart to Fort Lauderdale

To this point our weather had been very good – hot and humid to be sure, but mostly sunny and storm-free.  However, the weather guessers were anticipating a fairly stormy day for Friday, so in cloudy but dry conditions we pushed off from Pirate’s Cove around 0800, pointing the bow towards the St. Lucie Inlet and the open Atlantic Ocean.  And it got a little bumpy.

There was a brisk wind out of the southeast and seas were running around four feet with a healthy wind chop on top.  Normally we would have slowed down a bit when punching into a head sea, but we could see several clusters of storms both on radar and on the boat’s XM weather displays, all moving towards us from the ESE…so we kept the throttle up.  While most of our Grady formation was attempting a single-file formation, we wanted no part of that yo-yo effect – so we steered Ghost Rider into a fanned out echelon position on the lead boat, set the trim tabs to lower the sharp bow into the waves, and punched the autopilot heading-hold.  That made for a relatively stress-free ride in spite of the short period square waves and occasional rain shower. 

Our Track Down the East Coast Has a Gap in it Just South of
Stuart....Because We Forgot to Turn On the Tracking Device.

The Fort Lauderdale inlet was predictably messy and busy, but we had beat the storm cells, and once we rounded the corner to the 17^th Street bridge the short (1.5 mile) ride to the Bahia Mar Marina was blissfully smooth.  All boats got docked up in the south basin shortly after 1300 without too much drama, and we spent a solid hour hosing off salt from the Grady.

 Sat, 21-May, Fort Lauderdale

The fleet took a down day on Saturday and remained in port.  Wind and periodic storms made any potential fishing sorties unappealing, so Rick just chilled and relaxed and putzed around the boat, while Chelle launched off on some walking & shopping  expeditions with the gal pals.  That evening the nasty weather finally cleared and we got to spend some time with Milt and Judy Baker, fellow ex-Nordhavn owners.  Milt is also the founder and (still) the chief moderator of the Nordhavn Owner’s Group (aka NOG) where Rick is also a co-moderator.  They brought along a bottle of wine which we enjoyed aboard Ghost Rider, and were treated to good pizza at one of their favorite local haunts.

Our Grady-White Fleet Lined Up at Bahia Mar

Sun, 22-May, Fort Lauderdale to Marathon

The winds were still whipping around the following day, churning the open Atlantic into a washing machine, so we reluctantly agreed to take the “inside” ICW route on the sortie south to Marathon, with a 0900 departure.  The portion between Lauderdale and Miami was, to nobody’s surprise, an absolute slog….that 26 mile stretch required nearly three hours to traverse before we got into Biscayne Bay.  From there it was another three hours to cover the next 90 miles to Marathon in the mid-Keys.

The "Inside" (ICW) Route from Lauderdale to Miami is a Lot of This....

....And This....

Unfortunately once we arrived at the entrance to the Banana Bay Marina, we could not raise any response on VHF or by phone for more than 30 minutes; since its marina basin is fairly small it was a “one-at-a-time” docking procedure, so it took a while longer to get situated.  This was our first visit to Banana Bay, and their fixed wooden docks and power pedestals were in excellent condition; unfortunately we couldn’t say the same for their transient showers & restrooms – those are in dire need of a tear down and rebuild.  Supposedly that is on their renovation schedule for some time in the future. 

The Banana Bay Marina Basin is a Little Snug but Slip Space is Generous and the
Fixed Wooden Docks are in Excellent Condition

Ghost Rider All Tucked in at Banana Bay

Mon/Tue, 23-24-May, Marathon

The sea forecast for the next two days was fairly awful – four-to-six feet with continuing blustery winds, but we were now well clear of convective activity and enjoyed abundant sunshine.  On Monday we decided to venture out anyway for an attempt at offshore mahi fishing, setting out around 0915.  Ron Ingram from buddy boat Open View joined us as a third crewmember as he had never gone trolling before.  We cut under the Seven Mile Bridge at Knight’s Channel and stopped at Burdine’s fuel dock to fuel up (200 more gallons) and take on a load of ice for the fish box.  The old timer manning the pump gave us a quizzical look and warned that we were headed into “very nautical” conditions; but he indicated the fishing had been good lately.

Ron and Our $1200 Mahi

We deployed the outriggers in nearshore calm waters before heading due south, and once beyond the reef indeed encountered those very, very nautical conditions.  But we persisted and at about the two-hour mark Ron reeled in his first ever mahi-mahi.  Another of our Grady club, DillyDally, followed us out for their first fishing foray in the Keys, but that was the only other boat we saw all morning.  A third Grady, ReelTight, was also out there somewhere on the troll, but we never laid eyes on them.

Ron did a great job bringing the fish to the boat in some pretty lousy conditions, but understandably was starting to feel a little queasy in the lumpy seas.  So not wanting to ruin the day, Rick cut the sortie a little short and we ran back to the smooth waters on the bay side, docked up back at Banana Bay around 1400, and enjoyed a cold celebratory beer. 

As it turned out we had caught the only fish that day.  Chelle cleaned and fileted it, Rick grilled it, and we enjoyed some very fresh mahi that night for dinner on the boat.

Wind and seas were just as ugly the next day, perhaps even a bit worse, so we enjoyed another down day, biding time at the waterside bar and swimming pool, and prepping for the long ride home the following day.

Chelle Making Filets from Our Mahi Catch

Poolside Portrait at Banana Bay....Fearless Flotilla Leader, Fred, in the
Foreground, the Remainder Clustered in the Background

Wed, 25-May, Marathon to Fort Myers

We cast off at 0800 the next morning and headed north.  About halfway through Florida Bay the continuing stiff southeast wind had churned up quite a washboard ride, but that eased considerably once we got around Cape Romano Shoals and tucked in close to shore near Marco Island.  By now our small fleet of Grady-White’s had learned the benefits of fanning out into an echelon formation vs. suffering the accordion effect of single file, and that was good to see.  Apart from the breeziness, the weather was otherwise fine with partly cloudy skies and temps in the mid-to-upper 80’s.  We were back at our home dock by 1330, covering the final 140 miles of the Southern Loop in 5.5 hours. 

The Grady Fleet Scoots for Home on the Last Leg of the Loop

Aftermath

On the day we returned home from our eight-day trek around southern Florida, Rick came down with Covid-19.  Even with four shots of the Moderna vaccine, it kicked his butt, the worst of it being a wicked sore throat for about five days.  (“Death by a thousand swallows.”)  As far as we know, nobody else in our group developed any symptoms.

As for the boat, Ghost Rider performed fairly well, with only a few annoying caveats.  With all the salt water we took over the bow (and occasionally over the hard top) we definitely found some water leaks; one appears to be along the rub-rail seam; another was through a loose wiper motor mount; and another might have been due to several under-torqued bolt/nut attachments that secure forward parts of the helm superstructure.

Two LED rope light sections in the forward cabin failed; one was just a loose connection, the other was a failed string; tearing apart parts of the interior to repair those was how we found some of the water leak sources.  A ceiling mounted LED light fixture in the helm area also partially broke from its spring tension mount (fixed with some Life Caulk.)

Finally, on the last leg home the Yamaha engine computer reported some unknown and very unspecific error for the starboard engine – no details whatsoever were available in the computer’s log, and the engine continued to run flawlessly.  A reboot (a shutdown followed by battery switch cycling) cleared that up, likely just a transient voltage issue not handled by the firmware.  And lastly, the Garmin VHF radio would not power up on the final day – that turned out to be a separated bullet connector in the power wire underneath the electronics box; easily fixed and reinforced to prevent future occurrences.

Some pertinent pics follow at the bottom of the blog entry.

And Then the Tropics

This year’s hurricane season didn’t waste any time getting started.  A Cat-2 hurricane plowed into the west coast of Mexico in late May, fell apart as it crossed the isthmus, then tried to reform in the Gulf of Mexico in early June, while taking aim at our area in southwest Florida.  A lot of upper-level windshear has been keeping it disorganized, and at most just a major rainmaker for us.  Nonetheless we spooled the boat high on its lift and attached several extra anti-sway lines to guard against surge and wind gusts.  The disturbance did not make tropical storm status (“Alex”) until it had passed well to our east.

Upcoming

If Rick can manage to pass the required Covid test, next up is a trip to the Bahamas planned for 8-Jun to 16-Jun.  Going from here to Key Largo, Bimini and Chubb Cay – and hopefully some fishing there – is the general plan.  We’ll keep y’all posted on how all that goes. 

The Lack of Details on This Engine Error Message Was More Annoying Than the Error

After Removing the Cabin Ceiling Panel We Had Access to its Rope Lights (Red Arrow), the Wiper Motor (Green Arrow), and Three Bolt+Nut Attaching Points (All of Which Were Loose.)

Close-up of One of the (3) Loose Nuts...Required a 13/16" Deep Socket to Tighten

Close-up of the Wiper Motor...the Yellow Arrow Points to the (Very) Loose Mount Which Also Leaked Water from the Topside.  We Replaced the Threaded (and Stripped) Machine Screw with a Stainless Bolt/Washer/Locknut Combination and Bedded with Life Caulk.  The Mechanisms Also Got a Generous Coating of Corrosion Block Spray.

The Rope Lights on the Starboard Side of the Cabin....Yellow Arrow Points to the Repaired
Connection; Green Arrow Points to the Cover Assembly That Was Removed to Access Them; Red
Arrows Point to the Receiver Holes Used to Remount/Dismount the Cover.

Shot of the Completed Repairs with Cabin Ceiling Back in Place.

March 2020: Underway Again

We were finally ready to get moving again.  Our initial goal was to get Ghost Rider around to the other side of the state to Palm Beach for a rendezvous with Yacht Tech (LINK), for whom we had accumulated a lengthy punch list of service needs. After that the plan was to head over to the Bahamas where we hoped to deliver some much needed supplies to the All Hands and Hearts disaster relief team in Marsh Harbour (LINK).  Following that we wanted to go explore some of the out islands around Eleuthera.

Our Path from Fort Myers down to the Keys, then Back Up the East Coast
to North Palm Beach and Loggerhead Marina....About 320 NM.

With provisioning largely complete and (at last) a decent weather window opening up after weeks of windy conditions that had been churning up the seas, we made the move to the boat on Wednesday, 11-March and settled in.  Chelle finished stowing the final haul of provisions, and Rick completed our preflight checklists, updated our charts and verified our routes.  It was time to go.  We would go south to the Keys, then "around the horn" and up the east coast...Lake O was too shallow at this point for Ghost Rider's deep draft.

Thu, 12 Mar….From Fort Myers to Marco Island

We finally departed Legacy Harbour Marina a 0900 on Thursday, 12-March, and pointed the boat's bow south.  With an outgoing tide we picked up a nice trailing current and easily averaged 8.5 knots even with a leisurely 1400 RPM setting on the main engine.  We had sunny skies, with temps in the low-to-mid 70’s, a mild east wind and flat water.

Ghost Rider Docked on an Alongside Tie at Factory Bay in Marco Island

Our modest goal for the day was to reach Marco Island, a fairly easy day cruise of 50 nautical miles down the west coast of Florida.  We ran the boat from the fly bridge in perfect conditions, dolphins vectored in and out of the bow wave but without lingering too long, and the boat ran well.  With the light winds and flat seas even the Marco River inlet was refreshingly boring at a high tide.  Chelle wasn’t feeling well most of the day – an apparent reaction to a recent vaccination – so Rick did most of the driving and handled the docking at the Factory Bay Marina (LINK) just before 1600.  Mindful of the emerging pandemic situation we ate dinner on the boat that evening and just chilled out.

Fri, 13 Mar….From Marco Island to Shark River

We did not dally at Marco and got underway the next morning before 0900.  Weather conditions were again near perfect, with light easterly winds, clear skies and low relative humidity.  We thought the outgoing mid-tide conditions would be suitable for exiting the inlet, but as it turned out Ghost Rider’s keel bumped the bottom twice in rapid succession – smack in the middle of the well-marked channel and very near the outer markers.  By the time Rick reacted with a neutral throttle it was over and we were back in deeper water.

We had a Grand Banks Following Us and a Defever in Front of Us On the
Sortie Down to Shark River

Fortunately that was the only “aw shit” for the entire day.  Once again we were blessed with smooth water and a following current, making for an easy cruise around Cape Romano Shoals and all the way down the southwest coast of Florida and into Everglades territory.  Chelle was also feeling much better and handled much of the helm duty from her perch on the fly bridge.  We also had company – a Defever (Inshalah) and a Grand Banks (Tuscarora) were headed to the same destination, so we had a rather loose 3-ship formation for much of the day.  Some dolphins joined in for part of the sortie, and a sea turtle about the size of a truck tire made a brief appearance as well.

Sunset at Our Shark River Anchorage....It Never Gets Old.  But No
Green Flash This Night.

We arrived at the mouth of Little Shark River around 1530, motored a few hundred meters south of there and dropped the hook, letting out 100 feet of chain in ten feet of water, and obtained a good set on the anchor about a half mile off the Glades shoreline.  We figured that would be smooth water for the night (correct) and far enough off to avoid the bugs (incorrect.)  After briefly opening the salon door a moth-like creature the size of a small bird zoomed into the galley, putting an end to that strategy.  We closed up and ran the generator and A/C for a while.  But later we were able to open a few portals and hatches that had screens and shut down the genset for a quiet and comfy night.

Sat, 14 Mar….From Shark River to Marathon

The next morning broke clear and mild once again (we were digging this boring weather) although the easterly breezes freshened a bit and temps eventually warmed into the upper 70’s, topping off around 80F.  The house battery bank was still at 85% SOC which was a very reasonable draw down for the 10 or so overnight hours.  We cranked up the generator to start putting a charge back into the batts, picked up the hook and got underway by 1000.

Chelle at the Fly Bridge Helm

While the wind chop had picked up with the increased breeze it was still a very pleasant ride south towards the Keys.  Inshalah, the Defever 48 from the day before, fell into a trail formation since they were headed to Marathon as well, and together we dodged numerous crab pots for most of the day’s sortie.  We were punching into a head current most of this day, so we only averaged around 7.5 knots.  While enroute we also ran a water maker test for about three hours and it cranked out about 40 gallons, quite satisfactory for our upcoming Bahamas touring.

The Marathon Anchorage Just Off of Boot Key Harbor Was a Bit Crowded

After crossing under the Seven Mile Bridge we curved around to the east and headed into the anchorage just outside of the Boot Key entrance channel – and the place was already packed by 1545.  We squeezed Ghost Rider into a rather tight slot between the channel and a small sailboat, dropped the hook, let out 100’ of chain and set the anchor rather hard.  We spent the first hour verifying the set with range finder readings and monitored our swing room, but it all worked out.  The only downside to the location was nearly constant boat wakes from vessels going in and out of Boot Key.

We ran the generator and A/C for a few hours, enjoying another nice meal on board, and another lovely sunset.  The mild temperature and stiff breeze allowed us to shut down systems again for the overnight period with just a few hatches and portals open to the night air.

Sunset at the Marathon Anchorage with Seven Mile Bridge in the Foreground.

Sun, 15 Mar….From Marathon to Rodriguez Key

Weather-wise Sunday morning looked a lot like Saturday evening, which was a good thing, although we anticipated the 15 knot wind from the east would be chopping up the Atlantic side of the state.  By 0930 we had retrieved the anchor and snaked our way out of the crowded anchorage; an initial southerly heading brought Ghost Rider into Hawk Channel and there we turned her east.

Another Anchorage and Another Sunset, This One at Rodriguez Key with
the Key Largo Area in the Background.

Once we had left the lee of the Boot Key land mass, the wave action got a bit more frisky as expected and predicted, generally from two to three feet but rather square and at narrow intervals.  But we weren’t pounding and regardless the boat didn’t care.  Crab pot avoidance was the order of the day again, but surprisingly they weren’t as numerous as we’ve historically seen in this area.  Wind and waves backed off a bit the final few hours of the sortie, and with air temperature reaching into the low 80’s it was another fine day of helming from the fly bridge.

By 1600 we had tucked in behind Rodriguez Key and set the anchor in ten feet of very clear water; the anchorage was somewhat crowded but there was still plenty of room to find a comfortable slot with plenty of swing room.  We repeated our generator and A/C routine from the previous two nights, able once again to shut everything down for the overnight period – after appreciating another gorgeous sunset.  That just never gets old.

Mon, 16 Mar….From Rodriguez Key to Fort Lauderdale

This would be our longest single day run (70 NM) so we got an earlier start, pulling out of the peaceful anchorage at 0815.  It was another typical south Florida day in mid-March – sunny sky, brisk easterly breezes, temps approaching 80F with a moderate humidity level.  For the first 30 or so miles we were still running (mostly north now) with a reef to our starboard, so the seas were quite reasonable and comfortable at around two feet.  But as we approached the Miami area and left the reef protection behind, the washing machine action started.

We Had to Dodge This Departing Cruise Ship As We Came Into the Port
Everglades Inlet.  Notice the Empty Decks.

Seas were now running 3 to 5 feet with plenty of vertical wind chop on top, and the wind clocked a bit to the northeast, so Ghost Rider started to pound into the head sea component.  The boat didn’t care, but we did.  We had also picked up a stiff following current and speed-over-ground (SOG) was showing 9 to 10 knots.  So we backed the RPM down to just under 1400, still got nearly 8 knots out of that, and the ride improved considerably in the sloppy seas.

At Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades inlet an outgoing current was bashing into the inbound wave action making it a real mess; Rick hand steered to negotiate the inlet entry as the autopilot’s counter-rudder response just isn’t up to that task, and we got between the breakwater jetties without incident.  About that time we also encountered two large cruise ships departing and heading out to sea – and they were both empty of passengers, looking like gigantic ghost ships.  It was a very weird sight, indicative of the pandemic panic that had started to sweep the globe.

Chelle on Ghost Rider's Forward Deck After Docking Up at Pier 66.

After some evasive action to avoid those big boys we passed under the 17^th Street Bridge and then turned into the Pier 66 Marina basin (LINK).  That turned out to be more challenging than normal as the place was packed with enormous vessels parked in odd and inconvenient places, and Rick had to be careful during the five 90 degree turns it took to get Ghost Rider sterned in to her assigned slip.

But we got tied up without incident and then spent a full hour hosing the salt crust off of the boat.  Continuing to respect the unknowns around the viral outbreak, we dined in and relaxed onboard for the remainder of the evening. 

Pier 66 Marina Was Packed.  This Nordhavn 120, Aurora, Parked at the Entrance to Our Fairway, Didn't Help Matters Any.

Tue, 17 Mar….From Fort Lauderdale to North Palm Beach

By the next morning you could not tell that we had given the boat a decent bath the evening before.  The marina had a lot of construction in process and the boat had a layer of dusty, dark grime on it; a brief although light rain shower then turned that into a layer of pasty mud just as we were preparing to depart at 0915.  We delayed that plan by about 15 minutes to let the rain pass, but we only had 48 NM to our Palm Beach destination, so the pause was not a concern.

Chelle at the Helm in the Pilot House En Route to Palm Beach.

Rick carefully maneuvered Ghost Rider through the tight turns to get out of there and shortly thereafter we were outbound in the Port Everglades shipping channel; and it was rough.  An another outgoing tide was bashing into waves driven by easterly winds that were clocking 15 to 20 knots, and the boat was doing its best imitation of a poorly designed roller coaster, with the bow diving into 7 and 8 foot holes and throwing spray well above the boat deck level.  Rick retreated from the fly bridge and down to the much drier pilot house.

At the end of the channel we saw half a dozen ships in the deep anchorage area – basically quarantined – and maneuvered around them to finally get Ghost Rider pointed north.  That put the rough seas on the beam, where the stabilizers could at least mitigate some of the bouncy action rather than the bulbous bow pounding directly into the turbulence.  Seas were steady at four to five feet with the occasional six footer, and at least one eight footer that rearranged some furniture and a variety of other small gear.  But again we had 80F temps, mild humidity and sunny skies.

Our XM Weather Display Reporting Sea Conditions

Nevertheless, Ghost Rider kept fairly steady on her northerly heading, slowly passing by mostly empty beaches at Lighthouse Point, Deerfield, Boca Raton, Delray and Boynton Beach, and Mar-a-Lago – where Rick was dreaming of launching a cruise missile or two.  By 1500 we were transiting the Lake Worth inlet inbound, where an incoming tide made the channel fairly tame, and shortly thereafter found ourselves in the welcoming calm of the ICW.  We had to wait on two bridge openings (Parker and PGA) because of a high tide that gave us less than the needed 23 foot clearance (with the big sticks lowered) but still made Loggerhead Marina before 1630. 

Our assigned slip was a roomy one that required a bow-in approach to keep our boarding door oriented correctly, but it was also a fairly high fixed dock that made getting on and off a gymnastic exercise.  But Paul (from Yacht Tech) and two other Nordy owners were there to take lines and help us tie off, so overall it was quite uneventful.  Ghost Rider got another much needed wash down to shed all the dirt and salt, then we settled in for a quiet and air conditioned evening, and slept very well.  It was a good St. Patty’s Day night.  Erin go Bragh.

Wed, 18 Mar….At Loggerhead Marina in North Palm Beach

The next morning we were happy that we didn’t have to go anywhere and just relaxed.  Bob and Paul from Yacht Tech stopped by as promised to review and discuss our punch list – with us adding a couple of new items that had developed the night before – and we began to flush out a rough work schedule.  We’ll have more details on all of that in the next blog post.  From the news we’re getting on the developing virus scare it seems we’ll have both the need and perhaps some time to figure out what’s next.

Stay tuned.

Ghost Rider at the End of "B" Dock at Loggerhead....All Cleaned Up and Ready for Some Maintenance

Nov 2018: From Palm Beach to Fort Myers

Our Track from OPC in Palm Beach to Marathon

After our week-long dirt-dwelling break visiting family in the Midwest we returned to Florida…..Rick to the boat in Palm Beach while Chelle stayed at the condo in Fort Myers for a couple more days.  During that spell Rick got caught up on a long list of overdue Wheelhouse recurring maintenance items while Chelle continued condo preps and coordinated some needed repairs at that location.

Our “boat business” maintenance list had been completed as planned with one exception (see footnotes at the bottom), so we turned our attention to planning the final legs to get ourselves and the boat back to our home port (Legacy Harbour) in Fort Myers; those sorties would also serve as our sea trial for all the repair work.  Sea conditions weren’t looking great, but they were good enough to make the trip “around the horn” – down and around to Marathon in the Keys, then turning back north and up the west coast of Florida.

So, on Saturday, 17-November, we departed Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach at 0900 and started chugging south again.  Offshore conditions were forecast to be rather rough so we decided that first leg would once again be down the ICW on the “inside.”  That turned out to be a rather poor choice.

Departing Lake Worth Inlet and Heading South from There on the ICW

Temperature and humidity levels were quite pleasant, standard south Florida weather for this time of year.  But we had to constantly remind ourselves that we were getting a smooth ride; the tradeoff of dodging nutcase weekenders (who also did not want to be on the outside) and negotiating bridges – there were 24 of the damned things between OPC and Suntex Marina just south of Fort Lauderdale – plus the Manatee go-slow zones (effective 15-November through 15-March) – all combined for an absolutely miserable day.   We had to take evasive action on two occasions to avoid collisions with clueless boaters.  And as we were about to cross the Port Everglades turning basin the USCG shut down the waterway for 15 minutes while a humongous cruise ship lumbered away from the pier and they maintained a “security perimeter” around it.

Total Cluster F*ck at the Fort Lauderdale Turning Basin

All that nonsense led to an overly long sortie with the last hour in darkness.  Night runs on the ICW are essentially an emergency procedure, so we rigged for red, dimmed all the displays, and just tried to patient. 

To top it all off, about an hour before arriving at the Suntex Marina (approaching yet another low bridge) the throttle lever for our wing engine – upon which we depend for hydraulic power for the bow and stern thrusters – literally fell apart….springs, a ball bearing and a few washers departed from their assigned places and the throttle went limp.  Rick turned the helm over to Chelle and scrambled down to the engine room, found a way to prop open the throttle lever on the engine to maintain sufficient RPM for the hydraulics when needed, and we pressed on with that MacGyver-like solution for the remaining bridges and docking maneuvers.

The Wing Engine Throttle Goes Tango Uniform

But Down in the Engine Room Rick Found a Way to Set the Required Wing Engine RPM Using a Vise Grip for a Throttle Stop

We found the marina entrance without any issues and weaved pour back to our assigned slip – which turned out to be located in a fairway no wider than the length of Ghost Rider…it was a damned tight pivot to back into that slip, but we got it done without too much drama, albeit slowly and deliberately.  Rick logged another night landing in his logbook and eventually we called it a night.

We were underway once again by 0830 on Sunday, 18-November.  We had to negotiate another five miles of ICW before we could cut to the outside, but at that hour there was no other traffic and we were able to squeeze under all three bridges along the way by lowering the big sticks.   We hung a hard turn to port at the Haulover Inlet and got back out into the Atlantic Ocean.  At last.

The egress through the inlet was a messy affair, with a ripping outgoing current bashing into the wind driven waves, and initially we saw four footers on the nose.  But after getting far enough out into the big water to safely make our turn to the south conditions improved considerably….initially a two foot swell at one second intervals with a healthy wind chop on top, all on the beam.  After we got south of Biscayne Bay that smoothed out even further.  We and Ghost Rider were happy to be back in our element.

Sunset at the Rodriguez Key Anchorage

It was another pleasant day atmospherically as well – low to mid 80’s, 55% humidity, some sun and intermittent clouds, although the breeze stayed steady at 10 to 15 knots from the east.  We enjoyed lots of fly bridge time on the 65 mile cruise south to Rodriguez Key, where we tucked in behind the island and dropped the anchor shortly before 1700.  We got a good set on the hook on the first try, and then enjoyed a relaxing evening in calm waters.

We weren’t in a hurry the morning of Monday, 19-November, so we putzed around for a couple of hours before finally retrieving the anchor and getting underway at 1000.  We had less than 50 nautical miles to traverse enroute to Marathon and we had an excellent forecast for the day.  But you could tell we were now back in south Florida – air temps reached near 90F and humidity hung thick at 70%, with a 10 knot breeze out of the east.

Sea conditions were identical to the day before – quite nice with two foot swells and a light wind chop, again on the port beam.  Ghost Rider purred along happily at an average of 8 knots as we kept her fairly close to the Keys shoreline, anywhere from two to five miles offshore, staying inside the reef to avoid the northbound Gulf Stream current.  We did have to stay vigilant for crab pots (it was Stone Crab season) as some parts of Hawk Channel resembled a mine field.  But it still beat the hell out of the bridges and Manatee zones on the ICW.

Sunset at Our Marathon Anchorage

By 1600 we approached our targeted anchor site and dropped the hook, just south of the Seven Mile Bridge and near the entrance to Boot Key Harbor, in about 10 feet of  mostly clear water.   Our Manson Supreme anchor set on the first try (as usual) in the soft sandy bottom and by 1700 we had the genset cranked up, A/C running and the tender launched.  Chelle motored over to the dinghy dock at the Marathon Marina to get in some walking exercises while Rick tended to post-flight checklists and some preps for the coming overnight sortie to Fort Myers. 

Given the very warm temps and high humidity we decided to run the genset overnight with the A/C going full bore.  We then enjoyed a quiet and calm night at anchor.

At around 0630 on Tuesday, 20-November Rick shut down the A/C and genset since temps had moderated and fan-driven air was sufficiently comfortable, and we were having a tough time keeping the generator properly loaded.  After a couple more hours of sleep we finally slipped out of bed for good, had our coffee, checked emails and weather (still looking very good), and started in on chores and departure preps.

Rick removed the cover from the search light in anticipation of the overnight run through crab pot country, and also practiced gymnastics – climbing up and down the radar arch to retrieve the wind vane for inspection and repair….its wind direction blade had locked up, but we were able to disassemble, lubricate and get it working again.

Marathon Anchorage Looking North Towards Seven Mile Bridge
and the Entrance to Boot Key Harbor

Then it was time to take a swim and dive under the boat to examine the starboard stabilizer fin; an intermittent knocking noise at irregular intervals had developed two days ago in that vicinity and we wanted to see if something had wrapped around the fin’s pivot shaft.  Rick donned wetsuit and goggles and took the plunge while Chelle manned the ring buoy safety line.  Unfortunately we found nothing fouled, but Rick was able to replicate the knocking sound by manually moving the fin to its centered position – and it would not travel further than that.  That likely indicated a mechanical issue somewhere in the actuator and/or fin shaft, but we would wait for feedback from our friends at Yacht Tech.  Rick took a few minutes to scrub the scum at the waterline towards the rear of the hull and then climbed back aboard to dry out and rest.

Chelle took the dinghy back into town after that for a couple of hours for a walking and shopping expedition.  Shortly thereafter word came back from Yacht Tech recommending we pin and disarm the stabilizers to guard against potential (further?) damage.  So Rick spent time getting that done….we would have to make the run to Fort Myers without roll stabilization, but the sea forecast looked good enough to make that tolerable.  Around 1400, after Chelle had returned from her dinghy expedition, we retrieved the tender and secured it on the boat deck and then made a few final departure checks.  The anchor came up cleanly from the soft, sandy bottom and we were underway by 1500. 

Another Sunset -- This One as We Motored North Through Florida Bay.
You Can Also See Some of the Many Crab Pots We Were Regularly Dodging.

Air temperature was in the low 80’s and while humidity was still a bit soggy, the clear sky, bright sun and pleasant sea breeze made it very pleasant.  We crossed under the Seven Mile Bridge, zig-zagged through the shallow Banks area and pointed the bow north.  Florida Bay was absolutely flat with the only ripples coming from passing boat wakes, a good start to a long overnight sortie without roll mitigation.

The glass-like water surface made the task of spotting and dodging crab trap buoys easy at first – a very good thing as the damned things were everywhere.  A year ago we had previously tangled (literally) with a crab pot line on the main shaft and did not want to repeat that fiasco – on a slow-moving trawler swinging a 34 inch prop it’s amazingly easy to foul the running gear.

With sunset quickly approaching Rick spent about 30 minutes experimenting with the Furuno radar’s gain adjustments, eventually finding a combination of manual gain, rain clutter and sea clutter settings that resulted in a very useful display; the discrimination of the small and generally non-reflective crab pot buoys was surprisingly good.

Our Dual Radar Display.  The One on the Left is Set to Close Range and
the Radar Returns Displayed There Are All Crab Pots.

About 30 minutes after sunset that functionality came in pretty handy.  While we had nearly a 90% illuminated moon, the crab pots were impossible to acquire visually soon enough to take evasive action.  The main challenge was that a line of crab pots generally didn’t generate radar returns until they were within the .125 NM range circle (1/8^th of a mile) so you had to be vigilant and pick your penetration path fairly quickly once they appeared.  So we set up our typical night running configurations with dual side-by-side charts on our 15” Furuno screen, and dual radars on our 17” Nobeltec screen, one for close range and one for longer range painting.

It worked quite well, and was a lot like playing the old Asteroids video arcade game,

although when seas started to get lumpy the job of distinguishing between crab pots and wave tops approached sensory overload.  Nonetheless, we continue to be impressed with Furuno’s DRS6AX digital radar array.

Chelle handled the initial watch from the anchorage until sunset, Rick took the first and third night shifts, with Chelle getting stuck with the middle “graveyard” shift from 0100 to 0500.  In the end it didn’t matter much as neither of us slept worth a damn.  We saw and heard almost no other traffic once we were a few miles north of the Keys island chain.  One exception was S/V Grace, who hailed us on the VHF while traveling in the opposite direction, asking if we had any weather data for the western Keys….they had departed Englewood the previous day and were headed to the Marquesas and Tortugas. Rick switched over to our XM Weather display screen, called up the zone forecast for that area and read it back to them.  They were pleased to hear the forecast for surprisingly benign conditions.

Another Shot of the Dual Radar Display....No Crab Pots on the Short Range
Screen But the Longer Range (6 NM) Shows the Rain Showers

Between 2200 and midnight we encountered some small storms and scattered rain showers in mid Florida Bay, easily discerned with the XM Weather and longer range radar displays.  We deviated about five miles to the east to avoid a small thunderstorm but otherwise it was a smooth and uneventful cruise….until we came around Cape Romano Shoals and near Marco Island early on Wednesday, 21-November.  That’s when we lost the land-blocking of the north wind which by then had picked up to near 20 knots and suddenly it went from smooth to waffle iron conditions – only three footers, but square and at nasty one second intervals.  Ghost Rider certainly didn’t care, but we pulled back the throttle a bit and slowed, mainly to allow better sleeping conditions.  Luckily it was all straight on the nose so the lack of roll stabilization was not a factor.

Sunrise Near Naples as We Chugged North to Fort Myers

After putting another 30 miles behind us the conditions calmed considerably as we regained some protection from the west curvature of the Sanibel, Cape Coral and Fort Myers land masses.  Sunrise brought clear skies and a temp of 68F which felt cooler in the 12 knot north breeze plus our 8 knots of forward movement, with one foot seas….an easy approach to and up the Caloosahatchee River.  We finally reached our home port, Legacy Harbour Marina, in downtown Fort Myers just after 0930 and docked up – slowly and carefully, we were tired – without incident.  According to our Garmin inReach tracker on this final leg we covered 134 nautical miles in just over 18 hours.

Ghost Rider was coated bow to stern and top to bottom with three days’ worth of salt, and while we were pretty much worn out we gave Ghost Rider a thorough wash down of her exterior, wiped down the windows, covered the fly bridge and dinghy, and double-checked the fenders and dock lines.  We packed some bags and headed home to our condo.  It had been 8 months, 1 week and 1 day since we had departed from the same dock.  4,000 nautical miles later we were happy to be back home.

Ghost Rider Back Home at Legacy Harbor in Fort Myers

** Footnotes on Boat Business

** Rick replaced the generator’s raw water pump….it had developed an intermittent water leak that only manifested after shutting the unit down, but it would have eventually failed.

** Alex Graham, our diesel tech, repaired two main engine oil leaks, one at the front bearing oil seal, the other at the base of the dispstick housing….Alex graciously did both gratis by extending his warranty period on his previous work.

** Randy Brenner replaced both the A/C compressor and air handler for pilot house…Randy is Yacht Tech’s preferred Cruisair tech, & he got this done with surprising ease…albeit expensively...not Randy's fault, it's the Cruisair parts that are pricy.

** As for flushing the A/C system with “Barnacle Buster”….Randy pressure tested the system and talked Rick out of this for now.

** The repair of a leaking line connector on the water maker turned out to be easy….it’s some kind of proprietary quick connect joint that we had “fixed” with a  wrap of rescue tape….turns out all we had to do is reseat the inner o-ring.

** Yacht Tech performed the annual hydraulics maintenance….replacing the cooling pump impeller & return filter, and lubing u-joints in the drive mechanisms & topping off the fluid.

** Yacht Tech also took care of the wing engine coolant flush & hose replacements, plus pencil zincs. (Rick will handle the same for the genset after we’re settled in Fort Myers.)

** As for the stabilizer actuators oil leaks….while we contemplated getting the Naiad techs to inspect and assess, we just decided to add some oil (that part is cheap) and see if there are any real performance issues…see next new item.

** New (Open) Item: The starboard stabilizer fin started making clunking / knocking noises on the leg to Marathon; we pinned and disabled the system for the last leg and now have to figure out what the hell needs to be done.

** Another New (Open) Item: The throttle lever for the wing engine fell apart; Rick wants to get the entire assembly replaced with a new unit if we can find one.

Our Final Track From Marathon North to Fort Myers.
That Little Jog to the East in the Middle of Florida Bay Was to Skirt a Small Thunderstorm.