July 6th 2012
Position N 27° 22.225’,
W 82° 37.075’.
Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL
Well, tropical storm ‘Debby’ has finally, finally left the State.
About time we all say. Funny how life is all a trade off, during Debby’s stay
in the Gulf of Mexico rain was the problem lots of it! The storm was located in
the NE corner of the Gulf of Mexico and just didn’t move! This meant that the
heaviest rain bands, which typically are to the right side of the storm, just
kept coming continually drenching the whole State of Florida. Had we still been
living in our house I would have been clearing debris, palm fronds and branches
from our large oak tree plus emptying the swimming pool constantly for four
days! Living on ‘Partners’ the list of chores is quite different, constant
adjustment of mooring lines and fenders to ensure that we did not have any
collisions with our dock plus allowing for the rising and lowering of the water
level. No leaks either, I was quite amazed as all boats leak, don’t
they? All the hard work (labour of love) that I put in on the re-caulking of
the teak deck seems, mainly on the foredeck, worked! We experienced no leaks
and one thing that Debby did provide was plenty of water and a good test for
leaks. I actually received a compliment for my efforts from the Admiral...wow!
Obviously the water level was not quite the problem as on shore, we
float! The only realization to me was that if we had a direct hit from a major
hurricane then the storm surge would have created a different problem...the
height of the pilings in relation to the rubbing strakes on ‘Partners’. I could
visualize us sitting on top of a pilling with the mooring lines, which are
attached to the pilings, disappearing under water or even worse lifting off the
pilings and setting us adrift! This realization will make us consider an
alternative location if and when the ‘big’ one comes. Some boats did leave the
marina during this event and there may be some merit in anchoring in protected
Sarasota Bay. The advantage of anchoring in a sheltered corner of the bay would
have been no mooring line or fender adjustments, in fact very little concern.
The ‘trick’ would only be to find good holding ground so the anchor would not
drag. In retrospect ‘Debby’ was no more than a ‘blow’ and a rain event, I don’t
want to play it down callously as I know some dirt dwellers have suffered badly
and have lost much due to the flooding in low lying areas, so our heartfelt
feelings go out to those people but it can get worse, if this event had been a
hurricane, as opposed to a tropical storm, the wind could have reached triple
digit speeds which would have exponentially changed the whole picture. In a
full hurricane, however, with up to 150 mph winds the whole scenario would be
quite different and we would get the boat hauled and chained down on the hard.
Our insurance company assists in the cost of hauling the boat in the event of a
named storm being forecast to 'hit' in our vacinity.
Thank you to the many friends who called us to offer us shelter
during ‘Debby’. We really appreciate the thoughts and kindness and there may be
a time that we will need to take one of you up on an offer, on this occasion we
were fine and were totally comfortable on Partners. She is our home so we just
have to take the rough with the smooth; it is not all dining on the back deck
sampling the tropical breezes and raising a glass to the stars...oh, where was
I! For the wannabees out there reading this stuff it is mostly dining
on the back deck sampling the tropical breezes and raising a glass to the stars
and in exotic places to boot.
Another bye product of the storm is, as a result of the surge of
water pushed ashore, I have noticed that the water in the marina basin is much
clearer than it was, so there are other natural benefits as a result of
nature’s wrath. I suppose the flushing vitalizes the waterways and bays, brings
in fresh nutrients and fauna, that with only the normal small tides experienced
in this part of the world (around 2 ft), would not normally happen to the
extent it did with this tropical storm.
We are approaching ‘Partners’ first anniversary (under our
ownership) and my birthday the 6th of July which quite
coincidentally share the same date. We have had a wonderful year and think that
we have both adjusted well to a simpler and less materially oriented life. We
have transited into becoming excited about planning our future cruising trips
and destinations and are excited about the people we will meet and the new
places that we will visit and can explore. Preparing and equipping the boat is
our main focus plus reading boating books and cruisers blogs digesting all the
knowledge we can to prepare ourselves. There are always many subjects of focus,
for example we intend to fish but do not yet posses any fishing gear. It is fun
researching the subject and making purchase choices decisions to add to the
list. I was just reading another cruisers blog last night and he talked about
catching a blue fin tuna weighing 25 lbs, his description moved to sautéing
slivers of the tuna in olive oil, my mouth was watering as I read further. They vacuum pack and freeze the fresh fish,
can you imagine, that fish probably produced 15 lbs of steaks. One would only
have to catch one of these fellows once a month to eat really well. What this
cruiser does is run his fillet knife along each side of the fish to take the
meat and doesn’t even bother to gut the fish; he calls it fillet and release! A
Foodsaver® vacuum sealer is essential in the food department as it allows the
maximum amount of food to be stored in the freezer. We ditch all the packaging
and vacuum pack everything.
Today is Sunday July 1st and a big day in Sarasota with
the
annual Offshore Grand Prix being held off Lido Key, thousands of spectators
will be lining the beaches to watch this event, including us! It is essential
to arrive early and stake ones claim. Some of the super boats reach speeds of
160 mph and the noise, well to say deafening really is not an exaggeration. It
is fun and we will be there to feel the thunder! The EUFA Euro 2012 final is
today as well so after the race it is back to the boat to watch Spain & Italy
battle it out, there is more, after that a friend of ours is having a birthday
bash so off we go to that...wow sounds like a busy day.
 |
| Today is my birthday! This picture is how I spent my special day...just look at that water. |
July 2nd...we survived, what a full day; we had a great
time yesterday standing in the Gulf of Mexico, chest deep to stay cool,
watching the powerboats barrel on by and then watched Spain defeat Italy in the
EUFA Euro 2012 final. Our youngest daughter is dating a Spaniard from Majorca
so as England was eliminated in the quarter finals my allegiance switched to
Spain. Our friend Bill had his birthday ‘bash’ and all went according to
plan...a great day!
In closing this blog entry I am including the following:-
The words below were written by someone I admire, Scott Flanders of ‘Egret’
a Nordhavn 46’. Since 2004 I have been following Scott’s blog ‘Voyage of Egret’ which documents Scott
and his wife Mary’s circumnavigation of the globe. He inspired Lavinia and I
and spurred us on to making our dream of a cruising life a reality. I am
including some of his “kick you in the butt” writings. When reading this you
can substitute the ‘Voyage of Egret’ with ‘Travels of Partners’ our message is
the same and is all in the interest of inspiring some of you to make the
move...
“You know, ‘Voyage of Egret’ isn't
free. It comes at a price, sorta like a head tax. The price you pay isn't in
Pesos, Euros, Dollars, Kroner or anything linked to the gold standard. The
price is your peace of mind knowing Out there someone is doing The Deal living
The Life and you aren't. So in your competitive type 'A' minds there you sit in
your office, at home or where ever you happen to be that isn't Out and you
fantasize and wonder what it would be like. For the majority, fantasize and
wonder will be all you will ever do because you are stuck in a Rut so deep you
think there is no escape, or worse yet.....gasp.....don't care. Yea, I know,
you have Reasons. Lame ones, heard them all before. Yea, I know, you are
Different. Sure. Well, OK.
So let's look at a few Reasons if
you are a Rut Boy or Rut Girl.
Pesos. Go brokerage, go smaller, go
coastal, go sail; it's all good, just Go.
Aging parents. TELL them what Your
plans are, TELL them you love them and TELL them you will see them as often as
you can but these are Your Years and need to Go. They may whine up front but
will respect your decision and of course will tell their friends; MY
son/daughter the Boater is in xxxxxxxxx. And so on.
The key word here: TELL, don't Ask.
It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. Don't think your parents are
different. They are just people like you, only a generation older. They will
get over it; just like someday your kids will Tell you their plans and you may
not agree. Their/your choices will be: Get Over It and be supportive......Pout.
Children. When the youngest leaves
for university, You are free. Don't think they are any different than you. They
have their own minds and can't Wait to escape, just like you at their age. And
if you aren't there to hold their hand if they have a hiccup, oh well, I guess
they will just have to figure it out instead of mommy and daddy doing it for
them. Besides, you're always a phone call away. No problem.
House. What will we do with the
house? It is just a House. That's all. Figure out what is best for you. We are
talking about Your Lives. A house is just a house. Get it?
Pets. Take them with you. So what if
they scratch the floor of your precious, or shed, or whatever? We're talking
about Your Lives and this isn't a rehearsal. Carpet, throw rug, sweep, dinghy
them ashore, do whatever because it is no big deal. Pets also open a lot of
doors. Pets, like Boat Kids are a magnet for other cruisers. And Boat Kids,
Skippy or Fluffy get treated better aboard than they ever did ashore because you
don't have shore side distractions and have Time for the first time in your
lives.
However there is Hope. The fall boat
shows are just around the corner. Boat shows group boats so you can look at a
range of different types of boats but more importantly, check out the boats You
are already Dreaming about. Another advantage of fall shows is, well it is
fall. In the brokerage market, owners have most likely cruised their last
summer season in the boat and are ready to move on. They know winter is coming,
sales slow down, dockage doesn't stop and Its Time. So deals can be had. Fall
shows still leave a bit of season left for initial shake down cruising before
winter, unless you happen to buy on the U.S. east coast then you can head to
the Bahamas for the winter. And Bahamas cruising during the winter is great.
You can fish, swim, dinghy explore, or anything you wish. You may also have
children, parents or guests fly into Nassau or Marsh Harbour and stay a bit.
Take the Nassau folks 30nm to Norman's Cay and let them explore the low tide
white sand flats and pick up sand dollars to their hearts content. Take the
Marsh Harbour guests 12nm to Hope Town and let them wander the 1800's
Loyalist's streets and eat conch fritters and drink Kalix (Clicks) beer on the
waterfront. It’s wonderful.
And of course, fall shows groups the
builders. They are all (always) hungry so again, deals can be had on new
builds, particularly in this market.
We only know about the U.S. East
Coast fall shows. We will attend two this year. The first show is Newport,
Rhode Island around mid September. Second is the Annapolis Powerboat Show, mid
October in Annapolis, Maryland, and the third is the Biggie, Ft Lauderdale, the
end of October. We will make the Newport and Ft Lauderdale shows. Even after all
these years of first being my vocation and now cruising we still can't get
enough.”
In October last year, just before we left Oriental, NC, we had the
bottom of ‘Partner’ coated with Petit Trinidad antifouling paint, this month is
the first month that we have had to get a diver to go down and clean off her bottom.
He reported that it wasn’t too bad and that the sacrificial anodes (zincs) were
fine. In the warmer waters of Florida and places south from here I find that
one year for the paint is about it. One might get lucky and stretch that to 18
months if you are moving around a fair bit. Water passing over the hull bottom
does have a cleaning effect especially if the sea is rough and the boat is
heaving and doing a little pounding. Obviously sitting in a marina, as we have
done primarily, is the worst. I am, with the help of the diver, going to
stretch ours to the spring when I will get a fresh coat of paint. This timing
will coincide with the beginning of summer when the water is at its warmest and
the marine growth is at its worst and ‘Partner’ also leaving the dock to go
cruising!
