Where's the outrage?

That floating pile of junk in the foreground?  Someone lives there.  We met him.  Probably certifiable lunatic but he has a sense of humor and is engaging.
The mega yacht in the background, all shrink wrapped to keep it free of dust?  No one lives there though it probably could sleep and feed dozens of people.  Another person owns that one.  A very very rich person who may use the boat (ship) on occasion.
That is America today.  It makes me sick!  Where is the outrage?  Makes me want to support Bernie.

Weather looks good for crossing tomorrow night.  Hope to go all the way to Bell Channel and Lucaya if we can stay awake.  About 75 nautical miles at 6 to 6.5 knots.

I lost all confidence in our 35 year old 25 pound battery charger.

So yesterday I changed it out for a new, 8 pound charger.  What a difference!  Putting out 13 volts and 50 amps.  Yay!  Cold beer!

 I know.  I have to clean up the wiring.

In the Bahamas we will hope to have wifi so our phones will work.  Calls can always be made on What'sApp.  We hope to find meaningful opportunities to help rebuild some small piece of Grand Bahama.

Thanks for tuning in.  We have had more than 3000 views of this blog since the beginning.

Last stop in U.S.

The continuing saga of two old folks in an old boat with an old dog....

We're in Lake Worth, Riviera Beach, which is very close to the inlet that we will take to cross the Gulf Stream early next week...hopefully.  The wind has been howling out of the east and I wonder how long it will take for the waves to lie down.  I'm hoping for a nighttime passage Monday to Tuesday.
First we went down to West Palm Beach to hob knob with the wealthy folks and their toys.

But came back up here to be close to our departure point and reality.  Trump the Chump is in town and their is security everywhere.

No getting around the loneliness of Christmas on a boat in Florida without family and friends.  We got through it and are happy it's over.  We spent Christmas eve in a place called Manatee Pocket.  The boat was very festive.

 While Kathleen made Christmas cookies I blasted the Messiah across the moorimg field.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oFGZFPEm9YMpXD1L8

Floridians don't have snow but they are into lights.

And here's another link to a video.  The music is saying "Let it snow; let it snow; let..."
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vEc7QF9MKxP2cMQq6

Maintenance continues to be a big time suck (old boat).  Stuffing box started leaking like crazy and I was dreading the prospect of either repacking it while in the water or having the boat hauled.  But I was able to tighten it up and I may repack in the Bahamas where I expect to clean the hull and inspect the zincs in warm crystal clear water.

And then the fuel solenoid on the generator bit the dust.  I can close it manually for now and hopefully the boater's best frind - Amazon Prime - can bring me a new one right away.

The BMW is running really well.  I spent extra care filling the heat exchanger with oil, tightened the belt an extra milimeter, cleaned the strainer etc etc and now she's running much cooler than she has been.

We've traveled 1700 miles and we're less than 100 miles from our turn-around point.  And after a month and a half or so there, we'll start back up the way we came and bring you all some warm weather.

Happy New Year!

Stuck on Velcro Beach

First weather window remains 12/30 and 31.  So we wait
But a postscript to earlier observations about the south:  there are NO solar panels on any houses!  Is solar energy a political statement?  Some say power is too cheap down here.  So what?  Crazy!

Lots of preventative maintenance to do on Rosie.  Lots of provisioning to do.  Like check out the impeller.

Pretty damned exciting eh?

Velcro Beach

Yup, we're stuck at Vero Beach.  Got here Sunday and we'll be here  next Sunday.  Weather windows for crossing the Gulf Stream are nowhere to be seen.  Next opportunity will be the 29, 30, 31st when the wind will calm down and move to the south so as not to oppose the Stream and put up big waves.  As I right this seas are 7-10 feet in coastal waters and that's not in the Stream.

So this is the preferred place to hang.  Secure moorings for $17.50 a day with showers, pump outs, dog parks and a free bus that take you to consumptive America.

And we have an endless list of chores to do before leaving the country.  Lots of provisioning and lots of safety and precautionary work on the boat.

The weather here is the same as the Abacos with 20 kmot northerly winds, clouds and temperatures struggling to hit 70.  (I know; I know!)

So not much happening.  Stay tuned.
(Oh yeah, we just impeached the con man in the White Huose.  I hope it never gets sent to the Senate!)

On to Vero Beach

Finally busted loose from St Augustine.  But while we were there we:

• Lubricated the steering cables and sheaves
• Pulled two injectors on the diesel and installed new seals
• Installed an update on our Garmin chartplotter
• Installed some "rain gutters" on salon windows
• Checked and tightened the stuffing box
• Scrubbed the dinghy to new like new condition
• Installed new relay for the glow plugs
• Biked to Home Depot, Publix, Sailors Exchange
• Bought a Christmas tree
• Scrubbed the teak decks and exterior.
• Entertained some neighbor boats
• Cooked, cleaned, did laundry and found some cool restaurants.

It's a great town but we were ready to leave.

With a full moon the tides were super-sized.
Thursday night we slept in a cemetery in Daytona Beach.  A large and well protected anchorage had a dozen boats.  At least 10 of them were derelict/abandoned/left to die.  It's astonishing how many there are in Florida.  Along the waterway a lot of them are victims of storms however:

Next night we went to Titusville which is across from Cape Kennedy.  No launches though.  We went into town to shop and shower and it was dark by the time we started  back to Rosie.  We got lost!  Well, it took us a while to find our boat.  New flashlight coming on board in Vero.

Tonight we're in a little basin called Eau Gallie.  It's a beautiful little harbor with beautiful houses everywhere and derelict boats all over the place.  It must infuriate the homeowners.
And these strange birds.

We're 100 miles away from our departure spot, Lake Worth, where we will wait for a weather window.  We are definitely at the back of the pack of snow bird mariners and hope we can find some buddy boaters for crossing the stream.

A few observations about the south:

• Big cars kept very clean.
• No one exercises or spends time outdoors.  
• The waterway is free of trash which is great
• Very few craft breweries and lots of fried food
• Military bases everywhere!
• It gets warmer and warmer the further you go.

Couple of days ago a dolphin jumped completely out of the water right in front of our bow!  What a treat.  They are everywhere but impossible to photograph.

Lacy, Rosie, Kathleen and I miss you all!

Waiting in St Augustine

Still here.  Waiting for a chip to upgrade out chartplotter software and a stud that I snapped while replacing one of our injectors on the diesel.  Nice place to wait.  They do Christmas up huge here.  It's their busiest holiday season.  So here are some pictures.

Our house.

Our Christmas tree.

Friday night carols in the park

Saturday night pageantry.  This city is 452 years old!  It is rich in history and very proud of it.  This is the only city in Florida that we know of that has some soul.

Egrets are everywhere and afraid of nothing.

This bird spent the night with us.  What is it Mindy?  Looked like a heron.

There are huge boats here.  Here's a couple.

We'll complete a very long list of chores while we're here before heading south on Wednesday.  Expect to be in W Palm Beach on Tuesday, the 17th where we will wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. 
Thanks for checking in on us.  We've had more than 2500 views of this blog.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Festivus for the rest of us.

On to St Augustine today

From Jekyl Island we  stopped at Ferandida Beach (Florida!) and Sister Creek, just off the St Johns River that goes up to Jacksonville.  But wait...

I forgot to tell you about Wilmington Island where we spent a night because Capt Bob's ICW guidebook said it had a huge supermarket, pharmacy, hardware store and more.  They built all this retail right on the water's edge leaving an old marina to become a ghost town.
An old dry dock...

An old bar with horseshoe pits...

And many abandoned ghost boats...

We did appreciate the retail though.

Kathleen and I have both been sick recently and the weather has been unusually cold and unfortunately that combination kept us from exploring Jekyl Island and from stopping at one of our favorite places, Cumberland Island.  We will get them on the way back.

This cruise ship, American Star, travels the intercoastal waterway between Charleston and Jacksonville and we've been leap-frogging with it for days.

This ship, however, ain't leaping any more.  It's the car carrier that capsized in St Simon Sound.  You're looking at its hull.  It caught fire but they were able to get all 16 crew members off.  Eery sight.

So it's off to Saint Augustine where we will spend 3 days installing parts that have been delivered.
A new relay for the glow plugs, a new seal for the number 1 injector, a new clasp for the sump pump, "Rosie" letters for our stern so that overtaking boats stopping hailing us as Charlotte Six.

All is well with us and I hope with you too.

Jekyl Island

A couple of postscripts from our visit with Roger and Laurel in Bluffton.
I told you that Roger built a 45' catamaran in his back yard.  He modeled the hulls after PamAm's giant clippers.  Those hulls were designed to rise up out of the water.


So Rogers catamaran does the same thing.  It leaves a path of air bubbles as it flies at 20-22 knots.
Next stop:  America's Cup.
Also, I liked that to clean three bushels of fresh but muddy oysters they put them in a cement mixer.  Took some of the edges off and cleaned the mud.  Love it.

So we headed south again and stopped in the Waterway, out of the channel, where we thought we saw a sanding landing for Lacy.  Nope.  All muck and shells.  So in the morning she understood and we didn't have to bring her in.  Just hose down the deck.

The next day, Sunday, we headed for Jekyl Island amid gloomy gale forecasts and giant cold front.
We tied up at Jekyl Harbor Marina and spent another night riding out the west wind that blew 25 to 39.  I know.  I know.  But it is cold here!

They do get into Christmas down here in a big way with lights.  Boats parade in St Augustine and Savannah.

 Tomorrow we're off to Fernandida Beach to pick up some parts we ordered at the UPS store.  The docks were wiped out by Dorian but the mooring balls are there.  Then two days to St Augustine where we have more parts arriving.

But should be a good day tomorrow if the old adage is true about red skies...