A few weeks ago we experienced first (on a Monday) being told we’d have to move out of our nice slip to somewhere else, second, (on a Tuesday) a fire (in the inverter/charging system), and third, (on a Wednesday) a runaway engine.
Over the course of the last few weeks with the help of a local mechanic, we figured out the engine issue – a crack in a gasket which sucked in some oil and cause the engine to go nuts and speed up. Also the fuel pump required (after that) a rebuild of the thing, replacing an diaphragm.
I removed and rewired the boat so I had AC applied back to the systems where I needed it, and have installed a new charger for the system. It is not yet “permatized”. I need to mount it to the bulkhead, and hardwire it into the system through a breaker. Right now it’s plugged into a wall socket on a temporary basis.
The slip issue was something we couldn’t fix. The slip was privately owned and the owner decided, without notice to sell it, requiring us to move. The problem is, now I’m in a supposedly 50′ slip and sticking out into the fairway. Not cool.
We’re also riding in the mud again. Again, not cool.
So this has prompted me to request that the marina find us another long-dock slip and get us into ASAP. That is moving slowly. Or perhaps not at all. I don’t know.
Now, I am rethinking remaining here. We are in a tenuous position on this dock, having had to back into it to even be able to get off the boat safely… the finger pier is only 25′ long and bow sprit-to-gangway is 33′. Thus, we can’t get off the boat safely if we pull into the dock. Backing in has placed our cabin against the dock, where people walk past all evening, make noises and so on.
I have been calling around in the south to locate a marina that might be a little better for us, but they are all vastly more expensive, sometimes double and triple the cost of this one. Many don’t allow people to live aboard their boats either. Some do for an excessive fee. Others don’t care one way or the other (and it is dependent upon the state, county and local rules).
I have several good places and we will examine them individually soon. The marina manager doesn’t want to lose me as an employee though. Perhaps something will be worked out soon.
In the mean time we’re examining our options to just go to a mooring ball, live on the hook awhile, or find another marina to “call home”. We want to be further south anyway, and be able to access the ocean so, it’s going to cost a bit more no matter what we do I think.
We have a storage locker with a few things in it, which will have to come to the boat, a boat box on the dock (for things we move in and out of the boat) that I’ll need to get rid of, a car, which might have to go into storage for a time until we find a place to bring it. We need the car to get back and forth across country (flying is not for me any more and is significantly more expensive than travel by car; renting a car is out of the question for long trips, also too expensive). Everyone wants your money, don’t they?
Over the course of the past few weeks, we went south to Charleston (Twice now) taking our friend Kevin down to retrieve his truck after he brought a boat back up from there and delivered it here. We went this past weekend to hang out with our friends Alison and Daniel aboard Equus, for a couple of evenings. We had a good time talking and hearing about their trip to the Bahamas.
I went sailing with Norm from the marina when he took his 94 year old Grandfather out and helped out on the boat. His grandpa has been sailing since he was about 4 or 5 years old. He took the tiller and had a grand time. I stuck to running the jib sheets while Norm handled the main. We might go out this Friday for awhile too (Norm, myself and one other).
This brings me to the last thing I want to write about here… the Couple from Colorado, who hit something in the water a few months back, lost their keel and sank their boat.
(See also: http://www.tampabay.com/sold-everything-to-sail-the-world-boat-sank-next-day)
The Facebook groups and forums are all over these people. Some folks in the groups are so judgmental of the couple over this accident. Yes, it was an accident. Yes, people have accidents all the time. People make mistakes, all the time. Sailors are prone to accidents – though we all strive not to be the cause of one, they still happen.
Articles written about these folks cast them in a bad light, give others a chance to say how “stupid” they are, or “inexperienced” or just nasty things.
What I have come to learn about most of these forums is that 90% or better of the people in the groups have very little “cruising” experience. A few do, sure, but most are day time, fair weather sailors who spend the majority of their time polishing the gelcoat on their boats. Some of them brag about having had to “spend time paying their dues” on boats as crew, or under the tutelage of “masters”, and yet, still put down the people who are simply trying to live their dreams.
Granted, not everyone jumps in feet first without knowing how to swim, but a few do. And they WILL learn the hard way how to do things. We took sailing courses and spent a few years gaining experience before moving aboard our cruising vessel, Adventure. And neither of us had crossed “oceans” before – nor have we yet. We’ve spent extensive time in the Chesapeake, and in the Atlantic coming down the coast, sailing offshore near Cape Fear and a lot of time motoring the ICW in this boat. Every day, you learn something new. Every time you make a mistake, you learn NOT to do that again, or what to watch for next time.
Life is a journey, not a destination. Cruising too, is a journey, not a destination. We don’t expect to set a schedule any more. We don’t try to beat the weather now, or the night, we deal with it. No one should be dissuaded about pursuing their dreams because a few nay-sayers are angry over circumstances beyond the control of the dreamers. No one could have predicted their keel would fall off, they’d hit something, or lose all their property.
On the other hand, Common Sense says one must be prepared for every contingency. Like, not sailing with a fin keel that is bolted to your boat. Or taking all your cash with you. Or any one of a dozen other little things that happened to that couple. Common Sense, however, isn’t common I suppose and I can only hope that this couple learned from their mistakes, and they do not make them again.
We wish them well on their journey, fair winds and following seas–and hope they accomplish what they’ve set out to do.
And I sincerely hope that Facebook Groups begin weeding out the negative ninnies and nay-sayers that “know it all”, because of all the unhelpful things and people out there, they are the worst of the worst.
Winds of Time 