Return to Chapter One

Return to Chapter Four

May 1, 2001 10:49 p.m. – Buttonwood Sound New

May 2, 2001 11:35 a.m. – Buttonwood Sound to Tarpon Basin New

May 2, 2001 1:01 p.m. – Tarpon Basin to Blackwater Sound New

May 2, 2001 6:46 p.m. – Blackwater Sound to Barnes Sound, Turkey Point New

May 3, 2001 1:16 p.m. – Barnes Sound, Turkey Point to Dinner Key, Coconut Grove, Miami New

May 9, 2001 11:53 a.m. New

May 11, 2001 9:13 a.m. New

May 1, 2001 10:49 p.m. – Buttonwood Sound

N25^o 05.54’ W80^o 26.92’

I replaced the broken jib halyard. Actually, it was braid on braid and just the outer braid broke. I replaced the tiller tamer line again only this time I installed a v-cleat so I can leave it loose until needed to avoid the continued chafing. I replaced a couple of other short lines that were wearing, installed some fairing leads for the Genoa sheets, finally got a whisker pole although it may be a little short for the Genoa. I installed some 12-volt plugs near the companionway hatch, got a decent boat hook and installed slips to stow the whisker pole and boat hook. Now I’m ready to sail in the morning against contrary winds with only three gallons of fuel. And I’ll need to save the last of the fuel for docking at the fuel dock when I get to Blackwater Sound.

I had a little trouble with my drinking water as with 26 gallons stored in 4 containers, dark containers sitting in the warm Florida sun had a lot of algae growth in the water. I guess my body had gotten used to it. As I got to the bottom of each container and the water was very dark and tasting bad. Now I’m butting a cup full of bleach in each container to see if that will help.

I have to take back one thing I said previously about getting by with one solar panel. Since my number two battery isn’t keeping a charge as well as it did and I’ve become a little more extravagant with my electricity usage, I’m glad I’ve got two panels.

Speaking of solar panels, I’ve been warned of solar panel theft as well as motor and dinghy theft around the Miami area.

May 2, 2001 11:35 a.m. – Buttonwood Sound to Tarpon Basin

It’s incredible how much you can pack into one hour of sailing. I pulled up the first anchor at 9:30 this morning. By 10:30 I had everything ready and pulled up the second anchor and motored out of the anchorage putting up the sails. After I finally got the sails up and trimmed right it was time to take them down so I could motor through Grouper Creek Channel. By the time I came out of the channel and entered Tarpon Basin, the weather turned bad and it started to rain. I anchored barely off the ICW, with the rain getting worse and my lack of fuel I couldn’t get to a decent anchorage so I dried myself off and plopped down into the cabin. Mr. Auto Helm II has a wild hair. Same type and model as Mr. Auto Helm I, but they don’t behave the same way. I’ve got about a gallon and a half of fuel left. There must have been a current in the channel as the motor only gave me 2.5 knots. Used a lot of my dwindling fuel supply. I should have got fuel in Tavernier a couple of weeks ago but I was in a hurry to get to my mail in Key Largo. A mistake. N25^o 07.70’ W80^o 26.08’

May 2, 2001 1:01 p.m. – Tarpon Basin to Blackwater Sound

I pulled up anchor at 12:15 p.m. as soon as the rain quit. I made it out of Tarpon Basin, through the Dusenbury Creek channel and into the rougher waters of Blackwater Sound when the weather turned bad. So I anchored out here in the middle of this sound not to far from where I spent my first night. It’s amazing I didn’t get discouraged that first night unprotected in strong winds in this sound. Now that I know better I would not accept this as much more than a temporary emergency anchoring spot. I’m going to end this entry now so I can leave it at the fuel dock for them to mail. I think I might make it. I’m motoring upwind but have nearly a gallon left. If I don’t, I hope to be close enough to row in when there is a lull in wind. N25^o 08.60’ W80^o 25.17’

May 2, 2001 6:46 p.m. – Blackwater Sound to Barnes Sound, Turkey Point

N25^o 16.70’ W80^o 21.52’

I made it to Rowells Marina fuel dock with about a quart of fuel left. After leaving the marina with 18 gallons of gas, I anchored in Blackwater Sound next to the Jewfish Drawbridge so I could stop and think about how to get under that bridge without another fiasco like the first time I went under. I anchored at 3:30 p.m. At 3:45 p.m., I heard another boat contact the bridge for an opening, so I thought I would slip in behind and follow through. I pulled up anchor real quick and headed for the bridge but was a little slow fighting the current. I contacted the bridge operator on channel 9 to see if he would remain open for me and he said he would if I could make it in 4 minutes. It was exactly 4 minutes when I got under that bridge and I fought the current all the way through Jewfish Creek coming into Barnes Sound in winds gusting to 25 mph. Barnes Sound was pretty rough and it was tight into the wind. I switched out Mr. Auto Helm II for Mr. Auth Helm I, as I don’t have a lot of faith in #2. Then I realized that the 22 lb. Fluke anchor I stowed on the stern rail was awful close to the autohelm and maybe that’s the problem.

Barnes Sound was pretty rough and I fired the engine for the last third to get a few more degrees into the wind so I could anchor east (windward) of the bridge between Barnes Sound and Little Card Sound. Anchored in the lee off Turkey Point at 5:45 p.m.

May 3, 2001 1:16 p.m. – Barnes Sound, Turkey Point to Dinner Key, Coconut Grove, Miami

N25^o 16.70 W80^o 21.52’

I pulled up anchor from off Turkey Point this morning at 8:30. I motored under the bridge into and across Little Card Sound. With the wind almost directly on the bow, I continued to motor across Card Sound and into Biscayne Bay and at 12:30 p.m. I was able to raise the sails and am now approaching the cut through Featherbed Bank. With the present wind I should be able to sail all the way north through Biscayne Bay. I’m plotting my position every half hour.

2:15 p.m.

I did well. I sailed through Feather Bank Cut while watching a large powerboat being rescued off the bank by a towboat but it wasn’t easy. Right before I got there a rain cloud came over so I threw on a long sleeve turtle neck to keep warm, then the wind reared slightly and as I was coming into the cut from windward, not well lined up, the keel bumped a couple of times. Then I turned it back over to the autohelm while I ran around the boat adjusting sails, autohelm, and watching to see how I was tracking between the markers. Fortunately the passing storm cloud only brought a light rain so I didn’t get real soaked. Now I’m relaxed again charting my position every half hour and even that’s not important during this leg of the trip, as I’m now able to stay on my planned course and can just follow the arrow on the GPS. I would like to stay just a little windward of my planned course, in case of wind change or any surprises.

3:15 p.m.

Things aren’t looking good. Extremely high cumulus clouds to windward and it’s very dark underneath. Weather report says I have about 45 minutes until being hit. This may be the last entry I make until I’m safe somewhere. I think I’m going to be pretty busy.

8:03 p.m.

N25^o 43.42’ W80^o 13.83’

Safely anchored off Dinner Key at 7:26 p.m. I’ve dried off and got on some clean dry clothes but I’m just not ready to write about it yet. I need to rest for a while.

9:35 p.m.

Well, after the 3:15 p.m. entry, I went out into the cockpit to decide what course of action to take. For some reason I decided to just anchor and wait out the storm even if it took all night. At that point the wind hit, and then the waves. Before I could even do anything the plastic end broke off the end of autohelm #2 due to the stress from the increased waves. I set the tiller tamer while I dived into the cabin to get Mr. Auto Helm I. By the time I got back into the cockpit the rain started and I was still in my underwear. I switched out the autohelms holding the tiller with my foot but I was getting cold and wet. Now Mr. Auto Helm #1 is getting old. He’s starting to sound like a car running without oil so I really didn’t want to use him until I had a chance to take him apart and grease him. So I hopped back down into the cabin to work the broken end out of Autohelm II so I could switch ends. I held the tiller with my foot again as I replaced the broken end and reinstalled Autohelm II on the tiller. Next I fired the motor, turned Joanna into the wind and took the sails down and anchored. I climbed into the cabin, dried off and put on dry underwear. The middle of Biscayne Bay was a lousy anchorage. Joanna was pitching and rolling wildly. On top of that, I was near in the middle of the ICW, big boats passing on both sides. Although it was still very windy the rain had passed and I figured I had just given up too easy so I pulled up anchor and set sail again. No sooner did I get the motor shut off and the sails trimmed when I noticed another dark area to windward again. Well, I figured it would just blow through like the last one so I climbed into the cabin figuring I would just let her sail through. It hit with heavy wind, rain and thunder. I wished I had put at least one reef in the mainsail but I wasn’t going out there to do it in the middle of that mess. I just loosed the main sheet to de-power the main and ride it out. I had to get out in the rain repeatedly to adjust the autohelm or trim sheets as the wind kept changing. This went on for a couple of hours until the wind suddenly went dead. Boom swinging back and forth, sails flogging, and the rain lightened. That’s when I decided to take the opportunity to get the sails down and motor in. With no wind it was easy to get the main down but that’s when the lightening started. First there was a hit at some distance, then while I was tying the boom to starboard, it hit close. I heard the boom same time I saw the flash and it was really loud. It sounded like a tree breaking and it mush have been right behind me. That’s when I yelled out to God, “If your going to kill me, do it now and do it quick, just get it over with!” At that point I was ready to go home. Well, I got the jib down and set the autohelm for the general direction and hopped back down into the cabin to dry off again. I had hoped that it was going to quit raining before I ran out of water but I was nearing the end of the bay and there was no sign that the rain was ever going to let up so I got out the raincoat. It was just to much to worry about pants so I climbed into the cockpit with a long sleeve turtleneck, raincoat and underwear. As I climbed back into the rainy cockpit, I gained a new appreciation for Mr. Auto Helm II, and I’ve learned to cope with his different way of doing his job. I just felt lucky to have him aboard as visibility was poor and the marker to Dinner Key channel was ahead up there in the din. I had the Garmin GPS in a zip lock bag out there in the rain but it was hard to read with all the raindrops on the plastic. I don’t know what happened to waypoint #8 but it just wasn’t there anymore. Fortunately I still had waypoint #9 which was just outside the first marker to Dinner Key channel but it still made me uneasy that one got lost, Mr. Auto Help II did fine bringing me through the channel, I just had to learn how to work with him. I was real glad I had been here once before as it would have been real tough to come into unfamiliar area under these weather conditions. I was sure glad to get anchored tonight.

May 9, 2001 11:53 a.m.

I just put out the second anchor, the 22 lb. Fluke. Not for holding so much but to prevent the excessive rolling I’ve been getting from Joanna wandering back and forth on the end of the anchor rode and turning beam to the waves coming across Biscayne Bay. I set the second anchor perpendicular with the first anchor to the wind and tightened up the lines so that the bow is pretty much stuck in place. It helps quite a bit. It’s become more important to be comfortable since I’ve found I’m going to be stuck here a while waiting for the part for the autohelm. I’ve also bought some more locks and short chains to lock p the solar panel and outboard motor. I’ve been warned several times about the Miami – Ft. Lauderdale anchorages. Although I’m just on the fringe of that area now, I’m going to start taking precautions.

May 11, 2001 9:13 a.m.

I also got a lifeline cable with a loop in both ends so I could lock the dingy to Joanna so nobody can cut the painter with a knife while I’m asleep. I hope it doesn’t get that bad as I go north but I have been warned. I tried everywhere to find a shower around here, but I finally had to go to one of those low dive cheap 2-hour motel rooms and pay twelve dollars.

Return to Venture/MacGregor Yacht Club