A Wonderful Summer on the Gulf, and Lost Bay Regatta

It's been a wonderful summer here on the Gulf of Mexico.  We feel so so very fortunate to have found such an amazing place that suits the lifestyle that we enjoy.  I could write many things about this area, but on one hand I am a bit hesitant..... I know this blog has a few readers (not thousands), and I would hate to be responsible for a "mass invasion" of this amazing area!!  when I talk to neighbors, they all ask "how did you find this area", and secretly, I have come to know that what they mean is "how did you find out about this well kept secret paradise...you haven't told others have you?"  So I can't be the one responsible for spoiling it!  The answer that I always give to that question is "we sailed here", and that actually seems to be an answer that provides some immediate credibility, since most of our friends in this area are associated with boating and or are active boaters or sailors in some way shape or form.

So what makes this area so unique?  First and foremost I have to say it is the friendly people in the area, and secondly the wonderful boating waters we have found in very close proximity to where we live.  The people we have met have welcomed us into the community and have included us in  the many water-centered activities in the area.  This has included: regular "happy hours"; raft-ups at local anchorages; weekend and multi-day boating trips to neighboring gulf-coast areas; local regattas; and invitations to generally join in with anything going on in the community.

I feel remiss that I have not kept up with the blog this summer - but it has been such a busy summer combined with that four letter word that gets in the way of fun  - yes W@RK...(sorry to use the "W" word).

Anyway, by way of a summer catch up, I thought I would post just a few photos of a few key activities from here on the gulf, together with brief captions.  AND  if you are reading this post, please look out for the next post which I promise to be more exciting for those interested in adventure and sailing.  our next adventure will hopefully commence on or about October 31.....more details in the next post to this blog.

Fort McCree Wildlife

Sunset at Ft. McCree

Well - this just says it all!

A visit from friends on TraSea - in our canal

First Mate "Salty" - with his smiling face!

Dolphins on the "Lost Bay"

Scenes from the Lost Bay Regatta

And below are some scenes from the 2015 "Lost Bay Regatta", hosted by Point Yacht Club, and heavily attended by friends from Pensacola Yacht Club.

Friends assemble for Sunday Brunch (Pt. YC).

You may well ask "what is he is doing??"  This is the famous "Spoon Man" - yes, he is playing spoons with the band, and the red item really is a microphone!

Captain Larry and Admiral Tracy - receive prize for third place!  We were crew.

Arcadia - closing in on us!

Chasing the "pack"

And a great weekend was had by all......on the "Lost Bay"

Post Cruise Projects!

Since our cruise, I have been spending some time catching up on boat projects...........you have  probably heard two of the more well known definitions of "BOAT" right?

1. Bring On Another Thousand....and
2. a hole in the water in which you pour money

Well I try to minimize the impact by doing most if not all of my own maintenance.  At times I bring in a specialist if i am stumped, just acn't figure it out, or just think its time for an expert.  Here are a couple of examples.

Before heading off on our cruise, I hired a local rigger to come and inspect my standing rigging and make any adjustments needed.  Yes, I could likely do the inspection myself looking for obvious corrosion etc, but since I essentially riggd the boat myself when we recommissioned after transporting the boat to Savannah, I decided that I just wanted another set of eyes, and it was time for an expert.  So I  hired Rick Zurn, a local rigger.  He did a great job, saying everything was basically in good shape, but gave me a list of things to put on the "to do" list - such as replace the halyard in the next few months, service winches, etc  It was well worth his fee for the expert advice and peace of mind.

Then there were a few things that had just broken in the past few months, and a few things that broke on our trip - some non essential but in need of fixing, and some a little more pressing:


Front A/C unit - compressor had locked up.  After researching pricing, I decided to simply replace the complete unit

New Ocean Breeze unit on the bench

Exisiting SMX controller

rewiring the control box

The replacement selected was an Ocean Breeze Unit (16,000 BTU).  the biggest challenge was rewiring the controller so that I could use my existing SMX controler.  I really did not want to have to start modifying cabinetry for a different shape.  Tech support at Ocean Breeze was pretty good, once I managed to get them to understand exactly what I was trying to do.

Another project was the windlass motor - it quit for the second time.  I had replaced the motor a few months ago, and it quit again.  Last time, the motor was worn out - brushes and bearings that nobody could seem to find for me.  But this time it was a brand new motor....hmmmm. So i took the motor our once again, and discovered the motor was dripping with oil.  I took it back to the shop where i had purchased it, and not surprisingly, they confirmed that the motor should not be oil filled.  It had to be the oil seal that had failed on the gearbox above.  If that failed, oil from the gearbox could run into the motor.

windlass gearbox (in place)

Yes, that was it - the seal had gone bad.  The motor supplier took pity on me.  The motor was essentially ruined, so he sold me a new one at cost.  I found a replacement seal on ebay - yes, the failure of a $5 part ruined a $500 motor..  Interesting thing about the gearbox - there was no apparent way to re-fill or replace the oil.  I contacted the manufacturer - Simpson Lawrence, but they were not much help.  So I filled it with SAE 30 through the bearings before inserting the seal.  It seems to be working fine - fingers crossed!

And finally - the front water tank! Referring back a couple of posts ago, the outlet pipe to the front tank had separated from the tank, likely due to pounding seas and the fact that all the valving was supported on the pipe.  The galvanized tank had a threaded outlet and a brass nipple pipe had come free.  I thought it was going to be a problem, fearing that the threads on the tank may have stripped. Of course i could not get a good view of it, even with my iPhone camera.  And, of course it was way down low with access only for one hand.  Anyway, I cleaned out the threads with a stiff wire bottle brush, used plenty of PTFE tape and thread seal, and the pipe seated well with no apparent leaks.  I reconfigured the valving so no weight was supported by the nipple, so another one off the list!

In among all of this work, we had to make some room for play......so we attended Point Yacht Club's Sailstice event. About a dozen boats gathered at nearby Redfish Point for a weekend of fun, eating drinking, and some sailing.  Hope this little video shows up ok on the blog.

If you like the video, pleasae vote for it after August 13, 2015 at this link http://www.summersailstice.com/harkenvideocontest 

Well that's all for this post - hoping to go for a sail today!

Pensacola to Apalachicola Cruise (PAC II) - Part 2

....continued from Part 1

We had a wonderful time in Apalachicola, starting off with drinks in the Bowery Station, located close to our mooring for the night.  Scenes below are from this great little watering hole!

 Local entertainer - Bowery Station, Apalachicola

PAC II Cruisers - Bowery Station

And later that evening a near complete compliment of the sailing and power boat participants in PAC II aboard Julie's amazing Tartan, s/V Night Sky.....Julie, I just love your boat!

 Ladies of PAC II.....and Ron?

Guy's of PAC II......and Belle

S/V Midnight Sun II and S/V TraSea made a day sail to Little St. George from Apalach and we spent a great time on the beach.  Salty got on the trail of a very large ghost crab and managed to dig it up, but then didn't know what to do with it.

In Apalachicola, we had the traditional "club brunch" by the pool of a local hotel and also great dinner of shared dishes on the wharf next to our mooring. The next morning, several of us set off back up the river towards Port St. Joe, starting our return journey.  S/Vs Midnight Sun II, TraSea, and Night Sky all anchored at Crooked Island for the night, located about 10 miles west of PSJ.  The entrance is uncharted and there was quite a swell, so navigation into the continually changing entrance is "visual".  A couple of the boats had a few "touch and go" moments, but the bottom is sand, so no damage was done.  if you have the right conditions and/or nerve to try it, Crooked Island is a wonderful anchorage.  other than a couple of small boats fishing, we had the place to ourselves, and it could have been anywhere on one of the remote islands of the Bahamas.

From Crooked Island, we said farewell to the other boats we had sailed with and ventured back to port St. Joe,  one of our most favorite spots on the Forgotten Coast.  We discovered a couple of new restaurants in the area that have recently opened.  Ever heard of a restaurant that has free beer and wine - yes, that's the current deal at Shipyard Cove in PSJ.  I say the "current deal" as I suspect its an interim situation until they get their license.  Right now, they are simply asking for donations to the wildlife fund.  The food and staff are good and owner Bill is trying to make a go of this, a gift shop, and ice cream.  I believe Bill is also a part owner in the development on Black's Island located in St. Joe's bay.  Anyway, if good food and free drinks is not enough to tempt you, a look at the interesting table tops made from salvaged wood from Wewahitchka is definitely worth the trip.  Seen below is the "Captain's Table".  Bill apparently got the wood from local "deadheaders" that run a mill in Wewah......next visit, we will try to track it down.

Captain's Table - Shipyard Cove 

Other places to try include: the newly opened Bin 411 (wine bar, coffee shop and sandwiches), Provisions (one of our all-time faves), Joe Mama's Pizza (first class pizza), and Peppers (good Mexican, but then they are the ONLY Mexican).

Before heading back, we had a couple of nights at our beach retreat on Cape San Blas.

the beach - Cape San Blas

Salty goes  fishing (his favorite sport!)- CSB

A little pool-side relaxation before headed home.

and of course a sunset at CSB!

But all good things come to an end and it was time for us to start the sail back to Pensacola.  The plan was a two-day trip reversing our trip out here and stopping the night at Panama City/St/ Andrews.  So after a little provision top-off, we headed out late morning to arrive in the early evening.  It was a superb sail - wind conditions, and some great wildlife sightings, including dolphins on the bow, and two brief sightings of a very large turtle (unfortunately not caught on film), that looked like the Loch Ness Monster!  But Salty did go dolphin fishing! - and that was caught on film....

Leaving Panama City and heading to Pensacola, we saw a few interesting Naval happenings....for instance.......

Look at the commercial salvage vessel in the background...he announced on VHF that he had limited maneuverability as was towing an "anonymous vessel".......looks like a submarine to me and he headed to the Naval base.  This was taken at daybreak, approximately 5:30am - long before the tourists were awake!

Then when we got to Pensacola, we saw a vessel on AIS doing 30+ knots.....that suddenly stopped.  Very strange - perhaps the AIS lost its fix...and what could move at 30+ then stop?  Well this did:

According to our neighbor, its called "No.5" and is an aluminum jet boat that was (perhaps still is) used as a minesweeper.  It was quite a breezy day and I think some naval commander was having the crew practice docking as he came in and out of the Pensacola inlet (docking each time), in the time that we took to sail on in.

But in summary - what a wonderful trip!  Thank you to everyone from PYC that participated and a special thanks to Julie and others that took lead roles in organizing things!

Pensacola to Apalachicola Cruise (PAC II) - Part 1

The Cruiser's Group from Pensacola Yacht Club (PYC) organized a cruise from Pensacola to Apalachicola.  our "ad hoc" group of both sailing vessels and motor boats left from various spots around the Pensacola area between May 21 and May 23.  I think those with the flexibility to leave on the 21st hit optimum conditions, but because of work, travel, and other such less important matters, the larger group departed from Ft. McRee in the early hours of Saturday (23rd).

Taking the sound decision to skip all the madness at Destin, the first stop for the main group was a nice anchorage located within the entrance to Panama City/St. Andrew's Bay, known as Redfish Point.  After a day that fellow sailor Chuck described as "riding a horse named Fu Manchu", we were happy to reach the anchorage before dark and rest up.

 One of many of our wonderful sunsets

Motor-sailing very lumpy conditions

I seem to never get the camera out except on the calmest of days.....but this time I decided to risk an iPhone.  In this part of the Gulf, the water is not that deep (typically 20-40 ft), and while the waves were not that high, they were every 3 seconds making for a bumpy ride beating into 15 kts or so.

S/V TraSea

The next day, we continued on into more of the same to arrive at Port St, Joe marina, passing fellow PAC II cruisers Mike and Carol that had set off the day before in calmer conditions and sailed straight to Cape San Blas.  They were anchored on the Gulf side of the Cape.  We saw them at anchor on our way in down the channel.

Part of our group decided to stay an extra day in Panama City, while others decided to head for port St. Joe.  On our way over, we learned that fellow cruisers Chuck and Peg had experienced mechanical problems and were now searching for parts.  At first, I heard it was a broken steering cable, but that was later clarified to be a transmission/gear shift cable.  Ahhhh!!  I know something about that having broken one in the Bahamas!  The upside was that they were in a good spot to find parts and one was quickly located.  I understand that Chuck (S/V Point of Sail) with help from Ron (S/V Night Sky) spent the next day getting parts and making the repair.

Peppers - Port St. Joe

The next day as we were readying to reluctantly leave PSJ, I was filling the water tanks and noticed that the bilge was running...Hmmm   - am I filling the boat with fresh water somehow?.....after a rather frantic search, pulling up floor boards to locate the source of the water, looking in lockers etc, the leak was found.  The outlet pipe from the front water tank had separated from the tank.

Sure enough, I was filling the boat with fresh water.  An iphone can work as a handy substitute to a boroscope when trying to see what's going on in an obscure location.  It looked like the pipe was never seated too far into the threaded tank port, so rather than messing with it at this point, I let the tank drain, and isolated the pipe with the valve.  I was sure we could get by with one water tank and make a better more permanent repair when we got home.  It looks like the threads need a good clean  our before putting the pipe back in.  I am sure this connection was a victim of the previous two days of beating we had taken in the Gulf.  

So off we set for a more relaxing motor cruise to Apalachicola.  We decided to go via the ICW which actually makes use of the Jackson and Apalachicola Rivers.  For anyone that makes it to this part of the world, to me this is a short trip not to be missed.  With very little imagination, you could easily be miles up the Amazon with some wonderful river scenery, wildlife and tranquility.

The Captain Salty Shrimper - based in the mouth of the Gulf County Canal 

Our "First Mate" Salty....and Captain Salty

One of many Osprey Nest on one of the ICW markers

We saw some wonderful "Cyprus and Mangrove" anchorages on the river.  Some members of our group decided to anchor on the river, while we decided to continue on to Apalachicola.  Our decision was driven by a lack of shoreline suitable to land "Salty", and the likelihood of a bug invasion out here in the wilderness. Apalachicola was just an hour further.

We arrived in Apalach and tied up to the public seawall.  No power, but that was OK - it was only $30.  The instructions were to call the Chief of Police.  When we did so, we got a recorded message, but later received a call back.  When we told him we were two boats, he actually gave us a "two for one" special.  What a wonderful part of the world this is!

...........more to follow in Part 2

Summer Begins on the Lost Bay

The weather is warming up and jeans are yielding to shorts again!....Bring on the flip-flops!

There are so many activities going on both on and around the bay that its impossible for us to participate in everything we would like to.  As an example, on the weekend of April 25, we had two conflicting events.....the April PYC Raft up to Big Sabine and the Dauphin Island Race in Mobile Bay.  And then,  a contractor coming over to take down a tree that needed to be addressed before the summer months.  So unfortunately the tree took precedence.

The "Drinking tree" goes down

....but in fact, sometimes, things are just meant to be.  shortly after the old Drinking Tree hit the deck, the weather locally started to take on an ominous gloom......very strange, we are not in the typical "storm season".  Within minutes, winds picked up to 60+mph at the house.

I had not secured the boat well enough for a storm, and some minor damage occurred due to it rubbing on a piling.  The good news out of it all, was that it was minor, gel-coat damage and it gave me the opportunity to learn how to do a proper gel-coat repair.  Not something I had planned on spending my Sunday doing, but nonetheless, I have now figured it out.

Damage by piling

 During repair

Voila!  good as new!

The very sad thing about this day was that this freak weather event claimed the lives of 5 sailors in Mobile Bay that were participating in the Dauphin Island race.  This was publicized locally, and in the sailing press, but has not seemed to get very much air-time other than that.  I am posting a link to a video made by a friend who was there - I hope this link is still active as it is very thought provoking and moving.  I hope you can see it - Sean, the young man who made the video is in the movie and was crewing on a boat owned by friends or ours.  Please  take a moment to watch this.  At the time it was made Sean had no idea of thee severity of the storm or the lives that were lost.  Of course our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those that were lost and to their families at this sad time.

 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153320254701967

.......and a reminder to fellow sailors of the magnitude of the forces that nature can unleash.

Sailing in the Vicinity of "Lost Bay" - Raft-ups, Racing and Meeting Adventurers

I must admit that I do miss writing about our sailing adventure and journey.  And even though the adventure has come to a temporary end, we are still doing a lot of weekend sailing and exploring the amazing sailing and cruising spots on the gulf coast near the boat's "New Home".

Sunrise from Midnight Sun II

The above photo was taken on morning shortly after sunrise just a couple of weeks ago in what has become one of our favorite little anchoring spots - Ft. McCree.  I am sure the summer tourists are about to explode upon us but for the past several months we have made it there several times and shared with a few other boaters.  Here are a few more shots of the same area when we shared it on a "raft up" with friends from PYC.  We were fortunate to have great weather - even though it is "winter"!

Dinghies lined up for Sunday Brunch 

and of course a wonderful sunset.

We have also been fortunate enough to join two great sailing clubs - PYC and Point YC, making new friends, sailing several raft-ups and a couple of races.  And while I am definitely more of a cruiser than a racer,  I have learnt some new things through racing.  This weekend,  had the pleasure of crewing on my new neighbor's boat "Banana Wind", a Cape Dory 19.  We were the first boat to start, and the last boat to finish! but it was a great day on the water.

Cheeseburger Race - as the fleet is getting away from us!

This weekend was also an interesting weekend in that I believe I may have met someone that is about to start out on a real "adventure".  i hope to be able to track his progress and with his permission, I will post a link at a later time to his blog or facebook page.  But for now, I will just say his name is Shaun and he is from Australia.  As with all good stories, I met Shaun in a bar  - not just any bar, this is a very special "sailor's bar".  He started to tell me that he was assembling a home-built catamaran which is a James Wharram design, and that he was planning to leave the  following morning.  His plan is to sail the coastline from Perdido to the Keys.  Of course curiosity got the better of me, so I told him I would stop by tin the morning to see his boat and wish him "fair winds".  So the following morning, I stopped by and here are a few photos of Shaun's Wharram Catamaran.  I must admit, i was expecting it to be larger - but anyway, I plan to try to find out more about his adventures and if I can get his permission, will post a link to wherever he is writing.  i know his plan is to write, take photos and video of his adventure.  Here is his boat.

 I believe it is a gaff-rigged cat - although I did not see him set off.  He has no motor, but as you can see from the lower photo, he has made a large skulling oar for propulsion.

Shaun - if you see this, i wish you well on you adventure and "keep in touch mate!"

This week, it was also time to do some masthead maintenance.  I am not a fan of climbing the mast, and in all honesty i have been putting it off for some time.  I had to do a temporary repair to the mast light over a year ago when we recommissioned the boat, and now the anchor light was out.  i was not sure whether it was a bulb, or my repair had finally failed or worse...wiring gone bad - so it was time to go up the mast and sort it all out.

It turned out to be a bad bulb (I hope), so i replaced with LED and also replaced the lens.  Hopefully that will solve the problem.  A bird had also bent up my windex and managed to stuff straw around the anemometer.  So I took care of those while dangling 60 ft in the air.  Not missing a GoPro opportunity, I took the GoPro up......if you are interested in watching the video, send me an email and I will send you a link.

Friends - its been quite a while since I updated this blog.......wait a minute, I think I started with that statement in my last post.  Unfortunately this is true.  When I started this blog, it was intended to be a means to keep friends and family up to date with our adventure.  It seems to have been a good media to do that.  Although I have not had many direct comments posted to the blog, I have had many emails and friends in the bar that have said "I remember when you posted xxx on your blog....."  I have also made a few good "online" sailing friends that have stumbled upon this blog and responded to me.

In my last update, I gave a summary of the final leg of our cruise, and without re-capping that, the latest update is that we have a new home on the water close to Pensacola.  We love the place and are fortunate to have a slip for the boat in our back yard.....quite a rare find in this part of the world.  There is a long story associated with that, but I will leave that out of the blog and focus on the sailing........

Speaking of which, I just returned from a week-long "Guys Trip" to St. Marten and surrounding islands.   This was our third annual guy's trip and it was a great success.

No - not our boat....just one we liked!

Well...this one was not ours either..just one we really liked!

Anyway, as you can see, a good time was had by all! - quite a few drinks were had that night after sailing in 12-ft. seas and a stiff breeze.

Back to the Gulf area - we have had the pleasure of meeting and making many new friends through our membership at 2 yacht clubs in the area.  This has also allowed us to gain valuable "local information" on the many local protected bays and anchorages in our new weekend cruising grounds.  For example, Ft. McRee, Ingram's Bayou, etc. just to name a couple.  We have had an excellent time at PYC Raft-ups, including one that was held just over a week ago, when we got a really well-needed good weather window.

Shooting the breeze!

Sunrise at Ft. McRee - a beautiful protected anchorage

Salty approves!

So for now, I think the "weekend cruising" life really works.....I know that I will be getting itchy feet to set off on another cruise before too long.  I do get envious when I talk to folks that are about to set off on a cruise!

Next week, I am planning to catch up on a few maintenance items that have come up - the most major being an air conditioner that seems to have a seized compressor........that will either be a fun learning experience, or a fairly large check.  Right now I am leaning towards the learning experience.  Its also time for oil changes, new impellers, some minor gel coat work, and a rigging check/re-tension.  Yes, that does sound like a lot more than one weekend!....but that is boat ownership.  Hopefully I can knock a couple of items off the list!

That's all for now, I will update when I have something new to report, or something that I think may be of interest.