When is a Mast a Useless Mast?

Well - I guess there are a couple of answers to that:

1. When its at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico - check that box!
2. When US Spars sends it without spreader bars - check that box too!

I can't believe it - a brand new shiny mast, but its useless because US Spars cant't get thier shipping act together.  First they send the mast missing the spreader bars and some fittings......a couple of weeks go by.....then they send what they say is "all the missing parts"......oh but wait, no spreaders........now they say they are on the way and will be delivered next week.

Well I hope so - sorry if this is a rant, but I just don't know how these guys stay in business!  I guess there is just not enough competition in the mast industry and they have a captive customer base!

In the meantime, I have managed to get some sailing in on friend's boats and made it to the PYC raft up at Ft. McCree last weekend.

TraSea and Point of Sail

Celebrating the anniversary of Peg's Birthday - she has stopped having birthdays!

My new dinghy!

A New Mast Arrives!

Finally!  A mast...it has arrived.  After a couple of premature delivery promises from US Spars, the mast did arrive.  Upon unpacking, our rigger, Rick Zern did discover that there are a couple of "vital parts" missing....such as spreader bars.  But hopefully these can be sent quickly via Fedex.  If I hear they have to come from France, I will not be a happy camper!

Anyway - here it is!

Mast and new lines

Boom

Boom

Mast (from the masthead)

So now we are hoping that things will really move into "high-gear" and we will get Midnight Sun II back in the water soon.  Let's see! - watch this space!

Waiting for a Mast

Days seem to pass by slowly when you are really waiting on something.  Very slow, when you really don't have any idea how long it will be.........well the good news is that our rigging expert, Rick, told said the mast should be here this week (written January 28, 2016). So fingers crossed. In the conversation, there was a "maybe next week", which was worrisome.  I must admit that I am very anxious to see it and will be relieved when it arrives as this seems to now be the "critical path" in getting Midnight Sun II back where it belongs - in the water!

Once the mast arrives I am hoping things will move into a higher gear with progress.  So far, the bottom has been painted and non-skid on the decks repaired/painted.  This was largely cosmetic.  One interesting note on this - I have had the bottom cleaned regularly by a well-respected diving firm in the local area.  After each cleaning, the diver submitted a brief report with his invoice, noting "10 plus dime to quarter size blisters on hull".  I have questioned him several times about this as I had never seen a blister when the boat had been hauled previously.  Well guess what - no blisters

When the new mast arrives, it will take several days to "build" as all the accessories will need to be attached and the standing rigging assembled prior to lifting it in place.  I am hoping to be around to see that!

In the meantime, we purchased a little "run about" boat that we have been having fun with despite the cold weather.  No, we have not gone to the Dark Side and become power boaters.....but I must admit it is fun to just set off and go.

Salty loves the beach....did I tell you that Salty loves the beach?

Here he is digging for crabs.  At least that's what I think he is doing or he thinks he is doing.  Much to my surprise, he has on occasion dug out some pretty big ones.  But this hole did not reveal any.  Still, it looks like fun!

Hmm.....sandy Salty - what fun.  He will smell like the ocean tonight.

Sunrise over Perdido Bay.  What a wonderful sight - I am so happy to be here.  I use this tree stump as my local tide monitor.  Tides are a great mystery to me in this area - I grew up with 2 tides per day, Very predictable and with a large range (sometimes greater than 20 ft).  Here, one tide per day and wind conditions have much more of an influence than the tide itself.  Anyway, this one is low, but it does go a little lower with a strong north wind.

Post-Script Note - It is now February 7 and no mast.  I will be making phone calls Monday!

Almost Caught Up!

I have been determined to get caught up with the blog on our recent escapades.  And I think I am almost there!  The Cuba trip was indeed a "bucket list" item that we have satisfied - not completely as planned as we would have loved to have made the trip on Midnight sun II.  Loosing a mast in the process was certainly not on our bucket list.

Writing this blog seems to serve multiple purposes for me, and I may have said this before, so forgive me if I am repeating myself.  It started off as a way for us to keep in touch with friends and family on our first cruise which lasted about 7 months in 2014.  It was a convenient way to share experiences without writing multiple emails - so efficiency was certainly a driver.  I know we have gained a small group of friends and followers - some of whom we know and others that have only vaguely identified themselves, and they have used our blog to either help with their own planning or to "cruise vicariously" through our experiences.  Either way, we are glad and honored to have you join us on our journeys.

I will also admit, that I have tended to use the blog as a bit of a journal to log our experiences.  One day, I will figure out how to print this so that it can be stored away, and perhaps be given to grandchildren to give them some insight into the antics of their crazy grandparents.  Note - at the time of writing, there are no grandchildren, so this is all speculation! But when i think back to my childhood, I only had the opportunity to meet one grandparent, so i know very little about their lives.  Whatever your reason is for reading this blog - I thank you for taking the time, and hope that it provides some benefit.  Also, if you have a spare minute, drop me an email as I would enjoy hearing about who you are and your sailing or life experiences. If you have suggestions for improvement, they are certainly welcome too.

Anyway, I have digressed and back to catching up.  It is now December 2015, in fact it is just after Christmas.  I took the opportunity of some Christmas downtime to catch up with the blog.  Midnight Sun II is now in the boatyard undergoing repairs, and time seems to be slipping away fast.  I have learned that dealing  with insurance companies and boat repairs is not a speedy process; however, credit where it is due, our insurers, BoatUS have been very professional and easy to work with.  They have basically accepted our repair estimates with only a depreciation deduction on the materials cost of the sails - so far, so good and fingers crossed.  I would prefer not to publish the settlement amount, but believe me, I got major sticker shock, when I saw all the estimates totaled up - thank goodness for insurance!

Recognizing that there would be lead time in ordering the mast and rigging, we took the opportunity to have her hauled out and get the bottom painted.  This has now been done and minor repairs to scuffs on the topsides and painting of the non-skid surfaces is next on the list.  We are hoping to hear some news on the mast delivery very soon - hopefully next week.

Zern Rigging is our General Contractor for the rigging  and project manager for all work.  Rick Zern has been a pleasure to work with, and I am looking forward to him keeping the project on track for us.  I intend to write a couple more blog posts on progress - hopefully early in the new year.  I am trying to avoid posting "damage photos" as it is just depressing to see the boat like that - she needs to be fixed and back in action!  But here are some shots of her being hauled out and getting a new "bottom job"

Haul-out

New Bottom-Job in process

Cuba Trip P.S.
One post script here from previous posts - I did take some time to prepare a summary video of the Cuba trip.  Unfortunately, i made the mistake of using commercial music, so YouTube will not post it.  I may go back and re-do the music, but in the meantime if any friends or followers would like to see it, send me an email and I will make arrangements for download.

Journey Back from Cuba - Part 4, Anclote to Pensacola

The final leg of our Cuba trip was leaving from Anclote Key crossing the Gulf to Pensacola.  Winds were forecast from the NE clocking east at about 20 kts, and seas 4-6 ft.  The distance was about 270 miles, and we had bailout opportunities at Carrabelle, Port St. Joe, Panama City, etc.  We have learned on this and other trips not to take 4-6 ft seas lightly - that is in the Gulf, where the frequency is short.

Beating into 4-6 ft seas can be brutal and uncomfortable.  But for this trip, the seas were generally quartering from behind us, so this was not bad at all.

Sunset at Anclote

We left Anclote Key under full sail, but after a short time, we decided we had a bit too much cloth out, so reefed both the main and jib.  This made for a more comfortable ride and the boat itself seemed far more at ease.  We were still making good speed.  We hit the high  8's and 9's at times and I believe we averaged 7.6 .kts. on this entire leg.

Leaving Anclote Key

I don't recall our exact sailing time for this leg, but it was about 35-36 hours, and other than the last piece of this leg, we pretty much sailed the rhumb line back to Pensacola.

On this leg we did see some spectacular dolphin shows!  Video does not do it justice at all! and we could not capture the scene sufficiently to describe in in photos.  but at one point in time we had over 50 dolphins chasing us, on the bow, and generally surrounding the boat.  This pod stayed with us about 30 minutes.

We had several others join us on this trip.  One amazing sight was to see a following wave above our transom with two dolphin faces looking at us.  Unfortunately. this was not caught on film!  Good thing they did not jump as they would have been in the boat with us!

We arrived (again at night) in familiar surroundings at PYC.  Our trip was complete.  We had an amazing time with an amazing crew.  This was a trip off the bucket list!

TraSea Crew - safe back at PYC

Crew and Ground Support Team - Celebrating at PYC!

And also, a special thanks to Kenny and Paula for tracking us, and providing regular updates from home! 

The trip in summary!

Journey Back from Cuba - Part 3, Tarpon Springs

Leaving Marco Island, the wind was directly on our nose blowing from the north.  We discussed striking out for Pensacola directly, or continuing north.  Looking at the weather and wind forecasts, we elected coastal cruising north.  In a day or so, the wind direction was forecast to be more favorable for a gulf crossing to Pensacola.

Realizing we were dangerously low on beer - oh no!, we made a quick trip in to Naples to re-stock

We found a nearby 7-11, and had a quick lunch before getting back underway.  Back on the outside, the wind was building and we were motoring not too comfortably.  We elected to take the ICW from Pass-A-Grille north.  We went via ICW making good time until we abruptly ran aground just north of Dunedin -  again on the ICW....or actually, slightly off the ICW. We tried to maneuver off, but were unsuccessful and the tide was falling.  We called Boat US and they were quickly on the scene.  After a good half hour of tugging, pulling motor running, sail up etc., we eventually got off and back underway.  We discovered just how shallow the ICW is in this area just north of Tampa, and also how narrow it is in places!

Our delay had us entering the Anclote  River at dark.  Again, fortunately, I had done this before in daylight.  While the river itself is deep, everything off the river isn't.  We had reserved a slip at Turtle Cove Marina, but after again running aground (again), we decided not to risk it.  we backed off successfully and turned around making for the City dock.  Now at dark and approaching low tide (or so we thought), we found a spot on the seawall downtown - very convenient for the seafood festival that was in progress.

Tarpon Springs - by Day

The next morning, I woke up first and sensed the boat listing slightly.  From the cockpit, it looked like the tide had fallen further and a stern line was holding us tight against the sea wall.  I quickly got on the quay, and loosened the stern line - at which point the boat listed further and Larry  - well I think he fell off the pot!.  We were sitting on the bottom and I just released the line holding us up!  Quickly tying us off again, and well by now everyone was awake.

So we decided to explore the town until the tide came in - what else was there to do!

Tarpon Springs Bakery

I now realize I just don't understand the tides in the Gulf.  First off, there's only one a day (everywhere else I have lived has two per day).......it seemed about a 3 ft tide in Tarpon Springs, whereas 18 in is a large one in Pensacola.  One day, I will study up on this!  And to top that off, in Pensacola the wind has much more influence on water level than the tide itself.

Anyway, that night we decided to anchor at Anclote Key so that we could make an early start to Pensacola the next day.  We stopped for a late lunch - or was it an early dinner?  at Miss Vicki's on the River on the way out to Anclote Cay.

Miss Vicki's - Anclote River

  

Journey Back from Cuba - Part 2, Marco Island

From Key West, we headed  almost directly due north to Marco Island - now we were re-tracing our steps from our 2014 Cruise and this was one of our favorite stopping points.  In fact, the SW portion of Florida is just a great place to cruise if you like "quiet" and uncrowded parts of the gulf.

We set off at first light intending to get in at around nightfall.

With calm seas and light winds, this was a relaxing day and at one point, the guys kicked back and left TraSea in the capable hands of its admiral and the guest admiral!

We made it to Marco Island right at nightfall.  Fortunately, I have been in there before.  The entrance is pretty skinny and a couple of channels come together just inside the entrance - so its a bit tricky to navigate.  But we did just fine with everyone keeping a close lookout for the channel markers.  We made our way up river to the Marco Island Yacht Club.  This is a great little yacht club that has reciprocal agreement with PYC through GYA - in other words, a free night at a slip!  So you head up river, until you find the power lines.  Slip under the power lines gritting your teeth and hoping that the clearance is correct, then make a hard right into the yacht club. Unfortunately we didn't pass dress code to eat in the club......yeah, it was a bit snooty - but the marina was well worth the trip.

The next morning, we made use of the pool and then set out on our next leg.  A big thanks to the Dockmaster for  his help and local knowledge.  Maybe next time we will "dress" so we can sample the club!