Patrick AFB to St. Lucie River

Winds stayed from the south today, so we stuck with the ICW to at least make some progress.  It made for a pretty chill day...I made a "fancy" breakfast of sausage and egg burritos, we knocked out some chores, and even got a nice visit from dolphins near Fort Pierce.

We decided to hit up a marina tonight so we could shower, top off the fridge, and do a little laundry.  We picked one near the mouth of the St. Lucie River that had a grocery store nearby.  Eh, I'm not normally a fan of marinas and this one proved why!  We called ahead and got a slip assignment, and even told them when we expected to arrive.  As we approached we called for more info on where the slip was and to ask for line help, but the marina office was closed!  Pulling in sucked.  Huge slip, very windy, and to top it off, we touched bottom trying to back in.  We had some "help" on the pier that was a bossy know-it-all, and another guy that really did help.  We eventually had to swing around and go bow in--touched bottom again outside of the slip just trying to make that maneuver!  Finally we got a few lines secured, but it wasn't pretty or fun!  So the marina wasn't quite right about the slip being deep enough for us.  They also didn't provide wifi info, code for the big gate at the end of the pier, basically didn't provide anything one needs when arriving after the office closes.  But alas, we were tied up, showered, did laundry, overpaid for dinner, and managed to replenish some stores at a grocery store that was a 10 minute walk away.  And we found really yummy libations there!  Time to rest up as tomorrow we are heading back out to the ocean!

The FL ICW

With winds forecast on the nose for the next few days, we ducked in at the Ponce Inlet (that was a bathtub experience!) and spent the day logging miles on the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW).    To the sailing purists, shut it!  I want to enjoy this a bit and make it home for Christmas with my kids.  If that means motoring down a ditch for a few days, I'll do it!  We had a few showers today, too, but the results were stunning!

We are in the hook near Patrick Air Force Base for the night and will rise with the sun to continue the trek to our babies!

Heading south

I know, I know.  I said we would be in Jacksonville until Monday.  But that was before I was fully aware of just what Sadler Point Marina would do for its customers!  As expected, Chip reinstalled our shaft seal this morning, with a bit of help from David (who should have been off today).  Then the kicker--they called in another member of the crew to get us launched!  Wow!  We had to scurry to pick up wash and wax pails, but we didn't care!  The had us out and on our way by noon, with plenty of tide to get us over a sandbar by the Ortega River bridge.  

We have some weather to contend with Sunday into Monday, but for now we are a couple of miles off shore, making our way to Ponce de Leon inlet.  USCG has warned of a capsized vessel, multiple "lost" shipping containers, and right whales.  The watch rotation is set and the sunset was lovely!

Two-way delay!

So the water in the bilge was from a failing shaft seal.  While researching yards to get hauled out so we could safely fix it, we discovered that we were stuck in Jacksonville until Saturday anyway due to bridge maintenance!  This morning we made it to Sadler Point Marina and are now on the hard with the old seal removed.  They just couldn't finish the work today, so they will wrap it up tomorrow.  For the weekend, this is how we will live...

The area of concern... (See the water???)

And the worn-out seal...

Today is also our 11th anniversary!  Yeah!  We treated ourselves to a sushi lunch and dinner at Harpoon Louie's.  What's next?  Well, even assuming the fix is done tomorrow they can't launch us until Monday.  Sunday we will have to look at the weather and determine our options given that this has basically delayed us four days.  We aren't giving up yet!  Are we mad?  No--much better to find this trouble near a dock than out at sea.  You can't safely sail by a rigid schedule without some allowance or flexibility for mechanical issues and weather.  I'll take a few days in the yards with my spouse over an emergency at sea any day.

 

Move time! Or is it?

After arranging kid care and taking 2+ weeks off work, we drove 8 hrs to Jacksonville to get back to our home!  With the fridge stocked and the rental car returned, we just needed to install the new nav light, maybe swap out a macerater, and figure out why there was so much water in the bilge!  Seriously, where was it coming from?  I got all the water out and we couldn't see a drip, so we started the engine--nothing.  Put it in gear--bingo!  The shaft seal was hemorraging water.  F.  F.  F.  Now what? We want to go, but with light winds the next 2 days we will have to motor.  There's only one thing we can do--wait until the morning and call yards along the river to see if we can get it fixed pronto.  If not, the plan will change!