Off in a cloud of dust - sort of!

March 21, 2016

Our plan was to leave Regatta Pointe on Monday March 14, spend the night at "Hulk Harbor" and take off early Tuesday morning.  Taking our pick up truck to storage took a little longer than planned as did a few other errands and the winds were blowing over 20 knots out of the south making departing and anchoring out seem a little less appealing.  So we stayed one more night at the marina and headed out at 9:00am the next morning.

Our last C dock party.

Farewell C dock friends - we'll miss you!

  

Farewell Regatta Pointe Marina - we'll miss you too!

An hour later things started getting foggy and by the time we arrived at Tampa Bay the fog was as thick as pea soup! Even the Sunshine Bridge had been closed to all traffic due to fog. Channel markers were virtually invisible until we were right upon them.  We debated turning back but decided that out in the Gulf it might get better, but even if not, there would be very little boat traffic.  There is normally very little anyhow. So onward we went.  We had planned to stop overnight at Venice, (FL) but they were totally socked in also and since we had never been there, the safest and most reasonable option to us was to sail overnight and arrive at Ft. Myers in the morning where clear skies were predicted.

The picture does not do the claustrophobic fog justice

 It was a long and uncomfortable night.  Our electronics including radar worked fine, the engine with assist from the mainsail kept us at 5 knots plus or minus, but we were uneasy.  The waves were 3 to 5 feet on the beam - perfect for an unpleasant rolling motion.  It ended up taking us 24 hours and we saw only one other boat the whole time.  It was not the most auspicious beginning to our travels, but as someone pointed out, it is all part of the adventure.  Really??

The dawn of a new day as we arrived at Ft. Myers

We did learn some things for future use:

Food. I prepare food for longer trips and keep it in the cockpit so that I do not have to go below.  Not having planned on sailing all night I didn't have enough "real" food. Snacks, yes, but meals no. 

Fog. For us at least fog is a perfect environment for getting seasick. (not to mention the rolling motion)  Apparently without an horizon it is hard for the eyes and ears to sort things out. So we both were queasy - most unusual for Jim, not so much for me.  I wore the wrist bands and finally took Bonine.  That seemed to work except I felt awful the whole next day - not sure if I can blame Bonine for that.  

Sleep.  We have not done a lot of overnight trips, but when we have, we take shifts - not as rigid as some but enough so that we each get sleep.  We usually stay in the cockpit, but this trip neither of us slept well there. I tried going below and I slept a little better, but I think we were too much on "alert" for what lurked beyond the fog bank. 

Entertainment. Somehow it never occurred to us that we needed to entertain ourselves.  There were a lot of hours to do nothing other than contemplate the instruments, the fog and our own musings.  

Next time we will be better prepared!

Hulk Harbor Rendevous

March 3, 2015

A beautiful afternoon of sailing in Tampa Bay with great wind and a warm sun was followed by going aground…again…in the same place...again, with me at the helm…again.   (I don’t think I wrote about the first time – but trust me, I am not a “virgin” running-a-grounder)   This is getting annoying, but for some reason I just don’t line up my channel buoys right – the ones behind me, not the ones in front.  You would think I’d learn!

Anyhow, we worked our way loose, headed back up the Manatee River and anchored in “Hulk Harbor".   We joined Chris and Linn, other cruisers from C-Dock, who were already there.  We lowered the dinghies and met up at the small beach. It was a shallow approach and they arrived just fine by shutting off the outboard, tilting it up and gliding to shore.   We tried to copy that, but ran aground!  Jim couldn’t get the outboard tilted up so Linn waded out and in thigh deep water, they both struggled to figure out the secret. Finally success!  There was a nice picnic area and we decided to return the next day when others from C-Dock were joining us.  Soon the fog started rolling in and it was time to head back to the boat. 

The tide had gone out and shallow water was shallower.  Jim had to walk our dinghy quite a ways out before he could tip the outboard back into the water.  Linn joined him and together they walked out farther and farther.  It began to look like they were going to walk half way out to the boats.  Finally Jim got the outboard in position and got it started, but the shallows seemed to be everywhere and he kept getting stuck in the mud.  Then Linn couldn’t get his outboard started.  After an amazing number of pulls, probably constituting a great upperbody workout, he got his motor going and we eventually got free of the mud.   Chris and I thought it was funnier and more entertaining than the men did!  A You-tube video would have proven us right!!

Resting on our dinghy after the docking ordeal!

The next day 3 other couples (Tim and Leslie, Mike and Betty and Carlos and Lucy) from C-Dock joined us for a BBQ potluck on the beach.  (Our first cruisers potluck!) 

Hanging around after the BBQ

Late afternoon, with very little warning a wall of fog rolled in and by the time we were back on the boats, there was zero visibility.  It was quiet and a little eerie, but we felt safe tucked into our own private cocoon of fog.  The next morning Tim rowed over in his dinghy – from his boat he could not tell if we were still there!!

Tim checking on us in the morning  

We headed back to the marina when the morning fog lifted.  It was a great chance to enjoy what boating is all about and even more fun to do it with dock neighbors!