Enroute Ft Lauderdale- inside the reef
Trip Start
May 07, 2007
1
6
28
Trip End
Jun 15, 2007
Key Largo,
Florida,
United States
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
It stormed a bit last evening and the wind got up to 25+ kts. As was are on the outside, we did not have a choice of a good anchorage, so we anchored in what I would call a sub-standard place....no real protection from the winds and waves. We saw a number of small sailboats (30-35') anchored which broke loose and was dragging badly. The crew scrambled to regain control and set this hook again. It must of worked as it was still there in the am. This boat was bucking badly and as the rain came down, I felt fortunate to be on a trawler and not outside in a sailboat cockpit. It would have been a very long night.
Adventure carries a 350lb stainless steel anchor with 400' of heavy chain. For a 75 ton vessel, that's about right. The Capt likes to put out lots of chain so we put down about 200 feet last night and didn't move a bit. As the chain weighs 5lbs per foot, we had about 1300lbs of weight in front of us. It felt safe and we didn't move all night.
Getting the hook up this morning was bit of an exercise. It was storming with lightning when we were leaving with gusts over 25kts, so we had to work at it. While the vessel has a windlass (a powered winch to raise/lower) it can't be used to pull the boat up to the anchor, plus there is a current. So there is quite a bit of back and fill trying to motor the vessel up to the anchor and then bring the chain on-board some number of feet at a time.
Sue and I are learning the aspects of getting this 'big dog' on board. Karen normally works the windlass, but she is not going across the Atlantic...does that tell me something? So Sue and I are learning to address all anchoring nuances. It's basically the same as our vessel except the anchor is much larger and the windlass is a vertical one instead of horizontal.
As I said, we had trouble this am, getting the anchor to come aboard property. It wanted to twist and invert as we pull it aboard. After a touch of testy exchanges between the owners, Dave and Karen got the chain twisted back and the big dog was in and tied down. I had my own ideas about how to rectify this problem, but I'm crew and not the owner. So I keep my opinions about ship operation to myself unless ask.
We expect to be in-port tonight in Ft Lauderdale. The air card is too slow to upload pics out here. If its faster in port, I will load some for your viewing.
By the way, in Ft Lauderdale we will also gain two additional crew and drop Karen. That will give us 4 men and one woman for the next leg. We will be in Ft Lauderdale at least 9 days and more if the wx (weather) is not acceptable.
Medbound has a paid weather forecaster who will be doing planning activities and communicating them to the fleet commander and then to each Capt. Before we leave there will be detailed WX briefings and a final decision will be made as to when the WX is acceptable. Sue and I have agreed that it not only has to be acceptable to the capt but also to us as well. We want to go, but not at any cost.
Don't forget, you can ask question or post comments on this site. Ill address them all. The Internet is a powerful thing. As we are moving our voyage to the "starting gate", I'm tracking a Nordhavn 43 as it makes passage from San Diego across the south pacific. They are doing well and around 2/3 across the Marcasos (sp) Islands.
Added later>>>>
We made the big turn under Miami as the winds began to build above 20kts. Seas we kicking up pretty good....perhaps 3-4 feet. The cats are doing well but the skippers wife is not. She is down below trying to cope with the motion. Luckily, Sue and I are doing well. I hope that continues as we get out to sea.
Later in the day, the weather clears and by the time we enter Ft Lauderdale channel the sun is coming out. We are almost there. Then finally, we see the marina and Dave does as masterful job of getting the big vessel into the slip like an artist puts brush on canvas. Of course he later says, "any Capt who can get a 62' boat into a 90' slip is not worth his salt". Well I would not have taken it for granted. It was artful.
In the afternoon, Dave talks with Sue and me about his transit of the south pacific and cruising around Australia. He has done thousands of miles in the vessel which is so amazing because it looks almost like new. But as he has mentioned many times, he has spent several hundred thousand dollars in maintenance on this boat and it shows. While its hard not to be envious, I know that am one very lucky guy to have come this far and to have this opportunity. No complaints and no regrets.
Sue and I then spent an hour and a half hosing down the vessel, filling water tanks and going over her. Then I forget that I am in my new boat shoes which are now soaked. All I brought was this an sneakers. Then someone tells me we are going out to dinner at a dress up restaurant...Im in shoes that squeek with water.
We will be here for at least 8 days.
