The spouse and I can be SO immature at times.

It doesn't take much for us to get into the giggles and revert to a couple of 12 year old boys.  Think, Beevis and Butthead.

For the last couple of weeks it has been because of this lovely little product that our new friends over in England have suggested for leaks.

However, the name just keeps triggering our inner child and we can't get a hold of the situation.

But hey, laughing makes you live longer, right?

Making a commando maintenance trip

In November, I got to be the bilge rat, mainly because I am more flexible than Tim, and even at nearly six feet tall I can be quite the contortionist.  Although I realize as I get older, my body is starting to give me warnings that if I don't watch out, I'll be staying in whatever contortion for the rest of my life.

This time, Tim's turn.  First, it was getting to Key West.  Tim wants to just take a carry on--no problem, until he shows me what he got.  A little baggie filled with an ICOM antenna, a wiring harness, some crack sealer, and a battery.

Nope, there's been no terrorist activity in the world AT ALL lately, so that's not going to bring any attention at all.  Evidently it didn't, because he made it through.  So, that should tell you something about the rentacops over at MCI.

As we had on Hemisphere Dancer, we are installing an alarm system.  This one has a bit more features than our old one (except for awesome dance music when you open the companionway).  We already tested the preliminary install last time.  It has geo-fencing, so if it goes on the move, Tim and I will get a text (or our boat sitter).  It has the standard motion sensor alarm, bilge alarm, low battery alarm, and it has the ability for a couple of remote alarm so we can run a wire through the lock on the dinghy and if it gets cut, voila.  I believe it can also light up your boat and sound a piercing alarm--but baby steps to get that wired up.  We just need the basics for now.

It's amazing how much more affordable they are getting, and our insurance company likes it.

His other project fall under the category of:  If somebody doesn't want to take your money, then you just might as well do it yourself.  This would be phase 1 of the head replacement.  So, first thing, get the tank monitors working correctly.  Also, he flushed the system with muriatic acid--our heads are sea water and not fresh water, so I am pretty sure we have 12 years of crud there.  He said it's already helped a bit.  He plans to pull the forward holding tank tomorrow to see if there is spillage from the previous owner under it, lucky him.

We discovered through measuring, researching, measuring, researching that there is nothing that will be able to replace the forward head except the newer version of a LAVAC.  Not ideal, but as long as it works.  The aft head has tons of room so we are going to put something different in there.  That will also give us a one manual, one electric set up.

The good part is that it's relatively cool right now in Key West, so that makes boat projects so much easier than when it's baking.

Heading back..

When we started back, the winds were fluky, but at least agreeable.  So we got to sail about 6 miles or so.

Then, they started getting fluky and disagreeable, and on the nose.  So, back on came the engine, down came the main.  We were going to try to keep just off the wind so that our head sail could steady out the boat (we wouldn't be bouncing in the chop).

That lasted about 4-5 more nm and then mother nature said, no, I'm going to be right on your nose.

We would have been fine if the prevailing wind had it's normal northerly component, but due to a pesky high pressure system, our beautiful weather came with a beautiful southerly shift to the wind.

We were sailing south of island chain, so falling off was not an option.

Finally, I gave up and we took in the head sail and I just got over to nice deep water (Tim loves sailing his shallows), and pointed her home.

Tim went to eat, so I asked for snacks up in the cockpit.  Our galley window opens into the cockpit and it has become a food service window.  Awesome.  It started getting out of control though, first cheese stick, then slices of ham and turkey, then fish dip, then water, then coconut water. Okay, honey, thanks for looking out for me.

At approximately 10nm from our slip, I get the announcement.  We have cell service again!  I think even the boat breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a work day for Tim, so I stayed up in the cockpit on watch (poor me) while Tim worked.  We were getting closer to Key West and the deep ship channels so our weeble wobble was getting worse.
Hey, wait! We have an adjustable keel.

I lowered it to about 6 feet, much better on the weeble wobble.  Told Tim. Of course, he doesn't buy into it.  Well, lets have an experiment, dude.  Yes, more keel, less rock the boat.  I just added to my check list--when entering channel pull keel up or boat will ground.

Mother Nature wasn't through messing with us and decided to send a squall right as I was trying to locate our channel marker (there are two sets and between them 1-2 feet of water).

We did much better getting back to the marina with the big girl than our first try.  Headsets back on, docking was quite easy.  And the marina didn't have to hear me say--"I swear to god, Tim, if you leave that helm I will beat you with this boat hook."

More pics from the Marquesas

These are just odds and ends when we attempted to get into Mooney Harbor (wasn't going to happen from our entry point, too shallow for the dink)

Mooney Harbor, those are the eastern keys of the Marquesas.
There's supposedly a way to get it that's 4-5 feet low tide.
Of course, Tim and James want to try it with Elysium.  Boys.

When I grow up, I'm going to make my own little island.

Pelicans hanging out.

Crab dude.

Juvenile ray near the beach. 

Oddly enough, for a deserted beach, it was pretty clean.
I've seen worse as far as sea grass at nice resorts.

Abandoned lobster trap.  The last license on it was from 2009.

What is freedom worth to you?

The next morning we dinghy'd over to Tin Tin Key, when we had come in the night before, I had noticed what appeared to be Cuban chugs on the beach.

There were.  And one was 'fresh' so to speak.  Still smelled of gas and diesel and still turned over the engine as Tim found out.

For those of you not familiar with the phrase Cuban Chug, they are hand made (in secret) boats that Cuban refugees make, then without modern electronics, barely any steering and usually 10-12 people on a 20 foot boat, they make the 90 nm crossing to the United States.  According to the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy, if the USCG finds you at sea, you will be returned to Cuba, if you make it to US territorial soil, you will be granted amnesty.

Many people who come over often have somebody ready to meet them, so they will abandon the chug and it will wash up somewheres.  For some reason, many get off course and wind up either at the Dry Tortugas or the Marquesas Keys.  Since it is US territorial land and part of Florida, they have made it.  From there either fisherman call it it or take them into Key West for processing, or a contact picks them up.

Many people are starting to complain about the chugs littering the more deserted islands.  Tim and I thought they were fascinating--imagine what these people are going through, and the desperation it took to make such a risky journey--it makes you appreciates the simple freedoms we have in life.

The rest is pictorial with my comments in the captions.

Tim in front of our 'fresh' chug.

The entire smelled of gas and diesel, was full of junk from their trip.
The life preservers were in Chinese.

All the backpacks were empty. This chug was a wood framed with
an aluminum or steel frame bolted over it.
I read they paint them blue and then have a blue tarp, so if they hear a plane, they
cover themselves and try to blend with the ocean.

It's hard to see, but those are the remains of some Cuban crackers.
Evidently having a picnic while waiting for their ride.

Anti-nausea medicine.

More anti-nausea medicine.

Large bag of what used to be rice.
I read that they used sea water and engine heat to cook.

Ruggerini air cooled diesel engine.  Evidently the company went defunct in 1999.
The web was all over the place on info.  I think at least parts are made in China now.

Below are the remains of some older chugs.  These were not as well made, they looked to more like inflatables.

First Day at the Marquesas.

I forgot to mention that after we hit our first tidal swing, we decided to make our first jaunt to shore to Honey Boo Boo Key.

We used the Torqueedo, mainly because it has been reliable, and the outboard that came with the boat has two speeds--full out and off.  We knew we would be dealing with shallow water, and didn't want to play flip the dink.

The main issue with our Torqueedo is that it was designed with too deep of a shaft that leads to the prop.  It is light, so Tim can lift it up and still steer with the prop in the water, but we eventually wound up rowing.  Tim is planning to build a booster seat on the dink transom to help this.

But, exploring a deserted island?  Priceless.

Who's a sexy boat?

My beach, you cannot have.

Mangroves, mother nature's filter

OMG. SO COOL.  Turtle eggs, already hatched, tho'.

Heading back to Elysium.

Trip to the Marquesas Keys

Since the weather was just absolutely perfect for a December, we extended our stay and journeyed out to Marquesas Keys.

Not to be confused with the Marquesas in the South Pacific, Marquesas Keys is a natural atoll (reportedly formed by a meteor) 25 nm west of Key West. Exactly 15 nm out of cell range if you are wondering. I won't tell you how I know that.

After a bout of "Where are the boat keys"-which turned into a battle of the sexes-Team Chick won with: Always look where you least expect them, i.e. toolbox.

We headed out.  Contrary to the norm, we had a beautiful ESE wind, light and variable.  Normally we'd be dealing with 20kts out of the North, at which point we would not have made the trip.

But, variable winds coming from your aft quarter makes for a boring ride.  We tried valiantly with both sails, but finally dropped the main so that we could motor sail with just the full Genoa.  The boat seemed to love that idea and settled into a nice 6.5 kts nice with low RPMs.  About 1.5 hours into the trip, even I was wishing for the North winds, it was boiling.

We made terrific time and made it to Marquesas Keys with plenty of daylight left.  Now, our first attempt anchoring the new boat.  We have a Rocna Anchor, and Tim tried to get me to lay down beside it so we could show how big that sucker is.  Add 100 feet of chain and 200 of regular rode, we have ourselves an anchor.

Now, the two cruising guides we have were horribly against the Marquesas.  But, they didn't explain why.  The Active Captains that spoke badly against it, also did not really explain why.  Please, people, explain why you hate the anchorage, not that it sucks.  Thanks to our new friend James, because without his local knowledge, we might not have made the trip.  His description in our weather conditions was spot on.

So after a quick lesson to my helmsman on how you should read the depth meter and not the chart plotter, we set our anchor.  And it just looked like it sat there.  Little wind on the lee side of the island and the tidal current hadn't kicked in yet.  Hilarious.  I, the anchoring freakout chick, was confident in our anchor--very weird.

I love this chart.  Bombing and strafing target areas.  Whoo hoo.
U.S. and their desire to bomb the shit out of atolls.
But, no atolls in this area were harmed since 1980.

Here's the satellite view if you are really curious.

So, boat nerds, both pics above are north up.  We anchored over on the west side in 10 feet of water, and I can hear the lake people's sphincters clinch over that. (sorry, too much?) In the south west corner you will see two islands.  They are not charted usually, but the north is named Boo Boo Key, and the South is named Tin Tin Key.  We, of course, renamed them to Honey Boo Boo and Rin Tin Tin. We anchored off of Boo Boo Key.

A note to Active Captains. PLEASE, describe what was wrong/right about your anchorage, not IT SUCKS.  Yes, there is a tidal current. We anchored originally true 90 degrees off of it.  We held anchor watch for not one, but four hours so we could go through the first tidal swing and see how we were doing.  If you don't like tidal swings....you are going to be very limited on where to anchor in the Keys-Florida anchoring laws be damned.  But, if you are in a 20kt norther, that would be a HORRIBLE anchorage.  We did it once off of Indian Key, the rock and rolling, wow.

We did notice that with our keel up, we were the first to swing, even before the two catamarans and one power boat there.  Interesting, must keep note of that.  

So, lovely sunset, lovely night under the stars.  The hubby brought out his iPad (read entry about tech twitch) and tried to use the Star Map app, but it doesn't work without a connection. Either he hasn't updated it to use the iPad's built in GPS, or it just sucks I don't know.  We did get it somewhat working, but I know where Orion is, and its opinion and mine were not matching.  Tried to stay up for the moon set, but I was zonked.

Night at anchor.  I did pretty good, this boat also has some stern slap, we might get a damper for it, it isn't a pounding like the Hunter had, but can wake me up.  Our folded down solar panels also block two of our most valuable hatches while at anchor (in tidal swing), we'll have to put them up or eventually move them.

Speaking of gadgets.....

Google Chromecast.  At first I thought it was going to be a big bust, two hours trying to set it up, only for it to stop talking to my iPad.  Really pissed me off.

Then Tim says, I'll give it a try.  Oh boy.  No, all he had to do was turn everything on, and it started talking to his iPad. So I tried my iPad, it worked.  Evidently, it wanted 48 hours to think about it.

So, as an owner of Google Chromecast and Apple TV....Chromecast is very good for the boat, basically it runs over WiFi--Netflix, HBO Go, ESPN Go, and whatever else you've paid for through your cable provider, no matter where your cable provider is.  If you don't have cable, you can enjoy Netflix.

Apple TV...it has its own built in processor, so it has it's own interface, there are also lots of things you can view through Apple TV (and your music) that aren't available on Chromecast. All through WiFi again.

Price:  ChromeCast $35.  Apple TV: $100.  If you want to transfer to a TV, either is good.

***

A couple of weeks ago, Active Captain's weekly Defender special was the Eartec Simutalk wireless headsets.  I showed to Tim, he immediately said: I want those for Christmas.  So, we got them for Christmas, had them directly shipped to the marina.

In a word? Awesome.  They have various setting, but you can set them for transmit/receive.  When we anchored, effortless, after the many attempts of failed hand signals, it was so nice to just talk at a normal voice. Especially on a 46 foot boat with a dodger.  Each mic has a boom cover, so Tim couldn't hear the wind at all.  However, I did hear: OH SHIT, we are in 6 feet of water. No worries, keel up.  (I swear he is doing this just to play with the keel)  However, lesson learned, stop looking at the chart plotter, look at the depth meter.

Coming back and docking, same thing, headsets on, talking through which lines I'll grab and when I have them on. And a polite, "Oh dear, please do not hit your numerous thrusters when I am trying to get off the boat."

Creature Comforts

..or this could be titled Different Strokes for Different Folks.

This has been a culmination of several conversations with boat owners, want to be boat owners, previous boat owners, sailor/cruisers, motorboat owners, etc.

Some of the conversations to me were hysterical, some almost became antagonistic, some were productive and insightful.

It's amusing that boat owners have about as many polarized opinions about boats as they do politics.

But the question overall is:  What do you want out of your boating experience?  Think of that, and plan accordingly, because every decision will affect your bottom line in your cruising budget.

Here's my answer (and if you disagree, tell me to pound sand, I'm fine with that, but before you do, read the first line again).

Your boating experience is completely going to depend on your level of comfort, whether that comfort be knowledge, security (literal and financial), accommodations.  The experience you have is what you want it to be.  If you want to be in a slip every night, more power to you--just remember it will cost, and transient slips and run pretty high, especially where they are at a premium (like Key West).

In Annapolis, I had this lovely full time cruiser ask me why I would possibly even want an air conditioner/generator set up.  To quote: "You will be in such beautiful areas, why would you want to lock yourself up below?"  Huh?  It's air conditioning ma'am, not lockdown in a Supermax prison, I can open the companionway doors and head out.

However, that being said, we are grateful we have the option.  It keeps my spouse happy, and if it gets too hot, I can get cooled down.  With a history of heat stroke and the inability to sweat, this creates a level of comfort/safety for me.  If I'm overheating, miserable and sick, I won't be enjoying the beautiful areas either.

And no, we really haven't run the a/c that much.  We have three separate units, and we have the ability to only run the area we want.  At anchor, even in the tidal swing, we have 25 glorious hatches to provide us a breeze from whatever angle.  So, having the option of a/c is a comfort.  Does it add a maintenance element, yes, so you will have to add that into the grand scheme of things. The a/c gets run back in the slip, it helps de-humidify the boat, and due to the huge hurricane boat sheds, most of wind gets blocked.

Gadgets.  We are in a technological society, we depend on our gadgets.  I have already found out that taking the spouse off of his gadgets cold turkey gets him a bit antsy.  Something he's not used to.  That being said, we both plan to work remotely, so satellite internet is in our future.  The technology is getting better and cheaper, so we will wait on that.  And no, I'm absolutely not afraid of North Korea killing off my internet.  My concern with the spouse is that he still needs to fully be ready for Plan B if our electrical system on the boat went out. He plans to start studying paper chart navigation more.

Again, in Annapolis we met some folks that said, why would you want THAT? You don't need THAT!  Well, we don't need a boat either, it would be much easier to hop on a big old airplane to the Caribbean and rent a beach house.  Quicker and I wouldn't have to worry that if a blow came up in the middle of the night, my house was going to run into the neighbors.

So, what this little dissertation boils down to is: Do what makes you happy. Hang the rest. Just realize that it will affect the amount of money you spend, the amount of maintenance (DYI or paid).  If somebody tries to tell you that you don't need something, consider their input, but if it's something YOU want to make your COMFORT better, than do it.

I admire people who want and are willing to sacrifice a bit to live the lifestyle they want.  It takes self-control and planning.  Tim and I are going on the long term approach, we won't be doing any major cruising for at least 3-4 years.  During that time, we'll probably add and dump stuff as we need.  It'll be part of the process.

But whatever your approach may be, if you decide to take the leap, it'll be for nights like this:

Boat peeps

We've met a couple of great people in the inside harbor, usually we are surrounded by little used fishing boats.  James and wife live on their boat over at the NAS, but runs a captained charter business with his Jeanneau 331.  www.sailing-keywest.com  (See, James, I told you I'd finally give you a plug!)  James also volunteered to be our boat babysitter and float plan monitor while we go out and do stupid stuff.  And yes, we will do stupid stuff, that's how we learn.  Nothing makes something stick better than an 'oh shit' moment.

David, we literally met before leaving, however, another good guy.  (I've yet to meet Mrs. David or Mrs. James).  He owns a Hunter 460 CC, big boat.

It's awesome to finally have some sailors around us.  Our other neighbor is actually a charter boat with Florida Yacht Charters (hint, hint sailor people, you could be our neighbors for a week), but David says the owner of that boat is a hoot.