June 3-12, 2015 Lake Worth and Stuart

We left Lake Worth this morning after a lot of rain last night.  The boat is pretty much salt-less.  Gotta love these free boat washes.

Nothing exciting on the journey except we still marvel at how many lavish homes line the waterway.  

I wanted to fuel up before pulling into Loggerhead marina but was debating to get it before we arrived or wait and fuel up at Ft. Pierce where the price was $3/gal.  

But saw a fuel price in Manatee Pocket of  only $3.04/gallon.   

I couldn’t resist.  And of course I couldn't see the small print which, after I started filling the tanks, triggered an audible curse.  “Not including tax”.

We’ve only used 194 gallons of fuel from Nassau until we fueled here in Stuart (actually Port Salerno) at Sailfish Marina.  Gives us about 2 miles per gallon on average although coming across the Banks yesterday we were running pretty hard and I’m sure we weren’t getting that mileage.

Ugh …   So we ended up paying about about $20 more after figuring in the discounts for Boat/US and adding the Florida sales tax on fuel.

We left the dock rather messily banging our big ball fender against the dock several ties because the wind was so strong it was pushing us against the dock.  Normally I’d have backed away which is much more desirable than trying to get the bow off the dock first.  But here we were tied up only a few feet in front of a sport fish boat which was also fueling.  There was little room for us to back out. 

Following a Krogen 42

We left Manatee Pocket and ended up following a Kadey Krogen 42 through the Evans McCray bridge and then around the shortcut through the St. Lucie River.  But it was shallow and Mary says they went aground while we, drawing a few inches less than, puttered along without a problem.

The shortcut saves about a 1/2 mile off the normal channel route but also runs through much shallower water.

Well, almost no problems.  I usually run up our engines to near full throttle every ounce in a while to blow them out a bit.  This time there I noticed a definite vibration, so its either the port side prop or the shaft is misaligned.  Or the engine mounts are loose.  And this engine was also running a little warm at that speed so I’ll have to check the raw water pump and clean out the heat exchanger at some point..

Stuart and Loggerhead Marina on the right

We are stopping in Stuart to relax and recover from all the Bahamas fun.  We really like Loggerhead here and since we have spent many months around here it sort of has a homecoming feel to it.  Plus we know where most everything is located.

On H dock, our favorite dock at Loggerhead

Steve and Jim were waiting for us at the dock and we came in and tied up  even in the storing wind.  I just wish once someone would take a breast line and tie it off on a cleat so I could use the line to spring the boat around.  Much easier docking experience.

After kibitzing with them for awhile and learning all the local gossip (Wahoo’s the iconic bar/restaurant here has closed!) we went up  to the little marina eatery called Splash.  Or, if the sign is to be believed, the Boathouse.  We had hamburgers cooked by Sara the newest cook and general restaurant/bar person.  She's an engineering student and learned to cook while living with her Italian grandmother.  And its shows.  Very good food!   A good place made better.  And they are planning on still more improvements.

Later we did a few things on the boat and after I had all the hookups completed and the A/C units running.  Still trying to come up with a method  of venting the master stateroom head (bathroom).  Its probably 15 degrees hotter in there with only a tiny window.  Its becomes a heat sink for all the engine room heat which then stokes up the temps in the stateroom.  Nice in the colder months.  Not so nice now.

I took a much needed long walk across the Roosevelt Bridge into downtown Stuart. We've  been on the boat for so long with little chance for any exercise and I'm pretty stiff.   Stuart remains much the same except the Chicago school teacher’s hot dog stand we loved so much has disappeared.

Came back aboard and after a little TV and showers (we’re using dockside water so no water worries) we went to bed.

 

Tomorrow is breakfast at Cafe Roosevelt’s, ordering the starter for the dinghy outboard, Mary’s drugs, grocery shopping and pizza at a Taste of Brooklyn!  So much for relaxing!

Ever have one of those days when you wake up early to a beautiful morning counting on a nice, easy day?  Yeah.  They certainly are wonderful. 

But not for me this morning.

My bike, our car as it were,  seemed to have suffered more harm than I thought when we were taking seas over the bow.  The chain was really rusted.  Even the sprockets were looking pretty nasty.  But it’s our car.  So it had to be ok, right?

I oiled up everything with Kathy’s magic bicycle oil and loosened the chain links. Good… or so I thought.  I get on the bike and work the pedals a little and then take off riding.

Broken derailleur

There was no sound really, just a sudden release of pressure.  The bracket holding the rear derailleur just sheared right off.  And the loosen chain wasn’t really all that loose as I discovered after examining the whole derailleur system.  Some links were rusty.  Well, actually rust/welded together.

Marvelous!  No Bike.

Ok, but we have Mary’s.  It too resembled a flaky orange colored piece of weird art.  But the chain and derailleur’s were in less bad shape than mine.  I’m speculating that it didn’t suffer as badly because it as on the starboard side and we had been taking big seas off the port side of the bow.

But no matter.  I got it off the boat and oiled it up and loosened up all the individual links and slathered the sprockets in oil.   Worked the pedals and took it off for a little ride and everything worked!  Well, most everything  The large drive sprocket derailleur was stuck but the rear gears worked.

The only issue was the bike and me. It’s a small bike so when I ride it my knees get a bit to close to the handle bars as a I pedal.  But at least it’s a functional bike.

Ok, that being done I tackled the outboard starter issue.  Turns out, after speaking with the head guy at Outboards Only, Yamaha and Mercury had an unholy alliance of sorts back in the late 90’s and early 2000.  They both used the same parts!  And of course the starter I had on our outboard was as Mercury starter.

After several phone conversations and exchanges of info with Phil, the parts manager guy, he ordered me a new starter.  From Fondulac. WI. Sheez .. Haunted by WI again?  But, it most likely wont get here until Thursday!  So I guess we'll be staying a few extra days.

Ok, now time for breakfast.  I woke Mary up and after a bit we walked to Roosevelt’s, a favorite of ours, for breakfast.

We finished eating and I talked with Pro Cycles, the bike repair shop explaining my bike problem and they said bring it in.  Luckily they weren't to far away.

The two real broken parts

Mary stayed on the boat while I walked and coasted my bike the mile to the bike shop where I learned, sadly they didn’t have such a part in stock.

The owner though, gave me another place to try because they sold Giant bikes which is what we have.  So I called The Bike Shop  but they needed to see the broken part.  Great.  And it was only a few miles down the road a piece.  Well more like 4 miles, but an an easy route.  And it was very near to Stuart Plastics where I had some sea strainer covers made for me three years ago before we even left on this sea voyage.  SO I knew where I was riding.

But first I had to walk a ways in the opposite direction to CVS for Mary's prescription.  That actually went more smoothly then I thought possible.  Its usually a documentation hassle but not this time. Once I returned to the boat it was time to take care of the bike derailleur hanger.

I had retrieved the broken part which was lying on the dock when the derailleur bracket snapped in half.   And I also picked up another metal piece which I assumed was the segment that was originally attached to the derailleur.  I didn't bother checking to see if both parts sort of fit together since it was lying on the dock right under the broken derailleur.  I mean if you found a little metal piece that appeared to be similar to another piece hanging on a derailleur would you fit them together to see if they were really 2 pieces of the same part?

So I rode the almost 4 miles to the bike shop where the kind lady there waded through a pile of derailleur hangers but could not find a match.  She turned to talk to the bike shop guru who took three seconds to say that the other part I had wasn't from the derailleur hanger but something else.  The real"other" part I needed was still on the bike.

Ok.  Back on Mary's bike and another 4 miles to the first bike shop where the kindly owner did indeed find other jagged metal part hanging on the axle nut.   He took it off and gave it to me and then I took off back to the second bike shop where, after they fitted the two pieces together found they didn't have anything like it in stock, but could order it.

$24 for the part plus $10 express shipping so I would have it early the following week.  Sounded good to me since the outboard starter wouldn't be here until later next week anyway.

Back on the bike, I headed towards out boat but first stopped off at Verizon and altered our calling plan.  For only a few dollars more a month we now can use 10 Gigs of data which helps us immensely.  We rarely have a decent internet connection anchored out or even in marinas.

Then I rode over to Publix for some staples and finally back to the boat.

I hopped in the showered and Mary and I walked to the Taste of Brooklyn (Uncle Giuseppe's) Pizza Restaurant and had the usual great food and the usual great wine.  Nice relaxing end to a busy day.

Mary was having digestive issue so after talking with the doctor in Green Bay, made an appointment with a clinic here in Stuart for Tuesday at 8am.

Meanwhile I rode to the Publix a few more times and then took a walk into Stuart.  Feels oddly feels like home I’m so familiar with everything.

We ate at Roosevelt’s again for breakfast this morning and Mary felt worse after so maybe we wont be going there anytime soon again.

I skipped the Derby party the marina was having at Splash, their little bar/restaurant.  I had the autopilot all disconnected trying to locate its problem with our GPS.  After taking it all apart and running the diagnostics, I put it back together and had the same problem.  Guess that means I didn't fix it.

Met a nice couple from Colorado, Mark and Joanna on the sailboat Marguerite.  We may see them again since they are heading up the same way we are.

I decided to walk the 3.5 miles to the Enterprise car rental place to pick up the car.  It took awhile, but it wasn’t all that hard so I guess I haven’t aged too badly over these last several months lolly-gagging around in the Keys and Bahamas.

Took the car down to Hobe Sound in search of Campobello Chianti, a favorite wine we discovered at a Taste of Brooklyn restaurant here.  The liquor store there used to stock it, but no longer.  A 20 mile drive for nothing.

Went back and got Mary and we drove around discovering where the clinic was located so we wouldn't be looking for it in the morning.  Then it was of to do some shopping.   

I decided we'll need to buy either a stand up room air conditioner or a small dehumidifier.  Leaving the boat closed up for almost 2 months without some form of de-humidification is just asking for trouble.  Wal-Mart didn’t have the AC unit and only had dehumidifiers with no drain in the drip pan.  Oh well.

We made it back and after once again going to Taste of Brooklyn for dinner.  They didn't have any of our favorite wine though which was a disappointment, but the pizza was still good.

We arrived the next morning at the clinic where Mary filled out a ream of paperwork before being shepherded back into the examine rooms.  After some time she emerged and we had to go pick up a prescription.   

The prescription was went to CVS and to be filled.  It was the CVS where I had picked up her previous prescription a few days ago.  Wrong!

It was sent to a CVS very near the liquor store I had driven to the previous day in my quest for our hard to find, favorite wine.  Luckily I like to drive.

We  made an interim stop at home depot where I mulled over their AC units or dehumidifiers.  The AC units were almost $300 and weighed a ton.  The little 30 pint dehumidifier was less than half that.  Was still mulling that over as we shopped in Wal-Mart for groceries and other assorted junk.

We hauled all that back to the boat and then I went for a walk while Mary napped.  I had to have the car back the next day at 9AM so I decided to just go buy the dehumidifier at Home Depot and then stop at Wal-Mart where they had Rotella engine oil back at the original price from a few years ago! 

$12.74 / gallon.  When I change the oil on the main engines it takes 4 gallons each.  The generator takes 1.5 gallons.  So I need a lot of oil and since I’ll be changing oil again soon I stocked up!

Sorry Jack.  Your shower has become an oil store room of sorts unless I can find another place to store it!

Next morning I helped  Marguerite off the dock as they headed out to Faber Cove near Ft. Pierce.  We've been to Faber Cove a few times so I relayed what I knew about it.  

I returned the car and they dropped me off at Sunset Marina a bit down the road here.  I had some old clothes to drop off at the mall near there so just walked there and then back to the boat.

Mary wasn’t feeling well so I dug in and started cleaning stuff.  The outside was washed off by the parade of showers we’re having at the moment although yesterday I did wash and wax the stern.

Took care (cleaned) the guest cabin, fly bridge and sundeck.   Used my beloved green machine upholstery cleaner to do the sundeck couch.  Lots of salt build up but not as dirty as before. 

We did clean some windows too but the stuff Mary used isn’t real good because it leaves a residue. I ended up going over most of the fly bridge windows with a spray foam cleaner called Klear-to-Sea which is pretty good.

I gave it my last shot with the Auto Pilot/GPS interface and its still not working.  Might be time to get a techie in here to diagnosis the darn thing. 

Outboards Only called me around 2:30 and said the starter for out 40HP outboard was in!  Good old Phil came through.  All I had to do was pick it up.  So as the dark clouds built up I peddled Mary’s bike a few miles into Rio and picked up the starter.  I admit it was nice to only pay hundreds not thousands for boat parts for a change.  I installed it when I got back but couldn't take the dinghy down to try it out because of the weather.  

The old and the new.  Starters that is ...

So tomorrow we haul the dinghy down and take a little ride around to Sunset Marina and the bar there, Sailor Return for a celebratory cocktail.  I hope …

I started taking walks again into Stuart.  Always something interesting

Sunday farmers market and local music

Little guy was napping when I walked by.   

I've seen these colorful crabs a number of times walking along the river

On one of my usual evening walks into Stuart and had a fun conversation with an exuberant young hostess at an Italian place.  She was trying to convince me to stop in and eat.  Soon after I somehow was drawn into another conversation with an older couple who were in the middle of their 50th high school reunion party.   They were looking for directions to an Oyster Bar which of course I didn't know. They thought I was a local because,  "you looked like you live here".

Stuart is a wonderful place to stroll around.  There is a river walk adjacent to the smallish downtown area where all the bars and shops are located.  Its usually quite busy with bustling crowds strolling along the streets and rivers.

Heck, maybe we'll settle down here!