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Subject: [worldcruising] number 2 of about 20
From: thatboatguy (thatboatguy@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sun Jul 28 2002 - 23:14:07 EDT
Here is number 2 trip report of about 20.
At anchor, Sarasota 26 April 2002
Sailing south in a southeast wind of 15 knots or more and charging
through seas of 3 to 5 feet, I sailed the Lucky Dolphin for the first
time, (a boat I've owned for over a year). I was making 6 knots,
close hulled, out in the Gulf of Mexico on a line between Cedar Key
and Clearwater beach. I had a nearly full moon rising in the east and
the sun setting in the west with both about equal elevation from the
360 degree unbroken horizon. The sky was my great cathedral. I could
have been the only man on the planet and I was utterly alone in the
way that only those who travel into the wilderness alone can be.
Alone, that is… until Wilson arrived.
But I'm ahead of myself, since I was only in Santa Rosa Sound last I
wrote you.
It was a great trip Intercoastal from Santa Rosa to White City. John
in Prudence, and I in the Dolphin, made it with only minor problems.
In Panama City we took a day off to work on the boats. We left on
Monday early afternoon and made the free dock in White City before
sun down. I was afraid we would be eaten alive by mosquitoes but
neither one of us was bit once. Amazing! So many sites and sounds
from my past awakened found memories in me. To see the moss in the
cypress trees, the seas of saw grass, (sea saw?), so many birds as
well as the smells of wild bunch honey suckle strong enough to knock
you over, brackish waters, and the pine sap creating a base note that
put a Christmas feeling in the whole perfume. In White City we
decided to work on boats another day, stow gear for sea, and wait for
favorable conditions to cross the Gulf of Mexico near the big bend
area of the Florida Panhandle. John and I would take different
strategies due to our differences in boats and experience. John is
ten times the sailor I will ever be with thousands of miles logged in
all kinds of sailboats, state champion in lasers in Hawaii, kajillion
ton ocean going tug captain's license, blah, blah, blah. I, on the
other hand, had a big Perkins motor and a larger boat, with the
capability to motor into a stiff head wind and moderate seas. At this
time, I do not have an update from John but I have a feeling he may
have waited another day before starting and may not put in along the
coast until as far as Sanibel Island. I'm sure he will leap frog me
and I'll catch him up down the line.
I left White City on Wednesday morning with the idea of seeing how
things were in the Apalachicola bay and then deciding on Bob Sikes
cut, or take the ICW to Dog Island and wait for the wind to come
around as forecasted. I stopped at Miler Marine and got a couple of
charts I might need, and some junk food, but I decided I had enough
fuel, figuring to motor sail from the pass to either Cedar Key or
Crystal River. New rule: When at a fuel dock… fill up. It was rough
at Bob Sikes pass, (three waves in quick succession had rocked her
back on her heals and reduced her speed to about 2 knots), and I was
going to turn around and go back in as soon as I had enough speed and
sea room to make the turn safely, but as I got further from the pass
it settled down a bit as the water got deeper, so I charged on. My
course for Cedar Key was dead into the wind and seas but the forecast
was for the wind to shift around to the southwest and then west. That
never happened. Big surprise. I had it on the nose the whole way and
although it did subside for a few hours in the night, it built back
up again in the morning, taking most of my fuel and limiting my
options. I did not feel comfortable heading further south, hoping to
sail a little because I couldn't count on the wind being anywhere but
on the Dolphins nose. So I slowed my speed a bit so as to make Cedar
Key a little after day break and just toughed it out. Josephine
Simrad (my robotic pilot) did most of the steering that night.
Josephine is a great endurance sailor if a bit of dull
conversationalist. To tell the truth, it felt wonderful to be out on
the big lake again. At Cedar key it was just after low tide and I
could not risk the channel, so I turned out of the channel into a
deep spot and dropped the hook. After four hours of sleep, a meal and
a shower, I felt like a million bucks. There was also an additional 3
feet of water or so for me to make it into the anchorage across from
the town. After calling around a bit, I found a place that had some
diesel in a tank that they used for their forklift. They were willing
to sell me some in my jerry jugs. They turned out to be a long haul
by dingy, up some creek on the other side of the island, and the kid
at the hardware who was giving me directions took pity on me and took
me there by truck. Nice hometown kid and an amazing contrast to what
you can expect from locals in most resort areas. Every one in Cedar
Key knows everyone else it seems and driving from the hardware to the
little marine yard resulted in two or three stops of the vehicle to
chat with oncoming traffic, I was in no hurry and enjoying myself
anyway. In a boat yard, I'm right at home and this one made me home
sick for Pensacola Shipyard and my friends there. Another friendly
batch of people to meet and ta-da! Never mind what the waterway guide
says, you can get fuel in Cedar Key if you are polite, ask the right
questions, and don't get in a hurry. So… I was rested, fed, fueled,
and ready to go at about 3:30 in the afternoon, just about 24 hours
after I had set out from Apalachicola. I went out the main ship
channel and headed almost due south into that strong southwest wind.
Finally a point of sail! I put up the staysail first, then the
mizzen. I rolled the motor back to idle but left it in gear while I
put up the main and then unfurled the headsail. Wow! With each
addition of canvas, she took off like a shot, charging into the waves
but never putting her rail in, she healed just so far, and then just
seemed to stiffen up. It was a much, much improved ride over the
night before and I gladly turned off the engine while chocking up 6.5
to 7.5 knots of speed. She did a great job of keeping her bow out of
the water and the combination of high bow and that thick rub rail
sending the spray out and away kept me dry in the cockpit too. A pod
of spotted dolphins, including at least one baby, came and swam with
us. Again, I had an adult swim along side the cockpit, breaking out
of the water every once in a while to turn an eye towards me. To
never see this before and now have it happen so often is a bit
disconcerting. In addition, it was now two species and this is the
first time I've seen spotted dolphins in the Gulf. The hours and the
knots swept by and as the winds and seas subsided, she kept 5.5 to
6.5 knots long into the night. When night came it was not the dark,
dark night, but one of magic grayscale moonlight - that black and
white old movie world of Humphrey Bogart. Were the early Flipper
programs in black and white? I know they were in our house. ;) I have
great night vision anyway, so I functioned well in the world where
the only color came from the faint red glow of knot meter, depth
sounder, and Josephine's one red eye. Shortly after dark, I was
coming out the companion way with a pop tart when something fluttery
and black came right for my head! My instant thought was that the
last time this happened it was a flying fish in the face, a very
unpleasant experience and the body remembers. Without thinking, I
swatted the object away. Oh! To my shame, I saw a small black finch
kind of bird go off at an angle, almost hit the water, and then just
recover in time. "Sorry", I called out, and I was relieved when he
came back and was OK. I don't know how far that poor guy had flown
but he was clearly exhausted. He hung around the cockpit, keeping as
far from me as possible but not leaving just yet either while he
caught his breath. I named him Wilson. I was forgiven finally when I
tossed him some crumbs. He seemed quite tame after that, and after
eating his fill, and having a drink in a bowl of fresh water, (and a
quick bath); he hunkered down in a coil of line for some z's.
Sometime in the night, he decided to stop losing ground in his
northerly flight on my southbound raft, and took off on his own
again. Once again I felt a great kinship with Saint Exupery, he with
his fox and I with my bird, he in his desert world and I in my watery
one.
Soon as I can get to a scanner, I'll upload some pictures of Wilson
and the spotted dolphins. Also I'll send some good pictures of
Prudence and Lucky Dolphin.
In the early hours of the morning, I was ghosting by Clearwater
beach. Becalmed, I finally reluctantly started the motor. Even at
only 2 knots, I had held on to the wonder of my first sailing night
watch on the Dolphin. Yes, it was calm, and so I eased the motor up
to 1500 rpm and putted down the coast past St. Pete and Tampa and
then into South Tampa Bay at Edgemont Key. I got back into the
intercoastal there and made each bridge just in time for scheduled
openings including the one here in Sarasota at one in the afternoon.
Sarasota is a cool city and I'll do some exploring ashore tomorrow. I
have to fix my bilge pump and repack the stuffing box. I would also
like some fresh vegetables and I need one chart. They have a good
trolley here so it should be no trouble. Tonight I'll sleep like the
dead… but I'll still have dolphin dreams.
Love
George
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