Beaufort, SC through St. Augustine

11-11-11 through 11/16/11

Leaving Beaufort, SC on a foggy monring.

We left Beaufort early in the morning, heading down the ICW. It was very foggy for a while. Several boats left about the same time we did and we were all glad when the fog lifted. We got to Port Royal Sound and saw a sailboat, named

N Aimless,  we had been traveling with, turn left instead of right like we did. Shay called him on the radio and asked where he was going. He said on the “outside”, which means out to the ocean. He explained that the wind and waves were going to be perfect for the next 48 hours and this was the time to go out. We called Rocking B and asked what they thought. After a few minutes of discussion and listening to the weather we decided to turn around and go outside. We were all a little nervous but definitely excited. Most people plan and plan for an outside passage, we just decide and go. If the weather is favorable and you have good inlets to leave and enter, an outside passage is the way to go. It is faster since you go in a straight line, uses less fuel, has no bridges, no “skinny” water once you get out, and none of the twists and turns you have on the ICW.

We weren’t sure how long we would have cell phone reception for so we started calling people. Shay called his brother, Joey, and told him our plan and if he hadn’t heard from us in 48 hours to call the Coast Guard and tell them when and where we left from and when and  where we expected to at Jacksonville, FL. I called daddy, Billy and Michelle and told them the plan and that we would be out of cell phone range for a while. 

 

Looking out at the sea buoy at Port Royal Sound.

When we finally got to the ocean at 9:30 am, it was perfect. A gentle breeze and small rolling waves. But I got hot and started feeling bad so I took a Bonine and laid down for a while. When I got up I felt better, but not normal. We took turns being “on watch”. Once we got to the last buoy marking the channel into the sound, Shay drew a straight line on the chart plotter to the buoy marking the start of the inlet to Jacksonville.  We set the autopilot to follow this line and didn’t touch the wheel for hours.  

 

Once you get out that far there’s not much out there. We did see a floating marker for a “fish haven” on the chartplotter, which concerned us, since it was not lite and we would not have seen it after dark. But for the most part it was just keeping an eye on the chart plotter and watching a few lights on the coastline pass by. We did see a few other lights on boats through the night but they passed by and were gone. The wind got up a little during the night but we were still ok. We were very glad that we were traveling with Rocking B. It was nice to see another boat going the same speed and to the same place that we were going. They put up their sail and were beautiful in the moonlight.Shay tried to get a picture, but its hard to get a good one if the only light source is moonlight from a moving boat.



The conditions were perfect for an outside trip. The water was calm.
The winds were good and the trip was great.





A beautiful sunset during the outside trip.

Escape doing the passage from Port Royal to
St. Augustine



Me taking a long nap during the overnighter.

  

Shrimper near Jacksonville, FL at 6 am.



We got to the inlet at Jacksonville, FL about 6 on Saturday morning. It was full of shrimp boats getting an early start. We talked about how long it would take us to get to St. Augustine going inside and outside and decided we’d rather stay outside until there. Shay was a little nervous about the inlet at St. Augustine, since he had heard it can be rough. He called several people and they assured him we would be ok as long as we watched the markers and stayed in the channel.

Looking at the St. Augustine Lighthouse as we were coming to the inlet.

The inlet was a little rough and swifter than we like, but we watched the markers and took it slow.

We moored at St. Augustine at 2:00 pm on 11-12-11, Saturday. We had left Beaufort, SC at 6:15 am on 11-11-11, Friday. We were glad to be moored, tired from the long trip, and proud that we had done it. Margaret got a call from Ken’s sister telling her that most people plan for a trip like this, they don’t just decide while passing the inlet. Well that is true, but the conditions were right so we just did it.

I thought we were ready for the moorings at St. Augustine since we had done it this spring. I go to the bow with my boat hook, ready to grab the line attached to the mooring buoy and tie it on. Well, it had a short pendant with a thimble on the end of it and couldn't be tied directly to the boat. We were tired and didn't remember how the mooring was configured. Shay came down and we tried to get a dock line thru the thimble but he had to go back to the fly bridge so we had to start over. I attached 2 dock lines to cleats and tried to run the other end through the thimble but had one going over the rail so we had to let it go and try again. A guy on a moored boat got in his dinghy and came over to our mooring to help me put the dockline through the thimble on our mooring. Shay said he wished he hadn't helped as he was in the way when we reapproached the mooring.  We thanked him for his help anyway. It takes a long time to put things away and turn things off after a days run.  We got everything settled and checked on Rocking B. They were fine and we were all ready to get off the boat for a while and stretch our legs.

We ate at Harry’s on the waterfront and enjoyed out meal. We were all ready for an early night. The next morning Margaret and Ken decided to explore the town since they had never been to St. Augustine. They took a tour and walked down the streets and enjoyed the sights. We ate dinner with them and Bob and Linda, our friends that have live here for a while. We had a great time catching up with Bob and Linda and sharing stories. Shay and Ken had planned to ride bikes to West Marine but Bob offered to take them by car so they made plans to meet the next morning.

Shay had been having problems with a place on his finger and decided to go to the doctor the next morning. He called Bob and found a walk-in clinic and Bob took us there. We spent the morning there getting x-rays and seeing the doctor. He doctor said the x-rays didn’t show any foreign object in the area and started him on antibiotics. Shay had probably gotten something in his finger while working on a project that caused an infection. We hope the meds will fix it. Bob picked up Ken at the marina then picked us up at the clinic, we stopped at Publix to get the meds and stock up, Ken picked up his part at West Marine then back to the marina. We thanked Bob for coming to our rescue and went back to the boat. We all ate lunch then the guys went back to the boats to work on projects. Margaret and I walked around town, rode the red train, visited a Catholic church Linda had recommended and then toured a winery. We were disappointed we didn’t have time to tour the chocolate factory.  

Bull Creek through Beaufort, SC

11-8-11 thru 11-11-11

Up and moving early the next morning and off to Five Fathoms. We had a beautiful day, blue skies and calm water. The wind was up enough for Ken and Margaret to sail. They looked beautiful with the wind pushing them along.

We anchored in Five Fathoms and didn’t see any crab pots like when we were in the spring. We had an uneventful evening until it was time for the shrimp boats to come in. Five Fathoms is and inlet to the ocean so about dark the shrimp boats started coming in. They had on bright lights and could be seen for miles. When they got to us we could see someone on the back sorting and discarding into the water. They were surrounded by birds trying to get a snack. We had about 5 or 6 come in that night.

Early the next morning, we had the same shrimp boats going back out. Some had bright lights and moved along while others had fewer lights and went slowly. Next time we’ll try to pick a spot that is a dead end not a cut to the ocean.

We left early heading south past Charleston. We passed thru the busy Charleston Harbor without any problems. That may sound like a no brainer, but it is a huge harbor, with lots of markers, lots of boats, and lots of water. 




Bridge at Charleston, SC

 

Rocking B

 

We had anchored at Church Creek on our trip up and had thought about staying there tonight. We had also seen several other anchorages a little further south so we were undecided. Margaret had talked to a friend that told her about “the best anchorage on the east coast” and we were going to be near it so we decided to try it. Well, we certainly didn’t think it was the best on the east coast. The anchorage was Tom Point Creek and it was narrow. We like a wide anchorage so we can put out a lot of anchor chain and have lots of “swing room”. This place was tight and also deep. It may sound funny to non-boaters, but you don’t want to anchor in a place that is too deep. You put out anchor rode or chain in proportion to how deep the water is. The deeper the water, the more anchor chain, the wider your swing.

 

 We also discover a potentially big problem with saltwater leaking from the riser on the starboard engine. Shay sent out an email with pictures showing the problem and we hope to get some helpful information about it.

Up early to head for Beaufort, SC. We hope to be able to anchor, but may have to go to a marina to check out our water leak problem. We found a good anchorage and settled in. We had dinner in town.

We decided to stay another day so Shay could work on the leak. He took the starboard exhaust elbow off and found a hole in it. He called around and found a welder to repair it. He and Ken decided to ride bikes to get the elbow fixed and visit West Marine, since Ken needed to pick up something. Margaret, me and the dogs spent the time walking around Beaufort. It is a beautiful old town with pretty houses and lots of history. We went looking for a grocery store and ended up at a small neighborhood store. I stayed outside with the “girls” and Margaret went in to check it out. It was ran by a man in his 90’s. He told Margaret no one else wanted to take over the store so he came in everyday.

We ate lunch in town and then visited a park at the waterfront. After our rest, the guys got back and we returned to our boat to put on the exhausr elbow. He did find out we have bigger problems than we thought. The inside of the elbow looks like “craters on the moon”. He is very concerned and started looking for replacements.

We went back to town for dinner and ate at a restaurant recommended by people who live in Beaufort. Margaret saw a place that had an oyster bar and wanted to get appetizers there. We told them we would watch, since we don’t eat raw oysters. They really enjoyed the bar and even got Shay to try one. Shay decided if you put jalapeno, cocktail sauce, and horseradish on the raw oyster, you don’t even know the oyster is there.  The other restaurant was “Luther’s” and the people said it was the only place they ever ate at. We were pleased with our choice. We all left full. We decided to leave the next day and went back to the boat to chart the route.

Our anchorage at Beaufort, SC

Morehead City Yacht Basin to Bull Creek

November 3rd through November 8th

On November 3^rd, 2011 Escape once again took to the water.



We left with Ken and Margaret and their wonderful dogs, Biscuit and Auggie on Rocking B, a 44’ sailing catamaran.

We took off from the Morehead City Yacht Basin heading south to warm water. There is a boat saying “go south until the butter melts in the winter and north until it firms up in the spring”. So we are in search of melting butter or in our case melting margarine. We are ready and off we head to Mile Hammock for our first night out. There is a lot of traffic heading south and we got in line. There are not many anchorages in the area, and sometimes they get full. Everyone is wondering where everyone else is going and if we’re all going to the same place will there be room.

Our first stop, 11-4-11 is again Mile Hammock, part of the Camp Lejune Military Base. We are the second boat in, but by the time the night was over there were 31, which made the anchorage very crowded. There were only 2 tower boats and the rest were sailboats. Sailboaters tend to be more frugal and are more likely to anchor out than power boaters.

Escape at Mile Hammock

The next morning, 11-5-11, before sunrise, the wind got up and it started raining. The wind wasn’t particularly hard, maybe 15kts. At least 2 of the sailboats drug anchor and one of them wound up across the nose of another sailboat, doing damage to both boats. We had planned to leave at sunrise, but cranked our engines and left early to get out of the mess in that anchorage. As we left the anchorage, there was a caravan of others behind us, as if they thought we knew the way in the rain and darkness. If they only knew.

A rainy day on the waterway

Waiting for a bridge to open

We were stopped waiting to go thru a bridge and noticed we had lots of company. Dolphins were all around us. We enjoyed watching them play around the boat.

  

The next day of travel, was to Wrightsville Beach. We had lots of boats traveling with us and again were all wondering if we were headed to the same anchorage. The rain had stopped and it was overcast most of the trip. By the time we got to Wrightsville Beach, the wind was getting up and it looked like an impending storm.

We dropped anchor and decided to see how we would set. Shay decided that we were really too close to another boat and we should move as soon as the wind let up some. Usually, when we are taking up the anchor, I am at the helm and he is bringing up the anchor. Since the winds were so strong, we decided to reverse positions and I would be handling the anchor.

We started paying attention to a small sailboat, with no one on it that looked like it was dragging its anchor.  We soon realized he was coming toward us and we would have to take evasive measures. We quickly cranked the engines and I went down to start taking up the anchor. I took up as much of the rode as I could and we realize the boat was over our anchor, so we headed toward him. I knew we were going to hit the boat and grabbed the handrail so I wouldn’t go overboard. Shay quickly reversed both engines and got us away without damage. I was go glad he was at the helm and not me. I know I would not have reacted as quickly as he did. I told him later he did a great job.

We had already discussed where we would move to so moved down the channel to the back of the anchorage. We found a spot and dropped anchor and we pleased with our decision for a while. The wind continued to blow hard but our anchor was good. Next we notice chatter on the VHF about the small sailboat again. It was loose and heading back toward us. We watched the boat and shay decided to call the Coast Guard to alert them to the situation. While he was talking to them, the sailboat eased into a dock and seemed to be put. They kept asking us where the boat was located. We told them at the low bridge at Wrightsville Beach anchorage, in front of the Blockade Runner Hotel, near the water tower. We even gave the longitude and latitude. I told Shay you would have thought the boat was lost in the middle of the ocean, not ½ mile from the Coast Guard Station.  When the Coast Guard finally got there, the winds were blowing too hard to try to get to the boat. They tried several times and Shay finally told them to go back to the base and bring the jeep out and walk out onto the dock and tie up the boat. They left and shortly after we saw them in their orange jumpsuits on the dock.  

Later there was more chatter, about other boats near where we were dragging. One of the other boats decided to move and of course came back near us. Shay had been keeping an eye on things and just after dark he saw another boat anchoring in front of us. He called them on the radio and told them we had out a lot of anchor chain and he probably didn’t want to get too close to us. We laid down about 8 pm and set the alarm for every hour so he could check and see how things were holding. He got up every hour until about midnight and then the winds got worse and he stayed up. He kept talking to Chris on the sailboat in front of us to make sure things were staying put. About 6 am things settled down and he rested down until about 9. Terrible night.

That morning, 11-5-11, the winds were still blowing but calmer. We called Lauren and made plans to eat lunch with her. We started getting our dinghy ready to lower and Ken let us know he had his going again. He had taken the dogs to shore last night at Mile Hammock and had problems. We were glad we didn’t have to get our dinghy down, since the wind would have made it difficult. He took Margaret and “the girls” to shore for a walk and came and got us. We met Lauren at Tower Seven a Tex-Mex restaurant we had eaten at during our visit during the spring. We all enjoyed our lunch and then Lauren volunteered to take us where ever we needed to go so of course the guys said West Marine. Ken needed a new fuel tank and hose for his dinghy, we off we went. Back to the boat to rest for a while after the sleepless night before.

We had checked on the weather and it was better for the next day so we made plans to leave early the next day. After plotting our course we settled down but not for long. Shay was up a lot that night, watching things and making sure we were safe.

We pulled out of the anchorage at 6:15 the next morning, 11-6-11, heading for St James Plantation Marina, south of Southport, North Carolina. We had good wind, water, and weather. The marina is nice, but there were pooping birds everywhere. They didn’t land on our boats, but on the masts of the sailboats. When they pooped, the wind would blow the poop onto our boat. The poop was hard to get off since it was colored by the berries the birds had been eating. I know I would not want to leave my boat here a long time; it would get covered with poop like some of the boats we saw.

We left with Ken and Margaret on Rocking B and Don and Margaret on Refuge. We had an uneventful trip down the beautiful Waccamaw and pulled into Bull Creek about 4 pm. We had all planned to meet on Escape for dinner and were anxious to get together and visit. We all anchored near each other and met on our boat at 5.

We had a great time. We all enjoyed the delicious meal prepared by the ladies. After our meal, we all sat around and told boating stories. There are always a lot of them to tell.

 

Refuge and Rocking B anchored in Bull Creek.

  When Ken and Margaret left we were not sure if we were leaving the next morning or not. We were still tired from our sleepless nights at anchor.  Refuge had an appointment with a mechanic in Georgetown the next day so they had to leave. Shay and Margaret wanted a “lazy day”, Ken wanted to move on and I didn’t care. We checked the weather and saw we might have some rainy days to stay put, later on, so decided to move on in the morning. Shay plotted our course and we were ready

Escape anchored in Bull Creek



Bull Creek is a beautiful anchorage. We look forward to being here again.

We will head out tomorrow for our next adventure.

Family and Friends

November 2, 2011

I can’t believe that we have been here almost 7 months. They have flown by and been very busy. We have had lots of family and friends come and visit. Lauren, Jason, Holly, Travis, and Sarah all come down… not at one time… we don’t have room for that. Lauren stayed with us on the boat before and after her Europe trip this summer. She was gone for 6 weeks to Oxford, London, Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid. Jason and Holly enjoyed going to the beach and visiting the aquarium.  Of course Travis went fishing and actually caught a big puppy drum from our dock. He was very excited.  Sarah and I enjoyed sitting on the boat and reading. Travis came down another time to fish and visit, but the weather was not good. Maybe he’ll have better luck next time.

Sarah and Travis

Travis and his big catch



Daddy and Billy

Billy, my brother and my dad came down and stayed on the boat when my sister, Michelle, got married in a beautiful ceremony on the beach. 

Daddy

We talked daddy into staying a few extra days and I think he liked Morehead City. He told us when he won the lottery he would by our boat and slip and we could get a different one. I explained that if he won the lottery he would have lots of money, not us. He said he would share. He did think we were infested with rats. We have some small flags on the front of the boat that make a lot of noise when the wind blows. It doesn’t really bother us in the back of the boat, but we knew daddy was a light sleeper so we fixed them so they wouldn’t blow. Billy was taking a late night walk around the front of the boat and thought the wind had tangled the flag, so he straightened it out. The next morning daddy said we had a rat that kept trying to get in last night. He said he knew it was brave cause even when he beat on the side of the boat to scare it away, it still kept trying to get in. We were also visited by the snapping shrimp while they were here, but they were not as bad as they have been. We took the boat out for a ride while he was here.

Shay and my Dad checking out the equipment

Michelle, my sister and her sons, Ethan and Michael, her new husband, Marty, and his son, Rance, and his mother and father came to visit one day. We anchored at Shackleford Banks and enjoyed an afternoon of swimming, relaxing and talking. On the way back, Chelle kept wondering where all the sand was coming from, until she looked down and saw it was coming out of her bathing suit. Of course she had been swimming and her suit was full of sand.  

 

This is not the "sandman" its the "sandgirl".

 

Mary Alice and Bob



  

Michelle and Marty



 

Dorothy and Tim. Tim tried fishing off the front of the boat,
He actually got a bite.

Some friends from our church back home, Frank and Ruth spent several days with us and we had lots of fun.

George and Pam, our dear friends from Mount Airy, came for short visit. We were glad they came cause we always have a good time with them. George and Pam spent a lot of time with us on our previous boat. We hope they will be able to spend lots of time with us on this one too.

Susan and Moses from Mount Airy came and stayed with us. Susan sent us a great thank you gift, 2 sleeping bags made of sheets. I had been wanting to make some for a while and couldn’t find 2 flat king size sheets without buying 2 sets. If you have never made up a V-berth bed you have no idea how difficult it can be. You have to climb into the bed and try to make it up while climbing around on it. Not an easy thing to do. Susan and I talked about it and she said she’d see if she could find us some sheets. Well, shortly after they got home she called and said she had them ready and what was our address. Well I was very surprised and happy. We got them in a few days and they are great. We are so fortunate to have great friends like them.

Susan and Moses

Clark from near Winston Salem came down to fish one weekend and stopped by to see the boat. Shay and Clark worked together a lot on Miss Lauren our previous boat, a 26’ Chris Craft. Bobby who lives in a house at Seagate Marina came by several times to visit and see how things were going.

We have met lots of new friends that came to our dock. Ted and Nancy from Aloha Friday spent a night at MCYB. We fell in love with the Defever style after seeing their 44’ boat. Dick and Lacey from Confetti stopped by also. We had met them while crossing the Lake Okeechobee Waterway in the spring. We enjoyed seeing them all again. We met Richard and Connie from Sea Salt while they were at MCYB. Their boat had an unfortunate accident at the highrise bridge near our marina. When they came thru work was being done on the bridge and the listed height was not correct. They had to change their summer plans so they could get the boat back in running condition. 

Of course I can’t forget all the friends we have made while at the dock. We have a great group of people that live at our marina and have enjoyed getting to know them. Some of them will be traveling south for the winter and some are staying tied to the dock. Dwayne and Linda on Seaveyor are here again. We met them here several years ago right after they had bought their boat. They invited us aboard and we had a great visit. We saw them again at Carolina Beach when we were boat shopping. We were walking the docks and Shay said he had seen that boat before. We walked over and it was Dwayne and Linda again. When we pulled into the Yacht Basin, they were here again.

We have really gotten close to Ken and Margaret on Rocking B. They got here a little after we did this spring and have been doing a lot of the same things to their boat that we have done to ours, so Shay and Ken have bonded. Margaret and I have decided they were brothers that were separated at birth. They have talked for hours and hours about batteries, alternators, solar panels and lots of other stuff. I think it has been good for them to have someone to bounce ideas off of since their wives don’t understand what they are talking about most of the time. Needless to say we have spent lots of time together and have enjoyed getting to know them. But it doesn’t stop with us leaving the dock… yes they will leave with us and we will travel together for a while. So we don’t have to cut the cord yet.

We got to know Mary Ellen and Howard on Oceannia, John on Bad Bunny, and Ann and George on Incentive. They will be staying at the dock and hopefully we will see them again when we return next summer.

If I have left out any family, friends, or visitors, please forgive me. You all know I am getting older and more forgetful every day.

We made serveral trips back to Mount Airy to visit while we were docked. We enjoyed getting together with family and friends back home.  Of course, we had to eat at our favorite restaurant in the whole world while we were there. It's Chile Rojo and we love it . We have been known to eat lunch and dinner there in the same day. Hey, it's that good.

Its really strange to go back to the house. This feels like home and the house feels like we are visitors. We sure hope the house sells soon, so if you know of anyone looking for a house in that area let us know!

Post Irene

While we were still in Mt. Airy, we called several times and checked on Escape and the Morehead City area. The storm was a Category II when she hit Morehead. The area was not hit as hard as it could have been and most of the damage was due to flooding. We talked to people whose house was flooded up to the bottom of windows on the first floor in the house. Most of the people that have lived here for a while, have a routine to follow before a hurricane comes. They know to move furniture, tie everything down, and then leave. There was a lot of downed trees and broken branches in yards and along the roads. It will take a while to get up all the debris.

We asked Dwayne from Seaveyor to check on Escape, since his boat was near Escape. He walked over to check on our boat and told us everything was ok. The power was off for a while and didn't come back on until we on the way back down there. He also told us that everything was fine at our marina. We were glad to hear everything was good.

We were anxious to see the boat and make sure everything was ok. The boat came through the storm with flying colors. The only damage we had was the microphone for the VHF radio on the fly bridge got water in it. We had to replace the mic element. We left the boat plugged into shore power but expected the power to go off during the storm. Our very large new batteries should have ran the refrigerator for several weeks without power, but when the power went off the refrigerator didn't  switch to battery backup like it should have. So one of the first things we did was clean out the refrigerator and throw some of the stuff away.

Later we found that when the refrigerator was removed to install a small DC fan to keep the refrigerator cabinet cooler, we accidentally unplugged the DC power cord. For the last month, the refrigerator had been running on AC only and we had not noticed when we left the dock that the refrigerator wasn't running. At least it was a cheap fix.

We decided while the boat was out of the water, to sand and paint the underwater portion of the boat. The paint used on the bottom has a high level of copper in it to prevent barnacles from growing on the bottom.

The next day Carlos from Core Creek Boatyard, started sanding the large areas on the bottom of the boat. He suited up with a white plastic suit with a hood, goggles,and respirator. He used a sander that had a vacuum attached to it so the toxic paint on the bottom of the boat would be contained. Carlos worked about 2.5 hours.We worked from 7:00 am until dark on the nooks and crannies. Shay used sandpaper, screwdriver, a dental pick, a drill and I'm not sure what else. But he got it really clean. We had just had a diver clean the bottom of the boat the week before we were hauled out and we were very disappointed in how the bottom of the boat looked. You can tell by the pictures, that the bottom still looked dirty. Maybe we are expecting too much.


Cleaning the rudder so they can get painted.


Carlos started painting the area he had cleaned and we kept cleaning the rest of the boat. Carlos started about 8:30 am, took an hour for lunch, and stopped by 4:00 pm each day. We worked from 6:30 or 7:00 am until the mosquitoes ran us in. We don't know why, but after the hurricane the mosquitoes were awful. They started about dusk every night, it didn't matter if it was calm or windy, they were out and hungry.
 

 

                                                  Painting inside a thru-hull fitting.



We were outside the boat talking to Chris and Sasha Smith from "Tribe" and we had to go inside the boat the mosquitoes were so bad. But that didn't stop them, cause we had left the doors open on the boat and they were inside too.



Painting the inside of the sea chest.



We enjoyed meeting Chris and Sasha and look forward to meeting their kids. They are from South Africa and have already had several adventures. They have already sailed on a previous boat and been on a safari, so they have lots of stories to tell. They have been living on their boat in the yard since there was snow on the ground. They were getting ready to put their boat in the water when Irene came thru. They have decided to stay out until after November 15 to miss the hurricanes. They still have stuff to do to their boat. I think everyone that has a boat has stuff to do. The thing is some people don't get the stuff done or they pay someone else to do it. We can't afford to do that so we just keep on working.

We painted everything on the boat at least twice, somethings three, and some as many as 6 or eight times. We had the paint and were going to try and cover the places that got the most wear as many times as we could.

Shay cleaned and sanded the props until they looked like new and were so shiny. Shay and Ken from Rocking B painted the props with Prop Speed and they look like gold. Prop Speed costs about $7500.00 a gallon, luckily we only needed a couple of ounces. The props are so slick that masking tape won't stick to them.

There was another hurricane coming, Katia, so rather than going back into the water and possibly getting hauled again, we decided to compound and wax the boat. Shay worked on compounding everything from the deck down. Now this may not sound like a big job, but remember how big I said the boat was? Some of the boat he could do standing on the ground, but most of it was done from a ladder and some of it was done from the top of a ladder. Its not easy to stand on top of a ladder and hold on to the anchor with one hand and hold a 7 pound buffer with the other for hours at a time. Shay was exhausted. He said even his hands hurt.

After he finished that, he put on 2 coats of Rejex, a polymer to seal the fiberglass.





 After that he cleaned the rub rail metal to get the rust off. That was the only easy thing he did. The stuff he used was great, just wipe it on and wipe off the rust.

 

Before



After



  

 

   

     

All finished

Well, we finally did all the out of water stuff we had planned and the tropics looked clear with no waves or depressions, and we missed the water, so we decided to go back to the marina. We had a lunchtime pickup, cleaned the places we couldn't get to before and put several thick coats of paint on them and hung there for a couple of hours to let them dry some. They came and put us in the water and we took off for the marina.
 



  

Backing away from the travel lift

 

 





I drove all the way back to the channel coming into the marina. I think I did good. Shay wanted to do several engine room checks so that worked out ok for both of us.

Ken and Margaret from Rocking B met us at our dock and helped undo the front lines we had tie wrapped and then we got settled back into the rhythm of the water.