SeaTrial Trip

October 21, 2012

We are on target for leaving Bradenton for the winter near the end of October.  We just completed a short 3-night trip in which we tested as many boat systems as possible.  We were pleased that we found only a few minor problems that we should be able to resolve.

We left Twin Dolphin Marina on Thursday October 18 and traveled down the Manatee River and across Tampa Bay to anchor at Egmont Key.  Egmont Key, while interesting, is not the best anchorage - exposed to the East and 'rolly' in the best of weather due to large ship traffic transiting the Egmont Channel and boats in the Intracoastal Waterway across the Bay.  It is also home to the Tampa Bay Pilots, who guide the large ships in and out of the port, so their boats are going in and out at all hours. But the weather was settled and we had only a little rolling.  An interesting note is that Egmont was the first place we anchored in Florida on a charter here almost 25 years ago.



Pilot Boats at Egmont Key



Barge Outbound Egmont Channel

 
We go to Egmont to get a short sail across the bay and test some equipment there.  In particular, we need to purge storage chemicals from our watermaker and do a water making test.  The water at Egmont is much clearer than that in the river, where our filters would quickly clog.  Our watermaker test was good.

We also wanted to test our new satellite phone antenna, which is mounted on the arch, with a clearer horizon than we have at the marina or even in the river.  The antenna has not been performing very well at all, and unfortunately a clearer horizon did not help.  The technician is coming over on Monday to check it out.  If it can not be fixed, we can continue to use the 'hockey puck' antenna we used last year.

On Friday we returned to the Manatee River and anchored at Emerson Point for two nights.  We enjoy this anchorage a lot; there is a preserve ashore with some neat hiking trails; however, we can also easily reach it by car, so it is not that exotic an anchorage for us.  There we tested additional systems including the dinghy.

Barefoot at anchor at Emerson Point

 Above is a picture of Barefoot at anchor at Emerson Point in the lower Manatee River.  One notable addition to her equipment this year that can be easily seen in this picture is the D400 wind generator.  This will complement our existing solar panels to supply electricity when we are away from the dock (which we usually are).  It seems that when the sun doesn't shine, the wind blows, so they are a good pair. These systems minimize the amount that we need to run the ship's engine to charge batteries.

Upon arrival back at Twin Dolphin, we had a package waiting from our mailing service.  We were initially a bit surprised by the size of the box, since we only expected a dozen or so envelopes.  But inside was a great surprise.  A friend of Joyce's from high school had made her a wonderful quilt with a breast cancer awareness theme - Joyce is a breast cancer survivor.  It is really beautiful - thank you! 

Well it looks like we will be ready for our planned departure around the end of this month. The rough schedule has us transiting down to Pine Island Sound and kicking around there for a couple of weeks and then working our way to Miami, via the Keys for an early December crossing to the Bahamas. We will be exploring the Exumas and some of the far southern cays this year.

Tom
Bradenton, FL

Sea Trial

October 16, 2012

After a month of hard work, Barefoot is (hopefully) ready to go cruising.

Work this year included varnishing most of the exterior teak and stripping and cleaning the 7 winches along with the typical putting on sails, etc.

Shortly, we plan to take her out for a few days to excercise everything; we usually find a few minor problems that hopefully can be resolved before our planned departure for the winter at the end of the month.

Following are a picture of Barefoot from yesterday and when we arrived in September.  Like the 'puzzle' pictures where you find the differences between two photos, see how many changes you can find if you have some time to kill.

 

 

 

 



Tom
Bradenton, FL

Varnishing Teak

September 30, 2012

I just finished putting a maintenance coat of varnish on a large portion of the brightwork (teak) on Barefoot. Varnished wood looks great on a boat, but is a major maintenance item, particularly in the Florida sun.

First a confession before I am disclosed as a fraud by a varnish purist - I used Cetol (gasp).  Cetol is often referred to by purists as 'varnish for beginners', but I AM a beginner, having varnished for the first time last year about this time.  Cetol is applied in two steps, first a color coat (I use Marine Light) and then an optional gloss coat. 

I have had pretty good results, but varnishing, even with Cetol, is a vodoo science.   Let me quote from the directions:  do not apply when the humdity is above 80%, do not apply unless the dew point is at least 3 degrees Celius below the air temperature; do not apply in wet weather; do not apply in the sun or if the surface is hot; apply a liberal coat, but not too thick; flow the product on, do not brush....

In other words, it is basically impossible to apply it on a boat in Florida.

The last two days are a case in point.  The probability of rain  on both days was low (10-20%) - about as good as it gets in Florida this time of year.  But the dew and remnants of rain from the prior evening did not let me get started until 11:00 - 11:30 AM; any moisture or humdity present when applying is deadly.  But of course by then the sun has come up in full force and it started to get hot.

About 25% through the color coat on Friday, I could not touch the deck with a bare hand it was so hot and it then starts to get more difficult to 'flow' the product on.  I learned a cute term last year, a spot that does not get a smooth coat of the varnish is called a 'holiday' by varnishers; doesn't that sound like fun, your brush goes on vacation while you are stuck in the hot sun. Four hours and numerous bottles of Gatorade later I completed the color coat.

Saturday started similarly, but with scattered clouds so it was not quite so hot. But about 75% through the gloss coat the clouds started to get ominously dark.  The decision - quit or try to finish.  A little rain on top of the varnish that is at least 'dust dry' is not fatal, but moisture on the surface before application is lethal, so I pushed on to finish.  Luckily, the clouds produced only a faint dusting of moisture after I finished and it appears that it has not caused any significant clouding, crazing, or other problems in the finish.

I coated about 80% of the teak (toe or cap rail, grab rail, and cockpit coamings) and will probably leave the rest for later this year.  Some pictures follow, but it is hard to really show the finish.

Ah, the boating life! 

But on the other hand, the view from our boat this morning:

Tom
Bradenton, FL

We are Officially Houseless...The Boat is Our Home

September 27, 2012

Late this afternoon, our attorney left the closing for our house, with check in hand.  It had seemed like forever since we signed the contract to sell, but in reality, it was less than three months.  Since the offer was made less than a week after the house went on the market, the wait to close seemed endless.

We are officially houseless - the boat is now our home.  We are so thankful that we were able to spend 30 years at 115 Huntleigh Ave, in a great neighborhood and in a house that was perfect for us.  The house was not too big and not too small, and had lots of charm.  With many improvements that have been done in the past five years, the biggest being a new kitchen with a dishwasher, we hated to sell it.  But, the time had come...the boat was our home, and we didn't want to have to close up the house for winter, rake the leaves, mow the lawn and make sure the driveway was shoveled for another year.

Since it was so much work getting the house ready to turn over to its new owners, we really didn't have a lot of time to wax nostalgic, although we will miss it.

Thirty years ago, after the closing to buy our house (and before we moved in), the first meal we had was wine and cheese and crackers, sitting on the livingroom floor.  We thought we would do the same thing for our last meal in the house, but we decided it would be too painful.  So, we brought the wine to Florida, and we are celebrating our first meal in the only home we now own, the boat.  But, 30 years later, we will be sitting on the settee, not on the floor.   

In the end, you really never own things.  You only have a chance to use them for a while before you pass them on. 

Joyce
Bradenton, FL

Where are you from?

September 24, 2012

Where are you from?  Always a simple question right?  Well we have recently been wrestling with how to answer this question.

Why so complicated you ask?  Well....

First we have sold our home in Fayetteville NY (closing in a couple of days).  So it does not seem accurate to respond Syracuse (Fayetteville).  The boat is now home.

We are legal Florida residents, but our residential address is that of our mailing service in Green Cove Springs, FL near St. Augustine.  That is the address on our driver's licenses, vehicle/vessel registrations, voter registrations, etc.  We could answer we live there, but we know nothing about the area and have little connection to it.

Our boat hails from Pineland, FL a small community on the west coast of Florida near Sanibel and Captiva.  We chose that as our hailing port because we own land there and hope to build a home there someday.  But somewhat like Green Cove Springs we do not currently have a strong connection with the area.

Our boat's home dock for the last 3 years has been in Bradenton, FL.  But we were away from here crusing last year for over 7 months and will similarly be away this year as we cruise to the Keys and Bahamas.  We plan to return here next summer, but may not after that.

So do we live in Fayetteville NY, Green Cove Springs FL, Pineland FL, Bradenton FL or somewhere else?

Joyce has settled on the quick answer of "We lived near Syracuse NY for 30 years and now live on our boat"

I am more undecided and am currently somewhere between "That is a tough question" to  "We live on our boat"

What do you think we should say?

Tom
Bradenton, FL

Barefoot Welcomes Us Home

September 14, 2012

Barefoot welcomes us home today after 3 months away.  She has done well over the summer and looks great. Now the work begins to get her back in crusing form.

We have a contract to sell our house in Fayetteville and expect to close shortly.  Over the summer we have cleaned out 30 years worth of accumulation - quite a job - but the house is now ready for her new owners.

 From now on the boat is home!


Tom & Joyce
S/V Barefoot
Docked in Bradenton, FL

Canada

August 9, 2012

First, this is a non-sailing adventure.

Since we returned to our home dock in Bradenton in early June, up until now, it has been nothing but work, work, work.  First getting the boat ready for the summer, then getting our house ready to put on the market. 

Well, we got a great offer on the house which we have accepted, with closing scheduled in early September!  Sooo we decided to take some time off and head to Canada for a week or so.

We first went to Quebec City where the New France Festival was going on last weekend.  Quebec is a destination that we have enjoyed many times before.  The old part of the city is walled and dates back over 400 years.  If you have ever wanted to go to France, in 6 hours (from Syracuse) and for a fraction of the cost, you can have a wonderful French experience in Quebec.

No it is NOT true that 'They all speak English, but they won't"  I don't know how this 'urban legend' got started, but it is simply not true. Especially outside the larger cities the vast majority of people know little or no English.  But they are very friendly and between our little French and their little English, you get by - although it is sometimes an adventure!

The New France Festival (http://www.nouvellefrance.qc.ca/en/ ) is an annual event that celebrates the arrival of the French in Quebec in 1608.  There are parades, many people in period costumes (some 'actors', but many 'real' people just 'dress up' to attend), food, and great music.  A little French helps, but you will enjoy it without any.

The following video gives a feel for the festival  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FwkmJEbOmkM

We then traveled to St-Faustin-Lac-Carre, a little rural town in Quebec near Mont Termblant.  When I (Tom) made the reservation at the small B&B  (http://www.gitedelagare.com/index-en.html)  that we stayed at, I realized our hosts spoke minimal English, so I was a little worried that the arrangements were made properly.  But it was a cute little place and our hosts were expecting us as planned.

After arrival we had a great conversation with two (English speaking) guests from Montreal.  Topics were wide-ranging including their upcoming provincial election. I don't know if it happens every election, but this year there is quite a bit of discussion among the candidates about Quebec independence from Canada.  It is a complex issue and I personally don't think it will ever happen, but over the years I have come to better understand some of the French-Canadian's frustrations with Anglo-centric Canada - but that is a whole other discussion!

We then traveled to Kingston, Ontario for our last few nights in Canada.  The highlight of trip there, was lunch at Chez Piggy  (http://www.chezpiggy.com/ ).  The best item on the menu is an appetizer called Gambas al Ajillo. It is shrimp baked in a cast iron pan with oil, garlic (lots), and some pepper. We ordered it with extra (great French) bread and our server said "You have been here before haven't you?"  Yes, Yes we have.  You use the bread to soak up the oil and garlic and it is a meal.  Just don't plan any social engagements afterwards, until you can thoroughly brush your teeth :-)

Tom & Joyce
Fayetteville, NY