Sunday 5/17
We left Sarasota on Friday with hopes of a marina berth in Venice. The marina told me over the phone that they were full. Plan B was to dock at a free slip at a Venice city park with 3 slips that allowed one overnight stay. We arrived at 2:00 pm but the slips were taken. Plan C was to anchor just off the slips. Pulling in beside another sailboat we went aground. Trying to motor off didn't work so I ran back and forth rocking the boat - to no avail. We launched the dingy and I tried pushing and pulling but only succeeded in turning us 90 degrees. A week and a half earlier in Clearwater I had upgraded my towing insurance to the Gold package for another $78. That saved me $490 when TowUS came out to pull us off. We moved 100 yards back down the channel and tucked in behind a marker, got stuck again, got off ourselves, and rigged front and stern anchors to hold us squarely in the little bit of water deep enough for us. Other cruisers came in and packed the small anchorage tight. The last few boats came in one channel, saw there was no room, and went out the other channel.
The tight little anchorage in Venice:
We left the next morning in light east winds that were predicted to switch northeast. NOAA (once again) was wrong exactly 100%. The wind switched to the southwest, not the predicted northeast. We tacked a 55 mile course to cover the 32 miles to Boca Grande, anchoring about 6:30 pm. A man in a speedboat stopped by, said he was once a sailor, and recommended we move to a more sheltered anchorage about 2 miles north. I had read about the anchorage he was referring to in the cruising guide so we decided to move. A very bad decision.
As we entered the Boca Grande yacht basin, just after sunset, a massive thunderstorm came roaring in. We were 200 yards from the anchorage when we went aground again, in the middle of the narrow channel. The wind pivoted the boat almost into an enclosed boat garage attached to a waterfront home. With De Anne at the helm giving full throttle in reverse and me at the bow pushing off the corner of the garage the boat spun with the wind and lay parallel to a sea wall. The wind drove the boat further toward the seawall and the list increased to 20 degrees. The keel and rudder pounded with every gust and wave. The noise of the storm and the sounds from the boat were a horrible grinding, big slams, all with the background of howling wind. De Anne broke out life vests and prepared waterproof bags of our few important things. I called the Coast Guard and told them our situation, and that no lives were in jepordy. We could have waded to shore if necessary. They called TowUS for us. This time it took quite a while to get us off. The tow captain had to zig-zag back and forth for at least a half hour to inch us off.
Because of the rudder damage we were towed to the nearest marina that does boat repair in the area, Gasparilla. We arrived at the marina about midnight. Total cost of the tow was $1,149 - my cost $0. My $78 investment saved us over $1,600 in the past 2 days. My hope is to never increase my savings like that again.
Of course errors in judgement led to the need for "Unlimited Gold Card" towing. We knew there was only one small anchorage in Venice if the one deep-draft marina was full. We left Sarasota on Friday knowing the weekend and huge amounts of boat traffic were aganist us. We will now move on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday only in open water - never in the intercoastal. Boat traffic from Clearwater south is enormously greater than central or northern Florida. Second lesson - If the anchor is down with lots of clear room around us we will stay put for the night. I had 100 feet of chain out in 10 feet of water so we were quite likely secure. In the future, I will smile, and say thanks to folks with well-intentioned advice, but that is all.
I'm getting tired of going aground but it seems that's not unusual on the Florida gulf coast. Skinny water is everywhere and the NOAA charts are only a bit more reliable than their weather predictions. As a slight modifer I do understand that shoaling and silting are constant here. The TowUS guy said his work is steady and some days he'll pull the same boat twice in one day. Misery loves company.
The good news! We got real showers today. A quart of water and a damp washcloth only go so far during 10 days of anchoring. De Anne washed clothes too although we are not going through many now in warmer weather. Shorts and tank tops or tees don't make a big pile, especially when you wear the same set for three days. Gentle Reader, don't be squemish - this is the "dirty" secret of all cruisers - except the ones that go a week between changes. Just as you can tell a cruising boat by the junk on deck, you can spot the "refined slob" look of the cruisers. The uniform shirt of male cruisers is the "old men rule" tee-shirt.
Update Tuesday 5/19
We met Steve and Mark on Periwinkle, a Pearson 39, when they pulled in with engine problems and docked next to us. They left today headed south with a goal of Miami in a week. With gale force winds predicted tonight and tomorrow I'll be thinking of them tonight as we sit safe in a protected marina tied to a floating dock.
Periwinkle at the dock with Rising Star:
De Anne and I took a long walk this afternoon between rain showers (actually, huge gully-washers) and discovered we were in the middle of nowhere, unless we wanted a bait shop or to charter a fishing boat. After we returned she struck out on her own in a different direction and learned a new Florida lesson - watch for gators. She almost stepped on a 6 foot gator. The rest of her walk was on red alert.
We await a pull to assess the damage from the storm grounding. The almost constant storms have set the marina travellift schedule back. After repairs our next destination is North Captiva 18 miles south, then to Ft. Myers city marina which we will use as a base during huricane season.
Update Wednesday 5/20
The Gasparilla Marina folks have been very good to us. The office manager printed out my insurance form and faxed it for me. The Ship's Store manager discounted my dockage for the week by $200 and is driving us to Publix tomorrow to stock up on food.
Update Sunday 5/24
The Marina pulled us on Friday.The rudder damage was not near as bad as I had feared. They glassed the ragged bottom, checked it inside and out, epoxied it and bottom coated. The bill was $670 and my deductable on insurance is $640, so no sense in turning it in. I also took advantage of being out of the water to have them put on a bigger, fixed blade, bronze prop and committed my Kiwi composite folding prop to backup. De Anne is fearful of a loss in sailing speed, but after 4 months understands because of how much motoring we do - despite our best efforts.
The rudder repairs:
We launched Saturday and promptly broke one of our rules (no weekend travel)and set out down the intercoastal. It was thick with big and small boats - all with big wakes. The new prop seemed to help with a bit more speed. We arrived in North Captiva and anchored across the channel behind Cayo Costa island. Then we broke another rule (leaving a decent anchorage for no compelling reason) and decided to anchor behind North Captiva and be closer. We did not run aground (chart says 9 feet of water), but at 5 feet on the depth meter I tossed out the anchor. De Anne went ashore to visit her sister. Turned out to be a bad spot when the keel started hitting bottom about midnight. We raised anchor and moved 100 yards to 12 feet of water and re-anchored. After a night on anchor watch we (me!) raised the anchor yet again at 7:00am and headed back to the original spot.
Update Monday 5/25
We spent the morning ashore on Cayo Costa. It was a shell collectors paradise! There was even a 7 foot dead nurse shark washed ashore. Back on the boat we watched huge sea turtles, dolphins, and lots of big manta rays- some in groups.
The view of Captiva Pass from Lisa and DeLinda's porch:
The view of Captiva Pass from Rising Star:
1 comment:
Both of you stay safe! What adventures! Thank goodness you wrote - back here, we (the entire TOS and BFD) were all beginning to wonder if you were all right. Have lots of fun, eat well, shower often, and stay safe!
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