AN INSIDE PASSAGE TO VERO BEACH AND CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA – An old friend rejoins, a new friend is made, and we say good-bye to a dear friend- December 12 through December 29th Latitude N27 Degrees 39.6 Minutes North

 

 

Due to weather (forecasted winds from the South) we decided on an inside passage of two days down the Indian River to Vero Beach and our next jumpoff point of Fort Pierce, FL. The ICW at this point is straight for the most part and for the first half with plenty of water outside of the channel. We took an easy day on our first day, anchoring 20 miles south of Cocoa at Melbourne Beach. During that first day, we passed mile marker 900—nine hundred miles since leaving the Chesapeake Bay, a major milestone for us. The second day was a little more difficult, with shallows on either side of the 100-foot-wide channel.

We arrived at the Vero Beach City Marina at 4pm on afternoon of the December 13th with the expectations of a quick refueling, filling of water tanks, and getting groceries. Vero Beach City Marina is a nice set up. It has 57 mooring balls and a small number of slips to tie up to. Frequently, boats are asked to tied up next to each other (called nesting). So there may be 80-90 boats here on the moorings, with folks from all over the United States plus an international contingent from Britain, the Netherlands, and lots of Frenchies (they maybe Canadian, but they definitely speak mostly French).

After we tied up to the assigned mooring ball, we noticed that the port side tube of the dinghy was deflated—not a good sign. We launched the dinghy and tried to pump up the tube. No luck, it deflated immediately—air was escaping at the seam between the tube and an end cap. This was a MAJOR disaster for us!!!

Using a bit of duct tape, we were able to keep enough air in the dinghy to run back and forth to the marina. So we checked in and started to research options. The dinghy is important and Elena now had lost faith in it. A little more research uncovered we had 6 months left on the warranty from Mercury, so we made a few phone calls and filed a service call. We were advised to take the dinghy to Stuart, FL about 35 miles away. Without a car, that was going to be a challenge and even if we did deliver it, we would be without transportation back and forth between the boat and the marina.

Elena went around collecting “local intelligence”. We had decided that it would definitely not be a Mercury given that it had lasted 4.5 years instead of an expected 10 years. Elena found that a 17 inch diameter tube handled much better than 16 inch tube. So when we decided to buy a new dinghy, we decided  on a Defender 300, a 9 foot 10 inch boat (our old one was 8 foot 2 inches). We were not sure it would fit the davits and not sure our 4 horsepower outboard would be able to push it, but we took the risk with the bigger boat.

One night, a boat came up and asked to tie up alongside (again, nesting is common here at Vero Beach). After a few exchanges of introductions, we discovered he was Tom Sax, soloing his boat south. He was a retired Air Force colonel and had taught offshore sailing at the Naval Academy. We chatted a bit about the military and other idle matters. He was gone before we awoke the next morning.

Meanwhile, Yelena had rejoined us 16 December. She and Elena did a lot of shopping in the area. We also became friends with John, a solo sailor from the sailing vessel “Spirit”, a Hans Christian sail boat of similar design to “Sophia”. John made the four of us a delicious spaghetti dinner (He is Italian American and a former professional chef). The dinner was fabulous, finished off by a bottle of good cognac.

Elena, Yelena, and I did a fair amount of partaking of adult beverages, including a good amount of cognac and vodka shots in the great Russian tradition. All in all, Yelena and John made our stay here go so much faster given how long we were stuck here.
At some point in the week, the head (aka, toilet) stopped working again. It had been making awful noises (not a good sign) and then the electric motor stopped working totally. Fortunately for the two women aboard, they had scheduled a trip to Indian Rocks Beach to clean Yelena’s condo the day the head failed. So off they went, while I tore the entire toilet apart.

Now, an electric toilet on a boat is not a simple thing. It has an electric motor which drives a pump which pumps water in, another pump to pump effluent =out, and a macerator, a blade the chops everything up. I had to do a complete rebuild of the pump, especially the pump that pumps water in…all while working on my hands and knees in a cramped space and obviously not in the nicest of environments.

I broke out the rebuild kit and its instructions (which were somewhat cryptic). I looked for youtube videos (there were some, but not very helpful). I then tore the toilet apart, took out the motor and pumps, replaced a broken impeller, and installed new seals and gaskets. I then put the pump back in the toilet and hooked all the piping in. Time for the test…I pushed the start button and the pumps leaked like a rainstorm. It was the end of the day. The re-do would have to wait till morning.

No choice…take it all apart again. I called the manufacturer, but they did not return my call (the tech was at a funeral). This time a took the whole thing out of the compartment and took it to the cockpit so I could work on it comfortably. I figured out that I had not installed the seals correctly and maybe the gasket was not installed perfectly. So I re-installed the entire assembly again. This time, I tested it without hooking it up, pumping into the shower, and “lo and behold” it worked perfectly.

When I hooked it up, it jammed and stopped working electrically. No motor, no sound, no nothing. This was a huge set-back.

Yelena and Elena had delayed their return, leaving Indian Rocks Beach at 8am December 21st instead of the evening of the 20th, giving me some extra time. I called Elena and told her to buy an entire new toilet at Tampa in case I failed again and to find a solenoid switch in case that was the failure point.

I jiggered the motor a bit, reset the electrical panel and the motor magically started working, but it would not pump out. I knew the toilet pump was working because I tested it. So not only did I have a problem with the electric toilet that I had now solved, but I had a blockage too.

I broke out the snake and began clearing the line. Lots of rocks and sand came out (actually, built up calcification that had been freed by previous work). I did the same to a second section of the line and then used muriatic acid (really, hydrochloric acid) to break up the calcification. I was able to clear the line to a satisfactory level so that we could at least use the head, but it still needs some work at a later date. I told Elena to return the new toilet to the nearest West Marine store on her way back.

As I was in the middle of this, at about 4pm, the marina called saying there was a large crate waiting for me on the dock. The new dinghy had arrived. I immediately went in with hammer, pliers, and a knife. Working for two hours, I finally uncrated the new boat. John came over to give me a hand and we pumped it up and launched. It was so huge compared to our old one, and with a deep V and 17 inch tubes, it is a stretch for me to step in and out.

 

Elena and Yelena arrived the next morning and Elena immediately fell in love with her new dinghy. It was deep, and when sitting on the tubes, high. It was dry when the winds come up and in a chop, at least compared to the old one. And there is tons of space for the three of us and all our packages. The old outboard pushed the new boat nicely.

 

On the 22rd, Yelena and I took the old dinghy to the Mercury dealer in Stuart and left it there for evaluation. The service rep said no one would even look at until January 3rd, by which time I hoped to be in the Bahamas. So, I said good-bye to my old friend, my Mercury 280 Dynamic dinghy. I’m hoping Yelena or John will take care of the whatever happens with the old dinghy.

Yelena left us for St Louis, her home base, on the morning of the 23rd. We put the new dinghy on the davits and it all seemed to work good.

With the head fixed, our goodbyes given to Yelena, the new dinghy delivered, and the old dinghy at the repair shop, there was nothing keeping us here. But Elena wanted to stay through Christmas and so we did.

On the 24th, Elena and I celebrated the anniversary of our first date with a steak dinner. It was the first time we did not go to dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s where our first date was, but it was still very nice and we laughed a lot over the miles we have traveled since that fateful day.

 

The next day, I treated Elena to omelets while she got into the Christmas spirit.

 

 

Later we had a Christmas dinner of baked ham and BBQ ribs, along with some “Dark and Stormies” (rum and ginger beer), champagne, and a bit of Cognac, with John, and his two cats, Max and Athena, as hosts, onboard “Spirit”. Elena really enjoyed her time with the cats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, John brought Athena over for a visit with Elena.

“Spirit” needs a replacement engine and John will be in Vero Beach for a while before moving on the Bahamas where we expect to cross paths.

 

An update:  Weather reports show that we will have to wait until Monday January 2nd to leave.  Winds are expected to out of the North on December 29th, but with speeds of  20-25 knots, a little much for us.  Then winds turn to be out of the south and in our face until at least Sunday.  Our plans are to still jump outside at Fort Pierce, pull in at Lake Worth (Palm Beach) and then Fort Lauderdale, before heading for Bahamas on a northeasterly route across the Gulf Stream.