As you recall we were headed north to Key Biscayne with a somewhat repaired starboard holding tank. We were under the impression that as long as we didn't fill the tank up, all would be okay until we could have it properly repaired. We forgot to take into consideration the bouncing a boat can take from sailing (or wakes from other boats). By the time we reached Key Biscayne, it was obvious that the 'sloshing' in the holding tank (with very little in it, mind you) still caused the boat to smell like an outhouse. So while we were stuck in Key Biscayne for three days with rough weather, we were forced to completely clean out the starboard holding tank and only use the port head. For those of you with any holding tank experience, the problem was that they didn't fix the lid to the tank when they repaired it. They fixed the cracked bottom, but managed to separate the lid from the built in tank when they filled it with water to test it. They refused to remove the lid to fix the tank (because it was too much work). So, as things sloshed around in the tank, it allowed 'stuff' to escape over the wall and into the bilge (bringing massive stench with it).
While in Key Biscayne, we did get to enjoy the spring breaker's parties that happened nightly. The kids did some swimming, and we enjoyed watching the other boaters and the swimming/diving black scoters (a kind of duck). Our cat Tiger informed us, on the second day we were there, that something was not right up on the tramps near the bow of the boat. As I followed him forward (he had come to get me, meowing at me to follow him), I discovered what had caused him to get upset. Apparently the supposedly cute black scoters had decided to spend the night sleeping and enjoying their dinner on our tramps. All I can say is that ducks are really rather nasty! There were feathers, poo, and blood from their feast all over the bow and tramps. Needless to say, a lot of clean-up was needed every morning we were there.
From there we went north to Lake Sylvia in Fort Lauderdale for a night. Arriving to anchor there on the last weekend of Spring Break (the busiest weekend of the year) was rather interesting. I think all of the boats there could actually touch one another all evening. The crowding was worse than anything I had ever seen! There was a section on the intercostal that had dozens upon dozens of boats all tied together in a huge bunch. We were happy to be on our way after only one night.
From there we travelled quickly up to anchor in Foster Park in Palm Beach/Riviera. We were only there for dinner and a night's sleep before we were back on our way north again. The last few days we had traveled on the outside rather than going up the Intracoastal because it's faster. Unfortunately the ocean was a bit bumpy and I had to medicate poor Tiger both days. Even our daughter needed some Bonine along the way. So we decided to continue our travel up inside on the Intracoastal to give everyone a break. It had been impossible for the kids to do any schoolwork, when they're sitting in the cockpit watching the coast line (because it was too lumpy to stay inside).
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| Tiger in charge! |
So, we traveled up the Intracoastal to Fort Pierce. We had planned on only anchoring for the night and moving on, however we were set back a bit. Along the Intracoastal, in addition to many drawbridges that have to be navigated, there are crab pots everywhere. You see them in clusters (various colored styrofoam balls floating on the surface - informing you of a basket trap underneath), and you have to navigate around them if one breaks free and ends up in the channel. Along the way, we had moved over to let a larger sailboat by, and didn't see the lonely crab pot floating in our path till it was too late. We hit it dead on with our starboard prop. We smelled some burning plastic and thought, "Great, we just lost an engine." We stopped in Peck Lake to dive under and see what damage might have been done. But the water was too murky and dark to see anything. So we limped along on to Fort Pierce on one engine (port side).
We got caught in a nasty thunderstorm on the outskirts of Fort Pierce. There was zero visibility and lightening cracks happening very close by. We were driving blind by gps and radar. Why should we worry? After all, it's not like we were the only boat around with a huge aluminum stick reaching over 60 feet in the air! We unplugged everything and turned off every switch/breaker we could on the boat. Then we waited. As we were going through the last bridge to get to Fort Pierce, we heard a women on the VHF key up to say she was going southbound under that same bridge and couldn't see anything (basically a watch out if you're on the other side). We keyed up and said we were going northbound under the same bridge at that moment. Visibility was so bad, that we went under that bridge, to the other side, and never saw the other boat coming the other way. We made it safe and sound though. We were all standing in the rain getting sopping wet as we tied her up to the dock in Harbortown Marina. We dried off and went to their restaurant for dinner. Afterwards the wife and daughter went and did several loads of laundry, the son stayed on board to watch the cat, and the captain went to the bar and had several beers before collapsing into clean sheets to sleep.
We knew that Harbortown Marina would have people who could do repairs. So we had called them up and gotten a slip along our way through the thunderstorm. We also found a diver that could come out and check the prop the next day. Divers are way cheaper than having your boat hauled out! We figured while we were there, that we should have them give us an estimate on completing the repair to the starboard holding tank. The diver reported that the crab pot must have fallen away as there was no line in the prop, nor any damage to anything under the boat. The fiberglass guys said they could repair the holding tank the next week. Since paying for two weeks in a marina costs more money than staying for the month, we decided to pay the monthly rate and stay. We figured we could get some projects done around the boat while they repaired the holding tank. The marina had free wifi, great showers, a restaurant on site, and a heated pool. The grocery store was only a few blocks away along with a few more restaurants nearby. So we settled in at the end of the dock for a planned few weeks of stay. That was Tuesday, March 29th......
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