Launch at the Cape

Continuing our "let's be tourists" plan for the week, we decided it would be fun to see a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.  We got lucky (or SpaceX got unlucky) and their latest launch, SES-9, had been delayed 4 times.  The latest attempt was scheduled for Friday, March 4th with a window from about 6:30 PM to around 8:00 PM. The weather forecast claimed there was a 90% chance of success, so scrubbing the mission this time around would likely be for mechanical reasons.  It seemed like pretty good odds, so we made the 2 hour drive down to see about getting a better view than could be had nearby.

Credit: SpaceX

We thought about making a day of it and going to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch from there, but ticket prices dissuaded us. We have all been to the center before and didn't really want to spend the $50/person this time around. (We don't recall tickets being that much before...I guess NASA figured out how to counteract their latest budget cuts...or Florida has found yet another way to gouge tourists.)  We also found out that they wouldn't have any special seating open, so the view from the visitors center is actually obstructed until the rocket clears a nearby tree line. I did a little research and found that the best free viewing area for the launch is just off Highway 528/A1A near Port Canaveral.

We got there early and tried finding a spot to park.  Of course, not being overly familiar with the landmarks, we weren't sure exactly where the correct launch pad was. Fortunately there was an older gentleman there with a sign that read "launch info", had a display about the Falcon 9 rocket being launched, and even a radio setup to pick up the launch broadcast and play it out over speakers.  We talked with him a bit and he pointed out where launch complex 40 is, so we parked where we had a completely unobstructed view about 8 or 9 miles from the launch pad. Now we had about a hour and a half to wait.

Getting some info from the guy who looks like he knows
something about the launch

As the launch got closer, the parking area we are at started to fill up.  What started out with 4 or 5 cars when we arrived slowly climbed to around two dozen as the launch neared.  In hindsight, we probably would have been fine getting there between a half hour and hour early and still had a reasonable place to park.

Parking starts to get a bit more crowded as launch time approaches.
Almost makes you want to look to the left doesn't it?

We found an FM radio station out of Orlando that was providing some information on the launch.  They would go "live" when the launch occurred, but for now they were at least letting us know that the mission was still a go. The only problem with the radio broadcast is that it has a delay in it.  If you were listening to the countdown on the radio, and didn't look up until they said it was launching, you would have missed the takeoff.  We were warned of this fact ahead of time and so my wife started watching about the time they started the countdown on the radio.  I got out of the car and was looking through my binoculars at the launch pad. (I highly recommend binoculars if you do this).

Pretty close to our view with the naked eye.
Picture taken with cell phone through binoculars.

The launch occurred right at the planned time of 6:35 PM.  From the launch pad you could see the engine start, the flames and smoke pouring out and then the rocket fighting it's way through the atmosphere.  Even though it was a small rocket and we were a pretty good distance away, it was still an impressive sight to see.  The rocket went up with a trajectory to the southeast so it got closer to us during the initial climb.  I guess I could write more about all of this, but the information on the mission and videos are available for those who were interested.  All I can say is that it was worth going to see.

Launch. Credit: SpaceX

The rocket vapor trail(s) as the sun sets. The break in the trail on
the right was the first stage separation and 2nd stage ignition.

I do hope that the United States decides that space exploration is worthwhile once again.  Far better endeavor than voting people off islands or dancing with washed up actors.

Tourist in St. Augustine

We've been playing tourist in St. Augustine.  No time to write much, so here are some pictures...

The remnants of the city wall in St. Augustine.

Near/in Flagler College.

Random old city street.

Castillo de San Marcos with St. Augustine in the background.

Castillo de San Marcos with the Bridge of Lions.

The family trying to hide behind a small cannon.

A Bit Of This And That

Since we arrived in Palm Coast, I have to admit I've been a bit unmotivated. At least when it comes to boat-related tasks. Sometimes you just need a break. So, we've been working on other issues.

One was my wife's car.  When we were in the middle of the battery replacement in Southport, we became the victims of a hit and run accident.  While parked in the Napa parking lot, our car was hit by another car.  My wife heard the crunch and went out just in time to see the the vehicle pull away from our car and take off.  She managed to get the license plate tag and general description for the police.  Not only that, but we ran across the vehicle later that day at the local Lowe's while getting some parts for the battery box changes and helped the police catch the hit-and-run driver.

Crunched Bumper.

Of course, that event left us with a car that needed some repair.  A new bumper cover and some paint and the car should be O.K., but finding a body shop in an unfamiliar city takes a bit of time.  We went to look at a few shops, checking their work while they did the estimate on our car. We found one we like and have an appointment to get the car fixed (in a couple weeks - I guess they are booked through "bike week" in Daytona).

We have had a crew member issue as well.  Our eldest dog has been suffering from ear margin vasculitus (a condition where sores develop on her ears).  She has been suffering from this for nearly 2 years now.  We have been getting her to vets for treatment but nothing seems to be working.  She has been to at least 4 dermatologists as well as other veterinarians and no one seems to be able to figure out what is causing it or an effective treatment. After we got in town, we got her yet another appointment because of an apparent reaction to the latest medications and have now made an appointment with the veterinarian hospital at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Needless to say it has been a bit trying and we are concerned for her.

Another non-boat issue has been my wife's cell phone.  When we switched service to Ting, my wife brought her phone over from T-Mobile.  Ting is our very inexpensive cell phone service provider, and to keep prices low they do not subsidize handset prices.  Since they work on both T-Mobile and Sprint networks, it made sense to just use her phone.  Almost a year has passed, and my wife's phone is getting a little long in the tooth.  The battery isn't holding a charge very well and the operating system and memory limit how well the newer versions of Android and various applications work on the phone.  It is time for a new phone.

My wife isn't an overly technical person and so the task of researching a suitable replacement fell to me. We needed a phone that would work well in both the U.S. and the Caribbean. This not only includes voice calls, but 3G, 4G, and 4G LTE data.  It needed to be an unlocked phone so we could swap out sim cards in the islands to get better phone and data rates. It needed to have enough memory to last through at least a few more operating system upgrades. It needed to be able to act as a WiFi hotspot for times when we don't have other WiFi connection options for the computers. And it wouldn't hurt if it weren't terribly expensive.

We considered purchasing a refurbished Google Nexus phone (in this case the LG Nexus 5).  These phones come unlocked and with only the basic Android operating system, so no memory wasted on useless applications. They typically have transmitters that work with a variety of voice and data networks. The battery isn't replaceable on this device, and we were concerned about how long the battery would last on a refurbished phone.

Blu Dash X LTE

Then we ran across cell phones made by a company called Blu.  They make relatively inexpensive phones that are unlocked. They have an interesting selection of phones with varying feature sets.  We found one (the Dash X LTE) that contained radios that worked on most of the voice and data frequencies used in North America. the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. It had a reasonable processor and moderate amount of memory with the ability to add a memory card. The best part is that the phone retails at a little over $100.  That is cheaper than the used Nexus phone.  The only negatives I can figure out are that the phone may not be all that rugged.  It would be nice if it were waterproof, but that is pretty much a dream.  Given the price of the phone, the build quality might be questionable, but the Blu phones we saw at Best Buy (they had a few, but not the one we wanted) seem reasonably well constructed. Oh, and it also can use two sim cards, so we can keep our U.S. card installed and have an alternate.  We ordered the phone and will see how it does, but we have high hopes it will be a vast improvement over her current phone.

One of these days I should do a more complete longer-term write up about our time with the Ting phone service and how we've been able to cut our phone bill by almost 75%.  The short story is that our average bill for two phones has been about $28 per month with the new service and our efforts to conserve.  We have had pretty good coverage throughout our travel area, with only a few small spots that we found limited or no service. If you are interested in giving them a try, this link can get you a $25 credit.

Of course it is tax time again here in the U.S. That means it is time to fill out government forms and file our taxes.  This year is a fairly simple year for us.  No home and very limited income makes for a pretty simple return.  Not quite the 1040EZ form, but not much more.  Still, it takes time to collect all the needed information and fill out the forms.  And with marina-quality (read 'spotty') internet, getting the federal and state forms filed electronically took more time than anticipated.  But after a little effort, our taxes are complete for another year.

Back in a marina that has $4 per load laundry facilities ($2 wash + $2 dry) has us looking at alternative washing solutions again.  We have used the plunger and bucket and that works OK for wash, but the spin type dryers seem like a good addition to reduce drying time.  If you recall, we tried a combination washer and spin dryer a while back but the spin function left a bit to be desired.  My wife has since decided that the spin function wasn't all that bad, so we might look at another one of those combination units. We have been researching these items as the marina internet allows.

We have a little cleaning to do before family arrives later today and then we will likely be doing more non-boat stuff (and hopefully more fun stuff).  It is a nice break from all the work we have put into the boat over the past months. Rewiring the engine and other projects can wait a bit.

Nothing Goes to Windward Like a 747

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a tow rope long enough...and I doubt my boat could handle a near 500 knot cruise speed anyway...

When we originally left Georgetown, SC., the plan gave us some time with favorable winds and a little time with the wind directly on our nose.  Even when we made the unplanned stop in Charleston, the next day would still give us some winds favorable for sailing.  One more day stuck there dealing witth the motor and the winds shifted to the southwest. Guess which direction St. Augustine, FL., is from Charleston.

We left Toler's Cove marina in the afternoon in order to time for a morning (daylight) arrival in St. Augustine. In Charleston harbor and the inlet we put up the sails and sailed our way out of the harbor. With the sails up, we didn't really turn on course, but as close as we could and still have the sails propel us on our way.  Tacking back and forth we were doing around 5 to 6 knots...with a little support from one of the motors to try and improve the angle to the wind.  Unfortunately, the velocity made good (VMG - the percentage of the speed you are going relative to your destination) was only around 2 knots.  Instead of 44 hours to make the trip (at 5 knots), it would take us 110 hours or more this way.  While I prefer to sail much more than motor, the weather window for making the trip wouldn't allow us to take that long. So we fire up the motors, take down the sails, and point the nose directly into the wind.

We spent the remainder of the trip motoring with the wind directly on our nose. The waves were out of the southeast, but were small enough that the ride was generally comfortable. It was a little rougher the first night with an occasional wave slap on the bridge deck, but smoothed out to an almost calm sea by the end of the trip.

We arrived at the St. Augustine inlet around 7AM and went in looking for a place to pick up some diesel. The motors had been running nonstop since we left Charleston and I think this is as empty as I've ever run the boat (don't worry Mom, we still had around 14 gallons of diesel in the tank + 10 in reserve), but should get more before the final trek down the ICW to our next stop at Hammock Beach.

St. Augustine from the water

Looking through the Active Captain database on my tablet, I found Inlet Marina and they boasted they had the cheapest fuel in the area.  Sometimes the marinas put their current prices in the database and from what I could tell it seemed to be true.  We called ahead and confirmed they had diesel and to get instructions for finding them on the water.  When we arrived, we were definitely not disappointed in the fuel price.  I think it was the cheapest we've paid the entire trip and, with the Active Captain discount, was about $0.50 a gallon less than other nearby marinas.

We make the 9AM opening at the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine and continue our way down this final stretch of very familiar ICW. You can tell the weather is warmer here as there are more boats about than we encountered on the rest of the trip. Unfortunately this also reminded me why sailboats don't get along very well with some power boaters.  Some are courteous, but there are others that will aim directly at you going full speed, then swerve around you at the last minute so their large wake will toss your boat about like a rubber duck in a washing machine.

We are tied up at the marina now, just a couple slips down from where we were on our last visit here. It looks like we will be here for at least a month.  There are family visits to be made and some other family matters that need attention.  And, of course, the boat...who can forget about the never ending list of things to do on the boat.

Down The Rabbit Hole Again

We are preparing to depart the marina in Charleston. My wife takes the dogs for one last "potty break" before we depart while I start the engines and enter our course into the chartplotter. Our oldest dog doesn't like the beeping of the engine alarms prior to startup, so this is a good time to start the boat up.  My wife gets back as I complete the chartplotter setup, and we go to pull the power cord in preparation for departure. And then the port engine just dies.

That is strange.  It had been idling just fine for 5 minutes or more.  I restart the engine, and it starts and then sputters back to a stop.  Third time, same result.  Hmm. The fuel filters aren't really due for a change, but perhaps the trip has kicked up some gunk in the tank or maybe I got some bad fuel so I change the main and try it again.  No luck.  I change the secondary filter (the Westerbeke engine has a small filter on the engine in addition to the Racor filter). Just as I'm putting the second filter back on, I notice the broken wire on the fuel pump.  Aha!  I clean up the wire, add a new connector, and put it back together.

I try starting the engine again...and it does the same thing.  I check to see if the pump is working, and it is not.  Great, do I need a new fuel pump?  I decide to check the pump by connecting it directly to the battery before I go buy a new pump.  I hook up the jumper wire and it starts pumping.  I test the engine connection for the pump and only see a couple volts on the multi-tester. Ugh.  Now I need to chase down a problem somewhere in the wiring.

I pull out the Westerbeke maintenance manual and start trying to figure out where the issue might be. I discover none of the wiring diagrams in the manual even come close to what is going on with the engine.  I begin tracing wires and find some really bizarre connections.  According to the diagrams, the wire that powers the pump is daisy chained to the power for a couple of sensors and is tapped off of the power supplying the preheat solenoid through a 10 amp breaker.  But what I find is the 10 amp breaker is not hooked up to the solenoid. Instead the breaker is wired to ground with a wire that appears to have a resistor embedded in the wire.  What in the world?!?

I continue tumbling down the rabbit hole and find a mysterious wire attached to this chain of power wires hiding behind the alternator.  I also find a couple other disconnected wires back there that don't have any obvious place to be connected.  One of them is a live wire connected directly to the battery and has been chafing against the alternator case...charring the wire to the point the ring terminal, that obviously hasn't been connected to anything in a while, was about to come off. I follow the mysterious blue wire and find it is wired to a relay mounted on the bulkhead. That in turn is wired to a blade fuse holder and on to the battery. The only real clue I have is that the fuses to the relay exactly match the ratings for the circuit breakers in the wiring diagram.

It appears that some time in the past some fault was found in the wiring harness and, instead of fixing the problem, some hack decided to wire up an alternative circuit, similar to the correct one, to bypass the original wiring.  Sigh. Not wanting to rewire the entire engine so it matches the diagram right now, I decided to take a page from the hacks playbook.  I create a small wiring harness with an inline fuse and connect it to a switched power terminal.  After triple checking my work, securing the new harness, and capping off and securing the other "unused" wires I found, we give the engine another try.  Now the pump works and the engine comes to life.

So, we are good to go (I hope). Of course, it is after 9PM and we are in no condition to depart. Maybe tomorrow. And I guess I'll be rewiring the engine at some point in the reasonably near future. I do wish this boat would give me a little break and let me actually enjoy having it.

Myrtle Beach to Georgetown and Beyond

The weather for leaving Myrtle Beach appeared to be improving, so we continued on.  We departed the marina (which was mostly a long face dock that backed up to an outdoor mall) and started making our way south in the ditch once again.

Who parks gondola cars over the middle of the ICW?
Have they not heard of sailboat masts?

This stretch of the ICW has been a bit tricky this year.  Not sure if it is record rainfall or what other factors, but flooding has been a concern.  Normally flooding is not really much of an issue for a boat, but this seems to be the exception.  The flooding has caused high river levels and, as a result, high ICW water levels.  The bridges that allow cars to pass across the ditch either have to open up for boats with big sticks in the air or are built high enough that we can safely pass under them.

The water might be just a bit high.

Most fixed bridges along the ICW are built with a clearance of 65 feet at average high water levels. Many boats, particularly those that are likely to be used in the ICW, are configured to pass under these bridges...but not necessarily by a lot. If you add a few feet of flood water to the normal high water levels, it can lead to trouble. Now, on many bridges there is a gauge that tells you the current bridge clearance when you read the number at the water line, but for some reason many of these bridges don't seem to have it.  The only guidance we had was based on comments and notes people left regarding these bridges on Active Captain. Even though our height is just under 60 feet, we passed very slowly under most of these bridges.  Fortunately, we didn't have any issues.

Our oldest dog, Madison, enjoying the trip.

Unlike our last leg, the tides were not to our advantage much of the trip. We were making 5 knots or less most of the time. Actually, I'm not sure if it was tidal or more flood water related...since it seemed to last most of the trip.  When we turned down the Wacamaw river, everything changed.  Without changing our throttle settings, we went from 5 knots to as much as 9.5 knots.  This is the biggest change I've seen and about as fast as I've ever had this boat go when motoring down the ditch.

I usually don't see these speeds on the ICW.

The speed boost at the end of the trip actually made for an early arrival into Georgetown,SC. We spent the night at Georgetown Landing Marina. After checking with multiple weather sources, it appeared we had a good window to make a run straight to St. Augustine, Florida. We departed the next morning for a trip on the outside.

The trip was a bit choppy, Nothing bad but the seas were just a bit confused due to the shifting winds. The main swell was from the southeast and the winds were from the west. Things were going along OK until we checked the latest weather on the NWS broadcasts. A small craft advisory had been issued, and forecasts were for higher waves on shorter periods with stronger winds.  We knew a weak cold front was moving through, but I guess the NWS decided it was going to have a higher impact than originally anticipated.  We decided to change our plans and headed into Charleston, SC for the evening.

I looked at the anchoring options around Charleston.  I wanted something at least a little protected from weather and easy to enter at night.  Needless to say, there weren't many options that fit both criteria. There was one anchorage just off a shipping channel that might work in a pinch, but that was it.  My wife tried calling a couple of marinas to see if anyone was around after hours.  We did find one, Toler's Cove that is just off the ICW near the Charleston inlet. It sounded easy enough to get to so we decided we would head there.

It was after 8PM when we entered the channel into Charleston. I know that Charleston can be a busy commercial port, and nighttime seems to be the time the big ships all like to come out to play. Fortunately for us, it seemed to be a slow night for shipping.  There were two ships leaving the channel as we approached, but the only traffic we saw while in the channel was a boat carrying a Charleston Pilot out to a big ship waiting offshore and returning to port.

Coming into an unfamiliar port at night is not something I wanted to do, but it was the lesser of evils compared to getting beat up offshore. The wide shipping channel was easy, with well lit markers all where the chartplotter said they would be. Turning up the ICW, there were both lit and unlit makers for the channel, and we slowly made our way through the unfamiliar territory.  Everything went fine until we got to the marina.

I don't know if it was some misinformation or just a poor cell phone signal, but the instructions didn't quite match what we found when we arrived. It took 3 tries to figure out the actual entrance into the marina, but we finally made it to the slip around midnight.  We quickly tied up, connected the internet to let family know the change in plans, and then called it a night.

This morning after we woke up, we checked the weather.  It seemed that the actual weather wasn't as bad as predicted until you get a bit further offshore. Unfortunately, the predictions are now further south, around Georgia and northern Florida.  We decided to spend an extra day in Charleston to let the weather keep moving south and will likely continue our journey tomorrow.  It seems to be a very nice day here, so I think we will go out and enjoy the warmth and sun.

We Moved!

The longer than planned stop in Southport had me wondering if we would ever make much progress south.  The sudden battery replacement project certainly took longer than it should have (but it seems everything does on a boat).  Once that was complete, the weather turned sour and that kept us sitting even longer.  But we finally came up with a plan that seemed do-able.

The theory is we will head south from Southport on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for the couple days when the weather wasn't supposed to be all that good.  That should get us to Georgetown, SC where we can hopefully make a run on the outside to get us down to Florida.  So, this morning we untied the dock lines and pointed the boat south once again.

Given the relatively short days and limited good weather, it has been difficult to plan anything based on tides.  The rule of thumb is pretty much we depart between 7 and 8 am and trudge our way down the ditch until 5pm or so. But today even the tides seemed to be somewhat helpful as we were able to make 6 to 7 knots most of the trip.

Here are a few of the sights, in between rain storms, from the trip...

The admiral, dressed for the weather

Lots of people around Holden Beach

Guess that was a bad day fishing.

Guess staying at the dock isn't safe either.

Tourism is big business here.

One part of the trip I was particularly worried about is an area known as the Rockpile.  It is a section of the ICW north of Myrtle Beach that has a reputation for eating boats. My understanding is that this man-made section of the ICW was dug through a lot of hard rock.  Since blasting through rock is an expensive and time consuming process, this section is rather narrow.  A narrow, jagged rock lined channel sounds fun doesn't it?  Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as I've heard. The only real problem here would be meeting another wide boat coming the other way...and there are so few people on the ICW right now, it really isn't a concern.

Danger, big jagged rock canyon submerged below.

Not exactly a wide channel.

In the Rockpile I found something my aviation friends should recognize.

Soon after we left the Rockpile, we made it through one last bridge and our home for the night at Barefoot Landing marina in north Myrtle Beach.

Guess it is time to check the weather and see if we can continue the trip tomorrow.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to go.