M/V MAERIN

Since the last post, winter has come and gone and spring keeps trying. Recent news reports of the coldest spring in recent years seem to be borne out here in Middle River, as we head into May with daytime temps still barely making it out of the 60′s! Maerin is currently at our “home” marina, Stansbury Yacht Basin. The winter has been relatively uneventful with the exception of a few eventful weeks interspersed with the winter ho-hums.

We Visit Aries Too!

Aries Too in Culebra (PR)

Linda & friend!

Cruising friends Douglas and Capt. Linda aboard Aries Too are making their way southwest through the Caribbean toward the Panama Canal and points west. We joined them for a week in Puerto Rico, our first visit there. We cruised to nearby Culebra, and spent a few days in Fajardo at the marina there. I assisted with some boat chores during our stay, and gained a friend Bibi, their male ocicat who delighted at the introduction to being tormented with a laser pointer. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Old San Juan, the fort, and El Yunque rainforest. It gave us some incentive to add that to a future itinerary aboard Maerin.

View from El Yunque

The Break-In

Maerin’s post break-in console

Maerin was broken into during the night on March 10. Several low-life losers burglarized a number of boats in nearby marinas that night and chose Maerin as one of their targets. Fortunately, they were interrupted unknowingly by our slip neighbor who happened to be aboard for the weekend. They gained access by forcing the saloon door and breaking the latch and began to go through the boat. They managed to remove the TV’s, two pieces of Raymarine gear and somehow removed the dinghy from the boat deck without using the boom, and damaged the recently refinished teak cap rail in the process…. grrrr!!! All their newly acquired possessions were dumped into the dinghy that was found on the shore a few hundred yards away. Since they neglected to put the plug in the dink, it was swamped. Ironically, they used the heavy stainless security chain to attach it to a piling where they ditched it, perhaps they wanted to insure that no one stole their stuff? In the following weeks, the police caught one of the perps while investigating an unrelated incident and discovered most of the stolen gear. An insurance claim is in process, and repairs underway. It remains to be determined the disposition of the electronics since the removed gear is no longer in production, and current electronics won’t interface with the existing, so it may be necessary to replace a significant part of the electronics gear to return it to its pre-incident function. Along with those changes will be included additional security the details of which will remain vague.

Captain Steve – 100 Ton Master

The news of the break-in came while I was in the midst of attending courses at Maritime Professional Training Center in Ft. Lauderdale. The decision to obtain my USCG Merchant Mariner Credential came after some discussion in the past few months; tuition and the trip to Lauderdale was my Christmas gift from family.

Plotting homework

Maritime Professional Training Center

My 2 week course began March 4 with testing the last day on the 15th. The course was as intensive as any college course or other training I’ve experienced! Classes ran from 0730 to 1630 every day with 3 evening classes for first aid, CPR, and MROP (Marine radio operator’s permit). In addition, Saturday was also a class day, devoted to charting and plotting. In addition, homework assignments required about 3 or 4 hours each night. Not a lot of time to visit the beach! I did manage to squeeze in a visit with our cruising friends Chris and Joyce who were wintering in Lauderdale, and Barb flew down on the final Friday, test day, to enjoy a short break from the cold and visit with the girls while I tested. We also joined Barb’s (3rd?) cousin Jane and husband Bill for dinner. Since we didn’t travel south on the boat this year, we missed out on our annual Ft. Lauderdale stopover at Coral Ridge Yacht Club where Jane & Bill are members as well as Chris and Joyce. 

I was successful in completing the test with excellent scores (passing on the rules module requires a 90% score). Successful completion of the course and a passing test grade is just a step in the process. After returning home, I submitted 38 pages of paperwork to the Coast Guard as part of my application for a Merchant Mariner Credential, or Captain’s License as it’s more commonly known. My application was approved, and my official credential is Master of Steam or Motor Vessels of up to 100 Gross Tons Upon Near Coastal Waters with Commercial Towing Assist Endorsement.

That’s the latest from Maerin and crew!  We’re doing well, not particularly fond of dirt-bound living, but for now it’s the logical plan. We’re moving ahead with our plan to return to cruising full time and look forward to being back on the water!

Tags: Hiatus

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Some maintenance work-on a Selene

Since six months have passed since the last blog update, I thought it might be appropriate to post something. It’s been a busy summer, and as my earlier post intimated, we’ve decided it’s time to take a breather from full-time cruising and tend to some competing demands. We’re back to work, that will help with our number one reason  for the hiatus- rebuilding the cruising kitty.  That dovetails with other priorities as well; when we started cruising in 2008, we placed our home on the market, but the market being what it became in 2008, listing the house never gained any traction, and the house has been empty with the exception of occasional visits to home, holidays, and summers of late spent there in order to attend to parent matters. So the house is in need of some maintenance, and since nearly 30 years have gone by since our major renovation in 1984, along with the maintenance will be some updating.

Maerin decked out for Christmas!

Our plan is to work a year or so, address the house updates with the goal of re-listing or renting it out, perhaps work in some vessel updates as well, and devote some attention to family before we head back out on the water. We’ll sorely miss our cruising friends over the winter. Winterizing the boat is truly a drag. But we’re not by any means “swallowing the anchor”. We’re looking ahead to getting back out on the water with probably more anticipation than we experienced in 2008 since we know what awaits now!

Tags: Working

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Well, our 2012 Winter cruise was a wonderful run, we had some great times in the Bahamas spent with good friends and family. Our best time yet. The weather could have been better, but it was good when it counted. Since the blog has gone dark for a few weeks, I thought it was about time for an update, and wanted to bring our friends and family up to speed with what’s going on with Maerin and crew, for there have been some changes.

As the header might lead one to believe, it’s off to work we go. There are a number of reasons; no need to be Bashful, we have been hit, like everyone else with the economic downturn; we still own a home in York that has been sitting Sleepy and empty, and is in need of some maintenance; aging parents who get Grumpy when we’re away; and of course there’s Maerin, who is due for some time on the hard for 5 year maintenance. Barb is looking at Doc-type work in the health system, and your blogmeister has begun a new business enterprise expanding on requests to work on other cruisers’ boats. More on that elsewhere. I was offered an out of the blue opportunity in Brunswick and accepted it, so we did the Dopey rental car shuffle and drove to York. We spent a week there and replaced the gas range, refrigerator, and added a vehicle in that week before I returned to Brunswick in the trusty Olds. Our ’89 Olds Cutlass was my Dad’s car. It’s reliable and in great shape for a near-antique. OK, the headliner’s stapled up to the roof panel, but other than that… There’s a bit of nostalgia for me in driving it because my dad was a firm believer in driving a car ’till the wheels fall off. So a new set of treads and full service, a couple of toothpicks to make the radio power up, and it’s all good! He’d be so pleased! Acorn… tree… Happy Molly and Sammy stayed in York, and I’m back aboard using Maerin as a base of operations for my work here in Brunswick. One advantage of being here is I have no lawn to mow- it always makes me Sneezy; grass doesn’t grow on the boat!

It’s been a couple of hectic weeks, but the house looks great, it’s clean and the oven works! There will be much to do in the months ahead as we plan for some updates to the house as we rebuild the cruising kitty. Truth be told, we’d much prefer being out on the water. We’re not taking a different road, or should I say rhumb line. This is just a side trip.

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We are northbound, the most recent stop at Brunswick Landing Marina, where we will catch up on laundry, do oil changes on everything, and catch our breath before we push toward the Chesapeake. Our last stop in Florida was at Fernandina Beach, where we refueled. Our published tank capacity of 975 gallons is now confirmed to be incorrect, our port tank was empty- as in dry- and it took 427 gallons, and the starboard tank took another 407 gallons, so our capacity appears to be closer to 850 gallons. There may be room for another 25 gallons or so, but not worth the mess in having fuel puke out the vents! Still, fueling is one of the more painful aspects of cruising! A necessary evil. Our run on those empty tanks was in “the ditch”, all carefully calculated to put us at the fuel dock with probably 25 gallons to spare- a day’s worth of cruising fuel!
The run from Fernandina to Brunswick was outside, a short run of only 42 miles on very smooth seas and light winds. A day or two in Brunswick, and we’ll be pushing north, likely at sea to get past the skinniest water and problem areas on the ICW, all contingent on the weather.

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Windy time in the Bahamas!

We arrived safely back in the US in the company of our 3 other buddy boats, two cruise ships, a US Navy submarine, a US Army Landing craft, and a few Coast Guard small boat escorts all headed into Port Canaveral on Thursday morning. Our crossing took just over 22 hours, making good time. In fact, we slowed our engine RPM on more than one occasion to insure that we didn’t arrive too early. The Gulf Stream always provides a push for the crossing, and this trip was no exception. Our crossing was smooth and except for a number of squalls that we passed through the conditions couldn’t have been better. Some of those squalls contained some significant lightning, always disconcerting at sea. We suspect Celebrate may have been closest to one strike, and upon arrival at the port, discovered some anomalies in some electronic devices. Nothing terribly serious, but tasks to be added to the post-cruise maintenance and repair list.

We will be making our way north toward the Chesapeake, where Maerin will be hauled and put on the hard for new bottom paint and other maintenance. Another Bahamas cruise sadly comes to a close!

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Wednesday marks our departure from the Bahamas as we cross the Straits of Florida to Port Canaveral. Farewell to the beauty of the Bahamas! We’re already looking forward to our return! So much to see!

Sunset at Royal Island

Tags: Crossing

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We arrived at Great Guana Cay Saturday afternoon along with fellow Selene’s Innu and Celebrate. We made the requisite visit to Nipper’s and enjoyed some great beach time. Molly was thrilled to be romping in the surf. There’s no doubt that she loves the water, and being in the surf is about as good as it gets! It’s great entertainment to watch her pound into the waves in pursuit of the ever-present tennis ball! Nipper’s hosts a pig roast buffet on Sunday, and we returned again Sunday afternoon for a drink and some more beach time. We met up again with Mike and Carrie and daughter Heather aboard S/V Carrie Anne. We had met them last year in Warderick Wells and enjoyed renewing friendships and sharing cruising experiences. We were joined in the Anchorage by Dreamweaver who plan to join us for the crossing back to the US in a few days, making four boats crossing together; well, at least we’ll be starting out together, since each boat making the crossing has a slightly different optimum cruising speed. We will likely be bringing up the rear as we head to Port Canaveral, as we generally cruise a bit slower than the others, all larger with a bit faster hull speed. We’ll head from Great Guana Cay to Green Turtle Cay, then a longer run to Great Sale Cay Tuesday morning. Then Wednesday we’ll make the 150-some mile overnight run to Port Canaveral. We’ll arrive about 24 hours after we depart. Our weather window is shaping up to be good. Although the low pressure system in control of the weather has provided cloudy and squally conditions for the past few days, winds are predicted to be less than 6 knots and seas around 2 feet with a 12 second period for our run; so we’re hoping for a smooth ride!

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Nikon S9100

The Nikon S9100 pocket camera I use to capture the photo memories that appear on the blog is out of commission. New last year during Andrea’s visit, it has been a great piece of gear. The 18X zoom is great for the photos we take, many taken from the boat while underway. The extra focal length brings those images close enough to make out details that were previously lost on the 5100 series it replaced. Small enough to fit in a pocket, it’s handy enough to have along all the time, and produces images that are more than adequate for use on the blog.
The biggest hazard to a cruising camera is the unavoidable proximity to sand and salt water. Salt water ingress is the kiss of death for any electronic device, so an Otter box provides a waterproof housing for the camera during dinghy rides where salt spray is inevitable. During a recent trip, I forgot to remove the camera from the storage pouch on the dink, and when I retrieved it, I grabbed the lanyard, unaware that the box wasn’t latched tight. The camera flipped out of the box and onto the dinghy floor- which was covered by an inch or two of rainwater. The camera took a quick dip. Uh-oh. Better rainwater than seawater, but cameras and water really don’t mix! Despite my instant reflex to grab the camera, there was enough water ingress to cause problems. The camera spent two days in a ziplock bag with a bunch of dessicant packs, and all traces of moisture disappeared, and it functioned normally- for about 3 days. Now, not so much! So it will be sent for repairs when we return stateside, and the standby Nikon 3400 will be pressed into service.

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The Admiral lands a Mahi

Almost in!

Big Mahi- 47"

Fabricated gaff

We departed Royal Island 0730 under sunny skies and winds about 10 kts, great conditions for our crossing of the big water between Royal Island and the Abacos, a cruise of about 60 miles. We enjoyed a very smooth ride with seas around 2-3 ft but long period waves, making for a very comfortable cruise. We dropped lines into the water as soon as we cleared the dropoff, and hoped for some action. Our first hit came an hour or so later, and we landed a nice mahi, about 42″. Conditions were calm enough to clean and filet the fish right away, and the filets went right into the cooler to chill. Another hit came a bit later, a bigger fish, but just as I went to pull the fish up over the swim deck, it flipped, levering its tail against my pull on the leader. The lure popped out and the fish flopped off the swim deck and back into the water. CRAP!! Should have had a gaff! Another hit, and a lot of horsing to get the next one up to the boat, and again, as I pulled him up over the stern, same thing, and GONE!! Now, I’m peeved. Mostly at myself for not heeding my big sister’s sage advice- “Where’s your gaff? You oughta have a gaff!” Well, in my own paltry defense, most of the fish we have landed have been of the size that a firm grip on the leader followed by a smooth lift over the swim deck, easily puts the writhing mahi securely in the cockpit, where they can flop around until they settle. We lost two nice ones a few weeks ago, now two in a row. Necessity is the mother of invention, so in true cruiser form, I broke out the 5″ side grinder, a piece of stainless rod from my miscellaneous parts stores, a few stainless hose clamps, an old boat hook, and, voila. We now have a gaff! No more lost fish!! Of course I’ve just stacked the odds against hooking a big fish in the first place now, but with the losses over the stern, our odds weren’t too great anyway!

The Big Fish

Our cruising companions on Celebrate were also fishing, and during the afternoon we received a panicked VHF call of “FISH ON- GOTTA GO!!” Generally these quick VHF calls are just an indication of why the boat suddenly heads off course or stops. We received another call that they had what they thought may be a swordfish, a most unusual hookup considering the rigs that were in use. After watching Celebrate do the hokey-pokey for a half hour about 3/4 of a mile ahead of us, we finally received confirmation that they had landed a long billed spearfish after a hard fight to bring it to the boat. Quite a chore considering the fish was seven feet, and probably weighed in around 50 pounds! Quite a monster to land on 25 pound test tackle! They were understandably excited!

The rest of our run was uneventful with the exception of our loss of the two mahi, most aggravating! We arrived at Lynyrd Cay and joined a few other boats anchored there, with plans to stay a day and visit Little Harbor the following day.

Tags: billfish, fishing, Mahi

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A favorable weather window cemented plans to move north out of the Exumas and begin the inevitable movement northward through the Abacos. Always a bittersweet decision, it marks the beginning of the end of our stay in the Bahamas. For insurance reasons, we must be north of Florida by 1 June, so that deadline shapes our cruise plans.
We cruised from Highborne Cay northward through the easternmost fringes of “Middle Ground”, an area of the bank that is populated with many coral heads, some of which lie less than 5 feet from the surface. The depth varies from about 9 feet to 20, so depth is not the issue. Our transit took us through this area during low tide, so extra care must be taken in negotiating this area. In good sunlight, it’s easy: the coral heads show up as vivid black blotches in the water ahead, simply avoid those black spots and the trip is safe. In cloud cover, the water takes on a greenish cast and the heads lose their definition, melding into the green. Not good. Going 6 knots, contact with a coral head can result in a very bad day. Fortunately, despite having some cloud cover in the early part of the trip, the passage through the most densely populated coral heads was aided with full sunlight. We arrived in good time at Royal Island for our overnight stay before making the hop across the Northeast Providence Channel to the Abacos.

Royal Island glitz

Royal Island construction stopped

Royal Island is owned by a development group, it’s purported that Roger Staubach is one of the owners. The development launched with grandiose plans of an elite enclave of luxury homes, a mega-yacht marina, golf course and resort with amenities to rival the most exclusive destinations in the Caribbean. The reality is an island that has been denuded and left to languish, with all development halted, typical of most developments in the Bahamas. Half-started developments outnumber completions probably ten to one, hands down. They are a blight on the beauty of the islands, and a testament to bureaucratic mismanagement. The upside is that Royal Island has reverted back to open access for cruisers after a period where developers were hinting at prohibiting cruisers from anchoring in the natural harbor. Anchoring in Bahamian waters cannot be restricted, and there have been other developments that have attempted to restrict access to the waters adjacent to their properties with some degree of success. Money talks, big money talks loudly. But for now, Royal remains a popular destination for cruisers as a protected stopover while making the jump between the Abacos and Exumas.

Sunset at Royal Island

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