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| Our Local Café and Bar |
Yes we are STILL in the “Pocket”. Three months have passed since we first
dropped anchor here to start the next round of maintenance and repairs after
leaving St. Augustine.
We have settled in and are now nearly one of the “locals”.
To some we are somewhat of a novelty still, coming from that far away corner of
the South Pacific – many have no idea actually where NZ is, and others surprise
us saying they have travelled there. We met a lovely gentleman in his eighties
in the supermarket and we are now the best of friends. He and his wife have taken us out on a sightseeing
drive around the area, then out for a meal.
They too were keen boaties up until about five years ago and have given
us lots of tips about the Bahamas. After
some considerable consideration we decided as our jobs were taking longer than
we first planned, that we would stay here for the Hurricane Season, well most
of it, and as it turn out that was a
good decision.
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A meal with new friends
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Thunderstorms are still a very regular occurrence, but I can’t
get use to them. About six weeks ago we had a phone call from friends whom we
met in the St Augustine Marina, and who were then out in Freetown in the
Bahamas. They were devastated as their
52ft catamaran has been hit by lightning.
They have lost ALL their electrics. After a couple of weeks they managed
to motor back into Fort Lauderdale, and have been hauled out of the water to
start the job of major repairs. Since
then we have brought a lightning rod which Alec has fixed to the top of the
mast. Now no one can say for sure that
they work, but we are prepared to give it a go.
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| The Four New Solar Panels |
As for our “boat jobs”, well they have progressed slowly,
but are now almost all complete. The new
Hard Tops are in place, and sitting on top of those are two new solar panels,
plus we replaced the two which sat above the dinghy davits with higher powered
ones. The old ones were 125 watts each,
we now have two 250 watts. The two on the new roof are also 250 watts each, so
we now have a total of 1,000watts. With
the panels and the wind generator we are now a mini power station. It is great as we don’t need to run the
engines anymore to top up the batteries, and with the new generation panels,
they even make power on dull days. One day it was raining and the solar panels
were still producing 12 Amps.
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| The Florida Keys |
After much research Alec found a place here in Florida to
get our solar panels. It was down in Marathon on the Florida Keys. A young Canadian named Andrew, living on his
boat here in the Pocket had befriended us and we were helping him out with a
few jobs. He said he would run us down
there to check the place out which was so nice of him as he has a car. It was a full day trip as it is about 400ks
each way. The keys are a string of Islands extending south west off the Florida
Peninsular. From Elliott Key to Key West
is an area of National Parks, coral reefs - with excellent fishing and dive
spots, and low lying Islands. All
different types of boating activities from kayakers, paddle boarders and
canoeists, to sport fishing and dive boats, and sail boats, all use these
water. Marathon sits midway way down the Keys. It is home to some commercial
fishing and lobster boats, plus a number of sizable marinas and boat
shops. So off we set. Once south of Miami you enter into a bit of a
time-warp. Here I felt things still dated back to the seventies – buildings
painted in blues and pinks, and a slightly tacky appearance. It is nice that it is not all high-rise, but
it is a little dated and dowdy. I do understand that from the water it is a
different story with lovely beaches to drop anchor and enjoy the sparkling
waters.
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| Alec & Andrew lunch in Marathon |
When we arrived we checked at the solar shop to find the guy
we needed to talk to was out. He did
know we were coming as we had phoned ahead!!
So we found a restaurant on the water for lunch then headed back to the
solar shop to check the panels out. We
left with Alec asking the guy to send us a quote for parts and labour. At this stage we were thinking of taking
SHAMAL down there to have the work done.
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| Marathon |
A few days later the quote arrived. Parts were what we expected, but as Alec
replied to him “you have blown me out of the water with your labour
costs”. He quoted $120 US per hour, a
total of $3,000 !!!! and, that was only an estimate. Strange as in his shop at
the counter he had a notice up saying his labour costs are $90 per
hour!!!! He saw us coming and though,
just another stupid foreigner.
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| Florida Keys |
So the outcome of this was we did not take SHAMAL down to
Marathon, but did the work here in the Pocket. Our Canadian friend lent us his
car and Alec and I drove back and purchased the panels and all the parts, then
Andrew along with a friend of his helped Alec remove the two old panels and put
on the four new ones. We then got a
local solar panel guy come out to wire them up for us. His labour costs were only $60 per hour. He is the most efficient worker we have ever
had working on the boat and did a superb job.
Next we had our sun shades modified so we can now roll up
the portion which covers the solar panels on the roof to allow them full
sun. We have also had two new side
clears made, and these DON’T leak at all. They slide into a track which runs a
good foot forward past the helm area which directs the water forward then down
the side windows. At the moment we are just waiting on rear shades, which will
also slide into the track, to be made for both sides. That should be the last of our jobs here in
Stuart.
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| Andrew & Joe help with Solar Panels |
As the weeks have passed while we have been waiting for
things to be done we have filled in our time going for long bike rides, and yes
it has been hot, some say one of the warmest Florida summers on record. The nearest supermarket is about two miles
away. Like many places here shops line
the highways – what they call Strip Malls, so some days we bike for miles to
find things.
Life in the Pocket is interesting. There are about 13 other boats in the outer
Pocket with us, but only six had people living aboard. Two have now left, but a new boat has arrived
flying the South African flag. Andrew
returned to Canada and another guy left his boat here and returned to New York.
Tow Boat US are regular visitors. They seem to hunt like wolves looking for
prey, sometimes alone and sometimes in pairs.
Occasionally we see one towing in a poor wounded boat who is unable to
come in under their own power.
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| A Sad new Neighbour |
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| A Watery End |
Then there are the numerous water police which motor in
under various names with “authority” written all over them. Their bark is worse than their bite. In fact we wonder just how much power they
have. We had an example when as small yacht was towed into our anchorage one
evening and the pick dropped. It did
look a little worse for wear. There it
sat for about three weeks until its closest neighbour – a hermit who speaks to
no-one and only leaves his den once a week for supplies – phoned the local
Sheriff with regards to the close proximity this small yacht was to his. Duly
the Sheriff arrived, spoke to the Hermit, motored over to the “offending” boat,
had a look and left. An hour later Tow
Boat US arrived, spoke to the Hermit, motored over to the “offending” boat, had
a look and left. The following morning
we woke to find the “offending” boat on its way to a watery grave!!!! Within several hours it was sitting on the
bottom with only the top of the cabin and its mast showing. Why was nothing done the day
before?????? The Sheriff is called again
and he motors around has a look and leaves, followed by Tow Boat US doing the
same. Good gracious has no one got authority
to do anything???? So there our small
yacht sits for another three weeks before a barge finally arrives, pumps it out
and lifts it and tows it out of the Pocket.
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| Raised, but all too late. |
Another time while out on our bikes, Alec spots a notice
regarding a “Gun Show” that was coming to town.
Oh help, on the offending day off we go to the “Gun Show”. It was a very causal affair, only one
security guard at the door, and masses of guns of all sorts. Alec could not quite understand why I showed
little interest in the hand guns for women.
I could choose from a selection of different colours – pinks and
purples, with a hand bag with a concealed pocket to carry it in!!!! The only part that did interest me was
outside a restored WW11 Willys Jeep – the same model jeep that my younger brother
taught me to drive in on our parent’s farm many years ago.
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| Alec at the Gun Show |
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| Ann at the Gun Show |
Hurricane Season is now in full swing with mid-August
through to mid-October being the most active times. We are now watching the weather charts each
day following any activity that forms on the West Coast of Africa, out to the
Cape Verdes, and then crosses the Atlantic towards the Caribbean. They start out as a Tropical Depression, then
can turn into a Tropical Storm, and then develop into a Hurricane. Initially
what has been forming has petered out in mid-Atlantic, or turn north and moved
up the central Atlantic without making landfall. Apparently the high air mass contained too
much dry air. But then things
changed. Towards the end of August we
had a depression forming out there and heading into the mid-Atlantic. It also turned north, but built to hurricane
force and was given the name “Gaston”.
It became a category 3 hurricane with max. winds of 115mph. We decided that if one should come our way we
would move SHAMAL further inland up the north fork of the St Lucie River and
into the mangroves. Now we felt it was
time to do a reconnaissance as another system was forming out there, so we upped
anchor and motored the ten miles to a spot we had found on the chart. It looks ideal with no houses about with rock
walls or docks. Just high mangroves
surrounding a bay no more than a quarter mile wide. We returned to the “Pocket” to wait and see
how this next system would develop. By
the end of August we could see it would pass into the Gulf of Mexico, then, on
the 2nd. August hurricane Hermine makes landfall S.E. of Tallahassee
on the Florida Pan Handle. This was the
first hurricane to hit Florida in 11 years.
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| The Grandchildren |
The charts next show a period of more settled weather, and
as we hope to be leaving the States soon we decide we will make another trip north
to Connecticut to visit Dan, Brigitte
and the grandchildren as it will be some before we may come back this way.
We decide to buy a one way airfare so we could return any
time without losing a pre-booked return ticket.
As it turned out the day we leave, another system is developing off the
coast of Africa. We have made good
friends with Mark on the boat anchored next to us, and he drives us to the
airport at West Palm Beach about 45 minutes away. We spend just over a week up north and it is
lovely catching up with the family, but, this system has now developed into a
tropical storm as it passes near St Lucia in the Windward Islands, and is
threating to become a hurricane as it moves across the warmer waters of the
Caribbean. We buy our air tickets and
return to Florida on Monday 3rd October.
Mark is there to pick us up. Our
storm has now very quickly developed into a category 4 hurricane (that is winds
between 113-136 kts or 130-156 mph) with the name “Matthew”. Also it is now heading our way. Mark tells us we should move our boats out of
the Pocket in the morning and head up into the mangroves before the bridge is
closed which opens to let boats pass through.
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| Stripping SHAMAL |
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| Up in the Mangroves |
Tuesday 4th October, we up anchor along with Mark
and his cat James on board “Rainbow”. We
motor our boats the 10 miles up into the north arm of the St Lucie River and
into our spot in the mangroves to find we are the only ones here which is even
better. Then we start the job of
stripping our boats down. Mark has TV on
board and is giving us update as to Matthews’s path all the time. We remove anything
and everything that could be damaged or cause damage. The only thing we can’t get off is our main
sail. It is new, heavy and
battened. So we lash miles of rope
around the sail cover and then lash the boom etc. to the targa roof. We even remove our wind generator and put out
two anchors. One 15mts shackled to the
chain after we have dropped the first. So we have a total of 45kg holding us to the
river bottom. We have out 40mts of chain
and are sitting in 4mts of water. The
bottom is a mixture of thick mud and sand which is ideal, so we pray we will
hold. This takes us into Wednesday. Mark has very kindly made arrangements for us
to go ashore with him and stay at his daughter’s home back by Manatee
Pocket. We decide to leave our boats
that evening and take his tender up the river to where his son-in-law is
waiting to pick us up, including James the cat.
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| Boarding up windows |
It was an airy feeling driving back to his daughter’s
house. Lines of cars at the gas
stations. People out doing their last
supermarket shopping, shops and homes being boarded up. The people here really know how to prepare,
but it has been a number of years since a hurricane has hit this area, they all
have stories to tell.
The next day, Thursday, we help Marks family put the last of
their garden furniture and children’s toys inside, and the men finishing
boarding up the windows and doors.
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| Hurricane Matthew |
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| Boats are Lifted |
We spend the rest of Thursday, and Friday glued to the TV
watching “Matthew” track between Haiti and Cuba and on towards the
Bahamas. And oh what destruction is left
it its path. As Matthew leaves the Bahamas and heads towards Florida it looks
like Stuart is in for a direct hit, but then he gets the wobbles. At 12.20am the outer eye wall is approaching
us. The pressure is down to 938mb with winds gusting 145 mph at the eye and
forecast to pass 25 miles abeam Stuart. A little later the eye passes Stuart 35
miles off the coast at around 2.00am.
Our boats are another 5 miles inland giving them a better clearance. By
morning the worst is over for us, but Matthew has now moved closer to the coast
and doing more damage than when he passed us.
During a break in the rain that morning we walk back to the Pocket. Two of the boats that stayed have dragged
their anchors but not too far. The others are just where they were left and no
damage. Everyone we spoke to were so
relieved we did not get a direct it. If it had the area would have suffered
horrendous damage. As it was we just got
“another very windy Wellington day”!!!!
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| A Yacht Washed Ashore |
Later that day I go out for a drive with Mark and his
daughter as we visit a friend’s home to pick up a boat part. We have been so lucky here in Stuart. The palm trees have had a good pruning and
some trees have blown over. There is
very little building damage. Many homes
are without power, but it stayed on at our place. When it is all over we believe our strongest wind
gusts were around 70mph.
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| Locked out of the boat park |
Friday afternoon the winds have dropped to around 25kts and
Mark Alec and I real need to return to our boats. Marks son-in-law drives us back to the boat
ramp, for us only to find the police have locked the access gate. After a call to the Sheriff’s office, an
officer arrives and unlocks it for us.
We launch the tender and head back down river, round the corner into our
anchorage, and oh what joy and relief to find our boats exactly where and how
we left them.
The following morning we up anchors and return to the
Pocket. We sadly passed half a dozen
boats that were damaged. Two others had
sunk at their docks and a couple more yachts had been washed up on the rocks. People’s private docks had been damaged as
well. The next few days we have seen
more of a storm surge come into the river and Pocket than at the actual time of
the hurricane. Docks here in the Pocket
have been under water at times.
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| The Storm Surge |
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| Extra High Tides |
So we have come through our first hurricane unscathed. Let’s hope that is the last for this
season. There is still a lot of cleaning
up to do further up the coast. We have
made contact with other yachting friends who were scattered from Fort
Lauderdale further south, and north to St Augustine, and Brunswick in
Georgia. Everyone is safe and their
boats also. We have so much to be
grateful for. We did spare a thought for
the homeless people here who live in the dense shrubbery and trees next to the
highways. I suppose they moved into the
shelters that open for people. We have
been told that these mini communities which we have seen so far, increase in
number down here during the winter months as the homeless from up north move
south where it is warmer for them. New
York with a winter snow blizzard blowing in would be no fun for them.
Our next plans, weather permitting, are to leave here with
our boating buddy Mark and head out to the Bahamas. This we hope to do in the next couple of
weeks. Mark has lived and sailed out there
for years and we are looking forward to have someone with local knowledge show
us around.
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| James watching Mark |
So on this note we will finish off for this newsletter, but
before I do we would like to thank everyone who made contact with us before and
after the hurricane to check up on us.
We really appreciated this.
Lots of love from
The Admiral and
The Commander
wilbur@mail.postmanllc.net
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