Florida Trip (February 10th - 22nd 2010)
I was only back from Honduras 9 days and had enough of the cold and snow in Ohio. I happened to call my friends Gary & Lorie and it turns out they were planning on sailing their 50’ sailboat Tessa from Fort Myers where they’re moored for the winter to Key West arriving on the 12th in time to catch Put In Bay Weekend at Sloppy Joes. They didn’t have to ask me twice if I wanted to go and I booked a flight into Fort Myers. From there we’ll sail to KW then back around the 15th. I’ll probably spend the next few days around Fort Myers and will try and connect with my fraternity brother Mark Gogel. Then on the 19th I plan on taking the ferry back to Key West to meet up with Jeff, Doug and their buddy. While in KW that weekend I’ll be staying at my buddy Steve Walkers house and catching up since I haven’t seen him for quite a few years now. Lastly, I’ll be flying put of Key West on the 22nd and hopefully will be bringing some warm weather back with me to Ohio. Details of the whole trip are below with the most current info near the top of this page and the beginning of the trip located at the bottom. Internet access will be limited so it may be several days between updates.
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Other adventures I’ve been on can be found HERE
It wasn’t supposed to be raining today but that’s just about how things have gone with the weather this trip. Not a heavy rain, just an annoying one with clouds and no sun. I guess that’s ok though since I needed to ease into the crap weather I’m sure I’ll have once back in Ohio. My flight takes off from Key West this afternoon around 3pm and I’ll be back in Cleveland at 9:30pm.
Concerning my friend Bill in Fort Lauderdale, what he’s doing as a trip of a lifetime (literally). He always told me when he retired he was going to buy a boat and go treasure hunting in the Bahamas. I always figured he meant a 25’ skiff and some snorkel gear but that’s not the case. He’s bought a 61’ Trawler and outfitted it with all state of the art treasure hunting gear including a Proton 4 magnetometer, Proton 8 metal detectors, side scan sonar, and more. He has dual generator sets, a new water maker and plenty of power to get him there with two Mann 600hp turbo diesels. He has full backing and sponsorship from several Bahamas organizations and will be going way out where no one has previously explored. Out where he’s headed, he figures there are literally hundreds of undocumented wrecks since if you were a survivor of a wreck out there, you didn’t survive for long. In hundreds of years of sailing history, in that area no survivors were ever left to tell where they went down. Bill says there are also seven of Columbus’ ships that haven’t been located yet and he believes there might be a couple in the area where he’s headed. If he finds one of those wrecks that would be a discovery for the history books so that’s pretty cool.
Bill also has video gear loaned by a major network to film the trip and assemble the footage for a reality show pilot. Unfortunately though he says he also has the human interest side to a reality show since he recently found out he has stage 4 liver cancer. The doctors "guess" he has 2-5 years if treated so he will be undergoing chemotherapy throughout the six month trip. His crew consisting of son/divemaster Mike and paramedic Brian will have their hands full so hope they’re up to the tasks that lie ahead. Lastly, when I asked Bill why he was doing this now with his health concerns, he told me on the deck of the Caribbean Explorer "there’s not much left on my bucket list". I hope he proves the doctors wrong and lives many more years but if he doesn’t have much time left, this trip is the way he wants to check out.
Below are some pictures I took of the boat and cool toys so check 'em out!
The new magnetometer and metal detectors.
Soon I’ll be posting some pics and info on what my buddy Bill is doing. It’s a really interesting adventure and you might even see him on NBC TV and in the news if things go his way. Anyway, after a nice visit with my friends Bill and Rosemary, I headed south for Key West around 11am yesterday. I screwed up and somehow got off the turnpike and ended up on US1 in Miami and that was really sucking until I found a way back to it again and started making time. The drive through the keys was like always, an "am I there yet?" drive that I didn’t think was ever going to end. Don’t get me wrong, I like the scenery but it was cloudy and I’ve done that drive probably 50 times so it gets a little old. Once back in Key West, I dropped my bags at my buddy Steve and Chris’s house and ditched the rental car. Grabbed a $15 taxi back to the house to drink some beers and catch up with Chris and what’s happened over the 10 years since I’ve moved away from here. Later in the evening I met up with Doug, Jeff, and friends then headed home around midnight to get some sleep. Today the weather is sunny and warm so I’m getting of this computer and outside! May update again later though.
A neat pic of my friend Steve (far left) with Bill Clinton and Anthony Hopkins.
These signs had me really confused...
I had planned on taking the Key West Express ferry to Key West on Friday morning but Gary & Lorie are staying the night at Greg’s so that would be tough to accomplish. Instead, today I rented a car and had hoped to connect up with my buddy Mark before heading to Key West but couldn’t get him on the phone so decided to head East and away from the cold. Mark if you’re reading this, sorry I missed you this trip buddy! I’m planning on being back down at the end of March again so we’ll hopefully connect then.
Anyway, since I was going to be close to Fort Lauderdale, I gave my friend Bill a call and we connected up for dinner. He invited me to spend the night so here I am. Also tonight he gave me a tour of the 61’ Trawler he’s refitting for a 6 month Bahamas trip and man is it cool! I wish I was going on that trip!
Tomorrow morning I’m leaving Fort Lauderdale and headed to Key West to meet up with Jeff, Doug and friends. It should be another great time and they’re calling for great weather too so that’s nice for a change. I should be at my buddy Steves house by 3pm tomorrow and will update asap after that.
Sorry for the delay but here’s that update you’ve been looking for...
2pm February 15th...
We’re loving the great weather! It’s sunny and the water is calm for our departure from Key West. There’s no wind though so we’re going to motor until we get some. On the way out of the North West Channel we saw some dolphins again so that was pretty cool. Also got some sun and relaxed since the boat was on autopilot with no actual steering to be done.
11pm February 15th...
I’m on watch with us still motoring North towards Fort Myers and some wind now coming from the West. Lorie is down in the Galley and she flips some switches. At about the same time I start hearing a slight buzzing noise so I’m thinking it’s something she’s turned on. Then I realize it’s coming from the engine panel so I grab a light and shine on the oil pressure gauge (the bulb is burned out on that one). It’s reading 10 pounds and that doesn’t sound good so I have Lorie wake Gary. He shuts the engine down and checks the oil and it’s about 4 quarts low. Earlier before we left KW Gary had checked it and found water in the oil so had changed it. We now surmised that the head gasket must be bad so decided not to run it anymore and raise the sails.
With the wind from the West we’re still making decent time doing about 5 knots and able to hold a Northerly course. Then what we had feared would happen did... the wind shifted blowing straight at us from the North. That now meant we have to tack which makes a boat take about twice as long to get somewhere. All the while also the waves and wind are increasing and we’re now in 6’ waves with the occasional 10’ one really drenching us. Things inevitably start leaking like they do on a boat. Some of the ports, hatches and the air horn vents would leak when we had a big wave go over. That got lots of things wet down below including clothes, seat cushions, tables, and some electrical items. Above in the cockpit one side of the dodger (canvas enclosure) wouldn’t zip up so we also had water and cold wind coming in there. That meant about everyone was damp and cold for the rest of the trip. I’ll have to say I’ve been on many boat trips including a 3 day rough open ocean crossing and this boat trip is the worst one I’ve ever experienced. Anyone who thinks the snow is bad, trust me being blown by 25mph winds in 50 degree weather while you’re wet is a far worse experience. Anyway, at about 6pm we finally made it to Ft. Myers and to their mooring ball. Everyone was pretty much spent but Gary, Lorie and I gathered the energy to go get a hot shower and then a bowl of chowder from the oyster bar. Then back to the boat and unconscious before 9pm.
Since I’m supposed to be heading back down to Key West Friday to meet up with Doug and Jeff coming down from Ohio, I had planned to take the ferry from here but now I’m thinking about renting a car and driving. No more boat trips for a while!
Sorry for the lack of updates but it’s been quite a weekend with lots of fun with friends! We hit Sloppy Joes Friday and Saturday for Put In Bay Days and a good time was had by all! Out of all the live entertainment we saw on this trip, the best though was a band called The Levees from Nashville that was the late night entertainment at the Hogs Breath. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them in the future.
This morning we hit The Waterfront Market for some sandwiches we’ll be eating later today and after that we ate at Harpoon Harrys where Lorie and I had lobster omelets that were incredible. They were so big we barely could finish and I would say were the most memorable meal we’ve had in town this trip.
Now we’re prepping for the trip back to Fort Myers and should be pushing off the dock shortly. The next update will most likely come tomorrow once back in cell range.
Hanging out on the upper deck enjoying the view at The Schooner Wharf
Gary was the first "buckethead" (what happens when one to finishes a bucket) Saturday so won some Boardwalk lobster bisk for the accomplishment!
Saying our farewells to Mike and Mary before their 5pm flight out Sunday
Added 5:00pm...
A front is coming in and they say it’s gonna get bad. We have 25 knot winds at the dock now and it’s looking nasty. People here say it’s the nicest day they’ve had in a long time so I guess we’re lucky we got to enjoy it before the crap hit the fan!
High winds hitting at 5 pm tonight
Anyway while out today I reconnected with my old buddy Garry at Island Watersports and we also hit Duval for some live music and cold beers. We had lots of fun this afternoon so I’m sure more good times are to come this weekend.
Having one upstairs at The Schooner Wharf Bar
Look their shirts match... the chairs, the walls, the bar!
Added 11:30am...
We left Fort Myers around 12pm and sailed for the first hour or so but there wasn’t much wind and the gps was telling us if we didn’t start the engine we were gonna be in Key West two days later. So we fired the smoker and headed due South. Fun times and good weather made the trip a pleasure and we made it into Key West and to the dock at around 9am.
We’re getting ready now to head to Sloppy Joes to catch Bob Gatewood from 12pm-2pm then we’re going to be back again at 4:30 to catch Mad Dog Adams. Anyone who wants to see us live can check out the cameras here or here. Several of us are wearing bright green shirts so look for us!
Relaxing and talking about the long trip ahead.
The crew having some drinks and good times!
Three dolphins playing off the bow of Tessa.
We made it! Docked at the Westin – Mallory Square, Key West
Posted 11:00 am...
I’m thinking I should have packed an electric blanket too... Man was it cold last night! With the wind chill, it had to be in the 30s and made me feel like I was back at home again! I was in a sleeping bag and had a blanket over that plus slept in my clothes so it was ok.
Anyway, this morning we got up at about 7 am and headed ashore for showers and some McDonalds breakfast. We have the generator running now giving the batteries a topping off and are still planning on pulling away from the mooring ball at 12pm. I’ve set my laptop up to work with Gary’s high speed wireless adapter so hopefully will be able to post some updates as the day goes on.
I spent last night at my good friends John and Cherie’s house then this morning they took me up to Cleveland for the flight south. We were worried the weather wouldn’t be good but the trip was uneventful and the flight left on time landing in Ft. Myers around 12pm with temps in the low 60s and not a cloud in the sky. Gary & Lorie picked me up and we headed to Cape Coral for lunch then headed to the supermarket for the provisions we’ll need for the trip to KW. The plan will be to leave here for Key West around 12pm and we should be there Friday morning. More to come soon...
