Shakedown Cruise

The time had come. Commissioning was as done as it was going to be and we and our friends at Marlow Marine were ready to part. On Thursday, 6/5, we were joined at the end of the day by many who had helped make Celebrate all that we expected. We thanked them all and hope to enjoy their company again next winter. David Marlow stayed a while longer, and with company of some Bombay Sapphire, he and we had a ate evening sharing stories and solving world problems.

Friday, 6/6, was our own D(eparture)-Day. After errands in the morning, the Marlow crew presented us with beautiful flowers and a bottle of Perrier-Joet, wished us well, and off we went with the obligatory refrains from Kool and the Gang singing Celebrate at high volume.

Off we went with some trepidation across Terra Ciea Bay and snaked the twisting channel to Tampa Bay and then to the entrance to the Gulf ICW on our way to Sarasota where we anchored, grilled dinner, and celebrated our first day aboard.

Saturday, 6/7 saw us up early and anxious to go. Southbound about an hour or so we thought we’d leave the confinement of the GICW for the open Gulf of Mexico. The fact that it was blowing 20 on our nose as we went out to sea at Venice wa only a minor distraction. The real distraction was all the Gulf water surging through the forward stateroom portholes with every dip into the steep chop. Andrea looked like an 8-armed little dutch boy plugging leaks in the dike as she frantically dogged the hatches.

Back we went to the boring calmness of the ‘ditch. We arrived in Ft Myers in the early evening, secure at the municipal marina. By chance we did a post-cruise look at the engine room and discovered that a hydraulic hose on the stabilizers had parted, dumping all the oil into (fortunately) the port engine drip pan. So much for tomorrow’s plans. L

Sunday passed; Andrea ran in 95° heat and Chuck just stayed cool. We left urgent messages at Marlow to contact us the next day for advice. The call never was returned because when we got back from breakfast on Monday, 6/9, there was David Marlow and Bill ready to dive in to solve the problem. They did, and 10 hours later we had a new hose and a rebuilt hydraulic pump.

Our shakedown cruise resumed on Tuesday morning. We tracked across Florida via the Caloosatchee River and then the Okeechobee waterway, through a few locks, and stopping in Clewiston. The Rowland Martin Marina was as low key as you can get and we loved the $2 beers and gourmet burgers.

Departing Wednesday morning through hurricane gates, we crossed Lake Okeechobee and were on a great schedule to make our planned stop in Stuart on the east coast by late afternoon. It was not to be about an hour after we left the lake through the Port Mayaca locks, there we were – capture by a broken railroad swing bridge that had just crapped out a few minutes before, and we soon learned that a crew to repair it wouldn’t be able to give it a go until the next morning! That gave us a chance for some new adventure.

We checked in to the Indiantown Marina. Andrea walked to the crossroads called a town for some groceries and was caught in a thundery deluge, finally rescued by a local sheriff at the Burger King where she had taken refuge. Meanwhile, Chuck had been washing the boat and the same rain eliminated the need do any rinsing. We did a little socializing with fellow refugees, and Andrea fed the local turtles.

At about 9 a.m. on 6/12 we learned the bridge had been fixed so off we went. Free at last we chugged to the end of the cross-state river and canal waterway, passing Stuart at lunchtime, dodging a huge localized storm, bumping bottom only once at the infamous junction with the real Intracoastal Waterway, and made it to a mooring in Vero Beach by evening. Andrea ran, Chuck did a grocery run.

[Stupid move: Launching he dink for the first time, the idea of checking if the drain club was in never dawned on us until the water was up to our ankles. A quick trip back to the boat let us lift it by the davit, drain it all, and put the plug where it belonged. The boat ran great after that until we ran aground after confusing the red and green marks. Damage only to our egos.]

The next day, Friday the Thirteenth, was a twelve hour grind all the way to Daytona Beach. The day was warm, the water calm ATW lifted weights, Chuck got the dink really washed down. Porpoises everywhere along the way. They are endless fun to watch as they ‘surf’ the wake or bow wave. We arrived in Daytona at Halifax River YC in the middle of happy hour. Immediately there were about 20 captains lining the dock and instructing us how to dock, where to thro our lines, and pulling and tugging in ways that conflicted any of their own advice and completely confounding the captain and crew. A firm and loud “Please drop all the lines and let us dock it ourselves” got us free to do what we wanted to all along. We got a tip of the cap from them all. The food and hospitality were great.

On Saturday, 6/14, we mentally wished Roger a Happy Birthday and left early to resume our northward run. In late morning we stopped for a short while to visit Aunt Jane, Uncle Jim, and Jim. We had to move on, but enjoyed the brief visit. North of St. Augustine, the channels got narrower and the water thinner as result of a full moon and extremely low tide. So much so, that we dragged bottom in the middle of the truncated channel. Slowing to 4 kts was too much for local small boats who whizzed by at reckless speed. What jerks. Finally secure in Jacksonville Beach.

We took a couple days off to fly home for Fathers Day and Ian’s 30^th birthday. It was good to visit. The Shakedown Cruise let us learn the boat better, remedy some minor and expectable initial problems, and gain the feel of the cruising life, albeit a bit rushed.

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