The Trek Continues

Kris and I had a wonderful time back in Tennessee. Our oldest daughter has married the man of her dreams (ours too, he is a pretty special guy) and our youngest daughter announces she and her husband are expecting a baby! WOW, what a special time at home; I have a new son in law and we are going to be Grandparents!!!! Life is great, but we are anxious to return to our boat and restart the Trek Northward.

We fly back down to Fort Lauderdale and begin the re-provisioning of our home for the next several weeks as we begin the trip again. The repainting of the bottom was accomplished as promised and appears to be an excellent job by experienced personnel.

We spent the first night back in Indiantown at a very unique hotel, The Seminole Inn (seminoleinn.com) which was a very pleasant and friendly experience. The rooms are neatly decorated in what I refer to as “country charm”.

It was time to put SeaQuinn back in the water and begin to transfer the groceries. As before, the crew that drives the large lift did their job without a single hiccup and gently placed her back in her realm. Before she is completely released we needed to make sure she is still “water tight” and there are no leaks. Upon entering the engine room I discover a steady stream of water entering from the coupling surrounding the port shaft that is connected to the propeller. Fortunately the marina had a mechanic standing by if there are any complications and he immediately fixed our minor problem.

We are now back in the water and I move the boat over to a slip that is convenient for us to unload the groceries as the re-provision shuttle begins.

October 1st,

We get underway at a decent hour since we are only going as far as La Belle, Florida where there is a new marina with transient accommodations. When I look for a place to spend the night my criteria is pretty simple… lots of water (depth), an uncomplicated approach, clean and safe facilities. River Forest Marina met all those guidelines and we arrived about 4pm that afternoon. Our first trip with just Kris and me onboard is now complete and most important of all, with no surprises. If you are ever in the area, drop by this marina, they have been open for only a year now and I recommend it highly.

October 2nd,

Today should be a short day since our goal is to refuel in the Ft. Myers area and spend our first night “on the hook” only a few miles away. After looking at several resource documents such as ActiveCaptain, Dozier’s Waterway Guide and of course our resourceful friends who have cruised this area many times we determined the best place is going to be on the Southern tip of Pine Island. So off we go to our first night on the hook!

As with any operation, preparation is the key to a safe and a smooth completion. After we secure our boat for the evening I begin the “post cruise” check. Enroute I usually make an engine room check at least once every hour, but when we shut down for the evening I spend a great deal of time in the “working area” of our boat. As with anything mechanical, things can breakdown but if you can prevent it with constant attention, then you are way ahead. The post cruise inspection usually takes about 30 minutes of checking fluids (oils, transmission levels, coolants, etc.), wiping down areas before I return from the self inflicted sauna sometimes called an engine room. The temperature gauge in the engine room usually reads about 115 degrees after about 2 hours of cruising, so if you want to sweat, this is the place!

One of the things I check is the level of fuel onboard and this is done by reading a simple “sight gage” located on the outside of the respective fuel tank. I had noticed since our departure from Boca Raton, it appeared our fuel consumption was better than I had ever expected. As each day went by I would look at the levels and the level seemed to move “oh so slightly”. I am now beginning to go from “what an economical engine” to “I think we have a problem”. This was such a concern to me, before leaving River Forest Marina; I placed Velcro tapes around the indicated level. This way, when we shut down that evening, I can determine exactly the fuel consumed. Only, I didn’t know there was a valve that is well hidden from a person’s view that needs to be opened in order to determine the actual fuel level. To view the valve, you need to twist your head completely around, roll over in the inverted position, place one hand on the hot exhaust manifold so you can hold yourself up while inverted!!! Can you tell it was difficult to find the valve let alone read it? You will understand why I am explaining this in the next paragraph!

As I was on the aft deck attending to personal needs, Kris was doing her part motoring down the Okeechobee Waterway. I hear the “low oil pressure” warning sound and the port (left) engine is shutting down. I immediately make my way to the bridge and almost immediately there, the starboard engine fails. Wow!! Double engine failure in the middle of a narrow channel!

In my profession when we encounter an emergency or abnormal, we are taught to “fly the airplane first” and this is just what I needed to do…. Fly this boat first! I ran down to the bow and dropped the anchor to prevent us from drifting into shore. Remember we are in a relatively narrow channel with an uninviting shoreline. The last thing I wanted was a 44,000 pound boat beached! Once I had the boat secure I needed to find out what caused this double engine failure. The first thing was to look for something common to both engines and it had to be fuel. I rechecked the level and it still showed 175 gallons in the port side and 125 gallons in the starboard. I then checked the Racor fuel filters and there appeared to be no clogging but they were strangely absent of fuel in the bowl surrounding the filter. Aha…. Obviously some type of fuel starvation, but I still showed ample fuel in the respective tanks. Things that make you go hmmmm??? Since I had started the day configured for the fuel to come from the tank with the “most” fuel, I needed to reconfigure the fuel distribution manifold. When it doubt, use all available fuel sources, so I open all valves to the distribution manifold. I then re-prime the fuel system and “start them up again”. Presto… it is amazing what fuel does to the successful operation of a motorized vessel!

Now with zero confidence in my fuel levels, I look for the first available fuel source. To make a long story short… we refuel at the Ft. Myers City Marina and I put 300 gallons in the port side (capacity is 300 gallons) and 125 gallons in the starboard side. Now with 600 gallons of fuel onboard, off we go looking for our anchorage! (The total fuel capacity of my boat is 900 gallons, but I am only using the two tanks located amidship and not the 300 gallon aft tank) I later learn from the previous owner about the hidden valves and now have the confidence needed to continue!

But the excitement doesn’t end with fuel issues. As we proceed westbound looking for the “miserable mile” which signifies the beginning of the Intercoastal Waterway we mis-read a day marker and make an early turn northbound. Both Kris and I are very uneasy about our direction and I began to slow down our speed. As I am watching the depth get shallower and shallower I am getting more uneasy. I am now at idle power just creeping along when I feel the keel begin to rise… utroh! We are on a sand bar!

As I bring both shift levers to neutral I look around and who do I see but Tow Boat US coming along side. He had been trying to catch me after seeing me make the wrong turn and since he had local knowledge of the water, he knew it was only a matter of time before we were stopped by low water. We chat for a second on the radio and he asked about my membership in BoatUS and I gladly tell him I am an “Unlimited Gold” member. I strongly encourage all boating enthusiasts to become a member!

Earlier I had shut both engines down since I didn’t want to ingest any foreign matter in my sea strainers and we attach a line to my port cleat. Then the “little boat that could” gently pulled us off the sand bar and towed us to safe water. Total time from our first contact with the sand bar to being released in deep water was less than an hour! Lesson learned…. If you feel the least bit uneasy; stop and reassess your position!

Finally we find the anchorage we are looking for. We set the anchor and enjoy our first night “on the hook”!

Until then…. Stay tuned!

Rusty and Kris