We are in Fort Lauderdale, and the weather is great. It is in the 80′s and sunny during the day and cools down to the 60′s at night. It took us a while to get here, because of some engine problems and bad weather.
We left Melbourne as planned, and the wind was very strong, around 20 knots with gusts into the 30′s. It was coming out of the west, so it was helping us. We were motoring at low RPM’s and I had maybe a third of the jib out, and we were going full speed, around 6.3 knots. We were headed for Vero Beach, where they have moorings. After about 3 hours, I heard a ringing noise, which I thought was coming from inside the boat. So I yelled inside to Nadia and asked her to see what was ringing. I thought it was the AIS warning system, which tells us if a boat is going to collide with us. She said the ringing was from the outside, and it was the engine alarm. It was, I just couldn’t tell, because of the wind noise. The engine was overheating. So we shut it down, and continued sailing. We were still going 5 knots with just the little bit of the jib out. I thought that it was probably just the water filter that was clogged, so we pulled off the ICW and anchored, so we wouldn’t have to worry about sailing while fixing it. There was a bunch of mud in the filter, so I cleaned it out. We started the engine again, and the alarm came back on after 30 seconds. So I thought maybe changing the oil might help, since it was time to change it. So I did that, started the engine, no alarm. We wait a few minutes and still no alarm, so we start going again. About 10 minutes later, the alarm goes off again. So we shut it down, and kept sailing. At this point we were about 2 miles from some marinas in Sebastian. So Nadia calls them up and we decide the best thing to do would be to just go to a marina, and then I can figure out the overheating problem. We sailed right up to the entrance of the marina and anchored off the ICW. And gave Boat US a call. They got over to us in about 15 minutes, and towed us in.
The next thing to check is the impellor. I took a look at it, and it was fine. The only other thing it could be was the thermostat. So I look at that, and it was in pretty bad shape. So I had to replace it, later I found out in the service manual, that you should change it once a year. I also bought a new overheating sensor, and impeller. There was a Yanmar dealer about 5 miles away, and they could get the parts the next day, and luckily there was a great bus system, that was free. The marina said they would give us a great deal for the week, so we decided to stay. Sebastian is a really great town, and I would recomend a stop there. There is plenty of places within walking distance, and the bus system can take you all over the area.
So we got the new parts, I installed the impeller, temp sensor and the new thermostat. When I opened up the thermostat, the housing had about an inch of mud in there! So I cleaned it all out, put everything back together, and then we noticed the alternator belt was loose. So I tried to tighten it up, and the wrench slips, hits the new temperature sensor, and cracks it! It didn’t look like it was completely broken, but now I had no way to tell without overheating the engine. And if the sensor was broken and the engine overheats, there goes the engine. So I ended up buying an infrared thermometer from the auto store for $30, and we started the engine, and the temperature settled in right where it should, after running for a while. So the overheating problem was fixed, but now we had to make sure the sensor works, or else we might destroy the engine in the future, if it overheats. So we turned off the raw water intake, the temperature went up and up, and once it hit 190 Celsius the alarm went off. Everything was fixed.
So after being in Sebastian for a week, we were going to leave, but there was bad weather, so we waited an extra day. We left and headed for Fort Peirce. Fort Peirce is really nice. We stayed one night, and wanted to keep moving, so we will actually get to the Bahamas this year.
From Fort Peirce we had to go to a spot north of Jupiter. Our outboard engine was not running, due to not running it for 3 and half months. There was a tohatsu repair facility on the ICW with an anchorage right there. So we dropped it off, and went and anchored. We dinghied to shore to go somewhere for dinner. We saw that there was an outback steak house 3 miles away, and we love outback, so we walked all the way there. And the walk was horrible. They had 2 bridges, with no sidewalks, and the cars are driving 45 miles an hour. So we would wait for a break in traffic, and then do an Indiana Jones style run across the bridge. I am not sure why the engineer who designed the bridge would not think to put a sidewalk, at least on one side. The US is definitely not pedestrian friendly.
The next day we got our outboard back and I gave it a test run, and it ran great. I got up on a plane and was cruising. We left and headed for a highly recommended anchorage in North Palm Beach. At this point I found out that the tall ship that I had sailed on, “The Bounty”, was about 7 miles south of us. So I got a hold of one friend that was on the current crew, and she informed me that they were leaving at 8AM the next morning. So we were going to miss passing the Bounty by a few hours, but there was nothing we could do.
The next morning we left and we got to where the Bounty was, and she had left. But then we went a little farther and saw her at a fuel dock, so we went over and I yelled to my friend and the captain, and said hi. They were leaving pretty soon, so we continued south to Lantana. We went there because the marina was inexpensive. The town was not very nice. We had to stay an extra day, because of bad weather.
Our next stop was Fort Lauderdale, almost the end of the US stops. But there was 35 miles and about 21 draw bridges to negotiate. It ended up taking us about 10 hours to do the 35 miles. 3.5 MPH! It was a very long day. Once we got up the New river where the Marina was suppose to be, there were more bridges, and a knot and a half current, on a very narrow stretch of water, with lots of traffic. So we go through two bridges and we are looking for the marina, and we are approaching a railroad bridge that is in the up position. And we are about 100 feet from it, when the siren starts going, saying that the bridge is coming down. I gunned the throttle and we made it through, but it was a little nerve racking. In the end we probably had a minute or two extra. So we still didn’t know where the marina was, so we asked the bridge operator over the radio, and then he asked if anyone knew. No one really knew, but one guy said to go up a little farther to Cooley’s and get a spot there till the next day. It was Sunday evening around 7, so no one was in the offices. We found a slip, and that is where we are now. It ended up that this marina is part of the city marina too, and the same price, and it is in a better spot.
Right now we are doing some boat work, and plan to leave sometime this weekend for Miami, and then Key Biscayne, where we will wait for good weather to cross to the Bahamas. From what we have read and were told, the wind should be out of the south and less then 10 knots, for an easy crossing.
Fort Lauderdale, right where we are, is really nice. They have a river walk with all kinds of restaurants, and parks. If we had more time, I wouldn’t mind staying here for a month.
Here are some photos:
Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos
Fountain of Youth
Boat in Daytona
The cat formerly known as June, aka "Freckles", aka "Crazy Eyed Killer"
Not Photoshopped!