Cortez Cove Boatyard & Marina

I got up early this morning to row the tender and get some exercise. Of course, I took the camera along. My plan was to row upstream, and then drift back down taking pictures. Also, by drifting I would draw less attention to myself.

These two American White Pelicans were a little shy. As I drifted closer, they would slowly walk the other way; one step at a time. I think they were taking one step at a time, slowly going the other way, probably so they didn't draw attention to themselves.

Haa! We're like-minded... I love pelicans.!

After taking a few photos, it took a while, but I found a way through the shoals. I rowed to the other side where I had seen many birds in the trees. I was shocked to see they were mostly pelicans! I never thought of where pelicans might nest, but trees would not have been my first guess.

This pelican is bringing nesting material

There are also Roseate Spoonbill nesting in the same trees.

After drifting past the island, I rowed back to the other side to take a few more pictures. I still had trouble finding a way through the shoals, and this American White Pelican must have thought I was a little too close.

Here are some of the other pictures I took before returning to the boat.

I was told this is a shrimping shack

After lunch on the boat, I went to the canvas shop to see if they could repair Distant Horizon's dodger. It's getting a little worn. When I returned, I found this guy snoozing on the tender. I'm glad I could provide a comfortable spot for him... and he has the right end hanging off.

A while later, I left to check on some estimates I was getting. When I returned, my pelican passenger had re-oriented himself... the wrong end is pointing in! However, when he did finally depart, there was no cleanup necessary.

Cortez Cove Boatyard & Marina

There is a lot more work to be done... by me... than I had anticipated. I thought I could complete all the work on Monday. I washed the mainsail with fresh water in the morning when the air was still. I was able to keep it up until it had thoroughly dried. After which, I folded the sail and put it in its bag.

The staysail came off with no problems. However, a roll pin in the roller furler was coming out and prevented the swivel from coming down with the sail. Luckily, I had contacted a sailmaker to  take the jib and staysail for washing and inspection. Since he was also a rigger, he volunteered to go up the mast and  get the sail down.I was happy. I had my climbing gear out, but it was way too hot for me to be doing that.

I had to remove a lot of equipment from the decks. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up on the clock: jerry cans for fresh water; jerry cans for diesel. Sheet blocks and their associated deck slapper cushions; sheets from the head sails.

Today, Teak Decking Systems came and made the templates for the new teak decks. Here, Richard is working on the starboard template.Just so there is no confusion... Those are not scratches on the side of the boat. It's the water being reflected. I did not beat up the boat that bad!

A lot of effort goes into making these templates. Every curve is measured and cut out for the template... Like the deck fill for the starboard water tank. I did not get that in the picture. Even the curvature around each stanchion. Somebody slap that photographer upside his head!

While Richard worked on the boat. I tried to stay out of his way. I grabbed my camera and took a walk-about. This first picture is of an island, which is just barely outside the navigable channel.

This picture is taken from a dock nearest the channel.The post on the far right is the right side of the channel as you leave. You can see the shallows go right up to the post. The far side of the channel is that post in the center of the picture. You can see the shoal just beyond and the rock pile sticking above the water. This is low tide. You can not see the rock pile at or near high tide.

I launched the tender today. I'm hoping to go for a row in the morning and take some more pictures.

A wonderful end to the day. This picture was taken at sunset from the dock in front of the boat. You can see the tender is not under the boom and if you look closely the butterfly hatch is open.

Oh, I just noticed, the life raft still has to come off as well as the anchor snubber line.

Heading North - Venice to Cortez

I woke up early and was able to depart Venice by 7:30am. The winds were calm, but from the north east. What was especially nice about today; no schedule! It should be a 6 hour sail and I had plenty of time to do that.

Leaving Venice

I quickly raised the mainsail and then the jib. I was sailing at 5.5 knots with a gentle breeze. The wind was at a great angle, so I raised the staysail. The water was calm. I had all the sails up. The motor was not running. I was doing over 6 knots. It doesn't get any better than this!

Of course, I have never been a lucky man. So, a couple hours of bliss was followed by decreasing winds. I wasn't going to let that get me down. I just didn't want to continue sailing at 4 knots.

 A few days ago, I flew the drifter and, although it is small for this boat, it worked very well. I dropped the jib and the staysail. Then I raised the drifter and... Bam!... back over 6 knots!

Distant Horizon was ghosting along as we passed Sarasota.

Sarasota in the distance

Eventually, the wind became so slight, even the drifter could not help. I dropped the drifter and the mainsail then turned the motor on... I count this as a sailing day, though. I was just 3 miles from the Longboat Pass where I leave the gulf. The motor would have been started in 2 miles anyway.

There was just one bridge to be opened for me to get through. Then I traversed a small channel to get to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). I headed north for a mile or two and then... I was told the entry to the marina was tricky. It wasn't so tricky as it was narrow. I swear the channel was just 20 feet wide. A pontoon boat and Distant Horizon could not both fit in the channel... I wasn't moving.

It is even scarier than that. To get to the marina, the chart says there is a wreck partially submerged. Yup, saw that. I actually had to steer straight for it. I turned to port (left) just before I got there. Then the channel markers were layed out a bit better. I made note that if you go out of this channel... there will be no mercy on you, as I passed a rock pile so close I could spit on it.

I had to use the binoculars to look ahead for the sign for the marina... and found it quickly. As I arrived, a group of people gathered on the end of the dock. One of them called out, "What's your draft?" I raised 6 fingers. Then a little conversation ensued. I called back and asked if there was an open slip. Two of them pointed and walked over to it.

I followed. They were nice and grabbed my bow lines and helped tie the boat off. Once I stepped off, they quietly told me... the conversation about my draft, was because that big motor yacht just tried to depart. He returned after running aground. He drafts 4 feet, but said the moon was getting more full, so it was an extra low tide. I ruined his excuse.He ruined his day... two bent props and one bent prop shaft!

It was just 2:30 in the afternoon. I had a wonderful sail of almost 5 hours; out of today's 5 hour 43 minute trip. The boat is now resting comfortably in a slip, awaiting the scheduled repairs. The journey north is over. This trip, that started in November 2014, has now ended on March 1, 2015.

Sunset at Cortez Cove looking of the stern of Distant Horizon

As the sun sets on this journey, I am already looking forward to the next chapter on the Distant Horizon. I will return in late May or early June to start once again. In the mean time, I have a few Bicycle tours to ride and friends to catch up with... maybe even a little skiing before this tan wears off.

Don't give up on the blog. I will be posting more information and pictures as things happen. Over the next few days, I'll post pictures in and around Cortez Cove Marina. I will be returning to Florida to take things of the boat in a few weeks. At that time, I'm taking a tour of the Teak Decking Systems factory. I heard it is quite impressive.