April in Fort Pierce

     Pete continues to be very busy with work. He was on board while I was running errands when there was a very loud bang and the boat shuttered slightly. Once above and checking, he figured it noisy have been a dolphin focused on chasing a fish and didn’t notice our keel!

     With the incoming tide, comes the fish. MV SANDRA JEAN, which is right in front of us, has a submerged light so that Don can fish at night. It is interesting to see the how many fish are illuminated. I was surprised to see 12-inch-“ish” fish swimming under our boat and feeding from the vortex stemming from the bow during the incoming tides. 

    The city boat ramps opened on April 1^st and boy! it sees a lot of action! They close for manatee protection from November to April due to calving and the need for warmer waters. There was a power station that released the warm water from the cooling tower into the creek, so manatees sought its warm waters during colder weather. Even though the power plant has been gone for about 10 years, a number of manatees still return to the creek.

     Another afternoon, I happened to reading in the cockpit and heard a dolphin come up for air. As I looked towards the sound, I saw it was a large manatee who decided to dive deep and actually lifted his tail above the water. Not something that is seen often, but a beautiful sight! Again, not fast enough with the camera. Of course, no photos, but a wonderful memory!

This guy decided to have lunch 
the same time as us!

     Thankfully, Jon is doing better. We were able to join Marilyn and him for lunch at Taco Dive Bayside, one of our favorite spots. He’s feeling better, but will keep his appointment with the doctor in Miami.

  

  
The beach south of Fort Pierce Inlet, a stroll away from Taco Dive!

     Wednesday, 4/11/21- Severe spring storms have been cruising across the south the past few days. Across the South here have been an outbreak of tornados and severe thunderstorms dumping tennis ball sized hail, heavy rains, strong winds and flooding. We woke to a sunny, mild breezes out of the SSW with temps climbing to the mid 80’s by noon. Pete lowered the dinghy, inflated the tubes and was able to start the outboard engine on the second pull! The mechanic who tuned it up prior to our heading south, recommended running the engine dry prior to raising it on the davits to keep her running well. It works! Pete and I toured the marina before hoisting her. It was the first time she’s been used in 5 months!

 
The beauty on the left is a new Hatteras M75 Panacera,

And, the shapely lady on the right is PEKABU.

The winds are only
blowing 20 mph &
we're heeled 10 degrees!

 
   We watched the sky and radar for the progress of the approaching storm. By 2 pm, raindrops began to fall and the winds increased. Multiple “Severe Thunderstorm Warnings” were being issued about every 20 minutes. Winds were steady at 30 mph out of the NNW with gusts up to 63! We watched the waves of 12 -18 inches high form in the 500-yard fetch from the bridge north of the marina and hit our boat. That kind of wind, hitting us broadside at the dock, caused us to heal 15 plus degrees! We could see the dock walkway even with the bottom of the port side lower window. It is normally about 12 inches above the dock in this marina. All six fenders were totally squashed. How they didn’t pop remains a mystery. We will be getting 2 of the 12”-round x 34” long heavy fenders ASAP! A boat neighbor told me that the waves hit PEKABU and broke over the cabin. The heavy rains and heavy winds continued for about 2 hours. There was also a substantial amount of debris and mud that came from the parking lots and the shallow creek near us. The smell from the mud was very potent for a while. All things considered we were lucky. No damage to PEKABU. However, any thought we might have had about accepting this dock next year are now completely gone!

Mama and baby

   Previously, while Pete and Bailey returned from their walk, they spotted a manatee and her calf just behind our boat. The next day as I went up the bathrooms, I spotted a large male gliding by the end of the pier entering the creek. Of all the times to have left my camera with a phone attached back aboard PEKABU!

Gathering specimens

    Coming home from shopping on afternoon, I notice a number of non-fishermen at the end of the fishing dock. I originally, I thought someone had fallen in as people were looking over the dock into the water and there were 2 or 3 people in the water. It is a strange sight to see people in the water under the fishing dock across the way. It looked like students collecting specimens (shellfish / barnacles?).

     Another night, while watching TV, we felt the very loud bang on hull. Pete went up above and so did Don, from the next slip. There was a dock-mate was fishing from the dock and caught a tarpon. When a large 5-foot fish fights the hook, it is very rambunctious. It hit both PEKABU and SANDRA JEAN. Both Pete and Don went quickly to investigate.

     Thursday, 4/15/21- We continued to meet up with friends. Marilyn and Jon invited us to check out with them a new seafood place in Vero, Autumn’s Crab Vero Beach. They were set to open just as the state shut down last year. Marilyn spotted cars in the parking lot and the "opening Soon" banner was finally down. We had delicious Hush Puppies and Coconut Shrimp for our entre. The "dippens" for the Shrimp was not as good as the usual Pineapple marmalade, but the shrimp was delicious. Ann and Howie met us at Lola's Seafood in Stuart. Apparently, there are now 4 of them. The one we originally found in Palm Beach Gardens, plus Stuart, St Lucie West and Tequesta/Jupiter. Same menu, just as good! Their Maine Lobster rolls are full of chunk lobster meat. Since we didn't feel like ending the evening so briefly, Dairy Queen was our next stop for dessert.

     Sunday, 4/18/21 - Another front came through, but it took a long time to slide to the south. I had gone to use the showers and, on my way back, I could see a lot of lightning to the north east. There were flashes every 1-3 seconds. It was impressive. I took video and was able to capture a number of stills showing some of the more impressive light shows. We had showers and storms on and off for 2 days.

  

 

     We continue to enjoy the Farmer's Market on Saturdays and apparently, we aren't the only ones. . . 

 

 

 

 

 

     The Power cat is the biggest one we have seen so far.  We guesstimate it is probably about 65-70 foot long. One of the dock hands told me that it appeared as if 3 brothers have been polishing it for the past week.  They took it out for a short period of time before filling her up at the fuel dock.  They were gone the next morning.  I wonder where?!

  

MV GATO BLANCO

     On a cooler day with a nice breeze, I walked over to the office to fetch some packages.  Once back at the boat I opted to continue walking and headed over to the park.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to also take some photos.

 

 

 

 

  

Cobb's Bar

 

    We have watched a couple of the launches from Cape Canaveral.  Being 60 miles away makes it very difficult to fully appreciate it.  We had wanted to see the first manned mission in over 10 years.  The departure had to be postponed due to weather.  When the morning came around, I checked the launch schedule to find that it was still a go at 5 am for the 5:50 am launch.  Unfortunately, the skies above were completely overcast, to I went back to sleep.  We apparently missed a spectacular as well as historic flight.  I did borrow these two photos from NASA.

  
Others peoples' photos of the first manned flight April 2021

Night shot of SV AIKI

    The month flew by. We were able to have a flurry of dinners  at some of our favorite places with friends before we left. Chuck's Seafood on Fort Pierce Inlet with Marilyn, Jon, Debbie and Mike; Breakfast with Tom and his lady at the Farmer's Market (where Pete got burned on his left side of his face from sitting and talking in that direction); and finally was able to catch up with Kay and Frank and join them for dinner in their home in Jenson Beach.

      Sunday, 5/2/21 - Pete did the final engine checks, while I cleaned and scrubbed the boat. With it being in the high 80's I made sure i drank lots of water and took lots of breaks,  A number of the breaks I was able to watch a boat of young fisherman just behind us, fishing under the dock.  The one young man using a small live snook on the line, caught a 30-35 pound grouper.  Of course he let it go and tried unsuccessfully to catch the goliath grouper that is a resident of the marina. but had no luck. Groupers are protected so they must be released.

     Monday, 5/3/21 - Everything is ready for our departure tomorrow. Laundry, last minute provisioning, water tanks topped off, good parking spot for the car, and most of our good-byes said, we are set. Ann and Howie joined us for a final meal at Taco Dive.  It was a beautiful night with temps in the 70's, and winds 25-30.  Silly us we wanted to eat outside.  Needless to say it was a bit of a challenge.  The nachos, which are light, crispy and delicious, are also great sails in a wins.  A number of them took flight. . . So did some of my salad! we still had a wonderful evening.

It has been a relatively good stay here in Fort Pierce, with a few major hiccups, but we will be back hopefully in the fall.  Reservations open up on June 1st.

One of our final sunsets here in Ft Pierce Marina

~  ~ ~ /) ~ ~   P & K

March in Fort Pierce & Delray Beach

Pedro and Pete
Last minute info exchange

PEKABU went on the hard on 2/23/21. We expected about a week, Silly us! We still believed when Pedro (Unlimited Boat Services, Inc), our great mechanic here in Fort Pierce, gave us a list of the issues: replace throughout bearing (which was the original request and should have taken about 3 hours), investigating as to why the shaft has 4 inches of play (when it should be about 1/100 of an inch- no wonder we had a vibration when underway!), clean out the shaft log void (which Haven Harbor improperly filled with 4200!), repair shaft log with fiberglass, readjust the keyway from the engine that secures the shaft (as it only held on to the shaft by less than 1/8 of an inch), then replace shaft - (had to have 2nd made out of proper stainless), install a new PSS bearing (last year we bought one and gave it to Haven Harbor to replace the original (they didn't replace, but kept the one we gave them), bellows needed to be readjusted. The parts for the boat took longer than normal due to "interruptions due to Covid." Since she had to be pulled, we had the bottom painted by one of Pedro's relatives and another polished sides. Both did an excellent job and for considerably less then we could have had it done on the Chesapeake! Five weeks later, Pete made the slow & cautious ride back to Marina. As planned. Pedro returned to do a proper alignment 48 hours later. We now have 1/1000 of a inch deviation on the shaft and no vibrations!

PEKABU getting her bottom paint touch-up and prepared to travel to the launching area

While we were away, progress is being made on the new marina that is just north of the bridge from us. It will be able to accommodate very large yachts that currently have no place to go once they enter the inlet. It will be almost a straight shot into the marina basis from the inlet. To say B-I-G boats, just look at the boat hauler that was assembled on site over the past month. I don't think we have ever seen on so big. Look carefully and find one of the crew standing next to wheel.

Have you found him yet? (hint: in front of the orange)

Wanting Pete's attention

Thank heavens for great friends! We stayed with Ann & Howie for 5 weeks. Bailey was in boarding for 10 days. We couldn’t leave her there the whole time as she would have been so stressed. We were able to keep her in our room with periodic stays out by the pool. We took turns cooking, plus we were able to eat out at Sushiama, Poppies, Hunan Gardens, Jack’s NY Style Pizza, Habit Burger’s, Burton’s Grill & Bar, Shiitake Asian Bistro, Lily’s Hand Made Ice Cream, but somehow we missed dining at a Greek restaurant. Pete also found out that Publix has some fantastic desserts. Their Carrot Cake tastes just like mine; the Flourless Chocolate Torte was super rich, and their Double Chocolate Cake all were delicious while not being too sweet. Howie also made ribs using Sticky Fingers’ BBQ sauce that was YUMMY!

Ann with Sofie, Poe, Katia and Bailey

Great guard dogs in action!

We had some time on our hands so Pete and I decided to take a ride down to see the Haulover Inlet in Fort Lauderdale. He follows a videographer on Facebook, who catches boats trying to exit with the incoming tide and winds. It can be crazy. People bounced out of boats, others loosing equipment including their dinghy, and the smart ones who turn around. It was a calm day and the current was not an issue. There were lots of boats anchored along the shallows along the ICW and the park located on the northern shore of the inlet was fairly busy for a Saturday. Besides the beach and viewing for the inlet, there are playgrounds, roller and skate board areas, tennis, baseball, basketball, volley ball, soccer fields along with picnic, boat launch and other amenities. I would like to come back for some "street photography" practice plus see boats challenge the inlet.

Buildings along the beach in Hollywood, FL

Cool Sculpture outside a building in Hollywood

Great opportunity for cropping!

Scenes from the Haulover Park. . .The "Flats" and a kite

I have begun to feel more comfortable with my new iPhone. It is a wonderful camera that happens to have a phone and personal assistant attached. Now, if I could only reprogram my brain that to properly answer calls. I now have to press the icon on the right instead of the left (as it was on the Samsung.) I have unfortunately hung up on most of my incoming calls! During our stay with Ann and Howie, I made use of the time and available WiFi to take a course on Photography for iPhones. I caught a sale through Facebook so the 13 hour course was only $50. Boy! It proved to be a very wise investment since I have never had an iPhone before. There is so much that the iPhone can do! I probably would have stumbled through using a few of them, but the instructor encouraged and inspired me to be more adventurous and use them to better my phone photography. He also touched on some in-phone editing apps, like Snapseed, which has proven to be very useful and does an excellent job, and Lightroom I would recommend iPhone Academy to anyone who enjoys taking photos with their iPhone.

Clouds, full moon and reflected light from shore

Sunset from the south shore of the inlet

   After a frustrating few days, I finally learned that iPhone photos have changed their format to HEIC:  High Efficiency Image file. No wonder I could not process them in Lightroom or post them directly to the blog. I had to download Imaizing Image Converter, which is a very simple way to convert them to JPEGs.

The fishing lights
from MV SANDRA JEAN

Since January Pete has been super busy with work. He has been looking forward to taking the dinghy out to fish, but he hasn’t had time to fish. We often have people fishing from their small boats real close to our boat, since we are against the long dock. A few of them have landed a couple of keepers. Apparently, fish have light sensitive eyes. so they seek shade during the day. When the current is incoming, the fishing is supposed to be great! Don has caught quite a few snook and other fish from his boat, with the help of the underwater light.

Bailey likes to nest

We had a scheduled lunch with Jon & Marilyn, but due to Jon’s back issues we postponed it. Of course this happened as they were having the survey done for the pending sale of their boat, Escapade. Hopefully, Jon will be getter so we can get together before we head north.

I can’t believe that we only have a few more weeks before we start heading north again. Spring has arrived on the east coast with weather fronts that have created some very windy periods. We just completed 4 days with winds ranging from the upper teens to steady 28 mph and gusts near 40! Between the north winds and the incoming tides. Our boat was pushed into the dock and squeezed or fenders to almost nothing! I don’t know how they didn’t explode. Thankfully, our dock mate, Paul, lent us 2 extra large fenders that really helped. We made sure he had them back before he and his friend Scott, headed south to Key West & The Dry Tortuga’s for a few weeks. Hopefully, we will see him before we head north.

~  ~ ~ /) ~ ~   P & K

February 2021 in Fort Pierce ~

     February brought more of the same weather, but I’m not complaining. We’d rather deal with the weather here than in the Northeast. The weather prediction for this winder in the east seems to be quite accurate. Heavier than usual precipitation with cooler temps; higher probability of snow.

A change in the weather!

Full moon

through the clouds

     With all the winds from the fronts, many people hoping to cross over to the Bahamas are waiting for a weather window. They are few and far between. Al and Vicky, SV OHANNA KAI, waited about 3 weeks, but finally headed east from Marathon. Tim, SV EVENING STAR, had to wait 2 weeks to depart from Lake Worth Inlet.

     Speaking of friends, Betty and John have sold SV ANDIAMO, Jeanne and Gerry have sold SV RAGTIME and Marilyn and Jon have a possible buyer for SV ESCAPADE. It is the right move for them, we are just sorry we won’t be rafting with them in the future, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be our guest aboard PEKABU.

     New friends on the dock have been cruising on a 40' Catamaran, but are now selling it to be able to travel a bit faster and do the Loop. We invited Alexi and Rob to join us for dinner at Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant and Pizza here in Fort Pierce on Orange Street. We are celebrating the fact that they have gone under contract for a new to them power boat on the Gulf-side of the state. Next week they empty their boat and put it in presentation mode for photos and sale. We had a thoroughly enjoyable meal, with the lasagna even better then mine! YUM!!! We will definitely go back for dinner again.

Poe and Katia keeping
 Pete company

  This month has seen a lot of medical visits. We have different appointments for our Covid shots. It usually isn’t a problem, but we both managed to snag appointments in Clay County because I thought we needed to take them in the county we are registered in. As it turns out, Clay County has a user-friendly website which helps in grabbing an appointment. The property used for the shots (the county agricultural building) is very well organized and efficiently run. In and out in less than 40 minutes, including the required after shot observation! The only negative, is that the Ag building in Green Cove Springs, is 3 hours north from Fort Pierce, which makes it a day-long commitment and our appointments were on 4 different days. I can’t complain as we are among of the lucky ones. I have also had 3 appointments in Miami with my cardiologist. After numerous tests to try to figure out the increasing Angina when I start to increase my heart rate, a stress test with contrast with PET scan finally revealed that my coronary artery, shortly after it branches off the Aorta and at the site of the bifurcation is stenotic, but not by plaque. It is a physical deformity. We find out Monday, 3/1, if a stint will resolve the issue or by-pass surgery will be necessary. Needless to say, it has been a stressful two weeks not knowing. Ann and Howie have offered their home to us if necessary. (UPDATE 3/1: No problems with arteries, so no stents, no surgery!!! YEA!!! Time to adjust blood pressure meds. The best possible outcome!!!)

Aft cabin had to be
emptied!

  The other biggie is PEKABU. We have been experiencing increasing vibration as the boat idles. Pete bought a new damper plate, knowing that was the problem last time. Why they make damper plates with all that plastic instead of harder metal is a big mystery. Pete had contacted Unlimited Boat Services here in Fort Pierce. Pedro and his crew did work for Pete last winter, solving the alternator disaster. He is very good at communication, coming when he says, diagnosing, thoroughly explaining what he sees as a problem (how's and why's) and repairing the issue. We expected about 3 hours of installation. Instead, he had to pull the transmission and found problems. The shaft has more than 3 inches of movement (which shouldn’t be), The bellows is fully compresses (which is intended for “burping” the excess air). The PSS bearing is totally worn out (which was supposed to be replaced 2 summers ago) and the sleeve holding in the shaft was only holding on by about 1/8 of an inch. Pedro did not feel comfortable having a diver try to see what was happening with the shaft. Should it suddenly give, the hole in the boat was probably sink us. Before he went any further the boat needs to be pulled.

  Wednesday, 2/24, we were up early. Pete took Bailey to boarding close to Ann and Howie. Bailey has become an ornery old lady. Due to the pains in her hind quarters, she is very cautious around other dogs and lets them know to keep their distance. It is a shame we can’t trust her around other dogs anymore. While he was gone, I defrosted the fridge and packed up items to be stored in the extra one at Ann’s. Our freezer can remain packed as long as it has power. Thankfully, it runs on both AC and DC, and is portable. Items were packed for at least a week’s stay in Delray and the storage items in the aft stateroom had to be moved to other areas of the boat. TowBoat was prearranged for a noon tow from Fort Pierce to Cracker Boy Boat Works yard, about a half mile away. They waited until the slip for haul outs was shortly to be available before heading out. PEKABU was very efficiently moved and into the haul-out slip, lifted, bottom power washed, and moved to an area where she was chocked and stabilized on the hard. Pedro and his crew were there to watch then examine the rudder and shaft. He contacted Pete a few hours later to let him know of the damage to the PSS bearing that couldn’t be only 2 years old. It and the shaft are the originals!

Two summers ago, PEKABU was pulled by Haven Harbor Marina in Rock Hall. Their service department are known for doing good work and recommended by a number of boaters we know. Pete was sent photos of the shaft as the PSS bearing was pulled for change out. The shaft was substantially worn and needed replacement according to the photo sent to Pete. He authorized to new one to be installed at that time. It was replaced without dropping the rudder.

 

    

  

     After discussions with Pedro, there is no way that the shaft can be replaced without dropping the rudder, and right now, we not only need the new PSS bearing, bellows, and coupler, we also need a new shaft! AND the only way to replace the shaft is to drop the rudder. Pete verified that from the Catalina 350 website. On top of that news, Pedro found a screw placed in the shaft log to stop a leak. It was the same shaft log that Haven Harbor filled last summer with 4200, a water-resistant adhesive seal, that was applied to the void in the shaft log. That should have been fiber glassed! Now we wait for the repairs, find out how many B.O.A.T. (Break Out Another Thousand) units it will cost and when she’ll be back in the water. Thank heavens for good friends. If we couldn’t stay with Ann and Howie, we were invited to Marilyn and Jon’s in Vero Beach.

      Speaking about Cracker Boy Boat Works, we thought it was a family name. Actually, most folks refer to it as “Cracker Boy’s.” However, last weekend we were able to learn the origin of the name. Facebook announced the Annual Cracker Drive and we are here to see it. An annual Cracker Trail Ride is held the last full week in February of each year. The ride begins at a site just east of Bradenton, Florida, and ends with a parade through downtown Ft. Pierce, Florida, a total of approximately 120 miles. Each day's ride is approximately 15 to 20 miles in length. The purpose of the ride is to draw attention to Florida's horse and cattle heritage. A great photo opportunity!

According to their website:

 

  The second generation to settle in the Florida territory after the Spanish were pioneers who traveled south through the state in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Control of Florida was still disputed by Spain and England, so settlers in the state lived outside the political control of both nations. Cattle rustlers, charged with rounding up the loose cattle in Central Florida, used long, braided leather bullwhips to bring cattle out from the underdeveloped forest brush. The men would flail the whips with so much force that the tips would actually break the sound barrier, creating a cracking sound — actually a small sonic boom. Thus, a name for these Florida cowboys was born. Stories quickly spread about the rustlers’ individual whip-cracking sounds that allowed them to identify each other from far away.

   The cracker cowboys rode short horses called “cracker ponies” across the Florida Cracker Trail from Fort Pierce to Bradenton. This trail across Central Florida was blazed out of necessity more than anything else. Moist land surrounding the Kissimmee River prevented travel to the north, while the sizable Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades swamps meant the crackers could not cross to the south either.

     Every year the crackers would convene on the more populous east coast and stock up for the long 120-mile journey across the trail to the Gulf of Mexico, where the cattle would be shipped to Cuba. To maximize profits, they had to deliver the cattle to shipping ports during peak market season in late July and August, when the weather was at its worst.
     Florida’s unpredictable weather, from never-ending downpours to oppressive heat, was just one challenge the cracker cowboys faced on the trail. They also had to take care to avoid dangerous panthers, bears and wolves and hostile native tribes with nothing but small packs of herd dogs for protection. Upon arriving safely in Fort Pierce, the crackers often stopped at P.P. Cobb’s General Store (100 Ave. A, Fort Pierce). The oldest commercial establishment in St. Lucie County, the store opened in 1882 as a trading post between Seminole tribes, planters, crackers and sailors. You can still see the giant blackboard ledger behind the counter where crackers’ names were written when they bought supplies on credit, debts occasionally repaid with Spanish gold after the long drive.

  

  

     Well, we are looking forward with a hopeful and positive attitude, to see how things resolve next month!

~  ~ ~ /) ~ ~   P & K