Vero Beach to Coconut Grove

Pierre and Caroline toast us farewell

Its 136 nautical miles from Vero Beach to Coconut Grove, Miami, FL. From Vero Beach most cruiser's take the ICW south to at least Lake Worth (West Palm Beach). White Pepper, however, did not want to wait for all of the bridges and anchorages along the way. A weather window seemed to open up that allowed a direct sail or motor to Miami. The weather predicted mild wind and flat seas. The wind was from the south but White Pepper's stout motor should be able to deal with these conditions.

The autopilot's linear ram had been refurbished in Vero and this would be a good sea trial. It soon became obvious that the autopilot was not going to work, and we would have to hand steer all the way to Miami. This is no problem during the day but at night it means that at night you can not leave the helm even for moment without waking your partner for relief.

First time offshore in 3 years

We cleared the Fort Pierce jetties about noon and soon were motoring hard into a head wind. The wind was not problem but the seas were not as advertised. The prediction was for 2 foot waves at 8 sec. Intervals. This is a benign condition, but we were faced with a chaotic lumpy sea state. We had become lazy after months in the harbor and had neglected to adequately stow items below. Almost everything below ended up on the floor with the rolly conditions. Later that night the roll knocked over a diesel can spilling 5 gallons all over the port deck. What a mess! The anchor slipped it's chain lock and jumped the roller. It would have headed for the bottom except for a safety line that I always attach to both anchors.

At the beginning of a beautiful sunset the boat speed began to drop although the RPMs were a steady 2500.  This is a sure sign of a clogged fuel filter.  The rolly conditions had stirred up debris (really just dead bacteria) in the fuel tank.  Jan quickly and expertly changed out the dirty filter in less than 10 minutes.  Off we went at a steady 6 knots.

I had expected more traffic, but we saw few ships along the way. We got to West Palm and Lake Worth jetties about 9 pm. The only ship leaving was a tug named Pops, towing a 2000 foot  line with a barge at the end. He swung around to the south so we were trapped between him and shore. This is not such a bad situation as there is counter current to the Gulf Stream flowing South inshore. About ½ mile off of the beach we were making 6+ knots. This course forced us close to the shore and close to Mar-a-Lago. I noted a well lit boat passing between us and the tug. It did not have AIS (automatic identification system). I thought that it must be some poor fishing boat not to have AIS. Then it swung around and followed us. Now it was obvious that this was a patrol boat protecting the President's compound. It fell back as soon as we were well clear of the property line.

White Pepper crossed the Fort Lauderdale shipping line at 3 am without seeming a single moving vessel. We were now only 20 miles from Miami. Not wanting to arrive before light I slowed the motor down 3 knots. But now a new problem emerged. The roller furl-er came partially unrolled and would not furl. The cause was an excessively loose furl when we put the sail on in Green Cove Springs. The wind had gotten under a loose wrap and pulled out about 1/3 of the sail. With diesel on the deck and in the dark and rolly conditions I felt that it was to dangerous to go forward in the dark. Even in the daylight the problem proved too difficult to tackle. Only at anchor was the problem solved by completely unwrapping both sheets and re-leading them. I did not know this potentially dangerous situation could even happen, but I will be quite careful to check the roller furl-er before White Pepper sets sail again.

As the sun rose we were treated to the Miami skyline which is impressive. Along the beach were miles and miles of tall steel and glass buildings. Pictures do not do the magnificent scene justice.

Picture does not even do justice to the actual scene

About 9 am we came to the Miami sea buoy which is only a few miles offshore. There was only one very large container ship coming out. Conspicuously absent were the cruise ships. Not one was seen all night which is something of a record for our travels in Florida waters.  Jan and I speculated that this might be an effect of the novel coronavirus that was in the news. The jetties of Government Cut are short. All that we saw between were a few work boats and a dozen speedboats going too fast. We saw only glimpses of Miami Beach.

Government Cut ahead. Miami Beach is on the right.  Note the tangled sail and the speedboat.

The turn onto the ICW running across Biscayne Bay was easy enough following the chart plotter but was not well marked at all.

Downtown Miami, the ICW and the Eddie Rickenbacker bridge in the distance

In Biscayne Bay our goal was the Dinner Key channel. Dinner Key Marina did not have any slips available nor any mooring balls. A new friend, Alex, showed us a hole close to the mooring field where we could anchor in six feet of water. A mild cold front blew through that night but we were snug on the anchor. Sixty feet of chain in 6 feet of water should have held in hurricane.

Dinner Key mooring field, not a happy place to be in a strong wind

The next day with the help of our friend Lorie Messer we were able to secure a mooring ball in the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. This area must be the most protected area in all of Biscayne Bay.  It would be a delightful place of refuge during the unusually wintery weather in Miami this season. Jan and I could finally sleep soundly after almost 48 hours of conditions we were not ready for.

Lorie and Jan

Vero Beach, In the shadow of the Merrill P. Barber bridge

White Pepper made quick work of the 60 n. miles between Cocoa and Vero Beach. Adding hydraulic fluid to the RAM did not restore function to the autopilot so we had to hand steer all the way. We arrived at 4:30 pm which was good because it put us ahead of huge mob. Eventually we were assigned mooring ball #1 which is notable as it is the ball closest to the bridge. Our friends, Caroline and Pierre, on Obsession were further back and chose to anchor. Fortunately, the next morning our mooring ball mate left and Obsession could raft up with us. We spent a congenially month enjoying Vero Beach together.

Being close to the bridge is mixed blessing. There is a surprising amount of dirt flying off of the bridge and the street noise is constant. However, the location is very open with a good breeze and maybe slightly fewer insects.

View from the bridge, White Pepper in the foreground

A study in symmetry

Early in the stay Rick, Cindy, Ron and Jan Sabbadash came to visit.

One characteristic of Vero Beach is that you meet a lot of old friends. Davido, our old friend from 8 years ago, was still there. Don and Sue Engler have settled down in Vero. They took us to the Power Squadron social functions which were fun. We reacquainted with Harry and Barbara who are also Power Squadron members are have settled in Vero. Johnathan was in nearby Loggerhead Marina and trying to sell his Gulfstar 50. He kindly invited us to watch the Super Bowl at the cruiser's lounger in his marina. Pete and Dianne on Pearl passed through quickly on the way to the Bahamas.

Sue and Don Engler

Watching the Super Bowl at Loggerhead Marina with Johnathan

Much of the time spent at Vero Beach was spent in cleaning and doing chores on the boat. The major chore was getting the linear RAM refurbished and is covered in a previous blog post.

Jan helps out with the RAM

We faithfully attended the Thursday afternoon GAMs (gathering and meeting). I noted that these were much less intense than our visits in years past. Few if any of the cruiser's were headed fro the Bahamas this year and probably those that were headed that way had passed through earlier in the season.

We did take time to walk the beaches and visit Waldo's.

Pierre and Caroline

Jan reprises a pose from our previous visit to Hutchinson Park

We visited Gardenfest put on by the Vero Beach Garden Club and went to the Saturday morning farmer's market.

During our many walks I grew fond of a tree dwelling free living orchid on Date Palm street.

Exquisite!

Finally, it was time to leave. We much sadness we cast off from Obsession and departed for Miami.

Servicing the Robertson linear drive on the autopilot

The linear after it was serviced but before reinstallation

The Simrad-Robertson AP32 autopilot was the longest lived piece of electronics on the White Pepper. It had given also 20 years of faithful service. About 6 years ago it had begun to leak slowly. Upon the advice of Simrad I added several ounces of West Marine hydraulic fluid to the reservoir and things seemed to work. Yes, West Marine brand of hydraulic fluid was specifically recommended by Simrad. I would have to add about two onces of fluid per year.

Last year the control unit refused to response. It was time for a replacement. I bought a new Garmin 722 chart plotter, a Garmin 40 Reactor autopilot and appropriate connectors The unit was professionally installed by a marine electrician in St. Augustine, FL.

.

One piece of equipment that I chose not to replace was the Robertson hydraulic linear drive which seemed to be working, albeit leaking. The autopilot passed its sea trail in St. Augustine and seemed to be working fine. Then it failed suddenly on the Mosquito Lagoon just south of New Smyrna and two days south of St. Augustine.

The linear drive was clearly hemorrhaging fluid. The choice was between buying a new one or servicing the old one. Plus we were in Vero Beach, and I could not find anyone interested in doing this kind of work. As dreadfully difficult as it was to remove the linear drive from the cramped confines of the stern, mounting a new unit seemed even more daunting. It took all of one morning to unscrew the 4 bolts holding the unit to the mounting stage. I had to take off the scupper hose to get to the rudder post and unscrew the ram. Later it became obvious that I could have just pulled a pin rather than unscrew the whole thing.

Here I have to confess that I did not service the unit myself. It is no longer made or supported. Simrad has been sold to Navico. There are no readily available seal kits on the internet, and I would not know how to replace the seals anyway.

I took the unit to Verohydraulics in Very Beach, Florida,  who assured me that this was a routine matter. They did have some difficulty obtaining a seal kit. However, after a week it was ready and did not seem to leak on the counter.

Remounting the unit was as difficult as removing it. It weighs 40 pounds and only an outstretched left arm was available to wrestle it around. After it was finally screwed back in there were two subtle points that could be useful to the interested reader. The action of the rudder was quite rough. However, if the cap to the reservoir was removed and the wheel moved back and forth then numerous air bubbles were forced to the surface . The action became much smoother.

Secondly the mounting stage was found to be loose. This could not be a surprise after 20 years. Some washers were added and the screws attaching the stage to the hull were tightened. I suspect that this looseness and shock loading to the ram probably contributed to the overall problems. I'll bet that this may be a hidden problem on many boats.

Repeat sea trials are next to see if servicing the sturdy old Robertson HLD2000 is enough to restore the autopilot.
  
Now for the rest of the story.  The autopilot failed the sea trial and never even got past the rudder calibration.  We had to hand steer all the way to Miami from Fort Pierce. In Miami on the suggestion of Garmin support I called for help from Langer Kwell Electronics.  They sent out a cracker jack technician, Joe.  He tried every trick in his bag to get the unit to respond without success. It was also empty of fluid (thanks for nothing Verohydralauics).  After several expensive hours it became clear that only a new hydraulic drive would do.  I can't complain too much.  The unit gave 20+ years of excellent before it just wore out. 

So I guess that the take home lesson for anyone reading this post in order to learn about the Robertson 2000 is to probably buy a new linear drive.

St. Augustine to Vero Beach

With sadness White Pepper cast off from the Rivers Edge Marina in St. Augustine. We had stayed there 6 weeks cleaning and doing projects of the boat. The tasks seemed overwhelming at times. However, we were buoyed by the friendship of Margie and Chuck on Twin V and Vickie and Erin on No Fixed Address. Regular happy hours at White Lion, Ann O'Mallie's or Hurricane Patty's also helped to keep spirits up. We spent one delightful Saturday afternoon on the roof top bar at the St. Augustine Winery listening to new local singing sensation, Jolie.

The anchor windless project proved impossible. It would not rotate at all and defied all efforts to disassemble. My plan had been to have the boat yard at St. Augustine Marine Center install an electric windlass in its place. They prudently declined to tackle such a difficult problem. I was left to try the project myself to to no avail. Eventually I ordered a new manual Lofrans Royal windlass as a replacement. Erin and I worked all day to remove the corroded old bolts breaking one. The new windlass fit in the old holes and works perfectly for now. Before installing the windlass I took it apart and put Never Seize on the screws so that I can disassemble it next year.

Leaking faucets were replaced in the head and galley. The fixtures were easily obtained at the local Home Depot. But dealing with 35 year old plastic fittings and tubing was maddening. The entire boat needs to be re plumbed with modern equipment, but that project is too daunting to even contemplate.

Leaks had corroded the hinges on the nav station desk and the sink locker. A new piano hinge was ordered, cut to size and installed. Jan replaced a half dozen finger latches on drawers. She has mastered this chore which is great because the latches never last more than a few years.

The rusty anchor chain was addressed. The first 20 feet cut off and discarded. Then the chain was end-for-ended and reattached to the rode with a chain-rope splice. One the other end the shackle was in good shape and only needed to be re greased and re seized. If you don't re grease the anchor shackle it will seize and have to be cut off.

The LED light fixture in the head liner of the saloon was rebuilt.

All of the interior wood was oiled twice.

The local propane distributor, Courtesy Gas, refused to refill the 35 year old propane cylinders. I had to buy two new aluminum cylinders and haul them back up to Courtesy Gas for propane.  We Ubered back to the boat.

Two propane tanks and a new regulator

With the help of a local marine electrician, Mr. Billie Balcolm, the chart plotter and the autopilot were replaced. I was especially sad to see the Robertson Simrad autopilot go. It was easily the oldest piece of electronics on the boat and had given 20 years of flawless service. I opted to keep the Simrad linear drive as it seemed to be still working. It was leaking slowly but more about that later.

Traveling south from St. Augustine was retracing familiar ground. Jan and I spent the day reminiscing about this spot or that one where something happened during the past trips. We passed Diane and Pete on Pearl. We even anchored at the same spot in Daytona where I once had to go overboard to free the prop from a tangled line.

From Daytona we got an unusually early start, caught a lucky break at the New Smyrna bridge, and had favorable currents all day. With all of this good fortune White Pepper was able to power past the usual stopping point of Titusville and reach Cocoa. Anchor down at 4:30.

There were two items that day. We caught a glimpse of the Space X launch before it disappeared into the clouds. Then in the Mosquito Lake the new autopilot failed. The leak in the Simrad linear drive had become excessive.

A stiff cold front came through that night and challenged the new ground tackle but every thing held up well. It took 10 minutes to get the trusty Rocna anchor out of the mud.

The trip from Cocoa to Vero Beach was also very familiar. Along the way we saw Pearl again and saw Obsession. Pierre and Caroline are old friends from many years past. Once again we caught favorable currents and turned into the familiar entrance to the Vero Beach Marina at 4:45. After a turn at the marina dock we settled in on mooring ball #1 which is close to the bridge. Three days from St. Augustine to Vero Beach is a good run and one day faster than we usually have done before.