The Trimaran Windwalker Bound Acroos the North Atlantic

The "Windwalker"

The Daily Log Across The North Atlantic To Ireland
ABORTED -- Disaster Struck!!

Date -
Position Heading
Made Good Daily Log Comments

Wed, Jun 23
24:34:23N
81:48:43W Key West
90°m
0600, 81°, 30.08, Wind ESE 10-15kts, part cloudy. Light rain at 0530. Topped the fuel and water tanks. Took 9 of diesel and 5 of gas for the generator, $29. Cleaned and stowed anchor and chain. Posted this log page prior to clearing from harbor about 8:30 bound for the Gulf Stream and Ireland.
Our waypoints and headings enroute bound for Galway:
From Key West outer marker 90°m 98nm to Gulf Stream Turn WPT, 24° 00'N, 80° 00'W
From Gulf Stream Turn WPT 39°m 180nm to Little Bahama Bank WPT, 27° 10'N, 78° 10'W
From Little Bahama Bank WPT 40°m 567nm to 35N72W WPT, 35° 00'N, 72° 00'W
From 35N72W WPT 77°m 861nm to 40N55W WPT, 40° 00'N, 55° 00'W
From 40N55W WPT 68°m 1428nm to 52N25W WPT, 52° 00'N, 25° 00W
From 52N25W WPT 91°m 568nm to Galway Bay WPT, 53° 08'N, 09° 30'W
Total distance 3700nm taking 17 to 28 sailing days if the winds hold fair.
I will post the update of this log on the web when we reach Ireland or at our next landfall. Until then, Love and Peace from Barefoot and Eric.

Wed, Jun 23
1200hrs
24:31N
81:33W Enroute
90°m
Well, so much for that. We ran out to the marks, and headed east into 20kt headwinds motoring at 5 knots to the Gulf Stream WPT. Eric got seasick within an hour, as the wind blowing against the current had set up quite a chop. He was able to take his turn at watch and stayed in good spirit. He spent much of the time below off watch as the nausea was less laying down.

Thur, Jun 24
1200hrs
24:50N
80:17W Florida Straits
N10°m
0600, 81°, Wind E 15-20kts, part cloudy. We made the turn north at the WPT after daybreak. The wind became easterly off the beam, so I raised the sails. It became quite apparent that I had a major safety problem. With the full load of the sails the mast was bending aft more than design criteria allowed, and must be jumper stayed to eliminate the problem. I immediately made the decision to halt the voyage until the problem is resolved and to motor to the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area to effect repair.
The pounding also opened up a leak at a keel bolt that must be attended to, although it didn't show up until we had motored toward Miami harbor. We found a quiet anchorage spot inside and dropped the hook about 1800 at 25:47.7 N, 80:10.36W. Eric is nearly over the seasickness. He and I discussed our options. I had determined the fix for the problem, mostly using what is at hand stowed below. We decided to motor north to the St. Lucia canal and journey across Florida through Lake Okeechobee to the Ft. Myers area and Naples so Eric can visit with his parents and brother, Hank, Claire and Alex, and so I can meet them. The work will probably be done where I had the last work done, Bob and Annie's Boatyard. With only $100 in the Ship's Cash kitty, that will have to wait until my next SS check July 14, unless I can scroung some donations or a loan. If anyone would care to make a much needed donation please mail it to:
Bob Hardison
% MikeHardison
W 690 Riverview Dr.
Post Falls,ID 83854
so my brother Mike can deposit it in my account there in Idaho so I can access it via ATM wherever we are with the boat.
We went to bed immediately as both were fatigued. I woke to a thunder storm at 1am June 25 and entered the above in the log.

Fri, Jun 25
0600hrs
25:48N
80:10W Miami Harbor
0600, 81°, breeze E 3 kts, mostly clear. Located waterway charts of St. Lucia - Okeechobee - Ft. Myer and the ICW north of Miami to the canal. Underway at 0730. Hot sweaty day, a cooker. Anchored at Lantana at 1915. I crawled into my berth and slept immediately. Eric was practicing a new song and was going to fix dinner, but crawled into his berth too and went to sleep. I woke about 0100, woke him to see if he wanted to eat..nope.. wait til morning... I agreed, back to bed and asleep.

Sat, Jun 26
0630hrs
26:35N
80:02W Lantana
ICW 0630, 81°, breeze E 5 kts, mostly clear. We motored from Lantana into the St. Lucia river and waterway continuing after dark until we were about 4 miles short of reaching Lake Okeechobee. Prioe to dark we had raman noodles, too hot to cook anything else. We anchored just off channel with a foot of water under the keel. Mosquitoes were bad. After closing up the boat I lit a mosquito coil to kill the little buggers. It was stiffling closed up, but we managed to sleep somehow.

Sun, Jun 27
0530hrs
26:56N
80:36W Near Port Mayaca
0530, 82°, calm, mostly clear. I decided to get underway before any boating traffic started. Eric had to dive to free the anchor from the rock it was wedged under. Freed it in about 10 minutes. We were underway about 0600. Motoring a mile we came to an old railway lift bridge with only 49 feet clearance. We stopped and lowered the mast in about 40 minutes, the process and purpose exactly as designed. Eric is a quick study, this was his first experience at mast lowering, and he did real well. Continuing on across Okeechobee and canals in oppressive heat, through 3 locka, we anchored in a wide spot 3 or 4 miles west of La Belle. Bucket fresh water showered and had clam chowder for dinner. It is a pleasant evening.

Mon, Jun 28
0530hrs
26:46N
81:27W Near La Belle
0530, 82°, still, clear. Underway at 0630. Arrived Ft. Myers area at noon and anchored west of the Hwy 41 bridge at 26:39.4N, 81:51.8W, rowed in and went to library for internet email and to use phone to call Eric's folks. Had Subway sandwiches for lunch. Storm brewing at 1600. Back to boat at 1615 to move to an unused dock next to city park that appears to be connected to neither the park or the marina next to it, fenced off entire, very secure. At 1715 Eric went to call his folks again. Walked back into town at 1900 to go to 8pm meeting at St. Lukes church. Good 2nd step study meeting. Chris gave us a ride back to boat by 2130.

Tue, Jun 29
0700hrs
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
docked 0700, 82°, still, clear. First thought -- find Tracfone that has never been used, charger and subscription card. Found them and started charging phone. After it was charged I went to library and activated it via internet as I haven't found the instruction manual. Took up cabin sole and bailed bilges with vacuum. Cabin bilge pump shorted out. Repaired sole that was cracked at corner where Eric jumped down on it. Downpour at 1430, got good shower. Over about 1630. To library to post update and activate cellphone. Back to boat as Eric arrived at 1830. Watched a movie again,then started a new book,reading until past midnight.

Wed, Jun 30
0715hrs
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
docked 0715, 81°, still, part cloudy. Woke with stiff neck. Eric took the bus to visit his folks at 0800. I spent morning finishing the new book. Turned on computer to update log and space bar ceased working. Tried for a couple of hours to make it work, no luck...????? Substituted character for space, then ctrl-C/ctrl-v a space into the text, a real pain in the ass, but it works.

Thur, Jul 1
0615hrs
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
docked 0715, 82°, still, part cloudy. Sweltered and read all day. Rained at 1600 as usual. Eric returned about 2130. He had a good time with his folks.

Fri, Jul 2
1200hrs
26:30N
82:05W PineIsland
at quay 0630, 80°, still, part cloudy. Underway at 7:30 to Pine Island and Bob and Annie's Boat Yard. Arrived at 1100. Talked with Bob and he will work with me to get changes done. We will start unbuttoning things when it cools off later in the day and mostly work at night. Spent evening salvaging used 3/8" turnbuckles and ends.

Sat, Jul 3 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 80°, still, clear. Unbuttoning and patching. Heat is stifling. Not well, coughing, hacking fits and running sinuses. Eric went to town on bike about 8 miles and called folks. They will be here about 1100 tomorrow.

Sun, Jul 4 PineIsland
at quay 0730, 82°, still, clear. Terrible night coughing and hacking, but woke this morning with my head dried up and clear..???.. Hope it stays that way. Today is a do nothing day. Eric's folks came at 1100 and we went to their place at corkscrew swamp sanctuary, about 60 miles south. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Hank and listened to Alex and Eric play their instruments. Alex is a fine pianist. We returned to the boat shortly after sunset. Eric then went to watch fireworks.

Mon, Jul 5 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 82°, still, clear,sticky. Finished unbuttoning the mast and bundling the furlers and lines ready to pick mast from boat. Got up on internet and checked email. Not much going to happen today. Mast lifted off the boat. Designed pieces needed to add jumpers. Located cable and materials needed. Identified steps to be taken. Trimaran Jim came by and we had a nice talk. Eric installed screens in hatches.

Tue, Jul 6 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 82°, still, clear,sticky. Removed backstays to replace with 3/8" cable and pieces to be sent out for fab and welding. Started paint removal and sanding to prep for fiberglass repairs. Cleaned salvaged turnbuckles. Sent stainless bands out to be modified or fabricated. Ordered new turnbuckle cones. Eric cooked a fine dinner with our neighbors, and we watched a movie.

Wed, Jul 7 PineIsland
at quay 0600, 81°, still, clear,sticky. Made spreaders, and accomplished miscellaneous items. Made mount for VHF antenna. Eric worked all day for boatyard. Had spaghetti with Bill, Lisa, and kids.

Thur, Jul 8 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 83°, still, clear,stickier. Worked a few hours assembling backstays and jumperx stays from salvaged cable, turnbuckles and end fittings. Cable work is all done. Eric got three coats of paint on the new spreaders. Sweltered the rest of the day.

Fri, Jul 9 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Accomplished a little fiberglass work. Read and napped.

Sat, Jul 10 PineIsland
at quay 0730, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Soaked spider bite on elbpow in epson salts. Read and napped. Downpour from 4 until about 7.

Sun, Jul 11 PineIsland
at quay 0530, 80°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Soaked spider bite on elbow for an hour, better. Read and napped. Remounted mast step.

Mon, Jul 12 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 78°, still, clear, sticky. Sweltered all day. Eric treated spider bite for me with anti-biotic and bandage, swelling is relieving. Fiberglassing done. Read and napped. Bed early. Eric has 50 days today.

Tue, Jul 13 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 80°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltering. Rebandaged spider bite. Sorted out mast wiring. Bill and Chris pulled out with Africana at 0945 on high tide. Jim called from Key West. Re-mounted aft pulpit. Eric painted bare areas of glass. Waiting for mast band and spreader mount parts. Hoping to have it all together by Friday.

Wed, Jul 14 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltering. Spider bite swelling reduced. Mostly a do nothing day.

Thur, Jul 15 PineIsland
at quay 0600, 80°, still, clear, sticky. Sweltering. Parts arrived after noon. Installed parts, spreaders, jumper stays, 3/8 backstays, and rigged to set mast on the boat in the morning. Steve E. from Naples visited about 1700, He donated to the cause, and we had a nice chat. He and Eric played duets on violin and guitar. We had hamburgs and fries for dinner. I died shortly after dark, crawled into berth to read and read nothing.

Fri, Jul 16 PineIsland
at quay 0630, 84°, still, part cloudy, stickier. Sweltering hot. Small amount of infection in spider bite, treated it. Set mast on boat by 0945. Spent next hour cooling off and catching up log, Eric sleeping. Partial overcast by 1030. Paid boatyard $661. Adjusted stays in preparation for raising mast. Too hot to expend much energy. Borrowed a car from Keogh and went to Wynn-Dixie to re-provision,$180. Watched Rob Roy and Legend of the Fall.

Sat, Jul 17 PineIsland
at quay 0615, 82°, still, part cloudy. Raised mast by 0800. Finished adjustments and left yard at 0945 on high tide. We were nearly toICW when a rain squall hit, so we anchored until it quit. Showered in the rain. Made it to Ft. Myers about 1300 and tied up at Centenial Park again. Went to hospital to have bite checked and get some anti-biotic.

Sun, Jul 18
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
at dock 0630, 82°, Wind W 10 kts, part cloudy. Will stay here to build new mast step. At 0830 went to Home Depot for materials. Eric went on to Wal-Mart for 12v fan, phone card. Back on board at 1300. Hot compresses on bite and noon anti-biotic. Waves choppy 1 ft. at dock. Hell of a squall at 1545 from west, wind to 40 kts, lasted about 10 minutes. Rained for another 30 minutes. Walked to rehab at 1745 and attended a "class" meeting, better than no meeting. Onboard at 1945. Prepared to let nast down in the morning. Eric came in late sloshed. He fell off the dock and damn near drowned after hitting his head on the concrete. He has made a decision to leave the boat.

Mon, Jul 19
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
at dock 0730, 78°, stormed all day, went to Home Depot for lag bolts, library for email, nothing else accomplished.

Tue, Jul 20
26:38N
81:52W Ft. Myers
at dock 0700, 80°, stormed all day. At 1100 we moved to the fuel dock,filled the tanks, and proceeded east about 6 miles to a protected ox-bow anchorage, 26:42:06N, 81:47:18W. We let down the mast and removed the mast step. Rained again through the evening.

Wed, Jul 21
26:42:06N
81:47:18W Caloosahatchee
River
anchored 0600, 76°, clearing, calm. Built and installed new mast step, and had mast raised by 1300. Waited until 1630 then motored back to Ft.Myers city dock so Eric could call his folks to see if he could stay there for a couple of weeks, No. He is calling around to see if he can roost with some of his old using buddies. I have been unsuccessful in helping him change his mind. He has it eating at him.

Thur, Jul 22
26:38N
81:52W Ft.Myer
Fuel dock 0600, 76°, clearing, calm. Sent Eric to town early to get hus money. He collected his gear and left the boat at 0930 with a hug, handshake and best of luck. He just coulcn't change his mind to make the better choice for sobriety. I paid the dock fee, took a shower and did laundry. Underway east to the coast at 1145. Anchored for the night at 2000 at Ortona lock, 26:47N, 81:19W.

Fri, Jul 23
26:47N
81:19W Ortona Lock
Anchored 0615, 76°, hazy, clearing, calm. Underway at 0715, through lock by 0730. Made Okeechobee at noon, across the lake and locked into St.Lucia canal by 1600. Slid under the railroad lift bridge with a foot to spare. Anchored at a wide spot in channel at 27:02N, 80:24W, at 1845. There is one alligotor in Florida, a 5 footer in the Okeechobee canal.

Sat, Jul 24
27:02N
80:24W St. Lucia River
Anchored 0615, 76°, clear, calm. Spent an hour re-arranging provisions and tidying a bit. Underway at 0745. Out of the lock into tidewater at 1000. Refueled at 1130 across bay from Stuart, 11.2 gal for 150 miles. Topped water tanks. Motored across the bay to Stuart and anchored at noon, 27:12.4N, 80:13.5W, to go into Library and Intenet. Will hang here until tomorrow before headung out into the Gulf Stream and north. I will stay about 20 miles off the coast as I work my way north until I have checked out all the rigging and fixes. Went to a meeting at Fellowship Hall and ran into Phil whose secretary years ago was Betty J. in Coeur D'Alene at the Rathdrum Prairie Dogs, the Beownbaggers, and SAS meetings, that wonderful, lovely, funny, dirty old woman. What a joy to remember. Phil brought me back to the boat.

Sun, Jul 25
27:12.4N
80:13.5W St. Lucia River
Anchored 0615, 78°, clear, dead calm. I wrote a few letters this morning to Casey, Jim, and the Duckworths, walked into town and mailed them, checked email, caught the 1100 and 1400 meetings, moved on out the channel to 27:10.9N, 80:12.2W, anchored and prepared to head out to the Gulf Stream and north tomorrow.

Mon, Jul 26
27:10.9N
80:12.2W St. Lucia River
Anchored 0600, 78°, clear, dead calm. Adjusted rigging again, and checked safetying of fittings. Underway at 0900. DISASTER!! As I was crossing a shallow bar just before entering the channel, an unthinking 60 ft power yacht traveling about 25 knots throwing a 3-4 ft wake bounced the Windwalker hard on the bottom, opening a keel seam, leaking about 20 gallon an hour. I pulled on into the channel and around the head into another bay, reanchored and dove to assess the damage. The water was too murky to see much. I stayed the afternoon and night, pumping every 2 hours.

Tue, Jul 27
27:1\20?N
80:15W Big Mud Creek
Anchored 0530, 78°, clear, dead calm. I determined to go up the ICW to find an isolated creek where I could careen and make repairs. Big Mud has a nice flat mud bottom, protected and isolated. Anchored there on the low tide, waiting until high tide after 1700 to beach the boat.

Wed, Jul 28
27:1\20?N
80:15W Big Mud Creek
Anchored 0530, 78°, overcast, dead calm. Waited until low tide at 1120. I went over the side and determined the damage by feel, cracked along the last keel bolt at Sta.13 for about a foot both sides. Not enough tide by a foot to effect any repairs. Will need a minimum of 5 feet. Only option is to wait for high tide after 1700, kedge off and move to deeper water for the night, then proceed up the ICW in the morning until I reach an area of sufficient tide.

Thur, Jul 29
27:1\20?N
80:15W Big Mud Creek
Anchored 0600, 78°, overcast, dead calm. Pumped out, unjammed rudder, cleaned kedge anchors and chain, and stowed. Underway at 0800. Pleasant day part cloudy, SE-E breeze, made 70 miles by 1830, anchored at 28:12.5N, 80:38.8W behind S404 bridge to Patrick AFB.

Fri, Jul 30
28:12.5N
80:38.8W Indian River
Anchored 0615, 78°, Mostly clear, dead calm. Slept well 10 hours, no mosquitos, but woke tired. Rained at 0600 for a few minutes. Breakfasted, and underway north at 0800. Made New Smyna Beach and anchored at 1800 at 29:19.2N, 80:54.2W

Sat, Jul 31
29:19.2N
80:54.2W ICW
New Smyrna Beach 0600, 77°, Mostly overcast, dead calm. Raining and drizzling since 0600. Pumped out, breakfasted, and underway north at 0800. Anchored near St. Augustine at 1845, 29:51.6N, 81:18.5W.

Sun, Aug 1
29:51.6N
81:18.5W ICW
St. Augustine 0630, 76°, high overcast, N Breeze. Moved to anchorage off Castillo San Marcos, 29:53.7N, 81:18.5W. Local knowledge tells me the tide is about 5 feet and there is an out of the way careening beach. Went into town and caught the 1730 meeting. Bought a quart of epoxy. Back by 1930.

Mon, Aug 2
29:53.7N
81:18.5W ICW
St. Augustine 0630, 76°, high overcast, N Breeze. Moved to careening shoal, careened and was able to see damage. Keel fillet cracked a foot both sides. Made repair to stop leaks, successful. Kedged off shoal at 2300 and went to bed.

Tue, Aug 3
29:54.1N
81:18.6W ICW
St. Augustine 0600, 77°, clear, SW Breeze. Low low tide at daybreak, against shoal but free floating, and tide making. Re-anchored in center channel in deeper water, waiting to help Ormand in a 47ft ketch careen it. He helped me last night set the kedge anchor to pull me away from the shoal. Moved back to anchorage between the Bridge of Lions and the Castillo San Marcos at 29:53.6N, 81:18.6W. Went to Serenity Hall at 1600, Back at 2200.

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The Voyages of the Windwalker

Barefoot's World

20040501

Date - Position	Heading Made Good	Daily Log Comments
Wed, Jun 23 24:34:23N 81:48:43W	Key West 90°m	0600, 81°, 30.08, Wind ESE 10-15kts, part cloudy. Light rain at 0530. Topped the fuel and water tanks. Took 9 of diesel and 5 of gas for the generator, $29. Cleaned and stowed anchor and chain. Posted this log page prior to clearing from harbor about 8:30 bound for the Gulf Stream and Ireland. Our waypoints and headings enroute bound for Galway: From Key West outer marker 90°m 98nm to Gulf Stream Turn WPT, 24° 00'N, 80° 00'W From Gulf Stream Turn WPT 39°m 180nm to Little Bahama Bank WPT, 27° 10'N, 78° 10'W From Little Bahama Bank WPT 40°m 567nm to 35N72W WPT, 35° 00'N, 72° 00'W From 35N72W WPT 77°m 861nm to 40N55W WPT, 40° 00'N, 55° 00'W From 40N55W WPT 68°m 1428nm to 52N25W WPT, 52° 00'N, 25° 00W From 52N25W WPT 91°m 568nm to Galway Bay WPT, 53° 08'N, 09° 30'W Total distance 3700nm taking 17 to 28 sailing days if the winds hold fair. I will post the update of this log on the web when we reach Ireland or at our next landfall. Until then, Love and Peace from Barefoot and Eric.
Wed, Jun 23 1200hrs 24:31N 81:33W	Enroute 90°m	Well, so much for that. We ran out to the marks, and headed east into 20kt headwinds motoring at 5 knots to the Gulf Stream WPT. Eric got seasick within an hour, as the wind blowing against the current had set up quite a chop. He was able to take his turn at watch and stayed in good spirit. He spent much of the time below off watch as the nausea was less laying down.
Thur, Jun 24 1200hrs 24:50N 80:17W	Florida Straits N10°m	0600, 81°, Wind E 15-20kts, part cloudy. We made the turn north at the WPT after daybreak. The wind became easterly off the beam, so I raised the sails. It became quite apparent that I had a major safety problem. With the full load of the sails the mast was bending aft more than design criteria allowed, and must be jumper stayed to eliminate the problem. I immediately made the decision to halt the voyage until the problem is resolved and to motor to the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area to effect repair. The pounding also opened up a leak at a keel bolt that must be attended to, although it didn't show up until we had motored toward Miami harbor. We found a quiet anchorage spot inside and dropped the hook about 1800 at 25:47.7 N, 80:10.36W. Eric is nearly over the seasickness. He and I discussed our options. I had determined the fix for the problem, mostly using what is at hand stowed below. We decided to motor north to the St. Lucia canal and journey across Florida through Lake Okeechobee to the Ft. Myers area and Naples so Eric can visit with his parents and brother, Hank, Claire and Alex, and so I can meet them. The work will probably be done where I had the last work done, Bob and Annie's Boatyard. With only $100 in the Ship's Cash kitty, that will have to wait until my next SS check July 14, unless I can scroung some donations or a loan. If anyone would care to make a much needed donation please mail it to: Bob Hardison % MikeHardison W 690 Riverview Dr. Post Falls,ID 83854 so my brother Mike can deposit it in my account there in Idaho so I can access it via ATM wherever we are with the boat. We went to bed immediately as both were fatigued. I woke to a thunder storm at 1am June 25 and entered the above in the log.
Fri, Jun 25 0600hrs 25:48N 80:10W	Miami Harbor	0600, 81°, breeze E 3 kts, mostly clear. Located waterway charts of St. Lucia - Okeechobee - Ft. Myer and the ICW north of Miami to the canal. Underway at 0730. Hot sweaty day, a cooker. Anchored at Lantana at 1915. I crawled into my berth and slept immediately. Eric was practicing a new song and was going to fix dinner, but crawled into his berth too and went to sleep. I woke about 0100, woke him to see if he wanted to eat..nope.. wait til morning... I agreed, back to bed and asleep.
Sat, Jun 26 0630hrs 26:35N 80:02W	Lantana ICW	0630, 81°, breeze E 5 kts, mostly clear. We motored from Lantana into the St. Lucia river and waterway continuing after dark until we were about 4 miles short of reaching Lake Okeechobee. Prioe to dark we had raman noodles, too hot to cook anything else. We anchored just off channel with a foot of water under the keel. Mosquitoes were bad. After closing up the boat I lit a mosquito coil to kill the little buggers. It was stiffling closed up, but we managed to sleep somehow.
Sun, Jun 27 0530hrs 26:56N 80:36W	Near Port Mayaca	0530, 82°, calm, mostly clear. I decided to get underway before any boating traffic started. Eric had to dive to free the anchor from the rock it was wedged under. Freed it in about 10 minutes. We were underway about 0600. Motoring a mile we came to an old railway lift bridge with only 49 feet clearance. We stopped and lowered the mast in about 40 minutes, the process and purpose exactly as designed. Eric is a quick study, this was his first experience at mast lowering, and he did real well. Continuing on across Okeechobee and canals in oppressive heat, through 3 locka, we anchored in a wide spot 3 or 4 miles west of La Belle. Bucket fresh water showered and had clam chowder for dinner. It is a pleasant evening.
Mon, Jun 28 0530hrs 26:46N 81:27W	Near La Belle	0530, 82°, still, clear. Underway at 0630. Arrived Ft. Myers area at noon and anchored west of the Hwy 41 bridge at 26:39.4N, 81:51.8W, rowed in and went to library for internet email and to use phone to call Eric's folks. Had Subway sandwiches for lunch. Storm brewing at 1600. Back to boat at 1615 to move to an unused dock next to city park that appears to be connected to neither the park or the marina next to it, fenced off entire, very secure. At 1715 Eric went to call his folks again. Walked back into town at 1900 to go to 8pm meeting at St. Lukes church. Good 2nd step study meeting. Chris gave us a ride back to boat by 2130.
Tue, Jun 29 0700hrs 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers docked	0700, 82°, still, clear. First thought -- find Tracfone that has never been used, charger and subscription card. Found them and started charging phone. After it was charged I went to library and activated it via internet as I haven't found the instruction manual. Took up cabin sole and bailed bilges with vacuum. Cabin bilge pump shorted out. Repaired sole that was cracked at corner where Eric jumped down on it. Downpour at 1430, got good shower. Over about 1630. To library to post update and activate cellphone. Back to boat as Eric arrived at 1830. Watched a movie again,then started a new book,reading until past midnight.
Wed, Jun 30 0715hrs 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers docked	0715, 81°, still, part cloudy. Woke with stiff neck. Eric took the bus to visit his folks at 0800. I spent morning finishing the new book. Turned on computer to update log and space bar ceased working. Tried for a couple of hours to make it work, no luck...????? Substituted character for space, then ctrl-C/ctrl-v a space into the text, a real pain in the ass, but it works.
Thur, Jul 1 0615hrs 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers docked	0715, 82°, still, part cloudy. Sweltered and read all day. Rained at 1600 as usual. Eric returned about 2130. He had a good time with his folks.
Fri, Jul 2 1200hrs 26:30N 82:05W	PineIsland at quay	0630, 80°, still, part cloudy. Underway at 7:30 to Pine Island and Bob and Annie's Boat Yard. Arrived at 1100. Talked with Bob and he will work with me to get changes done. We will start unbuttoning things when it cools off later in the day and mostly work at night. Spent evening salvaging used 3/8" turnbuckles and ends.
Sat, Jul 3	PineIsland at quay	0630, 80°, still, clear. Unbuttoning and patching. Heat is stifling. Not well, coughing, hacking fits and running sinuses. Eric went to town on bike about 8 miles and called folks. They will be here about 1100 tomorrow.
Sun, Jul 4	PineIsland at quay	0730, 82°, still, clear. Terrible night coughing and hacking, but woke this morning with my head dried up and clear..???.. Hope it stays that way. Today is a do nothing day. Eric's folks came at 1100 and we went to their place at corkscrew swamp sanctuary, about 60 miles south. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Hank and listened to Alex and Eric play their instruments. Alex is a fine pianist. We returned to the boat shortly after sunset. Eric then went to watch fireworks.
Mon, Jul 5	PineIsland at quay	0630, 82°, still, clear,sticky. Finished unbuttoning the mast and bundling the furlers and lines ready to pick mast from boat. Got up on internet and checked email. Not much going to happen today. Mast lifted off the boat. Designed pieces needed to add jumpers. Located cable and materials needed. Identified steps to be taken. Trimaran Jim came by and we had a nice talk. Eric installed screens in hatches.
Tue, Jul 6	PineIsland at quay	0630, 82°, still, clear,sticky. Removed backstays to replace with 3/8" cable and pieces to be sent out for fab and welding. Started paint removal and sanding to prep for fiberglass repairs. Cleaned salvaged turnbuckles. Sent stainless bands out to be modified or fabricated. Ordered new turnbuckle cones. Eric cooked a fine dinner with our neighbors, and we watched a movie.
Wed, Jul 7	PineIsland at quay	0600, 81°, still, clear,sticky. Made spreaders, and accomplished miscellaneous items. Made mount for VHF antenna. Eric worked all day for boatyard. Had spaghetti with Bill, Lisa, and kids.
Thur, Jul 8	PineIsland at quay	0630, 83°, still, clear,stickier. Worked a few hours assembling backstays and jumperx stays from salvaged cable, turnbuckles and end fittings. Cable work is all done. Eric got three coats of paint on the new spreaders. Sweltered the rest of the day.
Fri, Jul 9	PineIsland at quay	0630, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Accomplished a little fiberglass work. Read and napped.
Sat, Jul 10	PineIsland at quay	0730, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Soaked spider bite on elbpow in epson salts. Read and napped. Downpour from 4 until about 7.
Sun, Jul 11	PineIsland at quay	0530, 80°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltered. Soaked spider bite on elbow for an hour, better. Read and napped. Remounted mast step.
Mon, Jul 12	PineIsland at quay	0630, 78°, still, clear, sticky. Sweltered all day. Eric treated spider bite for me with anti-biotic and bandage, swelling is relieving. Fiberglassing done. Read and napped. Bed early. Eric has 50 days today.
Tue, Jul 13	PineIsland at quay	0630, 80°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltering. Rebandaged spider bite. Sorted out mast wiring. Bill and Chris pulled out with Africana at 0945 on high tide. Jim called from Key West. Re-mounted aft pulpit. Eric painted bare areas of glass. Waiting for mast band and spreader mount parts. Hoping to have it all together by Friday.
Wed, Jul 14	PineIsland at quay	0630, 82°, still, clear, stickier. Sweltering. Spider bite swelling reduced. Mostly a do nothing day.
Thur, Jul 15	PineIsland at quay	0600, 80°, still, clear, sticky. Sweltering. Parts arrived after noon. Installed parts, spreaders, jumper stays, 3/8 backstays, and rigged to set mast on the boat in the morning. Steve E. from Naples visited about 1700, He donated to the cause, and we had a nice chat. He and Eric played duets on violin and guitar. We had hamburgs and fries for dinner. I died shortly after dark, crawled into berth to read and read nothing.
Fri, Jul 16	PineIsland at quay	0630, 84°, still, part cloudy, stickier. Sweltering hot. Small amount of infection in spider bite, treated it. Set mast on boat by 0945. Spent next hour cooling off and catching up log, Eric sleeping. Partial overcast by 1030. Paid boatyard $661. Adjusted stays in preparation for raising mast. Too hot to expend much energy. Borrowed a car from Keogh and went to Wynn-Dixie to re-provision,$180. Watched Rob Roy and Legend of the Fall.
Sat, Jul 17	PineIsland at quay	0615, 82°, still, part cloudy. Raised mast by 0800. Finished adjustments and left yard at 0945 on high tide. We were nearly toICW when a rain squall hit, so we anchored until it quit. Showered in the rain. Made it to Ft. Myers about 1300 and tied up at Centenial Park again. Went to hospital to have bite checked and get some anti-biotic.
Sun, Jul 18 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers at dock	0630, 82°, Wind W 10 kts, part cloudy. Will stay here to build new mast step. At 0830 went to Home Depot for materials. Eric went on to Wal-Mart for 12v fan, phone card. Back on board at 1300. Hot compresses on bite and noon anti-biotic. Waves choppy 1 ft. at dock. Hell of a squall at 1545 from west, wind to 40 kts, lasted about 10 minutes. Rained for another 30 minutes. Walked to rehab at 1745 and attended a "class" meeting, better than no meeting. Onboard at 1945. Prepared to let nast down in the morning. Eric came in late sloshed. He fell off the dock and damn near drowned after hitting his head on the concrete. He has made a decision to leave the boat.
Mon, Jul 19 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers at dock	0730, 78°, stormed all day, went to Home Depot for lag bolts, library for email, nothing else accomplished.
Tue, Jul 20 26:38N 81:52W	Ft. Myers at dock	0700, 80°, stormed all day. At 1100 we moved to the fuel dock,filled the tanks, and proceeded east about 6 miles to a protected ox-bow anchorage, 26:42:06N, 81:47:18W. We let down the mast and removed the mast step. Rained again through the evening.
Wed, Jul 21 26:42:06N 81:47:18W	Caloosahatchee River anchored	0600, 76°, clearing, calm. Built and installed new mast step, and had mast raised by 1300. Waited until 1630 then motored back to Ft.Myers city dock so Eric could call his folks to see if he could stay there for a couple of weeks, No. He is calling around to see if he can roost with some of his old using buddies. I have been unsuccessful in helping him change his mind. He has it eating at him.
Thur, Jul 22 26:38N 81:52W	Ft.Myer Fuel dock	0600, 76°, clearing, calm. Sent Eric to town early to get hus money. He collected his gear and left the boat at 0930 with a hug, handshake and best of luck. He just coulcn't change his mind to make the better choice for sobriety. I paid the dock fee, took a shower and did laundry. Underway east to the coast at 1145. Anchored for the night at 2000 at Ortona lock, 26:47N, 81:19W.
Fri, Jul 23 26:47N 81:19W	Ortona Lock Anchored	0615, 76°, hazy, clearing, calm. Underway at 0715, through lock by 0730. Made Okeechobee at noon, across the lake and locked into St.Lucia canal by 1600. Slid under the railroad lift bridge with a foot to spare. Anchored at a wide spot in channel at 27:02N, 80:24W, at 1845. There is one alligotor in Florida, a 5 footer in the Okeechobee canal.
Sat, Jul 24 27:02N 80:24W	St. Lucia River Anchored	0615, 76°, clear, calm. Spent an hour re-arranging provisions and tidying a bit. Underway at 0745. Out of the lock into tidewater at 1000. Refueled at 1130 across bay from Stuart, 11.2 gal for 150 miles. Topped water tanks. Motored across the bay to Stuart and anchored at noon, 27:12.4N, 80:13.5W, to go into Library and Intenet. Will hang here until tomorrow before headung out into the Gulf Stream and north. I will stay about 20 miles off the coast as I work my way north until I have checked out all the rigging and fixes. Went to a meeting at Fellowship Hall and ran into Phil whose secretary years ago was Betty J. in Coeur D'Alene at the Rathdrum Prairie Dogs, the Beownbaggers, and SAS meetings, that wonderful, lovely, funny, dirty old woman. What a joy to remember. Phil brought me back to the boat.
Sun, Jul 25 27:12.4N 80:13.5W	St. Lucia River Anchored	0615, 78°, clear, dead calm. I wrote a few letters this morning to Casey, Jim, and the Duckworths, walked into town and mailed them, checked email, caught the 1100 and 1400 meetings, moved on out the channel to 27:10.9N, 80:12.2W, anchored and prepared to head out to the Gulf Stream and north tomorrow.
Mon, Jul 26 27:10.9N 80:12.2W	St. Lucia River Anchored	0600, 78°, clear, dead calm. Adjusted rigging again, and checked safetying of fittings. Underway at 0900. DISASTER!! As I was crossing a shallow bar just before entering the channel, an unthinking 60 ft power yacht traveling about 25 knots throwing a 3-4 ft wake bounced the Windwalker hard on the bottom, opening a keel seam, leaking about 20 gallon an hour. I pulled on into the channel and around the head into another bay, reanchored and dove to assess the damage. The water was too murky to see much. I stayed the afternoon and night, pumping every 2 hours.
Tue, Jul 27 27:1\20?N 80:15W	Big Mud Creek Anchored	0530, 78°, clear, dead calm. I determined to go up the ICW to find an isolated creek where I could careen and make repairs. Big Mud has a nice flat mud bottom, protected and isolated. Anchored there on the low tide, waiting until high tide after 1700 to beach the boat.
Wed, Jul 28 27:1\20?N 80:15W	Big Mud Creek Anchored	0530, 78°, overcast, dead calm. Waited until low tide at 1120. I went over the side and determined the damage by feel, cracked along the last keel bolt at Sta.13 for about a foot both sides. Not enough tide by a foot to effect any repairs. Will need a minimum of 5 feet. Only option is to wait for high tide after 1700, kedge off and move to deeper water for the night, then proceed up the ICW in the morning until I reach an area of sufficient tide.
Thur, Jul 29 27:1\20?N 80:15W	Big Mud Creek Anchored	0600, 78°, overcast, dead calm. Pumped out, unjammed rudder, cleaned kedge anchors and chain, and stowed. Underway at 0800. Pleasant day part cloudy, SE-E breeze, made 70 miles by 1830, anchored at 28:12.5N, 80:38.8W behind S404 bridge to Patrick AFB.
Fri, Jul 30 28:12.5N 80:38.8W	Indian River Anchored	0615, 78°, Mostly clear, dead calm. Slept well 10 hours, no mosquitos, but woke tired. Rained at 0600 for a few minutes. Breakfasted, and underway north at 0800. Made New Smyna Beach and anchored at 1800 at 29:19.2N, 80:54.2W
Sat, Jul 31 29:19.2N 80:54.2W	ICW New Smyrna Beach	0600, 77°, Mostly overcast, dead calm. Raining and drizzling since 0600. Pumped out, breakfasted, and underway north at 0800. Anchored near St. Augustine at 1845, 29:51.6N, 81:18.5W.
Sun, Aug 1 29:51.6N 81:18.5W	ICW St. Augustine	0630, 76°, high overcast, N Breeze. Moved to anchorage off Castillo San Marcos, 29:53.7N, 81:18.5W. Local knowledge tells me the tide is about 5 feet and there is an out of the way careening beach. Went into town and caught the 1730 meeting. Bought a quart of epoxy. Back by 1930.
Mon, Aug 2 29:53.7N 81:18.5W	ICW St. Augustine	0630, 76°, high overcast, N Breeze. Moved to careening shoal, careened and was able to see damage. Keel fillet cracked a foot both sides. Made repair to stop leaks, successful. Kedged off shoal at 2300 and went to bed.
Tue, Aug 3 29:54.1N 81:18.6W	ICW St. Augustine	0600, 77°, clear, SW Breeze. Low low tide at daybreak, against shoal but free floating, and tide making. Re-anchored in center channel in deeper water, waiting to help Ormand in a 47ft ketch careen it. He helped me last night set the kedge anchor to pull me away from the shoal. Moved back to anchorage between the Bridge of Lions and the Castillo San Marcos at 29:53.6N, 81:18.6W. Went to Serenity Hall at 1600, Back at 2200.