Late Coffee…Early Cocktails

People are asking us what is wrong with our Current Position report as there have been no changes in over a month.  Sorry, it IS accurate, Yoohoo just hasn’t been moved in 5 weeks.  First, we took a trip home to enjoy a winter wonderland holiday in Minnesota.  We returned to Stuart on December 28th thinking we’d be watching the fireworks in Miami Beach on New Year’s eve.  A few cruiser get-togethers delayed that plan and then a Siberian air mass descended on us.  The strong, northerly winds that accompanied the cold snap kept us tethered to that mooring ball and the warm boater’s lounge and showers provided by the marina.

We attempted to leave last week, doing final provisioning, last-minute laundry, saying many goodbyes, and hoisting the outboard and dinghy onto the mothership, drooling over a lovely weather window which would allow us to actually sail to Miami.  But on the appointed morning, we clicked our ruby slippers three times and pressed the start button on the engine, and were answered by a flash of light and a small plink as all our DC power blew out.

Our chief engineer, Ensign Voltron, traced that episode to a rusted breaker and, after relaunching the dinghy and outboard, and arranging a car ride to get parts, had us back up and running just in time to wait out the next cold front.  In the meantime the sandbar at the intersection of the St Lucie River and the ICW has been growing inch-by-inch and reports are that vessels with 4-1/2 foot drafts are running aground mid-channel at high-tide. We reprovisioned, completed the laundry once more and hoisted dink and outboard on deck all ready for a morning departure.

Immediately upon rising this morning Capt Claw reported the pump to the head out of commission.  Unlike modern cruising vessels which sport multiple heads for just such a situation, Yoohoo only sports a nice bucket as back-up.  And if you ladies think a bucket is hard to use on dry land, try it in a seaway!

What to do?   If we stay we will have to wait out yet another front and perhaps a dredge if the front piles up more sand on the St Lucie shoal.  If we depart it will be at least 2 days before we arrive in a suitable location to commence repairs and it will require use of that bucket at sea.   We departed as it was the easiest way to postpone the dreaded head repair task!  Stand by to find out where Yoohoo and her crew go next!