By by Vero Beach. Since Sea Tow skunked us on the tow, we were dependent on weather to sail down here. The weather cooperated. We had a nice 5-10 knot breeze from the NW, perfect for our trip. It is also a very nice day. 100% sunshine and 80 degrees (27C). As we slipped the mooring, Libby was so happy to be moving again that she danced a jig on the foredeck.
The engine does run but barely. It gives off black smoke and leaves a trail of oil in the water from the exhaust. We also have to refill the coolant every 15 minutes. However, it starts right away. We reserved the engine for emergencies.
As as second precaution, I put out 30 feet of chain and hung the anchor just above the water. That way if we needed to anchor to prevent a grounding, we could do so instantly. Tarwathie is a big heavy boat, and maneuvering her in tight quarters (like the 40 foot wide channel leading the the haul-out ramp in the marina) in light winds under sail would very risky. Indeed, if we tried that, the probability of colliding with other boats would be more than 50%. Therefore, sick as she is, Tarwathie's engine could serve for precision positioning of the boat.
As it turned out the trip was uneventful. That is except for one minor grounding. It was my fault. I neglected the helm for a second to fiddle with the GPS. In narrow channels, a few seconds neglect is too long. No big deal. We were under way again in about 15 minutes.
We arrived at the Riverside Marina Boat Yard about 13:00. They told us to tie up on some pilings waiting for our haul out. A bit later they told us that they couldn't haul us out until the morning. No big deal. We can wait here.
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