Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Cape Canavaral, FL
Faulty Alternator
Nothing to it. Not even a big deal. All our mechanical problems are solved (wait here while I go knock on some teak). I didn’t even have to break anything, which includes myself. I think we got lucky. Everything is fine aboard good ol’ Nereus. Turns out, the alternator on our brand new engine died on us, which I replaced, but the other systems are fine – the batteries recharged like new. Also, I found the leak in our electric refrigerator and fixed that, so everything is back to the way it is suppose to be. The new alternator arrived yesterday afternoon. I installed it instantly and without incident. We left Daytona Beach first thing this morning to continue our trek south.
This funny Arctic blast has blown through, reinforcing my belief that I am carrying a cold weather curse. It is suppose to freeze near here tonight, making us pause and say “Wait a minute, this is Florida! Where the hell is the nice weather?” The cold weather doesn’t really phase us anymore; we are quite used to it by now. But, we don’t want the locals to get wind of the cold curse we carry, or they may make us turn around and take it back north.
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
So here we are, anchored behind the NASA Causeway at Kennedy Space Center, cowered down like a couple of inexperienced, warm-weather-only sailors. The causeway is helping to keep the waves to a minimum, but the wind is continuing to howl, like a freight train, over the causeway and through our rigging. We’ll probably spend tomorrow here also, relaxing and waiting for this cold front to blow itself out.
We think we have an itinerary that will carry us through to the end of the trip. Leaving Daytona, we hoped to rush on south and sail through the Keys before sailing north. We’ve realized the plan is not realistic, especially with this non-ideal weather. Besides, we are short on cash and have one final deadline.
Loveable Sadie, Coming “Home”
Sadie, our adorable black lab, is our “missing crew member.” We haven’t written much about her since we left Las Vegas, but we think of her often. She has spent the duration of our trip with my parents in Michigan and is coming down to rejoin us after Christmas. We need to be somewhere in the area to receive her, so we’ve decided to shift gears, slow down more, and time our arrival in with hers. In a few short days, we’ll cut through the Okeechobee Water Way and cross the state. Landing in southwest Florida, we’ll island hop around some of the barrier islands until Sadie arrives. Then, we’ll decide whether to turn left, taking Sadie with us, to the Keys, or turn right, head up the coast, and finish off our trip. Realistically, we should finish this trip, reorganize things, and do a minor refit before attempting another run. But that reality requires realistic thinking and who wants to think like that? We just flat out don’t want this to end. We wish we could just keep it going and continue forever. There’s just is that little money issue that needs dealing with.
We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out. Until next time, stay warm.
– Steve