Trying to get my 28' S2 to Lake Worth Inlet to hop across to West End
has been difficult. The first leg of the rip on Jan 11 was the
coldest day of the year with ice on the deck and a sudden wind shift
around midnight but we did manage to go 140 miles to Tarpon Springs
from Shell Point (Near St. Marks, FL).
The next leg was supposed to be from Tarpon Springs to Indiantown
marina on the east side of Lake Okechobee. I left Friday morn kinda
late and got only to Gulfport Municipal Marina in St. Pete to wait on
weather. Unfortunately, the classic old sailboat problem occurred,
one that I have been looking for for years. I woke up and while
looking up at a chain plate (shroud attachement) I saw an indentation
and reached up and pressed, my finger nearly went through it.
So, I spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday fixing it buying a jig saw,
drill, 3/4" Luan Ply at Lowes and epoxy at West Marine. Cut out the
rot, put in new ply, epoxied and glassed it and caulked the place
where the water was entering. It was not a leak around the chainplate
but through a nearby stanchion base that had rotted about 2 sq ft of
the bulkhead.
Cruising has been described as "Fixing your boat in Inconvenient
places" but in reality this was more convenient than my home port with
Lowes and West nearby.
The Marina stays are eating my lunch by costing more than expected.
Yes, I know slips cost more in S. FL but I simply did not expect to
have to spend so much time in them. 2 weeks in Gulfport Municipal is
costing about $300. Their daily rate is $1.50/ft/day.
My favored cruising style is to go for 4 -6 days aboard the boat and
then leave her somewhere, either a marina, private dock or anchored
somewhere safe and rent a car to go home to get more work done. This
is necessary for me because I like my work as much as I like cruising.
The next leg of the trip will be to Indiantown marina (I hope) to get
her hauled and painted. This is roughly 230 miles. One should
probably not travel at night on the ICW or the Okechobee waterway so
this limits me to just under 60 miles/day at a cruising speed of 5-6
kts. However, this is sorta rushed and stressful and I am wondering
if other cruisers are happy with a slower pace?