A Really Bad Day

 Tuesday, November3 we left the anchorage at Dupont Bridge at first light, with the plan being to go to Carabelle and fuel up and wait for a weather window to cross the gulf. I monitored weather as I do every day, and assumed we may have a long wait. Another storm was brewing, this time Eta, down in the northwest Caribbean was looking like it would impact the northern gulf over the next week. But watching the forecasts, it looked like we might be able to cross tonight and tomorrow, Wednesday. As the day progressed, things continued to look good, monitoring websites NOAA, Windy, PredictWind and Marvs weather service which specifically looks at conditions for crossing the gulf. It would mean pushing on through the night and the next day, it's 150 miles plus across and would be a 20 hour crossing at our speed. We decided to go for it, fueled up at Carrabelle and headed out in the dark at 7 PM into the gulf. This would put us in Tarpon Springs early afternoon. The forecast was for 1-2 foot seas on our port beam, which the boat handles well. The forecast said things might build to 3 footers by afternoon, not a big deal, and  we should be across by then anyway. We departed in pitch black but around 8:30 the moon rose in the east and gave us good light. It was beautiful. I napped for an hour, Cindy drove, then I took over around 10. Shortly after that, it started to kick up. The seas gradually built to 4's the 5's and some 6's. The boat did well, rolling a bit but the stabilizers did their job. Cindy was queasy and laid on the couch in the salon where the ride was better. The sun coming up at 6:30 was a welcome sight. At about 8 in the morning, things continued to get worse, and I smelled something funny. I was going down into the engine room to check on things when all hell broke loose. The smoke alarms went off and the engine room was full of smoke. The engine temp was fine, but burnt rubber was everywhere. Keep in mind we are 2/3 of the way across the gulf, but still 50 miles offshore. There is no cell phone coverage and marginal VHF radio. I wrongly assumed it was the rubber coupler off the drive shaft to the stabilizer hydraulic pump, because they were being stress, so I turned off the stabilizers and pointed the bow into the waves, lots of bucking, but we were at least safe. Things settled down a bit but there had to be a change in plans. Beam seas without stabilizers is not do-able in this boat. Heading towards the Florida coast would add at least 40 miles to the crossing but we didn't have a choice at this point. We progressed towards shore slowly, and everytime I increased speed, I would smell more burning rubber and the engine temp would climb, so I just kept the throttle at 1500 RPM instead of 1800. after 10-15 miles, the sea state improved a bit, waves were now 4-5 footers and I tried to edge the helm into a more southerly direction. This was working ok, but then the shit really hit the fan. The engine temp climbed to 215, normal is 185, so I had to shut her down. We were in 35 feet of water, 35-40 miles offshore at this point, so we dropped the anchor to re assess. Our serpentine drive belt had failed. It was in fragments under the engine. So while bucking the waves, I had to change the drive belt. In doing so, I found the cause of all of this, a seized pulley for the belt, with the bearings toasted. There were ball bearings in the bilge. At this point I didn't think I had a spare pulley, so I installed the new belt without it. There is a belt tensioner that picked up the slack in the belt enough for us to get underway again, and amazingly we were able to use the stabilizers again. The engine temp was now normal and we resumed our cruise to Tarpon Springs with no more difficulties. I did call the Coast Guard letting them know of our compromised situation. They could hear me but my reception of them was pretty garbled. They did follow us on the radio over the afternoon checking on our progress, and they let Eric know we would be 6 hours late from the float plan we had filed with him. We arrived at the anchorage in Tarpon Springs in the dark Wednesday night at around 7 PM and tequila never tasted so good. We are still anchored today, Friday, but will be going into the Turtle Cove Marina this afternoon, where we will leave the boat over the next couple of months. Eric and Shawn are about 25 minutes away, and will get to see them a ton over the next week, and Eric will help me install the new bow thruster batteries. I just had a call from Tampa Bay Batteries, and they have what I need much cheaper than West Marine. Finally, as an addendum, while cleaning up the engine room from all the rubber debris, I went through my spares box, and there was a new drive pulley that I had forgotten I had, so it's installed and the boat is back to normal.

Moonrise over the gulf November 3

Sunrise over the gulf on the day from hell

Negligent Blogger

 I have been really quite negligent in updating the blog this trip. The past 3 weeks we have come back down river from Chattanooga all the way to the gulf, stopping at Florence where we met and made friends with two boats, absolutely delightful people. Phil and Marita are a couple on a Heritage East 36, and Mark is single handing his Great Harbor 37, both boats comparable to ours. We went out to dinner with them a couple of times and had several happy hours, and Mark cooked dinner for us on his boat one night. We pulled over at Bay Spring Lake for a couple of days in northern Mississippi, then continued downriver to Demopolis, staying there several days waiting out hurricane Zeta. As soon as the storm passed we went down the Tombigbee with 8 other boats, locking through together. They were all faster than we were but at the end of the day ended up at the same place. The river had good current, making the trip quick, but a little hazardous with all the flotsam from the runoff due to the hurricane. We were going to stop at Dog River Boatyard at Mobile and put in new bowthruster batteries. One of our paired thruster batteries is failing, and my resources say to replace them both. The current batteries are West Marine brand and I was going to get them at the West Marine at Dog River. It was just across the parking lot. However, the manager there failed to get them in a timely manner despite ten days of lead time, so we just continued on across Mobile Bay and down the gulf intercoastal waterway, anchoring along the way. We were entertained at the Dupont Bridge anchorage by F16s from Tyndall AFB doing maneuvers overhead. We anchored at Destin, Florida and dinghied to shore for a meal of wonderful smoked oysters with bacon and cheese, and shrimp ceviche, and a couple of good beers. This part of the trip was all pretty low key. We were headed to Carrabelle to wait for a weather window to cross the gulf.

A refrigerator was part of the flotsam floating down the river

evening on Bay Spring Lake

These houses along the gulf ICW all have plastic on their roofs as a result of damage from hurricane Zeta

Beer and oysters at Tail Fins, Destin harbor

Moonrise over our neighbors boat in Destin harbor

Next stop Florence

 he past couple of days we've moved each day and had some beautiful anchorages. Wednesday was a longer day, and it started with what I thought was going to be a long delay. We had to get through the Guntersberg Lock and just as we were going to pull the anchor, a tow headed for the lock head of us. Normally this would be a delay of at least an hour, but the fog had rolled in and he had to pull over because he couldn't see the lock ahead of his 600 feet of barges in front of him. I called the lock and the lockmaster said he'd lock us through if we could get to the lock through the fog. I only had to see 50 feet in front of me, so with radar and GPS chartplotters, no problem. After locking through, the river remained souped in but we were able to putt safely but slowly down river until the fog lifted an hour later. We anchored in a nice bay on Wheeler Lake mid afternoon, then yesterday only moved 10 miles or so to another bay just above the Wheeler Dam. This anchorage I think is one of the prettiest we've had yet. We watched a 6 point buck come down to the water, and a couple of raccoons as well. Eagles, ospreys and kingfishers. Today we have two locks, Wheeler and Wilson, but only 20 miles of actual travel, then to the marina at Florence, Alabama for a couple of days. Our absentee ballots were mailed by Dan and Barb to the marina, and I have ordered a bunch of stuff for the boat that will be there. The other thing we have done is firmed up a place to leave the boat in Florida, at Tarpon Springs, 13 miles north of Eric and Shawn's house, and it's up the Anclote River a bit, so the boat will be in fresh water for that time, always a plus.

Last night's anchorage

residual fog in the hills

Pretty thick soup approaching Guntersville Lock

Inside the lock it wasn't as bad

15 turtles on a loog

Leaves are changing

Heading back downstream

 We turned around at Chattanooga. We toured the aquarium there, ate out a couple of times findding ggod food and beer, then decided time didn't allow us to go all the way to Knoxville. It would be another 3 days upstream and the same back, so at least a week round trip and we really want to be near Mobile by November 1. The river is really getting pretty with the leaves changing. We have had some beautiful anchorages in secluded bays, pretty much all alone. We stopped at Guntersville at the city dock there, no amenities, no power or water, but just a great spot. I rode my bike up to the NAPA store and picked up the oil filters I needed for the engine and generator, then spent then morning yesterday changing the main engine oil and the transmission oil. All went well. In the afternoon, people walked by the boat while we were working on chores and had lots of nice comments about the boat. One of the people w spoke to was a young man working for the local paper. His boss had seen the boat at the dock and asked him to come down and interview us for the paper. Nice young man. He took our picture and promised to get us the copy he was going to write. Made us feel like Pamelot from the Echo had caught us. Cindy found the Goodwill there and a lot of treasures for her store. She got a good run in and I got lots of biking in getting the filters and hauling the spent oil from the oil changes, in a Duluth pack to a repair shop that had a big tank for used oil. The dock there was right next to a busy road, lots of trucks and noise, so after having happy hour and wings late afternoon, we pulled out and moved downriver 8 miles to a bay that was quiet. We'll sit here today, and then put in a little longer day tomorrow going downriver. I've ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon to be delivered to Florence where we stayed 3 weeks ago, so we'll stop there again at the end of the week.

Our anchorage this morning

Beer and wings at The Brick bar in Guntersville

Coning down river. This is a "rift valley" one of two in the world where the techtonic plates separated

A little piece of the deep south

Just a pretty trip downstream

Chattanooga

 After leaving the Jones Creek anchorage we continued up river to the Nickojack dam and lock and locked through without any issues, then pulled over at a free dock and campground a mile above the lock. We stayed the night and I took a swim to look at the bow thrusters. They acted up a bit in the lock, just didn't have the power I expected. The tunnel the thruster props sit in was clear and the props turned freely. I had thought there could have been some debris in the tunnel but it was clear. We have been at anchor and charging things with intermittent use of the generator, and I think the batteries were just low. W are currently at a dock with power in Chattanooga, everything is charged up and seem to be normal. The trip up the river to Chattanooga was beautiful. Really pretty piece of geography with mountains and high hills. Also a fair amount of current to buck. The downstream run will be easier. We got to Chattanooga early afternoon and went for an explore, had a little ice cream at Cold Stone and found a book store run by Polly, who is probably the most interesting person we've met on this trip. She is in her 80's and runs the book store full of old books. She is well read and reminded me a lot of my Aunt Rachael. Talked to her for a long time. She wanted to know all about us, our family, told us about her life and family, met her son, an attorney whose office was adjacent to her book store, just a fascinating individual. Last night we went out to a brew pub and had both a good beer and a good burger, which doesn't happen all that often. Today we are going to the Aquarium her in Chattanooga, it's supposed to be a good tour.

The view of the bridges in Chattnooga from the boat last night

Beer and burger at "Hair of the Dog" pub

Recycled aluminum, this is where your pop cans go

Lookout Mountain a mile or two below Chattanooga

The Baylor School, formerly a military school, now a high school, buildings from 1893

Deep water in the river. Reached a depth of 165 feet. It's a cleft from an ancient earthquake

Raccoon Mt. The TVA constructed a lake 1000 feet above the river, a 565 acre reservoir which is filled at times of low electric demand, then drained through turbines in the mountain and out the tunnel at times of high demand

Interesting critter we saw on a hike near the Nickojack Lock

Suspension bridge over the river

1000 foot stack at a riverside TVA coal power plant

Jones Creek Anchorage

 Yesterday we left the anchorage above the Guntersville dam. Cindy's varishing was completed and looks beautiful. Shouldn't have to do much for a year now. We made about a 40 mile run up the river and pulled over at Guntersville for a couple of hours. There is a free dock there with access to a really nice hike/walking trail along the river so we stretched our legs for a few miles and got back on the boat and headed upstream. Met a guy on the dock who had moved to Guntersville from Prairie du Chien a couple of years ago. He was fishing and showed me a picture of a 70# catfish he had caught off the dock there. Mid afternoon we stopped at an anchorage between the mountains called Jones Creek. It was a little skinny coming in, the bottom vegetation obscured the depth finder readings, but we never touched. It was a gorgeous spot, all alone. This part of the world is really pretty. It's hard to believe we are 15 miles from both Tennessee and Georgia. We got some good news about the Nickajack Lock. I called them and they are open 20 hours daily so today we'll go through that lock and tomorrow mid day should be in Chattanooga. I'll probably to some maintenance there, change oil on the main engine. 

Sunrise this morning at Jones Creek

Motoring by the bat cave yesterday morning

Looking back at the Guntersville dam in the morning fog as we left

Big Sycamore on our hike yesterday

Potted hydrangias at the boat dock in Guntersville

Navigating the narrow entrance into Jones Creek. Like the Dead River

Jones Creek sunset

Still at anchor, Guntersville Lake

 We haven't moved for the past couple of days. This is a great anchorage, protected and pretty. Thursday Oct 1 we prepped for varnishing, taping and sanding, then applied the first coat yesterday (Cindy does the varnishing). Today she'll put on the second coat and we will be done. The weather has been ideal for it, clear, flat and 70 degrees. The only problem is the nights have been in the 40's, so lots of dew and moisture on the rails until the sun hits them. A Krogen Manatee pulled into the bay and anchored a couple of hundred yards away. I talked to them on the radio and they've lived on their boat for 17 years, using Guntersville as their base. Tomorrow we plan on moving a bit. There is a free dock at Guntersville and will at least tie up there for a while. I want to go to NAPA and get oil filters for the main engine and generator. I thought I had spares but I must have used them. There is also a restaurant with a reputation for a hot wings pizza I'd like to get. I'll call the Nickajack Lock tomorrow to see if they are still on schedule to open on the evening of the 5th. We will see.

Our neighbor, a Krogen Manatee

Misty morning

At Anchor Guntersville Lake

 We left Ditto Landing Marina yesterday morning after 3 nights there. The trip to the Space Center in Huntsville was amazing. It is well done and really went over the history of the rocket development program and the Apollo program. There were two Saturn 5 rockets on display, one inside and one standing vertically outside. They are huge! We didn't move very far yesterday, up river 15 miles or so, through the Guntersville lock and into a bay on the north side of the river a mile up from the dam. It's a great anchorage. We are into the Cumberland Plateau, and there is a lot more relief to the geography. Last night we witnessed something really fascinating. There is a cave on the river about a half mile from our anchorage that is a home to the protected grey bats. Estimates are that there are 40-60,000 bats that make the cave home. They leave the cave at dusk and forage for the insects along the river. No shortage of food supply for them. Never seen so many bugs. We took the dinghy to the cave entrance and watched thousands of bats exit the cave at dusk. I got a video of that turned out pretty good but our bandwidth here is going to limit my ability to upload it. Pretty amazing site, especially with a full moon as a backdrop and halloween coming. We are sort of stuck for a few days as far as going up the river. The next lock and dam up river is Nickajack 75 miles upstream, and as I mentioned before, it is closed. A barge damaged it a couple of weeks ago and it is being repaired. Initially it was to open today October 1 for 5 days, but due to weather, they are behind schedule and it won't open until the 5th and then only from 4 pm to 6 am, remaining closed during the day for the welders to work on repairs. The weather is favorable for varnishing, days low 70's and clear, so we are going to sit tight and varnish the rails and doors for 3 days then move up river. The boat needs 2 coats annually, and last time it was done was when we were in Duluth. Everything looks good because the boat was under cover for the summer but will be facing saltwater and Florida sun in a month or so.

Crossed this bridge on a hike at Ditto Landing yesterday morning

The boat in her slip at Ditto Landing

View downriver from Ditto

The view upriver

Ditto Landing ferry

Saturn 5 rocket displays

#300 foot tall (10 stories) Saturn 5 rocket

Saturn 5 rocket thrusters. They are huge.

Rising moon from the bat cave

The bat cave. Can't see much for bats but they showed up well on the video as they exited the cave at the base of the cliff