Weather forecast for August 03, 2019:
Jacksonville, Florida
Low 78 high 92
East winds, 6 to 10 kts, cloudy
Captain’s Log: July 25, 2019 thru August 02, 2019
On Thursday, July 25th, we rented a car and drove down to Coco Village Marina to retrieve our SUV. We spent some time catching up with our friends at the marina before heading back to St. Augustine. On the drive back we stopped at a road-side park to watch another launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Complex; always an exciting event.
Our remaining time in St. Augustine was put to good use. We met our new friends Jan and Dennis at Meehan's Irish Pub and then did some additional exploring of some of the off-the-beaten-path areas of town, usually in the early evening once it finally started to cool down. One of our favorite spots was the Memorial Presbyterian Church where Henry Flagler is buried.
For the past few weeks our house battery bank, which was now over eight years old, had been showing increasing signs of giving up the ghost. I knew that the batteries had to be replaced but I was procrastinating because it was going to be expensive and I knew that job was going to be really tough. Nevertheless, it was time to bite the bullet; I didn’t want to get back out on the water until we he had a reliable bank once again. On July 25th I somewhat reluctantly placed an order for six new 6volt AGM batteries.
We had been running our generator twice a day just to keep voltage of the old bank up to acceptable levels. On Tuesday evening, July 30th, while the generator was charging the bank, Shirley and I were sitting on deck enjoying an adult beverage. When it was time to retire we entered the cabin and immediately smelled something burning. I quickly opened the engine room doors and discovered that the lead wire from the generator alternator, which is about 1 inch thick, was sparking and the plastic wrapping around the wire had melted. The voltage on the house bank was so low that the 220amp alternator overheated trying to pump enough of a charge into the bank. I quickly shut off the generator and, after everything cooled down, inspected the damage. Fortunately, only 2 wires needed to be repaired, but there was no more running the generator until the new batteries were installed. Luckily, 36 hours later, the new batteries arrived.
We now had a logistical problem.
The St. Augustine Municipal Marina is situated in the heart of the historic district, just south of the Bridge of Lions; it has no parking lot and no place to deliver anything larger than a business-sized envelope. So, after moving the boat from our mooring ball to a slip, I had to drive about one mile from the marina to an empty parking lot to meet the delivery truck. The six new batteries, weighing 120lbs each, were loaded into the back of our SUV. Thus began the very arduous task of replacing the house battery bank.
Shirley and I had to move each new 120lb battery from our SUV parked in a curb-side space near the marina, down the dock and onto the slip finger (a distance of about 100 yards). We then had to lift each battery onto the deck and then, one-by-one, into the cockpit and down the companionway ladder.
While the old batteries, just barely alive, were still in the battery box and providing DC power to the boat, I arranged the new batteries, as they were going to fit into the battery box, and then built the necessary new wires (the old batteries are 2volt wired in series, the new batteries are 6volt wired in series and parallel).
After the new wires were ready to go, I disconnected the old batteries. Our cabin lights are 12v LED so, once the bank was turned off, we had no internal lighting. Using flashlights to illuminate the interior, we lifted the old batteries, one-by-one, out of the battery box. The new batteries went into the box, one-by-one, and then the wiring was completed. After much testing with the volt meter, I switched the new battery bank on. Success, we now had internal lighting again!
Our next task was to lug the six old, 120lb/each batteries up the companionway ladder, out of the cockpit, onto the dock and then into the back of our SUV. Exhausted, and with the old batteries now loaded into the SUV, we needed to somehow dispose of them.
My ever-resourceful XO did some research online and found two scrap metal yards not far from the marina that would take the batteries. One yard paid $.15/lb but would only take two batteries per person per vehicle per day. After showing her driver’s license and being fingerprinted, we left with $36 in hand. The next scrap yard paid only $.12/lb but the XO convinced them to take all four remaining batteries; we left with another $57 in our pocket. Our battery replacement ordeal was finally over!
We departed St, Augustine for Jacksonville around 10:00am on Friday, August 2nd. Our original intention was to take the outside route and sail up the coast to Jacksonville as we were anxious to fly our new code zero sail. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. With light rain falling, lightning in the distance and a forecast calling for thunderstorms for the next several days, we decided to take the ICW. We put St. Augustine behind us under a very moody sky.
It rained pretty much the entire 36-mile trip up the ICW to Sisters Creek near the mouth of the St. John River. Shirley worked most of the time, either answering e-mails, making adjustments or leading conference calls, while I kept us in the middle of the narrow channel and watched a soggy world pass by. Besides the thunderclaps, occasional lightning and downpours, there were a few diversions along the way; derelict boats (of which there are far too many), dolphins and an occasional fellow boater provided small distractions.
The ICW crosses the St. John River about 4 miles west of the ocean. Here the river is wide, the cross-currents are strong, there is a lot of shoaling and a lot of large ocean-going vessel activity. At one point our keel rubbed the muddy bottom and we almost came to a dead stop. I immediately put the pedal to the metal and our big prop powered us through; I was certain that we were in the center of the ICW channel but, upon further investigation after we were out of the danger zone, I discovered that I was not in the middle of the channel -DUH!
Approaching Sister's Creek on the ICW we passed the BAE Systems repair docks on Fanning Island. There was a very sinister-looking, high-tech US Navy ship under repair and next to it a river boat that looked like it could have been from the 19th century; the juxtaposition was interesting. Shortly after 4:00pm we dropped anchor just north of the Sisters Creek Bridge in 15ft of water.
The rain finally stopped and a magnificent sunset broke through the brooding sky as we enjoyed our SAD (safe arrival drink). A bit later, with the encouragement of few adult beverages, we danced on the bow of our beautiful boat. It was a very nice evening.
We weighed anchor at 11:00am on Saturday, August 3rd, and started our 22-mile trip up the St. John River, heading for the Marina at Ortega Landing. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was fantastic.
At one point the US Coast Guard issued a PAN-PAN warning regarding a small aircraft in the water with a man standing on the wing. According to the announcement, the plane was near the I-295 bridge that crosses the Mill Cove, a body of water just off of the St. John River. Soon a number of rescue and police watercraft went flying past us. They headed up the passage into Mill Cove and we lost sight of them. Another PAN-PAN was issued about one hour later indicating that the man had been rescued and, shortly after that announcement, the rescue boats passed us again heading in the opposite direction.
Jacksonville is a very attractive city from the water. We will find out just how attractive Jacksonville is from terra firma over the next month.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.