***Note: This issue is written by Mike…so kindly give Mary some slack for my errors and indiscretions…

Forever Friday departed Marathon on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 10:30 AM. We set out for somewhere near Islamorada, about 30 miles to the north. I said “somewhere” because we weren’t quite sure where we were going to anchor, but knew we wanted to continue our sojourn northward. As you’ve no doubt gleaned from our prior posts, we usually prefer to anchor when we can. We arrived on the Gulf side of Islamorada at 4 PM, after burning 14.5 gallons of dead dinos, and dropped the hook in about 8-9 feet of water. Our anchorage could best be described as an “open roadstead,” meaning it was pretty much open to all sides (had a bit of protection from east winds due to the Keys), and is generally somewhere you’d anchor in only fair weather. Water was like glass with nary a ripple. Dinner on the boat & conditions were still fabulous when we retired for the night. Fast forward to 4 or 5 AM & things were rockin’ with high winds and 2-3 foot rollers in the anchorage. These types of seas create a bit of havoc–known as “hull slap”- across our bow…we sleep right behind the bow. Makes it difficult to turn over and go back to sleep!

We pulled up the anchor at 9:15 AM and moved a few miles north to an anchorage named “Cowpens North.” We tucked behind a reef that provided relief from westerly swells, and the houses in front of us provided a windbreak from northerly winds. We dropped the anchor in about 7-8 feet, let out 100′ of chain, & snugged her really well. While we still had wind, the uncomfortable seas didn’t reach us. We were able to drop the dinghy in the water and motored about 1/2 mile away to a really neat restaurant (Marker 88 Cafe) that had a dinghy dock for its boating customers.

After having sandwiches and beer, we hopped back in the dink & toured up the coast a bit. Beautiful houses along inset waterways:

Some would say that boating is merely traveling around to fix your boat in exotic locations. Along that theme, while using our Northern Lights generator to power the air conditioner (we were cooking and the galley got a bit warm), it suddenly hesitated and then stalled. Ok—this ain’t fun. Our 6kw Northern Lights generator is powered by a 3-cylinder diesel engine and is generally very reliable <and quiet!>). Diesel engine issues are most often caused by one of two issues–fuel (insufficient or bad fuel), and cooling failures (clogged strainer, shredded impeller, etc). There are other things that can go wrong, but these are the first two areas you would check. I changed the Racor fuel filter that is inline from the fuel tank to the generator, and the old one looked fine. I next shut the seacock that lets water from under the boat into the sea strainer & from there to the generator’s cooling system. Opening up the sea strainer, I found the strainer basket to be free of debris….ok, next onto the impeller (aka: water pump). Opening the cover plate to the water pump, I found the impeller was, uh…thrashed! I had last checked this a couple years ago, and when I changed the old impeller strictly for “preventative maintenance,” the impeller was in great shape & looked new. Not so with this one; it was missing all but one of its windmill-like “vanes.” Problem here is that the solution is not simply to replace the old with a new impeller…one must track down all of the missing vanes to they don’t block cooling paths.

So, playing detective (novel concept, no?), I next removed the hoses and rubber caps that lead from the water pump to the Heat Exchanger. I was astounded to see numerous rubber vane shards on both the end of the heat exchanger, as well as the other side of the rubber cap. It was obvious that there were shards from multiple impellers here…man, this stuff had been here for years! By removing all this gunk, I essentially gave the genny a circulatory “triple bypass.”

After removing all these pieces, installing a new impeller, and turning the water (seacock) back on, the genny fired up and purred. How do you spell “relief?” Whew!

At 1 PM we “up-anchored,” and begin our way to Key Largo, about 12 miles up the coast. We were anchored so well we could have easily withstood lots of weather here. Pulling up the hook, the windlass groaned, the bow dipped a bit, and we were finally able to pull up about an acre of seabed.

We arrived at Anchorage Resort & Yacht Marina in Key Largo at about 4 PM. This is a really small marina that is attached to a six story condo-style resort that fronts the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway (AICW). We tied up to the fixed concrete dock and stayed two nights here. 25′ off of our bow was a super nice jacuzzi, and behind that a nice pool. Bliss! Across the waterway was “the biggest tiki bar in the US.” Hmmm…well it WAS pretty big!

Leaving this marina on 1/12/2019, we were bound for Ocean Reef anchorage a few miles up the coast. We arrived and dropped the hook at 3 PM, anchoring close to Nordic Tug 37, “Ceci Kay.” Seas were smooth and scenery was stunning.

We were anchored at this location to “stage” for a crossing to Bahamas in the morning. That evening we were invited onboard Ceci Kay for cocktails, at which time Mary received word of a family medical emergency back in CA. It would be necessary for Mary to fly back to So Cal & a flight was booked for Tuesday morning. Sunday morning, we motored up to Miami–breaking two of our cardinal rules (we wanted to avoid the Miami area at all costs–and we normally don’t boat on weekends in these parts <both reasons involve the shi*ty boaters> ).

We ended up arriving in Dinner Key (a mooring field in S. Miami), and hooked up to a mooring. Our intention was to find me a place to stay with the boat, for a least a couple-three weeks, while Mary visits home. The mooring field was inexpensive ($25 a night), but miserable. Rolly, bouncy, with dinghies and console boats alike roaring past the mooring field on plane. It sucked.

After spending Sunday night here, we dropped the mooring and continued up the AICW.

Miami did have some really pretty skyscrapers & skyline:

We passed through Miami, North Miami, Hallandale, Hollywood & Dania, before settling on Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale. Every mile or two we would have to pass under a drawbridge–sometimes the vertical clearance was high enough for us to motor under–other times it was necessary to call the bridge tender on VHF Channel 9 and request an opening.

So, here we are; Mary is back in So Cal, and I am suffering here on the boat…making mint juleps and swilling beers on the upper deck all day long. Actually, I am getting in between 5 and 10 miles of walking every day, and completing boat projects. The Las Olas drawbridge is right off our stern, and it is fun to see it open for large ships, sailboats, mobile cranes, etc, every few minutes.

Here’s hoping the family medical emergency is resolved soon, and that Mary can rejoin her boat on the other side of the world. Please keep her family in your thoughts.

Ciao for now!

Mike aboard FF