Pensacola FL Sailing Blog - sailingnightwatch

Monday dawned as beautiful as the first two days of the weekend.  When we came into the anchorage we notice another Durbeck at anchorage.  It had a total different look then our “Great Cabin” configuration.  All of these boats were “one off built” and therefore are never exactly alike.  This one was not even close to our layout.  About 8:30, I heard a knock on the hull and it is the owner of the other Durbeck.  We talked a little while and asked if he would like a tour and he said he would but need to get his wife because she would also be interested.  We therefore swapped tours.  They have been cruising on and off for 20 years and were returning to south Florida from a trip up the Ten-Tom and Ohio river to Pittsburg.  It is always a joy to meet cruisers and it was to bad that we had to cut it short because of the 5-6 hour return trip to our slip.  I have to turn my boat 270 degrees to get into my slip and with the loss of daylight savings time did not want to do that in the dark.   It was good meeting and talking with Larry and Carolyn.  He was a wealth of information about where to get parts that are no longer made and other information that was particular to the care and feeding of a Durbeck.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We did, our family was together for 5 days, a first since they were freshmen in college.  I am back today, will post the final for Vets weekend and tomorrow I start moving my dock mates Krogan 38 to S FL.  Will be writing on the day to day movement and post when we find hot spots and have time.  Looking at taking 10 days. 

After the show on Saturday we anchored at Redfish Point and the wind picked up about 3 A.M.  That is about the 3rd time in a row that we anchored there and the wind has blown like mad in the middle of the night.  Got up 3 time to check the anchor and all was well.

 We wanted to get an early start on Sunday because we wanted to go to the Warf Marina and eat at one of the restaurants call Jenny Lane.   This was directly down wind through some of the narrower parts of the ICW, so we motored.  Between the wind and the tides, we made unbelievable good time and stopped at Ingram Bayou and took showers and got cleaned up before moving on to the Warf.

 I have this wife that always thinks that no matter what we order at a restaurant, mine is better.  I am a picky eater, and normally order only what I know I like.  My beloved on the other hand believes going out is a time to experiment with something new.  This time we ordered the same thing.  The same that I had last time because it was very good.  She had built this meal up to the point that God as chef would have had a hard time meeting her expectations.  She was “somewhat disappointed”.  I am sorry it was excellent.

 After the late lunch we went to the Fishtail restaurant, which is a open beach type restaurant right above the fuel pier, for Bushwackers.  Also excellent.  Took them back to the boat and sat in the cockpit enjoying.

 We then returned to Ingram Bayou and to my shock found it almost to crowded to anchor.  There were 8 or 9 boats already anchored and all in the middle of a narrow channel.  If I did not know the area better, I would not have maneuvered into an area large enough for us.  It is that time of year when the snowbirds are migrating to south Florida.  Word is out on this pristine anchorage. 

 We understand the bayou is owned by one family and they have not developed it.  It is like a wildlife preserve.  Rumors say that the family will develop the land and that will be a shame.  I can understand the family and it is their right and someday it will be condos.  Therefore when we go there we always are thankful it is still untouched.

 The Navy flight demonstration team, The Blue Angles are home based in Pensacola Florida.  They do two shows a year for us, one in July at Pensacola Beach and the other in November that is there last show for the year and also is when the team members change.  It is held at Sherman Field on NAS Pensacola.  They also have a large static show that has the other branches of the military displaying their aircraft.  The Naval Air Museum also rolls out several of their aircraft.  The air show starts around 10 A.M. and end with the Blues flying around 2 P.M.  They do both a Friday and Saturday show.

 Yes I was in the Navy, but drove Destroyers and not planes.  But, if you are ever in the area around either show, they are well worth the effort to see.  To be anchored as they fly about 200 feet over your 60 foot mast close enough your can see the painting on their helmets, will raise your patriotic feelings to the max.

 Saturday was perfect.  The wind out of the northeast about 10 knots with no clouds.  Temp in the mid 70’s.  The wind died as we were approaching the anchorage right off the Pensacola Light House.  The regular air show was very good with several stunt pilots and also the military showing what some of their fighter aircraft will do.  The Blues flew at the end and where fabulawsum as usual.

The boats back with a new wiring harness and temp gage. They could not determine what caused the problem…. This is a small marine community and people generally do not point a finger. The good news is that the boat is back to working well and the trip is scheduled for early December. I am ready, lists are made, food thought out. Just getting through Thanksgiving and we can shove off.

As classic looking boats go, I have had people say I do not have that much teak. I always invite them back for the next time we are taking the teak down to bare wood. The boat has a cap rail around the gunnels and the cockpit. It also has a Taft rail held in place by 15-12” spindles. Other than that, the main hatch, cockpit table and a 10’ bowsprit, we do not have any teak. I have seen a few boats with more teak. And, there are a lot of trawlers around with a lot of teak.Not too long before we bought the boat the owners had a couple coats of Cetol applied to the wood. Before that the wood had been allowed to gray out. There was not much sanding, if any done before the Cetol was applied. The wood was gnarly to say the least. Sanding out many years of neglect was a major task. There were places on the cockpit cap rail that had been sanded down to the point that the screw that held the wood together were sanded half way through. I removed the screws and drilled holes the size of the original bungs, until the opening from the threads disappeared. These holes were then filled with bungs and then sanded level with the cap rail. That cap rail was probably made from 4 quarter and through the years has been sanded down to about a half inch.After sanding, I built up 10 coats of varnish. This was maintained by sanding and adding a spring and fall coat. This lasted about 6 years. At that time there were enough spots that to maintain a quality look, it had to be sanded down again.

All right, we are getting close. 2-3 hours of sanding and it will be all over for the inside of the boat. I was going to hang up a plastic curtain between the bulkhead and the rest of the boat. The curtain was going to be about 5 feet aft of the bulkhead, allowing me plenty of working room. Wrong! I am no longer working in my boat, I am working in our home. One that my wife has been scrubbing on for 2 weeks.My new work space had the curtain moved towards the bulkhead at least 2 feet and cut in half to the centerline of the boat. The Shopvac hose was stuck under the plastic to remove any dust falling through the air. She than duct taped me in. Getting to sound like a murder mystery. Because of the lack of air, I had to come out of the cocoon several times to re-oxygenate the space and me. This made the project become a half day affair, but it got done.By the end of the weekend, the final coats of urethane had been applied and the refinishing of the wood was complete, on the inside.

We had taken everything we were keeping and moved it into a bedroom and locked it. This was the 14th move for our marriage and the least organized since our first move. Back then we could pack everything we needed to live indefinitely into my overpowered two-door hardtop Ford. Simpler times.We lived about 12 miles from the marina. For 2 days I drove back and forth carrying all our worldly possessions. Well almost. She found space in my crowded shop to stuff a couple boxes. We also had a 5 x 10 storage unit. There were dishes that were my mother’s that my daughter wanted. There was the box of refrigerator art that dated to preschool times. Boxes of pictures. And finally the wedding dress. I have never really understood this thing women have for their wedding dress. I figured it has to do with guilt. They spent to much of their father’s money and would never wear it again. I could have divorced her easier than getting rid of that dress. I saw a blog recently called “Trashing the Dress”. Best blog I ever saw. On our first downsizing of our storage space a couple years later, she did get rid of the dress.My wife has always thought that moving was the ultimate opportunity to scrub everything. This does slow down the settling in process, but being a neat freak, it is nice to know you are in a place that is in all ways squeaky clean.With all the trips, the move went pretty uneventfully. I only got 1 speeding ticket. Should have rented a truck and done it all in one trip. Would have been cheaper then the ticket.We are on board.

Yesterday we took the boat the diesel repair facility. They are cleaning the engine compartment, replacing the burnt insulation cleaning and repainting the engine and replacing the wiring harness and control cables. They have also been asked if they can determine what caused the problem.These people have a reputation for not being very prompt on getting their work done. Well shock of shocks, everybody was there by noon and work commenced at a good rate. Seemingly all parts are ready for installation. Starter and alternator have been rebuilt and are onboard. Wahooooo!Why am I so interested, because I am crewing for the owner to Clearwater and we are going up some of the rivers in the Big Bend area, if time permits. I will write of the voyage. We also have a schedule to meet that puts us in Clearwater the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. My son lives in the area and our daughter is coming from out west and she is carrying our first grandchild. To early to know what it is yet. All of us have not been together at the same time for a couple of years. This could be a great November. A sailing trip and the family together for Thanksgiving. Life is good.