Day 60 - catching up — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee TBD, daily high temperature 78*F. Chicago is experiencing the first snowfall of the season. The forecast is for 6″ – 10″ of snow. This is early for that much snowfall.

It has been 16 days since we arrived in Port St Joe on one engine and a broken starboard transmission. We have been battling with the ZF transmission company to get the correct replacement parts. Despite doing our homework to identify all the correct parts and providing that information to the ZF warehouse in Ft Lauderdale they shipped the wrong parts. Adding to the delay is the fact that truck deliveries arrive in Port St Joe only a few days a week. Our suggestion to ZF is to conduct random drug tests on their warehouse staff. They are an embarrassment. The transmission is installed and was tested by puttng the boat in gear and pulling against the dock lines. We are lucky we did not pull the cleats out of the dock. We will conduct a real sea trial on Saturday.

Dale and Andy stayed in Port St Joe to baby sit the boat and oversee the activities of Robert the mechanic. They used the time to do some sight-seeing on the Florida pan handle. Dale also spent time cleaning the dingy.

John and Priscilla used the down time to get off the boat and visit some good friends in Mount Dora and then flew to Chicago to meet our new granddaughter Eleanor. It was magical.

Another highlight of our trip to Chicago was an evening at the Lantern restaurant with our Lake Bluff friends. Greg and Susie Berner are getting a Portuguese Water Dog puppy.

We missed the perfect weather window to cross the gulf two weeks ago due to mechanical problems and will miss a small one on Saturday. It probably would not have been a good crossing. It is moot since Dale has added another new task for Robert to replace the impellers. The outlook for the next weather window is bleak. The next seven days are not looking good. We will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner in our microwave/convection oven if we can find a turkey the size of a chicken. Or, we will go out to a restaurant.

We will hold on to our rental car for a few days so Priscilla and I can do some sight-seeing in Apalachicola and Carrabelle, Florida.

This is not the way I pictured our Great Loop trip. I knew there was always a chance to have a mechanical breakdown but having to wait over two weeks for repairs is a surprise. The real disappointment is how few weather windows there are this time of year to cross the gulf. It is only 23 days until Priscilla and I will fly out of Ft Myers to Boston to meet our new grandson Jackson. The mantra of the cruiser is never have a schedule. We are the poster children for that statement. As long there are rental cars we will always get to the airport no matter where we are docked.

Today’s forecast by Eddie the westher wag.

Good Morning Fellow Loopers!
As much as I want that weather window to be there on Saturday, I just don’t have confidence that it will actually happen. The projected decreases in wind and wave action are not lining up for long enough periods for me to recommend an attempt at crossing.
I guess my days of risk-taking are behind me!

Bottom Line: Don’t move your boat solely to “improve your position” for a Gulf crossing any time soon. You may want to start discussing who’s going to bring what for Thanksgiving dinner.

Brain clutter: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, no home in North Dakota is worth more than $1 million.

Be well, keep safe, and stay happy!
Eddy J. – aboard M/V Spiritus, Grand Banks 36 Classic

Not everyone is passing up this westher window.

Topic: Fl panhandle gulf crossing role call

By: plane2sea on November 20th, 2015, 8:58 pm
Tonight at Carrabelle. Know of 24 vessels in the area… Several are doing the hop to Steinhatchee EARLY in the AM 4:45ish? They are planning on about cruising at 8 MPH. This option takes a course east of Carabelle and puts boats on the northern portion of the Florida gulf. Then they will cruise down the gulf coast.

Bonus photo: This is an 18′ X 8′ mini houseboat. It would be an economical boat on which to do the Loop.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.