Voyage: Nanita Phase Two; Mutiny on the Nanita

The rest of the 24 hours was spent on the long trek across Florida Bay dodging crab posts and in relatively shallow water tens of miles away from the site of land. Meanwhile, our crew was becoming worn down by the lack of sleep cause by the absence of duty shifts.  I must admit I tried to get some sleep and think I was a bit better off than the others on-board since I

Almost night

insisted on sleeping after 0000 to 0400 & 1200 to 1600 hrs shifts I assigned myself. Tempers flared but nothing major but the tension was palatable due to excessively loud music being played by one crew member. Enough of that!

Sometime during my 0000 hr shift the wind piped up to 15 kts with gusts to 18 kts and finally a steady 18 kts  60 degrees off the port bow. It was time for sailing: first out came the full main and then jib.  That was the time all Hades hit the Nanita.  With Nanita idling and a forward speed of about 1.5 knots she heeled over to about 35 degrees and spun to the starboard. At this point, I applied lots of rudder but it was not too effective and the boat kept turning to starboard almost to the point of a jibe.  With the sails de-powered but a little more speed the boat started to turn to port and with this speed it passed through a beam wind with corresponding heel but at least we had a little speed and I got stopped turning just as we passed thru dead into the wind and started a back-wind to the sails. I nudged it to starboard slowly, accompanied to flapping sails but ast least we were stabilized and the speed built.  Meanwhile, the Captain was trying to reef the main but it was not cooperating and we called up the off duty crewman to help as Capt went to the mast to use the emergency in-haul to pull in the sail.  The jib was then reefed and the boat was in perfect trim and on went the autopilot. In the moment of adrenalin induced rush there was a lot of yelling but the moment of nighttime terror was over.  The rest of the night was uneventful except the blaring music below as the off duty crewman learned the chart plotter system and made a point.  During this night and about 0500 ( I was on duty until 0600 since the off duty crew did not show up for the shift) I told Captain I wanted off the boat and he said Boca Grande was the first place for me to get off.  It was about this time that we discovered a broken boat that cause our main sail reefing issue. We were heading for Boca Grande now for sure.

I went off duty as the crew shift came on duty and layed down on the salon port settee wedged between the table and the settee.  I had a fitful sleep but felt rested in a couple of hours.  That was about the time the on-duty crew came down and said a new day was dawning and that he was getting off the ship.  We were still heading for Boca Grande as I could see from what remained of the below deck chart plotter page. I went up to Captain to find out what was going on and he asked me if I was getting off too.  I was a bit surprised since I was the one who was supposed to depart.  Captain needed at least one crew to help get the boat home so I said I would stay but went below to finish packing just in case the fluid situation changed yet again.

As I came back up to the cockpit the wind was still about 60 degrees off the port bow but this did not last long!  All of a sudden – in a few seconds – the wind clocked around to dead upon the bow at 35+ knots and the seas started to build and build.  It is hard to really tell how big seas really are but they seemed large and were about 6 – 8 confused and steep.  We were getting slapped around quite a bit but were in no real danger as the jib had been rolled up a few minutes earlier. The main was left partially furled because we did not want to tempt fate messing around a broken rig but since the wind was dead upon the nose all we had to do was tighten the sheets and Vang. The Hunter would rise to the waves and then slam down the other side as the broad bottom hit (sort of like a ski boat crossing rough waters). The time passed slowly but we were making progress into Boca Grande pass and finally were in calmer waters.  By the time we headed for the first marina the water was calm but the wind was still about 15 kts.  As we entered the marina everything was calm and we had no further issues.  The crewman departed and we filled ourselves with fuel and departed the marina.

We attempted to anchor, in a stiff breeze, in a little cove where some other sailboats were anchored with stern end tied to mangroves and anchor off the bow.  We could not seem to get the Delta anchor to grab, probably our fault, and after 4 tries gave up and started up the intercoastal towards Venice.  We had had our excitement for the day so as we passed a nice looking marina (name here) we called and they said they had room at a convenient pier so we reversed course and returned to this great little spot with shore power, restaurant and full amenities.  This was a wise choice as we were in dire need of sleep.  After a nice meal we hit the bunks and were dead to the world until 0530 hrs the next morning.

Being renewed by sleep we charged into the day with a 0630 departure that was uneventful.  We were headed towards Venice and Tampa Bay.  We took turns at the helm and I learned a lot about inter-coastal Florida navigation along the way.  The trip to Tampa bay was uneventful, beautiful and sort of boring when I was not at the helm.  Somewhere in the process of getting to Tampa Bay we knew we were pushing the time of closing of the Gulfport Marina so we made reservations and the dockboy gave us instruction as to how to find our berth.

Last bridge we need to open for Boca Ciega

Crossing Tampa Bay from the Manatee River mouth to the West side of the North shore at St. Petersburg (near the Sunshine Skyway West of the Bridge and at the North end) we entered the channel to Boca Ciega Bay.  The waters were at almost low tide and were dangerously shallow at the green marker 1 but we made it into the channel with only a small incident and the Captain did a fine job of getting around the potential situation.  At this point we knew we would be arriving well after complete darkness and we took our time in these shallow waters cruising about 3 kt or less.  We were very tired as we cleared the last bridge into the bay and started the complex maneuver into the Gulfport Marina in Boca Ciega Bay.

We proceeded very slowly, zigzagging the channel looking for the “range” lights of the marina.  However, once found it was obvious the course to take into Gulfport Marina.  A picture perfect instrument approach arrival was made and soon we were tied to the dock with all lines secure.  Since were so close to the place where I stay in the winter, I had SAM pick me up and I stayed the night at home while the Captain stayed aboard.  With promises to return at 1000 hrs tomorrow and a complicated scheme of lowering the dingy and rowing me across to the gas dock I was soon home asleep and dreamed of big waters and rocking in my bed. Thus ends Phase two of the trip.