| George Hotz
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08-11-2005 07:26 PM ET (US)
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Cosmos, Again 10/13/04: Captain Grandpa Joe called, again. He wants to take Cosmos down to Ft. Lauderdale for the Winter and needs crew. Cosmos is Captain Grandpa Joe's 45 foot Prout ocean sailing catamaran. The last time he called at this time of year was to tell me that he wanted to make a circumnavigation of the world, and we did. So, again, I said, "I'm ready, when are we leaving".
This will be sort of a nostalgia trip. Don Kilpatrick is joining us. Don crewed on Cosmos for the 1st leg of the circumnavigation. So, for this trip to Ft. Lauderdale, the crew will be Capt. Joe, me, Don, and an old friend of Joe's; Tom Gagner. The very first passage of the circumnavigation was, actually, from Annapolis to Ft. Lauderdale. We left Annapolis on the morning of January 2, 2001, with the rising sun in our faces as we motored out of the Severn River. It was very cold, and, it stayed cold. It stayed cold all the way to St. Augustine, and beyond. I remember lying in my sleeping bag one morning, seeing St. Augustine through my cabin port, and listening to a radio station news program. It said that it was 0630, and 31 degrees. We didn't expect that much cold that far south. I hope that this next trip will be more comfortable.
We were to leave early Sunday morning. Saturday evening turned out to be cold and wet, so, rather than waste time sleeping, we left at about 2330, 11/27/04. There was no wind, it was rainy and foggy, but Cosmos has an exceptionally protective dodger resulting in a dry helm. Once we navigated our way out of Back Creek, with all hands peering into the fog, we were on our way. The first several days were spent getting accustomed to the weather, the motion, and the watch schedule. This is typical. I was just starting my first head cold of the season so I had a little more to contend with. In spite of all this, it was exciting to be back aboard Cosmos on a trip that I believed would be fun and interesting.
12/4/04: Cosmos was in good condition, and clean as a whistle. We have a very fine, and experienced, crew, if I do say so myself. Don and I were quick to recall the routine of operating Cosmos and, Tom was not shy about asking questions and is a fast learner. The first five days were about what you would have expected for this time of year; cold, wet, with a few rough spots here and there. We are getting along well, and eating well, as is typical on Cosmos. Yesterday, we anchored in the harbor of St. Augustine, Florida. After a big breakfast aboard, we bought showers at a nearby marina. This was our first opportunity for showers in a week. Then we walked around town, had a late lunch, returned to the boat, and headed out to sea. I thought it was quite considerate of us to take the showers before heading into town. Our next port of entry will be West Palm Beach, tomorrow morning.
The last three, or four, days have been quite nice, and the nights have been cool. I've had time to get some chores done. The watermaker aboard Cosmos has been shut down and pickled since we completed the circumnavigation. A couple of days ago I started it up, fixed a leak, made a few gallons of water, and, repickled the unit. Then I made a new key for the Yamaha outboard motor from some scrap plastic. Don checked out the battery banks and found that three batteries had gone bad. He removed them from service and reconnected the rest. We discovered that the outboard wasn't running as well as expected so I disassembled the carburetor and fuel system to clean them up. Captain Grandpa Joe had picked up the outboard at the repair shop just before we left. I hope it runs when we get to West Palm Beach in the morning.
12/7/04: As we entered the West Palm Beach harbor on the morning of the fifth, we called the yacht club to get their location and find out about their facilities. They did not have room for Cosmos but, we were able to anchor about a half mile South of the club and took the dinghy to their restaurant for a late breakfast. I think that the Yacht Club thought that we were a much bigger vessel when they talked to us on the radio, but, in spite that, they were very courteous with excellent food and service. Then we went back to the boat and spent a very productive afternoon doing boat chores. We did well and got a toast of gratitude from the captain during Happy Hour. The outboard is still not running well but we were able to tolerate it.
Yesterday Don and I rented a car and drove to Stuart, Florida, to look at boats for sale. We picked up some boat supplies for Capt. Joe on the way back. Then we all went out to dinner in West Palm Beach. Afterward, we visited a Barnes and Noble, then drove back to the yacht club and dinghy'd back to the boat.
This morning we got back to the yacht club and drove off in the car before the they realized that we had parked the car there over night, free. We bought oil filters at a Volvo parts place, three new deep cycle batteries at West Marine, food at Win Dixie, returned the rental car, loaded up the dinghy and got back to Cosmos before noon. You are probably starting to realize, by now, that boats always need something. When they need it, it is usually not as convenient as this to get it.
After cleaning up all the mud that we dragged from where we beached the dinghy (muddy sandals, muddy feet, muddy dinghy, muddy stern of Cosmos), and stowed everything, we weighed anchor and headed south on the Intra-Coastal Waterway. We went as far as Del Ray Beach that afternoon. This accounts for about 20 miles and 8 drawbridges. We really enjoyed the scenery along the Waterway. One could describe it as an incredible display of wealth, architecture, and landscaping. I am looking forward to cruising the entire Intra-Coastal Waterway with my wife, in a year or two.
We spent the next few days cleaning the boat, and slowly making our way to Ft. Lauderdale, a little each day. We couldn't arrive at our destination prior to the 11th because we were not allowed to live aboard there. This gave us time to really get the boat in great condition and enjoy the Waterway. I changed the oil, and filters, in both engines. I was able to improve the cooling water flow through the port engine by cleaning out the exhaust elbow water inlet. Captain Joe got the suggestion for checking this from his Volvo parts supplier. I wish we had checked it during the circumnavigation as we often had temperature problems with this engine when we ran it at high RPM's. She's sure running cool now. Earlier in the trip, I installed brackets on the engine room access hatches to hold them in the open position. This eliminated a long-standing nuisance, and hatch hinge damage. Tom had done a great job shining up the stainless and waxing the gel coat. Don had installed the new batteries. Cosmos was looking, and running, like new.
12/11/04: We arrived at the dock, behind a residence on one of the canals that riddle Ft. Lauderdale, this morning. We unloaded the trash and personal belongings, then gave Cosmos a final washdown and filled her water tanks. Captain Joe had been using the little yellow Post-it notes to assign the crew's chores and sticking them to the salon bulkhead. He did this throughout the circumnavigation and it was a very effective way to keep Cosmos clean and running well. Cosmos is for sale, now, and I hope her new owner is as good a boat manager as Captain Joe has been.
I would be surprised if you were not bored to tears by this brief account of this passage. When things go as planned with no crises, breakdowns, collisions, food poisoning, fires, hijacking, or killings, it is difficult to write an exciting journal. Therefore, I feel compelled to reward you readers by providing full disclosure regarding the loud BANG! It echoed throughout the starboard hull of Cosmos as we were about to disembark from this pristine, exquisite, vessel that had carried us to our destination in safety and comfort. Unfortunately, while the starboard water tank was being filled, nobody was monitoring the water level gage. When the tank became full, the supply of water was not cut off, so, the hose leading to the deck fill fitting, approximately eight feet above the tank top under the galley sole, also filled with water. This additional hydrostatic pressure exerted on the flange of the tank inspection port was just enough to burst the attachment of the flange. This was known to have been a weak point as a result of a previous incident. This resulted in minor flooding of the storage area between the galley sole and the top of the water tank. We spent an extra hour dewatering and wiping down this area. At the sound of the BANG, crewmembers scattered in all directions trying to locate the source of the noise. It was as if Cosmos was not willing to give up the attention that she had been receiving all this time from Captain Joe and his crews, she might have been saying: "Please guys, before you leave me, just one more hour, or so, of caressing my gel coat, maybe fix just one more thing for me, pullleeeeese".
So, yeah, I would say that this trip was nostalgic for Captain Joe, Don, and me. There weren't many conversations that went by that didn't bring to mind memories of the circumnavigation and the fine people that joined us along the way. Often, Tom would ask a question as to why we did a task in a certain manner, and the answers would be the result of lessons learned as we drove Cosmos around the world. From washing the dishes, to furling the sails, to changing the engine oil, all boats are different. We learned to live with Cosmos, and we will miss her.
George Hotz
1st Mate
s/v Cosmos
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