Sailvayu blog 4-21-24
We left Key Biscayne early Monday morning the 15th with a somewhat fair wind. Almost as soon as we were out the inlet I smelled burning rubber from the engine compartment. I lifted the steps out of the way to investigate, only to find the engine alternator bracket had broken and the alternator was ready to fall off. Quickly shutting the engine down, we continued under sail while I could assess the situation.
We were five miles from the Miami inlet and twenty miles from Ft Lauderdale so I thought it best to push ahead while I worked to make temporary repairs. Using some scrap plywood I was able to support the broken side of the bracket and the engine was restarted. This “on the spot repair” held as we got to the Miami inlet. Not really wanting to stop in Miami I felt the repair would hold at least until Ft Lauderdale.
The weather was good and the winds were working for us for a change as we made good time motor sailing towards Ft. Lauderdale. As we got close to the inlet I decided that my quick repair was holding so we continued to Palm Beach. Although there were good repair resources in Ft. Lauderdale there were no good anchorages and the mooring field was small and limited with no way of knowing if there were any free moorings until we got there. Dockage was very expensive in Ft Lauderdale as well, so we decided to carry on to Palm Beach where we knew we could anchor in a safe and protected harbor.
We made good time to Palm Beach with favorable winds and currents. On occasion we hit 9 knots over ground, a speed we almost never see. The alternator repair held as we got through the inlet and headed down the waterway to where we knew we could anchor. Although running the engine at slow speed we arrived and anchored around 7 PM, a long day but it could have been worse, and we did make our goal for the day.
The next day was spent resting and trying to make better repairs to the alternator bracket, at least good enough to get us to Melbourne where we could get transportation help from Teresa’s sister who lives near there. After a couple of hours I was able to bolt the bracket back together good enough that I felt comfortable heading north again.
On Weds morning we headed out to move up the waterway to Ft. Pierce. We did not get far however and this time it was not due to a breakdown on the boat but rather a draw bridge that was stuck down. We had gone about 6 miles when we encountered the stuck bridge. There was no notice or indication from other bridges that there would be a problem. After waiting about an hour or so, we gave up when the bridge tender told us it would likely be afternoon before the bridge would be able to open.
We turned around and went back to our anchorage to try again the next day. I decided to take this time to reinforce my temporary repair to ensure we would get to Melbourne without any issues. The next day we called the bridge by phone and were told it should be operational. The “should be” part was not comforting but we set out trying to be cautiously optimistic.
Once again when we got to the bridge we were told we would have to wait. This time thankfully we only had to wait for around 20 minutes before they opened the bridge for us and a couple of other boats that had been waiting. Once past this obstacle the remaining trip went well with no drama. We arrived in Ft Pierce to anchor for the night. As usual it was hard to find a good anchor spot due to so many local boats permanently anchored or worse abandoned. This was to be a quick stop as we planned to get underway first thing in the morning.
The next morning we got an early start, once underway we first stopped for fuel before heading north once again. The trip to Melbourne was an easy one under power. We even got to put some sail up to boost our speed. We anchored back at Dragon Point where we normally anchor when in Melbourne. Now it was time to start thinking about the needed repairs.