Later in the month we had to return to JTR to pick up the rest of the fabrications that we had Derek do, a guard rail for the galley stove, telescoping struts for the solar panels, brackets for cleats, and a strap for a new triatic connection between the main and mizzen masts. Now the mizzen mast has a bit more support for the added weight of the wind generator up there.

Don continued his never, it seems, ending process of cutting out the old deck caulking and putting in new. The old seams are variable in depth and width. In some places there is just a bare skin of caulking. The deck is starting to leak here and there and caulking is pulling away. We are making the new seams 3/16" wide, which will take care of a lot of the variations, and is the recommended width for caulking our planking these days.

Our caulking manufacturer, Teakdecking Systems, recommends a depth of at least twice the width of the caulking seam. We decided to go a little deeper to accommodate some future wear and sanding. So we went about 0.4 inches deep. Making this new groove is called reefing the deck. Our preferred reefing tool is a router bit. We bought a Dremel Advantage kit to have a small foot print plunge router. We use a plywood or aluminum straight edge fastened with dry wall screws thorough an adjacent caulk seam to get a nice straight cut with the router.

But, even this small tool will not let us get close enough to the toe rails, chain plates, cabin sides, etceteras, to do all the seams with the router. Then we use a combination of Fein tool saw blade, Makita battery circular saw, pocket knife and wood chisels to hand reef in close areas. Masking tape is used to mark each edge of the new caulking seam before the hand work is done.

After the seam is cut we sand the edges with 80 grit paper on an orange stick, then wipe the inside with acetone, and pull any guide tape left on deck. 3M fine line tape is laid in the bottom of the new groove as a bond breaker. This prevents the caulking from sticking to the bottom, which helps to keep it from pulling away from the sides, as it stretches and compresses with the movement of the teak and boat.

We pay the caulk into the bottom of the groove and let it fill from there, to prevent air bubbles. The trick here, is to flatten the tip of the caulking tube with pliers so it will go all the way to the bottom of the groove. Then we tool the excess overfill with a putty knife and scrape the center of each plank clean. Done correctly, with a little tension on the putty knife, this leaves a slight amount of concave caulking sticking up to sand off after it cures. A minimum of 24 hours later, the final step, the deck is sanded with 80 grit paper. It is beautiful.

This is a job we have dreaded for ages, but using the Teakdecking Systems SIS 440 silicone caulk makes it much easier than using the traditional polysulfide. Don figures that there is roughly 1200 linear feet of deck seam to do. It takes him one day to do about six feet. It will be awhile before they are all done. It is a job that will be done in pieces over the next few years.

March was the month for visitors. Jim Jenkins sent us his friends Mindy and John Voddes from Ft. Wayne, Indiana to see us. They visit family in Clearwater, within sight of our dock, and attend bike week in Daytona every year. John left us a bottle of his home made Italian fruit wine, which we put back for our anniversary in May. Columbus Sail & Power Squadron members, Curtis and Mary Ann Williams of Galena, Ohio, visited for a weekend. D’s friends, Bill Zeitner and his wife Ellie, from Bethlehem, PA visited also. They had never seen the boat and Bill and D had not seen each other in at least ten years. It had been over twenty-two years since they worked together at Shell Oil Company in Willow Grove, PA. Then Don’s cousin Katy McKenney and her husband David Robson, from Fort Myers, FL came by. They were kind enough to take us to dinner at the Island Way Grill, the seafood restaurant right next door that we kept smelling the wonderful wood smoke from.

We visited Connie and Don DeSplinter on their Schucker 40 motor sailor AFTER FIVE, at anchor. They were passing through and stopped in Clearwater. We met them through the morning Cruise Heimers Net on the Marine Single Side Band radio (SSB).

Sue Wagner of Huron, Ohio, author of The Sailing Adventures of La Boatique, came down from the snowy north country for some extended time in the sun. D enjoyed having Sue along for her morning walks. They also spent some time utilizing the lemons that are growing in Steve’s (Canvas Yard) yard by making lemon bars, lemonade concentrate, lemon scallops, lemon marmalade, and lemonade. With Steve’s fruit trees and the yard fruit that boat neighbors Tim Rutherford and Ross brought from their homes, we definitely were getting our daily allowance of vitamin C. Tim has certainly babied us as he brought freshly squeezed orange, grapefruit and lemon juices. Boy, we certainly were spoiled.

For fun things we went to the go-cart track two times. They had a special of five dollars to ride the go-carts all day on Thursdays! We had a blast buzzing around and around on the track.

When temperatures started to rise, the winter blanket got shelved in place of the cotton summer weight blanket that Don’s old AEP boss, Lynn Wheatcraft, gave to us when we started cruising. Long sleeves are gone in favor of short.

We had more wildlife visitors as the season progressed. The water got warm enough for a manatee to investigate our lagoon, a rare green heron made our dock its home, and we heard the familiar wake up song of migratory red winged blackbirds.

   Big changes to the looks of SOUTHERN CROSS came when the new stainless steel stern railings were mounted. We had help from all corners of the marina. Tim and Ross, our boat neighbors, and then Charmaine Benoit came by for a visit with a friend of hers, Dave. Dave helped to clean caulk off of the stanchion bases.

Don thinks that the new rails make SOUTHERN CROSS’S broad butt look much more svelte. When you see her, you will have to make that assessment.

Another big change in looks came when Steve finished the bimini top. Now we have sun protection. Small changes like the installation of the new wind indicator at the top of the main mast don’t make any visual difference. Don couldn’t understand how the old wind indicator could have taken a hike, as it was brand new in his mind. After all, he just put it on in 1985.

The lazarette box was reinstalled after Don made the necessary repairs to the deck frame corners. That meant that the propane could be put back in and reconnected so we could cook with gas again.

Another fun thing we did was watch the release of a rescued turtle, Belle, into the Gulf of Mexico. She was lowered into a pick up truck at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and hauled to the beach. There it took several guys to lift her huge shell out and onto the sand. After a few false starts she finally made it into the surf and swam away, leaving the assembled crowd pleased and relieved.

Don tried out the new mizzen mast steps that were installed in February. While at the top of the mizzen mast he attached the topping lift for the mizzen mast boom and replaced the old wire cable running back stays with spliced T-900 line. Then we could remount the mizzen mast boom again. A cleat was mounted on the mizzen mast boom for the topping lift, meaning one more job was done.

D found another horse therapy place to volunteer for. Equither, located in Pinellas Park down towards St. Petersburg, needed help when they had a bunch of school kids coming in for the day. It was a hot one and by the time the end was at hand she was hot, tired, and very dusty, but pleased to have spent the day with and around horses again. Don worked on taxes for us while she was volunteering.

Our normal routine for the evening was to eat dinner after dark and watch a movie on the DVD player or a video, as both of us enjoy good movies. By eating after dark we made good use of the sunlight and relaxed afterwards. That way we were refueled and recharged for the following day’s toils.

The last day of the month we spent sailing, for the first time since December 2003. Steve, our canvas man, was kind enough to invite us to go sailing aboard his lovely Heritage West Indies cutter. It was an absolutely lovely sail and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Afterwards we walked to the ‘Sunset at Pier 66’ celebration where street minstrels and venders abounded. During the evening and overnight the winds kicked up, a lion’s mewing we reckoned.

While leaving the SEAHORSE, Don took an unexpected dip in the marina drink, just like he did when we were in Oxford, Maryland in 2002. The dinghy went under the dock leaving Don with no where to stand, but on water! You would think he would learn by now, or maybe he just likes to take those refreshing dips?

I felt able to leave my Dad to arrive back in Florida the night before Valentines Day, to be with my sweetheart. Don met me at Glenn’s agency late and we went to Tarpon Springs and ate Greek food, and explored this historic sponge fishing town.

Another of Don’s projects was to design a galley locker (kitchen cabinet) behind our stove. His Valentines Day gift to the boat and me was having the galley locker done while I was gone. It was quickly built by Ross Yacht Center’s Brit carpenter, Twiggy. Varnished mahogany sliding doors in front of the microwave hide it and two new shelves. Don certainly surprised me. I couldn't believe the difference in the galley, WOW.

For Valentines Day we just enjoyed the local activities. The Clearwater Aquarium had a Nautical Flea Market right in our own back yard, so to speak, so we attended. The Aquarium also had a reduced admission of $5.00, compared to the normal $17.95, so we visited. Don had not had a chance to see the two resident dolphins, ‘Panama’ and ‘Presley’ yet. We also watched part of the show where ‘Mo’ the large resident turtle gets his shell scrubbed, which he really enjoys.

For dinner we picked up Hilda Bergoffen, as Bob was out of town, and went to Sea Sea Riders in Dunedin, famous for seafood. It was very good. Back at the boat the two of us enjoyed a movie and champagne to celebrate sweethearts day.

Then it was back to work on the boat with another coat of varnish on the frames and doors of the new galley locker. Don continued his progress on the teak deck seams.

Christmas was still with us upon our return as we found many gifts from the birds; fish, fish heads and bird droppings that had been left for us on the deck of SOUTHERN CROSS. Those birds obviously partied hardy while we were gone! After cleaning up the boat we had to get organized for boat projects that we planned on getting done while docked at Ross Yacht Agency. Don spent many hours making drawings and specifications for work to be hired out, and lists of needed supplies. Besides getting an estimate for rigging work to be done by Ross, we also checked out places to do stainless steel fabrications, canvas work, teak decking, and powder coating.

We have had several friends visit, while in the area on vacation, from as far away as Port Clinton, Ohio and Annapolis, Maryland. BLUE STAR, who we met in Ohio and crossed paths with again in Maryland, passed through on her way to Belize. Her Captain, Larry Mimms, treated us to dinner at a great little waterfront place in Gulfport, in return for our help in getting a sail repaired. We have also been able to exchange experiences and advice with a few cruising boat neighbors that we have had here at the docks. More new friends!

For fun, we toured Ybor City in Tampa, visited an authentic hand built replica of Christopher Columbus’s NINA, went to see the movie "Master and Commander," and D attended a volunteer orientation at the neighboring Clearwater Marine Aquarium. And we’re trying the local cuisine, of course, including in depth research on the best Cuban and Grouper sandwiches, and key lime pie of the area. It seems we are on a citrus and seafood diet!

One highlight of the month was having a commercial company use the SOUTHERN CROSS as background for the filming of an infommercial for Honda generators. It was interesting watching the two actors, director, camera man and two assistants to the camera man get all the shots.

Near the end of the month D’s dad called to tell us that he was scheduled for heart surgery, a triple bypass, due to failure of some stints inserted earlier in the month. Since he has no live-in family, D felt that she should go to help him out. She flew up to Bristol, which is north of the Philadelphia area, to do that. The operation seemed to go well but the procedure prior to, insertion of a catheter, did not go as well as anticipated. That added three hours to the over all operation. Dad will have to deal with that later, but was released to go home on February 1.

While D was shivering up in the great white north, Don was keeping the projects moving on the boat. He worked on the aft deck, to prepare it for the new stern rails being fabricated to our design, and continued to negotiate and plan for the canvas work. After Don prepared the wiring harness and slacked the standing rigging, the mizzen mast was pulled to be trimmed to properly fit its new step, when raked per the sail plan. While off, it acquired new Ronstan cast stainless steel mast steps and an FM/TV antenna, and the Air X wind generator was replaced on top. Don serviced the mizzen chain plates before the mizzen was stepped, then tuned the standing rigging and wired all the stuff on the mast (now renamed the Gadget Mast). Don also sketched a galley locker for the Ross Yachts carpenter to construct while D is gone, a surprise Valentines Day gift for her return.

The bottom was cleaned and zincs checked by diver Tim, from Squids Marine Service. It’s necessary to have our stationary bottom cleaned about once a month in this warmer salt water, a hidden cost of being dock bound. Normally our movement through the water keeps the bottom clean.

Our friends Bob and Hilda Bergoffen of OMBRE ROSE, the experienced cruisers we followed to here, continue their great support, including use of a spare bedroom, showers, and (you guessed it) the washer and dryer at their condo. We’re excited about the great information regarding cruising way up north in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that they have shared with us. Right now our plans seem to include those destinations, hopefully for this summer. We also want to taste the Keys and perhaps the Bahamas on our way back up the coast towards the Dickerson Rendezvous in June, in Chesapeake Bay. So, we need to stay busy on our projects so we can get on the move again soon. Wish us Luck!

Happy Trails, and Fair Winds,

D (in Bristol, PA) and Don (aboard in Clearwater, FL)

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