Navigator Adventures

If you have been following this blog you know that in early January at Panama City we discovered the bow thruster had failed.  I was able to repair it myself after tearing apart the V-berth and contorting myself into that tiny space.  But it cost us two days. And you know that later in Venice we experienced water pump issue.   Thanks to "Same Day" delivery from West Marine I was able to resolve that issue - with less contortions, and all before the cocktails. There were a number of other 'lesser' issues that required attention - for instance the port pilot house door latch and a baulky toilet that my son in law Mike helped me with. While these type of events can be challenging - frustrating even - they are not entirely unexpected.   Navigator is a well traveled, 16 year old vessel.   Mechanical issues are bound to crop up.  Especially when you consder that we have put 1000 miles on her in a very short period of time.   However, in m...

  There may be some interest in how we navigate on Navigator.  Driving a boat on a waterway is different than driving a car on a highway.   First, on the water, there are no tracks, no ruts, no lanes, no guard rails, no white lines to follow.  On a waterway, you may find markers - Red on one side and Green on the other to guide you - they mark hazards you need to keep left or right of - they do not define ''lanes".   Chanel markers might be 100 yards apart  - or they might be several thousand yards apart.   Occasionally you will find a red marker directly opposite a green but more often you will find a red, then some distance beyond a green.   Often you will find two or three of one color in a row before there is one of the other color.   Following channel markers is more akin to threading your way through a ski slalom course than it is keeping you car between the white lines.    But unlike a skier descendin...

  February 10, 2025:  Key West Spent a week in Key West with Bill and Molly from Salty Paws: tours at the Truman Little White House; Ernest Hemingway House; and USCGC Ingham; Bruschetta Restaurant; Moondog; Sunset Bar & Grill; and the Red Shoe.   Pretty interesting - and cool - town.   Inhabited by the Calusa and Tequest Indians, visited by Ponce De Leon in 1513, but only first settled in 1821 by Americans after Spain ceeded Florida to the US.   In the 1830's it was the largest city in Florida!  Destroyed by hurricanes and by fire today it is a tony community of 25,000 with lots of bars, lots of restaurants and lots to do. On Thursday the 6th, Jess and Mike arrived!  They had been very excited about joining us for a bit of a cruise on Navigator in February - especially with the potential to visit Dry Tortugas.   Jess and Mike have a bucket list goal of visiting all the National Parks - and Dry Tortugas happens to be one of ...