On our way to getting our engine up to snuff, more and more of Wild Horses gets stripped off. It is unnerving but necessary!
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When our Westerbeke engine’s heat exchanger blew last spring, we knew it was going to be the start of something big. Our engine had failed a few times as we headed south to Grenada and it was the cause of much angst for Captain Mike. Every time our engine had to be fired up (arriving or leaving anchorages, no wind, or wind from the wrong direction), he held his breath. Inlets and narrow passages seemed to take years off his life. The stress was very real.

On the contrary, Mike never worries when we are sailing. In fact, that is when he is having the most fun. Strategically playing with the sail trim to get Wild Horses in a strong run while also managing the balance of the boat so that his first mate (me!) is comfortable and happy. He loves it!! Unfortunately, sailing isn’t always possible and the motor needs to be fired up every now and again. Even before our heat exchanger blew, Captain Mike’s main objective for our off season was to feel as confident in Wild Horses when motoring as he does while sailing.

From my vantage point, last Spring, it looked like a tall order. Mike wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t want to just slap a “for sale” sign on Wild Horses. Yikes!

Then we found Al from Al’s Mobile Marine Service. A straight-talking guy with a jersey coast accent who overflows with knowledge of marine mechanics and all things boat-related. He came well-recommended and, truly, every interaction we have had with him tells us why people love him and his work.

He is doing a bang-up job. All parts of our red Westerbeke engine have been removed and inspected. Parts that test well are being cleaned, serviced and repainted. Parts that fail are being replaced. Every inch of the engine is getting some love.

While we are at it, we had him inspect our propellor and shaft, and also look at replacing our dripless shaft seal (stops water from entering the boat through the stern tube) that sits on the propellor shaft. Getting a new dripless shaft seal isn’t an issue but the propellor shaft was showing some signs of wear. We decided to remove it and get it milled back to perfection. Great! Except, removing the propellor shaft is only possible by first removing the rudder. This is a semi-big job that we could do ourselves (with the help of some awesome friends) and we were happy to do it as it gave us a chance to fully inspect the rudder and to replace the bearings that keep it gracefully steering our boat.

So, that is where we are as of yesterday. We remain high and dry at Green Cove Springs Marina. Our engine is reduced to just its block. Our propellor shaft and rudder have been removed and are lying peacefully on the ground next to our boat. No engine, no rudder, no prop, no sails and no water beneath us. We are stripped bare of steering and propulsion. But, we are headed in the right direction and getting closer and closer to happier times on the water.
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I see a little bit of stress leave Captain Mike’s face every day. Awesome.

Sigh.

I honestly do not know where to begin. Something akin to “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” is probably closest to the mark (sorry, Charles Dickens, I am sure boat yards were not on your mind when you penned those iconic words!).
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We have never “lived” in a boat yard before. We have worked on our boat in boat yards, sometimes for very long days. But we always had a home to go back to where we could have a long hot shower, enjoying all the comforts that let you relax. We also lived for a short time at this very marina, Green Cove Springs, last Spring but that was a whirlwind experience of just patching together some semblance of life on land while also working to exhaustion trying to get Wild Horses ready for her summer in Florida. That Spring, a shower of any temperature and even a tiny bit of air conditioning made us relax after each long day. And there were only 10 days of that before we headed north to ever-present air conditioning and comfort at my brother’s home in Belleville, Ontario.

This go around will be much longer than 10 days. It will very likely be 6 weeks and, depending on how our engine rebuild goes, perhaps even longer. Yikes!
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Don’t get me wrong though. Our boat home is quite comfortable. We have unlimited power and water, and having Starlink means that we have unlimited data for streaming. We have our lights, fridge, freezer, and stove all working. And, Florida’s temperatures are far cooler in Autumn so we don’t crave air conditioning like we did in the Spring. We also have our car and the city of Green Cove Springs as well as Jacksonville and St. Augustine to explore. Each city is super close and well-stocked with everything you could ever need at your fingertips. Wondering how we get Ocean on and off the boat while we are on land? ​Check out this video to see how we do it.   

But there are drawbacks. One drawback is that we have to walk to the bathroom when nature calls. Not a tragedy but definitely inconvenient when nature decides to call in the middle of the night. The other drawback is the boat yard itself. It is dirty and dusty. It is loud and there’s junk everywhere. Yes, we have mail delivery, garbage, showers and laundry. The amenities are there but well short of fancy. The garbages  are old oil drums set about the yard. The showers and bathrooms are clean but very rough around the edges. Same thing for the laundry room. And life in the yard requires some acclimatization. There are a mix of boats and a mix of personalities and lifestyle choices. A pristine boat sits beside a semi-derelict boat that has been mostly taken over by stray cats (don't get excited. I mean actual stray cats and not the 80’s band). Discarded gear and work materials can be found around many long-term boats. It is not pretty.

A funny thing happens, though, as you settle into Green Cove Springs Marina. You stop looking at the place and you start enjoying the vibe. That vibe? Well, it is a little difficult to explain. It is a little Mad Max in a gated community feel. Green Cove Springs Marina is very special. Of course, “very special” is somewhat open to interpretation, and swings from positive to negative depending on the events of the day.

• A chili cook-off at high noon on a plus 30 degree Celsius day. Yes, Green Cove Springs Marina is very special.
• The police stop by for some reason, blocking one of the cars from leaving and engaging in conversations with the marina staff. Yes, Green Cove Springs Marina is very special.
• One of the long-time “I will never have a dog” residents rescues a starving and aggressive pit bull from the side of the road and rehabilitates him into a sweet, ride-along buddy. Yes, Green Cove Springs Marina is very special.

​There is a real cadence and community in this no-rules DIY yard. Some people live on their boats full time in the yard, others are transients like us (working to launch) and a third group live and work close by and just arrive in the evenings or on weekends to continue work on their fixer upper boat. Everyone is hard working, especially the yard crew and marina staff who keep things moving along quite nicely.
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An aura of respect and gratefulness hangs in the air around here. People tidy communal areas (laundry, showers) when they leave them. There is always a “hello” or “good morning” being thrown about as people pass each other. Tools are readily borrowed and returned, as are extra hands and opinions. And although there is a constant buzz of sanders and work equipment starting as early as 8am, it is quiet as a mouse throughout the yard as soon as dusk sneaks around. Even on weekend evenings, people keep their “sitting around the campfire” chatter and music at a low volume.

Yes, we will be here for a while but it will be time well spent. Wild Horses will have a rebuilt engine and many of our little to-do list items will be done. Even better, we will have spent some quality time getting to know some really fine people. Good days, for sure.

Mike, Ocean and I returned to Florida and our lovely Beneteau 473 “Wild Horses” on Wednesday October 23rd.

Our summer in Canada had been incredible. My brother’s house is situated just north of Belleville, Ontario and it became our base camp for our summer land-life adventures (thank you Michael, for opening your home to us and being the most fabulous brother ever!!!). We were also lucky enough to find an affordable used Nissan Rogue that could get us around town and to visit family and friends. Perfect! For four months our heads and hearts were exactly where they needed to be whether we were in Belleville or Kingston or Toronto or Ottawa or even New Hampshire. We enjoyed every hug, every bit of news, all the fabulous experiences and so many smiles that really warmed our souls. Heck, we even learned that a couple of die-hard dog owners could fall in love with an African Grey parrot (shout out to our “pretty boy” Rafiki, my brother’s awesome pet bird). 

In a nutshell, being able to reconnect with everyone this summer was inspiring. It was a heart wrenching and sad (and frosty!) day when we started our trip south to Florida.

And, we were nervous.
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We had no idea how Wild Horses had fared through the extremely hot Florida summer. Even more worrisome, three hurricanes had crossed Florida this season. It started with Debby (category 1 in early August), then Helene (category 4 in late September) and, of course, Milton, a category 3 hurricane when it hit land. This last hurricane came as close to Wild Horses as I would have ever wanted a hurricane to get. The eye of Milton crossed less than 100 miles south of our boat (by that time it had downgraded to a category 1 hurricane).

Thankfully, our first leg of our trip south was first to go east to New Hampshire to visit our friends Dave and Lisa on Indigo Lady. We had met them and their all-electric catamaran in Luperon, Dominican Republic back in March 2023 and travelled with them extensively all the way to St. Bart’s. There, we said good bye as we continued our journey south to Grenada and they went to St. Kitts. We never would have guessed that, a year and a half later, we would be visiting them on land at their home in New Hampshire. It was a wonderful visit catching up and exactly what we needed to calm our anxiousness about Wild Horses.
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After a quick but fabulous two days in New Hampshire, we continued our trip south to Green Cove Springs Marina in Florida and to our beloved Wild Horses.

And, yes, Wild Horses was fine. Actually, she was almost perfect. Truly, she was exactly as we had left her, sitting on land in the long-term storage yard, hurricane-strapped to steel bolts below ground, stripped bare of gear and sails, and with our dinghy “Ocean Transport” sitting tarped up and strapped down on her bow.

Whew.

We climbed aboard and opened the companionway door. I fully expected a waft of mold to hit my nose and to see remnants of bugs or dried condensation on the floors. But no. Her interior was wonderfully mold-free. There was no water in the bilge and no “boat” smell. Just one dead bug carcass laid alongside the bug traps I had put on the floor. Take that bug! You can’t mess with Wild horses!

Whew.

Our boat was moved to the work yard on the same day. Although we were anxious to get to our system checks, we needed to take care of priority number one which was to get some stairs so Ocean could go up and down the 9 feet to the stern of the boat. Mike was 100% ready to build the stairs, but we got lucky. One of the yard crew wasn’t using their stairs and they were the perfect solution for us. Yes!!

​Although all was going swimmingly (all system checks passed with flying colours), the boat needed a little tidying up and organizing before we could move aboard. We spent a few more days at our hotel near St. Augustine and then finally moved aboard exactly one week ago.

How long will it take to get Wild Horses ready for the water and a winter of sailing playtime in the Bahamas? Not sure. We have a list of projects and tasks but the big driver of our schedule is our engine rebuild. Last spring our mechanic had estimated that he would need 2 days to tear down our engine and another 7 days to put it back together. In between that time, our fuel injectors need to be sent out for servicing, which he guessed would take 4 weeks. Ugh, that equates to about 6 weeks in the work yard. To add to the pain, the hurricanes have played havoc with our mechanic’s schedule so he has been delayed in starting the work on our engine. He is currently set to arrive on Tuesday November 5th. So, the six-week clock starts ticking on Tuesday.

Hold on Bahamas! We will get there!!
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In the meantime, how are we managing life in a dirty, dusty and noisy work yard in hot old Florida? Check out the next post from Sailing Wild Horses to find out!