Up A River.....

I've continued to make progress on the water maker.  I've updated the "Project" page where more can be read about this on-going project (click here).

I had previously bought all new gauges and flow meters as well as a nice digital TDS  controller as a start to my home-made RO system.  When I figured out the meters and gauges on my watermaker project needed replacing I decided I was in luck and could just use the new ones I had stored on the boat.  I drove down to get them last Saturday and discovered our boat had been broken into some time in the last two weeks.  Some one had attempted to remove the wind generator, failed and left it dangling over the side.  In the process they broke one of the carbon fiber blades.  Total damage is about $650 in parts.  They also broke the lock and hasp off the companionway hatch and made themselves at home down below.  They went through everything, looking for God knows what because it doesn't appear that they actually took anything.  When we had the boat pulled we removed everything we could so the boat was fairly empty but it still had all the instruments, radios, outboard engine, etc.  Nothing was missing.  When they departed they left the companionway open.  With daily storms blowing through, some of them serious, rain water was blown through the opening and all our teak woodwork down below is now covered with mildew.  All the cabinets in the galley and the entire bulkhead enclosing the aft cabin and aft head need at least a good cleaning.  I reported this to the marina office and they got this stunned look on their faces.  I took a shot in the dark and asked them how many other boats had been broken into.  Ours made fifteen that they knew of.  They asked me if I wanted to file a police report and I said no thinking that the damage was less than my deductable so what's the point.  Cheri and I went back on Monday to clean down below and replace the lock on the companionway.  It was then that we realized the entire interior of the boat is coated with mildew.  Grrr.  What a bummer.  With no power or running water in the long term storage area this becomes a very big job for two people.  I think we may have to  have the boat moved to a different area that has power and water and bring in a cleaning crew.  We went ahead and filed a police report and are in the process of dealing with our insurance company.

Looking around at the other boats around us I'm pretty sure there are more than just fifteen that have been broken into.  There's another Island Packet next to us and looking into his cockpit from ours I can't see a lock on his splash boards.  I also found some rope and a pile of stripped out bolts next to another boat.  Not a good sign.  While we were there another boat owner came by and I mentioned that he should take a close look at his boat.  His lock was also broken off and some things were missing from down below.  When I was getting ready to leave he was standing at the gate to the long term storage area.  He was going to close it for me after I drove through but he didn't have a key.  I asked him how he got in and he said he just squeezed through the gap in the gate.  Gee, that's not so good.  I mentioned all this to the marina office manager.  She mentioned that they were investing in motion sensor cameras for the storage areas.  Great!  How 'bout a security crew too?  This marina has hundreds of boats scattered around several remote lots.  They have zero security other than a chain link fence with some barbed wire at the top.  When they set our boat in there they put the stern within two feet of the fence.  Someone with a little initiative could back a pickup truck up to the fence, throw a blanket over the barbed wire and walk right onto our boat (they're supposed to move the boat further back today).  Of course with the gap in the gate if they're skinny enough they could just walk right in.  The marina used to keep an extension ladder in the area for folks to get on their boats.  That's probably not such a good idea either.  With millions of dollars in boats and gear being stored at this marina they just don't seem to get it.  Security should be a high priority, not an afterthought.

So here we are at Green Cove Springs Marina.  There aren't very many places to keep a larger boat on the St. Johns River which is really too bad.  It's a beautiful river, naturally protected from big storms and just a few days run from the Bahamas.  If I wasn't so anxious to sail away I'd consider opening up a real marina here and give these guys some competition.  Anybody out there looking for a good business opportunity?