TRAVELLING WITH A PET AND WAITING FOR A WEATHER WINDOW

As we write this, we are docked in a marina in Key West.  We were a very long time at Boot Key Harbor (Marathon) – from May 18 to July 28.  Although we had things to do to prepare for our voyage to Grand Cayman, it was really the dog and the weather that kept us there so long. 

We had heard very nice things about Boot Key Harbor Marina (Marathon) – that it was a great community, friendly, easy to get to shops etc.  We were disappointed.  The setting is lovely, and the taxis are reasonable, but we found the Marina staff at best, disinterested and at worst, surly.  All of the staff except one – Anne, the receptionist.  She was always friendly and helpful. 

There is a group of local liveaboards who run the Boot Key Harbor net.  Every morning at 9 AM on VHF Channel 68, one of them will be the net controller.  The net is interactive and meant to encourage people to get to know each other, to share information and to get help if needed.  The topics include giving people a chance to introduce themselves if they are new; say goodbye if they are leaving; sell, trade or give away items (“treasures from the bilge”); share information about things going on at the marina or in town; and a little trivia quiz for fun.  It is very entertaining and helpful – we generally waited until after the net to get to work on the boat or go to town.

We met one of the net controllers by chance because he worked part-time at the West Marine store, but no effort was made by the net controller group to meet newcomers.  In fact, no effort was made toward newcomers at all.  People we passed as we walked or did laundry at the marina would smile and nod, but they never stopped to chat.  Most of the local liveaboards had cars, but no one ever offered us a ride or even asked which way we were headed.  It was really strange to us since at every stop we made, the local people had been so friendly and went out of their way to help us – even in New York State where one might expect people to be less willing to help then in the ‘laid-back’ Keys. 

One of the newcomers, Bill, put out a feeler on the net one day, and asked if anyone wanted to get together to play cards one evening.  We took him up on it and made a new friend.  We had many a pleasant time with him, and he was very helpful to us on several occasions.  Thanks, Bill and we hope you find everything you are looking for (including all of the lost goodies in the bilge!)

Here are some pictures of Boot Key Harbor: a storm in the distance, a Sunday morning rainbow and a pink, spotted stingray.

So, why did we spend over 2 months in Marathon you ask?  Well, it was a somewhat frustrating experience.  We had planned to stay just long enough to rest and get ready for our voyage to Grand Cayman, so our plan was to leave Florida in early July.  We took a flight to Grand Cayman for a week in June for Pat’s daughter’s 40th birthday, but other then that, we worked on getting the boat ready and ensuring the dog would be permitted in Grand Cayman.  Aside from lots of little things, we got the SSB radio working properly and we purchased and installed 2 solar panels (which by the way, are an excellent investment).  We felt it was essential to have a working SSB radio because once we are outside US waters, there will be no VHF radio access, no Internet access and no telephone access.  So, in essence, no way to get help if needed.  The SSB allows us to do text-only email, receive weather information and send out position reports to our family.  As well, we can contact ham radio operators and ham radio nets to seek assistance.

With regard to the dog permit, we had been working on this since before we left Canada.  Grand Cayman has very strict and rigid rules for bringing a pet into the country.  They have never had rabies on the Islands, and naturally, they don’t want it there.  It takes 6 months to a year to get everything done to their satisfaction.  For instance, the pet must first have a microchip inserted (and it has to be a specific kind that their scanner can read), then the animal must have a rabies vaccine¸ then at least one month after the vaccine, you have to get a rabies titer done (this cost us over $400 and the blood has to be sent to Kansas State University), then within 14 days of travel, the pet has to be examined by a veterinarian who must treat the pet for tapeworms and ticks and complete a  International Health Certificate in which specific wording must be used and which then has to be sent to a government veterinarian for an official number.  The certificate is only good for 14 days.

Well, you know you really love your pet when you spend all of the time and money getting a permit for another country.  Grand Cayman’s rules, although rigid, are similar to the Bahamas and other Caribbean countries, so if you are considering bringing a pet along with you on your boat, make sure you understand the rules of entry for wherever you are going and be prepared for a great deal of expense, anxiety and time.

Dude was microchipped shortly after birth (just by luck with the correct kind of microchip), and his rabies vaccines were up to date.  We had the rabies titer done in Canada just before we left.  We found a weather window, quickly made an appointment with a local vet and got the International Health Certificate completed and sent all of the info they needed (which was everything Grand Cayman needed) by UPS one-day delivery ($54) to the government vet in Gainesville Florida.  It actually took 3 days to get there because we sent it on a Friday.  Now, we had another issue because there was no way we could guarantee we would be in Grand Cayman within 14 days of getting the Health Certificate, considering weather and that the trip would take us at least 10 days, and the fact that we still had to wait to receive the official go-ahead from Gainesville.  At this point our weather window was shrinking fast and we were really anxious.

So, we contacted Grand Cayman (Department of Agriculture) and asked if we could have an extension considering all of the above.  They realize their 14 day rule really applies to animals coming by plane or cruise ship, so after we sent them a formal letter of request, they gave us a month from the date of the Health Certificate.  Great, now we had some breathing room.  Not!!

In order for Gainesville to validate the veterinarian’s health certificate, they needed the Kansas State Rabies Laboratory to fax them a copy of the rabies titer.  Okay, we called Kansas State and asked them to fax it.  They agreed, but they didn’t do it!!  So another day was lost while we sorted it all out and got the info faxed to Gainesville.  In the meantime, Grand Cayman was not altogether happy with our health certificate because some of the wording they wanted was not present.  So, we had to ask the vet to write an addendum which also had to be worded in a specific way.  Sheesh – another day lost and another too many dollars spent.

Added to all of this is the fact that Grand Cayman required a Clearance Certificate from the last port of call.  This is a certificate filled in by the Coast Guard that states details of your boat and who you are along with the date you left the country.  Essentially, it means that the US have cleared you to leave.  Technically, you must leave on the day you get the clearance certificate completed, but the US authorities don’t care as long as you and your boat are still eligible to be in the US.  However, Grand Cayman does care and they consider the date on the certificate is the actual date you left.  So, we had to try to fit in getting this certificate done along with everything else, and we had to take a 2 hour bus ride each way from Marathon to Key West to get it done.  Are you out of breath yet, because we sure were!!

By this time our weather window was gone, and to top it off, our generator stopped working!!  So, Dave fixed the generator and Pat contacted Grand Cayman again to see what we needed to do.  Well, they agreed to give us another chance but we would have to get the dog dewormed and deticked again, another addendum from the vet and another clearance certificate from the US!!  So another look for a weather window, another trip to Key West and another bill from the vet!!

Can you spell ‘perseverance’?  We stuck to it, did everything needed and found another weather window.  We left Marathon on July 28th, exhausted but relieved and excited.  There is yet more to this story, so hold that nice thought for now!!

We want to let all of our cruising friends know something not dog related that we learned through this experience.  When we got the clearance certificate, the coast guard were interested in just two things.  Was our cruising permit still valid and were we (Dave and I) still validly in the US?  Did you know that the cruising permit is valid for 1 year but people can only stay for 6 months!!  Luckily, we had left the country at Christmas and again in June, (they checked our passports for this).  Otherwise, we would not have been legal.  When we entered the US at the end of October, nothing was said about this and there was no requirement for a visitor visa.  It is really weird and something you might want to check into.  We did not learn what the consequences are if you stay longer than 6 months, but that would be worth finding out for sure before you come.

Now, back to our story.  Yes, we left Marathon headed for Cuba but within an hour our engines started overheating.  In fact, the starboard engine just stopped it got so hot.  Shortly after that the port engine stopped too.  We just drifted for an hour to let them cool down and then re-started them and limped into an anchorage.  Dave started trying to diagnose the problem and we stayed at the anchorage overnight.  Now, I’m in a panic worried that we will lose our weather window again and be faced with going through all of the dog stuff again – which quite frankly, I’m not sure I would do again.

The next day, after Dave had checked all of the coolant levels, looked for leaks and tightened the belts, we started out from the anchorage but both engines overheated again within an hour and we had to call Boat US for a tow.  We were towed to Robbie’s Marina in Key West (a three-hour trip).  There was really no reason for both engines to overheat at the same time, so we figured that maybe the keel coolers (on the bottom of the boat and responsible for cooling the engine water) were covered in sea growth.  So, yesterday we had the boat hauled out to get the bottom power washed.  It’s weird to say this, but we were disappointed when we had a look at the bottom and discovered there was very little sea growth on the keel coolers.  Now, we still had to figure out what the problem really was.

Today, Dave took apart the starboard engine cooling system and cleaned out every single thing.  Again we were disappointed that there was only a little sludge and muck.  Tomorrow, he will do the port engine and put in some new coolant with an additive that further cools the engines.  We are hoping that the whole problem is due to the fact that the sea water temperature here is high (85 degrees) and the keel coolers just can’t get cool enough.  Hopefully, with the clean bottom, cleaned cooling systems and new coolant, we will be able to leave tomorrow night, weather permitting.

Finally, here is a picture of the aforementioned dog that has caused us so much trouble and cost us so much money.  He really is good company and fun, but we have to admit, knowing what we know now, we would not have brought the dog with us.

Our next posting should include only good news about our voyage to Grand Cayman via Cuba.  We have lots of interesting things to tell you about with regard to both of those places, so stay tuned.