CRUISING ADVENTURES AND GUNK HOLING IN SMALL SAILBOATS 11

Article By Richard Frye
Part 11 of the series: Backpacking On The Water

This quiet busy little marina was home to many transient sailors on their way to the Deep South in Florida and even further to the exotic islands of the Caribbean Sea and southern Atlantic Ocean.

Some adventurers were still preparing their boats and gear while others were on their way and sailing south. The wealthier folks congregated at Bahia Mar or Pier 66 around Fort Lauderdale, and some wintered out in West Palm Beach and at the nearby marinas. Folks like me dropped anchor in free waters when possible or found less expensive marinas to call home port. Mooring fees around the tourist areas was going sky high unless you were good friends with someone that owned a marina!

Breakfast was great as I expected! John and Mara invited me to tag along on a trip to town that was about 12 miles inland. Not much of a town but it had a great hardware store that was stocked with an unexpected supply of marine hardware and accessories! I just didn’t’ expect a monster selection of boating gear in a hardware store, but this one had an eye-boggling display of the most common and needed items. This was not including the fishing tackle! Everything you could ever want for fishing, shrimping or crabbing that was practical and used daily in the area! My kind of store. They even had box of US Army surplus .45 automatic ammo that I acquired for $1.75 cents! I had an old pistol from WWII on my boat someplace wrapped up in oil cloth, but I hadn’t seen any ammo that caliber for a very long time! The old gun was very rusty on the outside but good condition on the inside as far as I knew. I had bought it from a man in a bar that needed a quick 20 bucks! A good deal I thought so I wrapped it up and stored it in a tool box!

Most of the bluing was gone, a wooden grip panel had a piece missing, broken off, but it worked the last time I shot it into the ground a few times! When the magazine was empty I ran out of ammo, and never bothered getting anymore!

I also have to admit that there were times when I wish I bought several boxes of cartridges and stored them in a waterproof and sealed container. A steel ammunition box caught my eye too. I purchased it for .99 cents and that box sealed up and once was home for .30 caliber machine gun ammunition. It was tough and waterproof. As a remnant from the big war, this sturdy ammo can was a perfect home for the old gun and ammo! Just what I was looking for! But I never would have even thought about it until I saw these items in the hardware store’s more or less sporting goods area. The store owner had a few new rifles and shotguns in a nice display case with glass doors, mostly Winchesters, a few Remington .22 caliber rifles, and some Harrington and Richardson revolvers of various calibers and some used Smith and Wesson .38s. “Who knows!”, I thought to myself about the old pistol I had onboard, “You might need that old gun one day!” It was rare that I would need that type of armament on my boat, but justified the thought of a possibility. My mind flew back to time in the past of those pigs that ran me away from a favorite fishing spot on the beach, or just tried to hurt me for trespassing on “Their” property! They had a nasty temperament so I felt my decision was a good choice for the box of .45s, and the metal box. I like the fact that is sealed to a waterproof tightness, and I had extra money for this purchase that I deemed necessary at the moment. The clerk bagged my items in a doubled brown paper bag and folded it over so the metal box wouldn’t tear it. I paid for them while John and Mara were doing other things across the street. I had to carry it by holding the bottom anyway because of the weight.

We would have lunch in town at a nice family owned restaurant in the next block up. I met them on the street and we had a casual walk through this quaint little settlement. At the restaurant, everyone seemed to know this couple quite well. I was soon made aware that it was because they had patronized the establishment for the past 8 years! I later also discovered that John and Mara owned a small cottage in the area. They rented it to a trusted friend that was a retired teacher. She would be moving to Miami to live with her daughter in about 6 months. At that time, John told me that one day soon, he and his wife would retire there, and 6 months down the road sounded good for them, and the loved this part of the southern coast! He said, “We want to retire to the sunny south!” I laughed out loud for some reason and found it amusing since I grew up in this part of the world. Some people glanced quickly at me over rims of coffee cups or stopped with a fork in their mouth! I must have really been loud! Besides, who ever heard of anyone saying, “I am retiring to the North?” ……ha!

Our conversations always pointed to sailing or fishing in some way or another. Mara told me she was looking forward to having some fresh crabs for a feast that was above all! Thoughts of fresh steamed or boiled crab made my mouth water! This was not a good time of the year for crabs, but in a few months things would be different for a good harvest. It was getting colder and I wanted to go further south too!

It was already light jacket weather, but I want some of the “shorts and bare feet weather!” The bad thing is that even in St. Augustine it does get downright cold occasionally! The Coast Guard reported a low of 48 degrees there when a rogue cold front came through and in some areas toward the west of St. Augustine, it was colder!

When we returned to the marina, I hurried over to the Sea Mistress to put things away, and looked for that old .45 pistol. It was still wrapped up in the tool box, and I asked the marina if there was a place I could go target shooting. He pointed down the road and said, “Anywhere down that way! Just don’t shoot in this direction!”

I tucked the big gun under my shirt, put the box of ammo in my pocket, and headed down the road to do some plinking. I also took a few tin cans along to set up as targets! When about a half mile down the road, I set the cans up in a place off the road that wasn’t too mushy. The ground was soft and saturated with water in most places. If you got too far off the main road you would begin to sink in the squishy sod from your own weight, then suddenly you were in gooey black mud! With the tin cans in place I loaded the magazine to the maximum of 7 rounds and took careful aim at the tin can about 20 feet away and pulled the trigger. BAM! The can was still standing but dirt few up into the air at least 2 feet away to the left side. I fired again at the can and dirt flew up on the other side but little closer! I was perplexed! I know I can shoot better than this! Once more, I took careful aim and slowly pulled the trigger! And… BAM! To my disappointment, the can was still standing! All three of them as a matter of fact! I fired again at the first can but the second to the right flew into the air with a huge finger sized hole in it! I smiled with satisfaction but that wasn’t the can I was aiming at! I shot the remaining bullets and only one tin can was killed by accident! I decided not to shoot anymore because my ears were ringing and I was getting a headache!

I slowly headed back to the marina and boarded Sea Mistress. I looked at my razor sharp machete, and said to myself, “You work all the time and never miss!” I cleaned the pistol and looked down the perfectly smooth shiny barrel! Not a trace of rifling was left in the barrel! Now I knew why I wasn’t able to hit anything! The bullet just wobbled out the barrel! Oh well!

Suddenly a though came to mind and I thought about trading it at the hardware store for something that I could really use! This old gun wasn’t even heavy enough to make a good anchor, but it did make a lot of noise as I looked in the first-aid kit for a BC headache powder! I cleaned the old .45 and made it spotless, then walked over and asked John if he would take me back to town. He was glad to since he didn’t have anything planned and Mara was taking a nap.

At the hardware store I told the owner I wanted to trade it for something I could really use. He looked at it and laughed! “You can’t hit anything with it can you?” I smiled and said, “NO!” He laughed and told me that most of these old guns had been shot out and if I wanted it to be a shooter then I would have to replace a linking pin, the front bushing and install a brand new barrel, and a new ejector would be a good idea too! He said then it would hit right on target every time! Well right off, I knew I didn’t want to spend the extra money on the relic, and the repairs would be more than I paid for it! He looked it over then looked over his glasses at me. “I’ll allow twenty-five dollars for it but that’s all I can do!” Wow! That was five dollars more than what I paid for it and said, “Yes!” So he showed me different prices of up almost 40 dollars and I settled on a used Smith and Wesson with a 4” barrel that he called a Victory model that was also used during the war. It seemed to be in excellent condition and even had nice sharp rifling in the barrel! And it also had ring on the bottom of the grip for attaching a lanyard! Good idea I thought! I traded the old .45 with the remaining ammo, and then paid the 11 dollars difference. He also gave me a full box of .38 Special cartridges as part of the trade because I gave him ball all but 7 rounds of the box of .45 acp I had just bought! I left happy and John even thought about buying a .22 rifle, but at the last moment, decided to wait until they moved back into the cottage. He said he had a little .22 revolver on his boat and that was all he needed at the moment. It was mostly for snakes. And in there are a lot of them in the south! I asked what kind it was and he didn’t know! He told me that he kept it put away somewhere in his engine compartment in the tool box! Seems to the proper place to store a firearm now days! In a tool box!

We stopped on the way back and my cans were still standing except the one I accidently wounded! John stayed in the car while I loaded up the revolver! I asked if he wanted to shoot it and he said maybe later. I was further away than I really wanted to be but took aim anyway and squeezed the trigger. Instantly, the can flew off into the swamp. Again, I fired, and the other can few away! The tin can on its side that I had accidently hit before also went sailing into the unknown as I pulled the trigger! I was happy now! This was old revolver was right on target and I was a very happy sailor! I shot the remaining three rounds at random targets, and could easily see that this old revolver would hit where I aimed! I had made a good choice this time! John quietly said, “Damn you are a regular Wild Bill with that thing!”

As the afternoon went by I used my gun cleaning kit that was composed of a foot long brass rod that bronze barrel brushes screwed on in several calibers, some flannel patches. I used a bore brush of the proper size to remove the visible powder residue from the barrel and cylinder holes, and pushed an oily flannel patch down the barrel a few times. Then I oiled all moving parts I could see, and coated the entire frame with some 3 in 1 oil. Finally I wrapped it in a clean oil cloth and put the revolver and the remaining box of ammo in the ammo can. I stored it in a safe but accessible place near the head of my bunk. I felt I need a holster for it but didn’t think to ask about that when I made the trade.

It was a lazy but cool afternoon and not much was going on around the marina. I decide to do some rope work before having dinner, and then after dark I would read a while before turning in for the night. Dinner tonight was a can of chili, and some cheddar cheese cuts along with some saltine crackers! There was a cold feeling in the air as well, so I lighted my little alcohol stove to make it warmer inside and ward off the chill. I also lit my new oil lamps that I had ordered from Seven Seas, and the inside of the cabin became toasty and very comfortable. They also put out a noticeable amount of heat!

The marina was basically dead at the moment with no sign of activity anywhere! Not even at the restaurant! I walked over to the restaurant and there was a sign on the door that read, CLOSED WED. I then realized the day was indeed Wednesday! But they were open the other 6 days. It’s an easy thing to lose track of time when you are on a sailboat, and a good thing to have a current calendar onboard. That explained the stillness! The crew of ONAWHIM was enjoying cooking on their charcoal grill set up on the dock, and invited me over but I had already opened my can of chili! First time I had noticed the actually spelling because I didn’t see the stern of the boat. On A Whim was one unique word! Now that was neat…ONAWHIM! The way it was painted on the stern you could have easily thought that is was some an extinct Indonesian language at first glance or if could possibly be the name of an exotic Hawaiian princess! John yelled back that they would see me for breakfast at 7am! I waved back, ok-ing his statement with a wave of my hand, and prepared my chili, cut up some cheese and looked for some saltine crackers that I had just bought a few days earlier. Damn! I found them under my brand new metal ammo can! Yep…at least half of one of the individual packages was crushed! I would just dump those into my chili!

As the golden sun settled over the marsh, I tidied up things on deck while I could still see and readied my lantern to be up at full dark thirty! My chili was ready and I settle down to eat the entire can! It was filling with a super cold glass of milk. Later I poured my dessert glass of Strawberry Hill and opened my Chapman’s. There were some things I needed to know. I was thinking far ahead in my journey and thought I might find the answer there. It’s a great book! The bible aboard any sailboat but can’t give information on some things. I was curious about gun laws in various parts of the world now that I had a really nice firearm, I didn’t want to lose it or go to jail for it in some strange place! In all…most states were pretty lenient if you are protecting yourself. A local sheriff told me that.

The lanterns posted a warm glow and after an hour or reading and discovering other things, I shut everything down about 9:30. That meant blowing out the lanterns and covering up!

I was up at 5:30 am with the coffee pot going but I stayed in the bunk for another 30 minutes. I remembered that I was to have breakfast with John and Mara at 7am so I busied myself doing things inside the cabin and making ready for my move further south. I had already stayed longer than expected but unknowingly, I would have to stay a few more days because my plans were about to change!

I was at the booth facing the east as the sun was coming through, while the waitress poured my coffee without a smile. Guess she had a rough night! I thanked her and got a half smile from her anyway! Mara was first through the door and immediately sat down at the booth and told me that John was on the way. A few minutes later he arrived and joined us with a joyful expression on his face. He had been on the marina phone with some friends very late after they had dinner, and was excited to tell everyone that the others were on the water. He sat across from me and looked at Mara, then back at me. “Hey Rich, we had a talk last night and hope you will hang around a little longer till out other friends arrive. They are going to sail with us, and we would like for you to join us as we head south and east.” I didn’t hesitate to answer, “Sure! I have nothing else to do except to get into some warmer water!” “Good!” he elated! We will plan to set sail on Tuesday!” He extended his hand and I shook it! Then continued…”to warmer water!” “Ok!”, I thought! This will be fun to sail with others! But then I got to thinking seriously. These “others” probably had some yacht of seas type boats such as ONAWHIM! Here I was in my little Macgregor that cost far less. The ONAWHIM’s mainsail cost more than my entire boat! I didn’t dwell on that because sailors seem to be a different breed of people altogether! A sail boat is a sail boat. These people shunned the United States Power Squadron! That’s another story! But to give you an idea, one fellow said if I’m sinking then for God’s sake please don’t call the Power Squadron! Well…another time on that subject!

My little ship was mine and I was proud of her and the smaller size or somewhat lower class didn’t seem to bother them at all! We were sailors! Modern day explorers! Dyed in the wool cruisers! All for one and one for all!

I was excited about being invited but about half way through breakfast John asked, “You ever been there?” I looked up, “Where? To the Keys? Sure lots of times, and will probably be there in a couple of months.” Then he answered, “We invited you to sail to West Palm Beach with us. From there after outfitting and checking our stores and waiting around on the others, we will set sail for New Providence!” I gasped, “The Bahamas?” He nodded with a mouth full of food! Then said, “Yes, but not till after we do some cruising around the Keys! The Bahamas trip will be short. The Keys trips might never end!” Wow. I couldn’t speak for a moment. All I could do was smile. It was like a smile that was tattooed across my face! It wasn’t coming off for a while! I was going to be sailing with some a lot of full time cruising folks for quite a while and might even get a chance to sail over to the! I had always thought about an exotic sailing adventure and now a dream was coming true! I was more anxious to get going even more now but we were waiting on at least 3 more boats that should be pulling in Saturday and Sunday.