Anchored. 26°43.6071′N 082°15.2692′W.

The early morning part of the trip was delightful. We had 10-15 knot winds from a direction that was ideal.

For a while.

The Macerator Pump

Our boat has a 40-gallon (150L) holding tank. Plus a Nature's Head Composting toilet. The composting business is solid waste -- only. Liquid waste either goes over the side or into the holding tank.

Offshore and most relatively wild places with little human presence we'll dump the liquid waste overboard. Coastal North Carolina, for example, we'll skirt the 3 miles offshore rule.

In Florida, however, we have to save it in the holding tank for the pumpout boat. All of Florida's coastline is a fragile marine ecosystem with way too much human habitation.

The forward head is a nice little Raritan with what looks like a 1/2 liter pump body. This means we dump the 8L liquid from the nature's head into the forward head and pump it into the holding tank. Plus a few more pumps to rinse the bowl. Call it 10L each day.

The holding tank is good for 15 days, max. A week is prudent.

What about off-shore? What then? (Aren't you glad you asked.)

There are two strategies.

• A "Y" valve that's part of the forward head. Once you're 3 miles offshore, you switch the Y-value and flush overboard. No holding tank.

• A "Macerator" pump that chews up what's in the holding tank and spits it out. This, too, requires Red Ranger to be 3 miles offshore.

Our previous owner did not have the Y-valves connected. We removed one for the aft head. We have the forward head through-hull fitting. No valve, though.

That leaves the macerator.

Since it hadn't been used in years, it was frozen. This is a common problem with macerators. First, they're filled with poo. Second, they're used rarely.

The good ones have a screw-head that you can turn to break the motor parts loose. This is awkward to reach, and it's a slotted stainless-steel screw so it's easy to bugger up.

However, I got a wrench with a screw-driver blade onto it and made it move. We tested it motor-sailing one night, but there's no easy way to be sure it worked. You can't hear it over the main engine.

Today, while sailing, in the Gulf of Mexico, I could safely test it when the boat was otherwise silent.

It works. Yay. One fewer thing to worry about when we come back next year to voyage someplace new.

Wind Shifts

After messing with the macerator, the wind slacked. After lunch it died.

It wasn't utterly calm, but it was calm enough that we couldn't maintain steerageway under sail.

We fired up Mr. Lehman motored for a bunch of hours.

Then.

With a suddenness that surprised us both, the wind pivoted 30-some degrees (from almost the nose to of the port bow) and jumped from 4 knots to 15 knots. I regret not taking a picture of our wind instrument's strip-chart recording showing the sudden jump in direction and speed.

The seas went from a little lumpy to pitching and splashing all over the place.

When we turned to run down the channel to Boca Grande, the wind was on our quarter rolling us from side to side.

We threaded our way through the amazing and unbelievable tarpon fishing fleet in the Boca Grande entrance. We had no idea that every day brought out dozens sometimes scores of boats to this one spot to fish for tarpon. This. One. Spot.

The good news is we're now anchored.

The bad news is the wind hasn't let up.

We can see the isolated shower over Punta Gorda or someplace a little further East.

We're hoping this weird pile of wind lays down. We've been anchored in some pretty fearsome storms. That doesn't mean we like them. It means we have 100 feet of chain and a heavy anchor we've slowly grown to trust.

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