GETTING READY TO RETURN 3-2-12

I know there has not been an update for some time and it is not that I have been so busy but just becoming laid back like the rest of the people in the Keys. I can say this three month stay was a larger undertaking for my first cruise and would suggest a few weeks rather than a few months for the first major outing. I do miss my family, friends, home, church and am READY to return.

This coming week is a week of preparation to finish repairs to ready the boat for the return. The largest of which is happening today by replacing the waste holding tank. It was leaking!

I am posting some photos of my animal friends who have kept me company. Also just two more sunset photos. I promise no more sunset photos.

I have had several visitors: my sister, Janice, and her husband Bob; my son Neil with Lori, Ellen and Nathan. Nathan made his first SCUBA dive at a wreck site near Sombrero Key and was so brave and did so well. (photo of
He and his dad in the water)

The people here are just wonderful, always helpful and lots of fun. But, home calls and I am ready. Look forward to seeing everyone before April the first, no foolin'.

Marathon. 1-24-12

I have been here 12 days and in some respects, the time has gone quickly but in other ways, very slow. I do miss family and special friends very much so I may plan for a quick trip home in mid February to see everyone.

Neil brought my car down this past weekend and it makes a huge difference just having land transportation. We discovered a beach, see pic, and some great restaurants with fabulous sunsets. (see pics). We repaired so many things on the boat and it is always good to get those off the the to do list. It is said that on a boat, something is always broken, you just might be aware of it yet. I think that is very true.

One of the more expensive things here is the laundry costing $3.75 for a load in the washer and $2.00 to dry them. It appears to be the best business to be in here in the Keys.

The weather here is perfect in the high 70's to low 80's. Bright sunny days and warm tropical evenings.

Will try to give an update more often but things are pretty quiet and uneventful perhaps as it should be.

Marathon 1-16-12

This morning, Jim left for Ft Lauderdale where he will catch a flight tomorrow morning for Greenville. Jim was not only a tremendous help navigating on this cruise and nursing me back to health, but is such a good friend. His absence will be missed.

Today is laundry and fixit day. My fixit list is so long, it will take several weeks to make a dent in it. But then, that will be the fun of being here with other boaters doing the same thing. When you own a boat, fixin' is part of the experience.

Neil will be bringing my car down this weekend so it will be very nice to have transportation of my own. Typically I walk everywhere but do have friends who are generous with their cars.

One special couple is Bill and Laura, who live on their boat in Charleston, SC. They have been so incredibly helpful from planning the trip, answering questions along the way and day to day helpful hints here at the marina. They are just 4 slips from my dockage. Note their great smiles in the attached picture.

DAY TWELVE 1-12-12 [more]

This evening our friends Bill and Laura invited us to a lovely dinner of baked spaghetti, hot bread and salad on their boat. Home cooked food at last and afraid I made a pig of myself by having two helpings of everything. Laura knowing our diet for the past 11 days insisted on satisfying us and she did. She and Bill are super folks.

As I was leaving their boat, I missed stepping onto the dock and with left foot between the boat and dock, I lunged forward and landed on my shoulder. It was not pretty and very painful.

They next morning at the insistence of everyone, I visited the ER at Fishermen's Hospital. After 6 hours and X-rays, they determined I had no fractures but had damaged my rotator cuff and muscles/tissue in the right shoulder. They put the arm in a sling and gave me pain medications. I slept well last night, Friday the 13th!

So...smooth water ahead.

DAY TWELVE 1-12-12

Well, today the water is as smooth as silk. Isn't life like that? When we have rough and turbulent times, we can be assured that God has smooth waters ahead for us if we are patient and depend on Him.

On to Marathon and Sombrero Key Marina. And arrived to a welcome committee that was incredible. Note pic of the welcome sign they posted and the many dock hands to help us get the boat into the slip and stabilized. Bill and Laura, Bill and Pat and so many others that we will get to meet and get to know personally. What a warm welcome. HOME AT LAST!!!!!

There are some important additional postings so stay tuned.

DAY ELEVEN. 1-11-12

Sorry for the delay in the postings but so much has happened over the past few days. First of all, here is day 11. Actually I would like to forget about this day. Once we left Biscayne Bay in Miami and entered Card and Barnes Sounds, we were committed for the rest of the day with no place to duck into a marina or even anchor. The sounds are quite large and we had winds at 25-30 miles per hour. The waves were in the 2-3 foot range and the wind pushed the boat everywhere. It was a very difficult day piloting this big old boat. But that was not the worst of it.

We finally made it to the North end of Key Largo and the marina did not respond to radio or telephone calls In an attempt to anchor in these high winds, we broke the anchor line and lost the anchor and line. We made several additional attempts with a spare anchor but were unsuccessful. We finally were able to squeeze into a cut in the mangrove trees, tie to them and ride the night out. Then, the boat started taking on water through the shaft seal and since the bilge pump automatic float was broken, we had to manually turn on the bilge ever 2 hours to pump out the water. Jim was a trooper and did all of the hard work. Cannot begin to tell you how much having him on board meant. It is very clear to me that for a long trip, the boat is too large to be safely operated with just one person.

The only photo is when we tire and you can see how dirty the boat was and so were we. Glad this day is behind us.

DAY TEN 1-10-12

Probably the most challenging part of the trip was going through Everglades Cut in Ft Lauderdale. Boats everywhere, very choppy water, law enforcement, and several people in rubber rafts....it was a real mess and took all of the energy this ole captain could give.

Tonight, we are tucked in behind some major condos as the semi private dock and resting well in North Miami Beach.

We passed through the city of Ft Lauderdale and adjoining suburbs. Hard to believe there are so many people live like this with so much wealth. [Wonder if the are happy?]

Tomorrow we will have another great challenge as we pilot through the Port of Miami where all of the cruise ships come into port. We hope to either spend the night in Coconut Grove, just South of Miami or push on to the upper Keys.

We hope to be in Marathon on Thursday or Friday.