Chores

When you live on a boat the chores list never quite gets finished. I am proud to report that it has been reduced over the past week to a manageable level. 

 De Anne has found time to kayak, and on Monday we did a barnacle run accompanied by Linda and Larry - former cruisers we first met in Marathon a dozen years ago. They now live in Cape Coral across the river. It was great to have them along and Larry was gracious enough to man the starboard side of the boat to push off the piling, thus avoiding those little nicks that upset De Anne's day. 

 Also in the below picture of De Anne in her kayak, you can see evidence of one of my boat chores. It seems the installer of the davits (me) did a poor job of sealing the davit bases and in the rain, water was seeping into the lazarette. We took down the dinghy, removed the davits, and made a better attempt at weatherproofing.

Second mode of transportation

We have a second mode of transportation carried aboard. A folding bike sits undercover on deck ready to deploy when in port.

In just the first week the bike has proved its' worth. I can accompany De Anne to Publix without slowing down her brisk walking pace by sedately riding at her side. On the return trip the rack on the back of the bike can hold a weeks worth of Diet Coke that is so necessary as mixer for our Sailor Jerry rum.

After several days of wind and occasional light showers we were brave enough to walk/bike the bridge. When I slowed down on the uphill De Anne was kind enough to assist with a hand on my back pushing. The metaphor does not need belaboring.

From the apex of the bridge with the marina to the left:

South on the Intracoastal waterway

 Our one-way journey started Wednesday morning. Fair weather and light chop in the bay made for a good first day.

The anchorage we had picked out for the night in Lemon bay was exposed to the east, so with higher east winds forecast during the night, we decided to go to Gasparilla Marina for a transit/overnight slip. This is when things started to go bad. 

It was a narrow fairway to our assigned slip in the very back of the marina; however I was able to get in without a lot of excitement. The electric hookup did not work - nor the wifi. The dock hand tried to fix it, and even offered us another slip (when I asked for proof of power there was none) so an hour later (hot and sweaty) De Anne and I took showers at the marina cruiser's lounge. When I rejoined De Anne in the lounge she was talking to the security guard. The marina staff had been looking for us and wanted to make things right. We moved the boat to the fuel dock and all problems were solved.

On Thursday the higher winds caused quite a fetch (wind blown waves) requiring the use of the windshield wipers as saltwater spray cascaded over the bow. After passing Charlotte Bay we were behind mangrove islands which cut down the fetch considerably. 

Entering the Caloosahatchee river is a very narrow passage about a mile long and a hundred feet wide. This is the choke point for all the boats from all the river towns and cities wanting to go to the gulf or bay. It is akin to a downtown Atlanta or Houston freeway suddenly becoming a two lane road.

We managed to find the marina and our slip, and once again I did not hurt the wax job that De Anne spent so much time applying.

Proof of life in Fort Myers:

  

Burning diesel

Our boat (soon-to-be home) is functioning perfectly. We took it out into the bay twice last week and got it up to full speed. Besides burning diesel in a most extravagant manner (16 gallons/hour at full throttle) it also helps detach the flora and fauna that so quickly infest boat hulls, props, rudders and bow thrusters in a sub-tropical climate. Of course it is fun too!

Next door neighbors - Ron and Sue joined us aboard for the bottom cleaning run:

Note matching crew uniforms.

Depending on the path Hurricane Laura chooses next week we may be adding extra dock lines over the weekend.

2 complex, complicated systems

 De Anne has discovered the major time and effort required to maintain two complex and complicated systems that are under her responsibility. One is beautiful, but 15 year old yacht and the other is an ulgy, 68 year old husband.

The boat is in the yard having hydraulic steering lines replaced, bow thruster repaired, and throttle linkage adjusted.

My high maintenance is now eye drops 4 times a day for the two new eye lens surgically implanted to replaced the original equipment rendered unusable by cataracts. 

The boat and I should both be ready for travel when our lease expires on September 23rd. 

Our neighbor snapped this picture of us leaving for the boat yard.

Sheltered

OK, truthfully - we are somewhat bored, but considering how things are in many places I guess that is not too bad.

The front door remains unlocked during daylight hours, we still go for bike rides and wave to the island police, and the number of infections on the island has increased by one since March.

 The only big excitement was when a cruising sailboat spent a couple days anchored in our bay before running aground. A tow boat freed them on the second try; however, returned a couple days later to retrieve the keel that broke off during the tow. A huge float bag was attached by a diver and the multi-ton keel was towed to  (presumably) reunite with the sailboat.

De Anne kayaking near Longboat Pass with Jewfish Key as a back drop.

Locked down, but not up

Our complaints on the lockdown pale in comparison to 99.9% of the country. We have a private beach (not subject to lockdown) on the Gulf of Mexico, a couple hundred yards from our front door and beautiful Sarasota Bay is just a few feet away.

I have wiled away this lonely time working on my tan while De Anne's worst experience this month was when a manatee surfaced under her kayak startling both of them and injuring neither.

Our biggest complaint is that our new boat refrigerator is back-ordered in Italy. Pity us if you can.

I know you have seen my ugly toes before, but at least here they are demurely covered with sand:

De Anne headed out to fight for Bay space with the wildlife: