A few boat bucks

Tuesday we made the 10 minute trip to the Marathon Boatyard. Five hours and 18 boat bucks later (for you landlubbers a boat buck is the smallest denomination for sailors and is equivilant to $100 in US currency) we pulled out with 2 new house batteries, a new generator battery, and both diesels gone over and maintained as needed.

 Leaving the boat yard required 200 yards down a very narrow canal. Just as we were about to enter the canal a big 55-60 foot cabin cruiser entered from the oppisite side. With a few choice oaths I got as far over as possible and told De Anne to tell the other captain to hurry up. The boatyard workers gathered in a hurry and yelled to me that he was coming in under one engine. I held back on noting that I always had one engine and concentrated on not hitting any boats on my right as he passed inches away on my left. One boat had a sailing dinghy side tied and our fenders tangled with it. De Anne leter told me that the condition of the sailing dinghy was rough and it would be hard to prove anything aganist us. We went out into the Atlantic (Ok, only about one mile) opened it up and checked everything was working fine. 

 The mooring folks have been collecting money for bikes for under-privileged kids. Some of the results:

Christmas boat parade

Saturday night fun without leaving the boat. The annual Christmas boat parade.

Even after all the excitement De Anne still had energy for a Sunday morning kayak ride. Note the neighboring boat and the "creative" way it has been enclosed for extra living space. Third world plywood and tarpaper construction right here in the USA.

Turn on the heat

 This morning was cold - 58 degrees. I got up at 6:30, cranked up the diesel generator, and turned on the heater for the first time ever. It started out blowing cold air, but in a couple minutes it was warm air and within 5 minutes the boat was warming up enough for De Anne to peek out from under the heavy blanket.

Larry asked me in an email if his boat sign (Enchantress) was still up by the Tiki hut. 

Island Sunday

Sunday in Boot Key harbor. Plans must be made for the day during breakfast. Discussion and refinements ended with a plan satisfactory to all crew. I took the dinghy ashore with the water can and trash, plus shower bags. De Anne kayaked to Sombrero Beach while I rode the bike around to meet up with her.

 Sombrero Beach meets Sister Creek:

We reunited at the marina after showers and went to The Fisheries for lunch of Conch Po boy and coconut shrimp:

Thanks to Donna on a boat of the same name for this picture:

Settling in for winter

The weather has turned cold with a strong north wind. In the Florida keys that is not so bad. Sixty at night and seventy during the day. 

 There are 200 boats in the mooring field with lots of dinghies going by. It seems like once a day someone slows down too comment on how beautiful our boat is. 

 Sunset over Boot Key harbor:

The cruiser's lounge decorated for Christmas:

Down the Keys

We were happy to leave Dinner Key. It was not the same place we loved a dozen years ago, but few places are. The exception is Marathon. 

We are on a buoy in Boot Key and it is the same it always was. Our big decision now is between wings at the Hurricane Bar or a lobster ruben sandwich at the Fisheries. 

 We do have some problems with the house batteries, but the generator helps hide the problem. Tomorrow I will check a couple marine vendors for a pair of new 4D batteries - preferably vendor installed. I would rather spend money than to start hoisting 90 lbs batteries into and out of a dinghy. 

 In the mean time..... enjoying the 80 degree days and 70 degree nights.

Dinner Key

 We made it to Dinner Key mooring field Monday afternoon and will stay three days with a Thanksgiving Day departure scheduled. The marina is still being repaired from Irma almost three years ago.

Empty slips still being reconstructed:

Our trip down the ICW was uneventful with the major exception of a large cargo ship entering Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. We were in a line of other boats that all turned left to go out to sea leaving us alone crossing the ship channel. Looking left we saw a cargo ship bow on about a mile away. That may not seem close to landlubbers; but trust sailors when they tell you that is way too close! I put the wheel over hard and gunned it like a sissy. We did lazy circles for half an hour then continued down the ICW past the port terminals. 

We passed the same cargo ship docking with the help of a tug. The tug pushed as we went by and the surge of water was huge. The boat surfed sideways and the crew nearly experienced loose bowel syndrome. Once again - pedal to the metal escape.

Monday happy hour was a special treat!