Saturday Feb 25: We love to boat shop ...

Steve, Peter and Dave (from Joysea) decided last Saturday was the perfect day to fish for Mahi Mahi so off we went. Of course the bait store guy told them they needed to be in 500 feet of water so we went and went and went - probably 6 miles past the reefs (which are about 10 miles from our marina). The water is an incredible blue at that depth but unfortunately that was the highlight of the day :-( No Mahi Mahi even though we trolled around for several hours. A stop back near the reef produced one Mangrove Snapper which made for a nice dinner. Dave actually reeled the fish in but it was Peter's pole and Steve did the netting so we aren't really sure who to credit for the catch! Group effort at it's best :-) And a new boat for Peter and Cheryl!!

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They decided to come to the dark side (sailor talk for folks who switch from a sailboat to a trawler) and purchased a 1974 43' Gulfstar trawler. And Jim and Linda Murray were still in Miami so they drove down for one night so Jim could check out the twin Perkins engines for Peter (this is the kind of engine that Jim has on his boat). It was the first time the six of us had been together since October or so of 2010 when we were doing the loop together. Fun times - Linda brought a great desert of pound cake, strawberries, ice cream and chocolate syrup (if you haven't tried it you definitely should!!). We stopped and saw their 5th wheel - very nice way to travel :-)

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Also noticed this plaque at their campground that talked about start of Marathon and the overseas railway that was built along the keys. You may have to double click on the picture to be able to read it. We also looked at the cutest little trawler named Guppy. She was only about 32 feet long but had everything one would need. Mmmmm... maybe it would be a good Canadian boat for us?? Breakfast again - just having fun:-)

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Yesterday was the real start of the work for Peter and Cheryl as they begin the process of making the Gulfstar "home". First thing that had to go were the curtains - to be replaced with mini-blinds. What a difference it will make.

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Today was interesting as I finally decided that my foot (which had been hurting for a week) wasn't just going to heal itself nor was I going to "walk it off". So off to Fisherman's Hospital I went (riding my bike of course as it wasn't very far). Turns out I have broken the 5th metartasal bone in my right foot. They sent me home with an ace bandage and a pair of crutches - like those are really going to help on the boat! So Steve fashioned a walking boot until I see an orthopedic surgeon early next week. But 6 weeks of not putting too much weight should allow it to heal (according to Dr. Tom :-). Not sure how it happened but it must have been related to working in the engine room under the floor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :-)

Saturday Feb 18: Key West and Other Guests

John and Daisy where here last year but never made it the extra 55 miles to Key West - place of the southernmost point of the US. This year it just seemed like the thing to do! The question is: how many people does it take to read a map? Apparently all four of us ... but we did well. fjd;ajf ;sfoiw jee f a; fjaij ofoweifjqfoqo;ff jeoji fwoeji qofeei iofejq lef;oi wj;efj qwo fw;eo jq;o jpfjoeopqp9382 29rj2 32p owq rq2 2pq j9q3rj q3jowe qeo;r4 9prpqjerwoejr q9pr23qrjowej 39qp28 rs a;oife w;ef ;oj f; maowei ;am ei; fi;eaiwf; i;oaeowwioaj f ;oiaeio; a ;af a;ijiweof ;a f;eofji a;jifwoaiw ejfo;awjfo;efj;aj eaoef 3 3 r 2332r 23r33o923j 3o 3f3

Found Duval St and took the trolley tour for about an hour. Saw all of the highlights of the key including the end of Highway 1 (mile 0 marker), fun trees of various kinds and the Key West lighthouse. Of course the tour included Hemingway's home and misc other famous people (just driving past of course).

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Also spotted was the key lime pie guy - if you've never had key lime pie you have to try it when you get a chance. Apparently it's best when dipped in chocolate :-) John and Daisy opted for a yogurt lunch at the new self-serve yogurt place. In the end, you pay by the ounce for your choices of yogurt, syrups and toppings. But really? $20 worth??! Strangely enough, there are many roosters and chickens running around the island. Seems the city government banned keeping chickens in the backyard for all residents, so everyone that had chickens penned up simply released them to run wherever! For the whole story, go to http://www.explorekeywesthistory.com/Viva%20Weekly/Those%20Clucking%20Neighbors/Clucking%20Neighbors%202.html .

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We sent John and Daisy on their way (headed to Terri and Scott's) and on Wednesday welcomed my brother, Warren, and his wife, Elin. They are such gypsies! Again, stayed one day and were on their way back north (well at least northern Florida!) Peter and Cheryl (from Surona - travel friends from the loop) also came. It's been another great week in paradise ......

Saturday, February 11: Mixture of Work and Play ...

Once the holding tank was patched up, the next part of the job was to redo the routing of the holding tank plumbing. This was to be the fix for one of the most constant constantly annoying things on the boat! Often the macerator pump (which emptyied the small holding tank into the large holding tank) would not run. It only needed a quick clockwise twist of the screw in the back of the pump to get it started again - easy, right? Not so much - it required me to get down under the floor and reach over a battery with the longest screwdriver we owned to turn the screw. Finally we were addressing and hopefully correcting this issue. First was to remove the macerator pump and associated hoses and redo. Took us most of the day (and 3 trips to West Marine for Steve) but we were successful!! This was Monday. alsfj woief wfawf aw a

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Good thing we finished (well almost) as our friends from Edisto Island, SC (Jim and Linda from Selah) called and said they would be down on Tuesday. Timing was great and we had a wonderful time with them. There was a nice walk along the old 7 mile bridge to look for spotted eagle rays, several great lunches and of course the nightly gathering at sunset at the point near our boat. It was great to see them again (we had stopped at their home by boat when traveling down the ICW - see the Nov 15th post). There were a couple of old WW II airplanes flying in and out of the Marathon airport - 1 of the remaining 10 of this type of plane. asfj a; faowe jf;ai jfao;fow oqwo q

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After an early breakfast with Jim and Linda, it was time to finish the holding tank project. All was completed except to hook up the power and route the wires to the main panel. After Steve got everything ready (cleaning stuff out of the closet - electrical panel opened up - wiring all ready) I sat in the closet and hooked the wires up. Small fingers and small person again saved the day :-) salfj owe ijwoeqfopqjifqefi e wioeqoji jiowef qwij fpwoej qwo owej qwoe rjqo weorjqwporj owjeroqerj jrpoqwjiqpi wjrpqwoj qew pwqo jrwerj wqoer oqwjr qwoprjwq riqw[or jwoe o q jrpqwrjqwerj wpjwoerjwop woerjiw rwoqijrqwporjwoe rqpwrj woprjwq qoijrqowpje pqowjerw qwojrqwpoerj qwprw row rwjwiow eowerjw owijer rowjqoijweo rwoirjwoejrqwoerj wqjrqwjioerw opjqopr oqwjrqorj wojrwqporj qopej wq

We were now truly ready for John and Daisy (Steve's brother) who came on Thursday. It was a really nice day so off in the kayaks Steve and John went. Almost no wind made for a very nice paddle out to the nearby island and back. Daisy watched them off and then pitched some horseshoes just to keep tuned up for the tournament in Brandenton next week while I relaxed with my USA Today on the flybridge.

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Today: a trip to Key West ....

Saturday, February 4: Let the projects begin!

First order of business was to clean the plastic (vinyl) around the flybridge. It was up for 2 months in Baltimore and 2 months in Jacksonville so it was getting pretty dirty. We don't leave it up here because the breeze is usually warm enough that we don't need it. Plus it's much nicer sitting on the flybridge with it not up. sal;jf a; ij;we ;awf awia faeij af e e.kai ;eqoii mjowie fio ;] askfajwo;ewf qf e ksa;eiw; aiw; i;eew akf djjwaaaaaaaaa; ;iA IWEEEEEEEEE ;AEWEFFFA ;IJ alfj a alsf asj fa'j fal fj Finally it was time to try out Steve's new kayak. His old one was getting some tears on the seams which I patched using my hot glue gun but it was really just time. So when in Baltimore, West Marine had kayaks on sale so we found one very much like his old one but a couple of feet longer and a larger opening (he always had a hard time getting his legs underneath the front). First, take it out of the bag, then use the supplied pump to inflate the 2 separate chambers and we were good to go! It was a relatively short journey as the wind was still blowing pretty good and this was the first time Steve had kayaked since breaking his arm so we thought a short ride might be best! aj;jaie;a iao waiowea ;ai 'a a'loe wa' oa' kwa dska fskdfoe iwae;kfeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaf38ihrjf hawehf a3ia ajk alsd awi a; fji; eiqofj9 3i21p23 rj1p293 rj13ioj weel; j;q;3jir;1j r832;238 2;pr 19;328; 1j3;j 2jr 1j I'm continuing my quest of the Skyward Sword with Link and moving along nicely! Just had to include this screen shot of the giant sword Link was able to pick up and use to help beat the automotron. Sadly, he couldn't take it with him :-( ksj;afsow oerjqoalfja djsl;oeiwofj ojq 3jpjocj j p awe fklz ;fasf afsdkslf aslfjsd;fj fs afs;l asfjal ewqp jq;3 wj qriq eo[we wr qw[r w eief qw eroqwrioqprq a;jeofw w;wo wo wer qeoiwjo ;sajo ;wio ;qo i;we jw;e 'ijwe woq j[3 roiqj3r2pqr 2123 4 qj3pr392q rpqj 3r2r33 q3p ldiiefakf;asliew;i;fa;fj;awafjaq kds f;ajseof ;awe88f ;weeeeeeeeeeeeeefoj8fwej a fijwef8i wie aw; a jafi a Today we started of those jobs that will get rid of something that is a constant source of annoyance - our holding tank and it's issues. Fiberglassing was in order so first and foremost was safety!! I'm actually smiling under the mask :-) Of course the holding tank that needed fixed is under the deck and as usual, it is 10 times easier for me to crawl and work under there than it is for Steve. So first sanding with the multitool, wipe with acetone and two layers of fiberglass cloth. Worked great and looks good too! Hopefully this will take care of the leak :-) We tried repairing the crack with epoxy putty but it just cracked again (twice). So now it was fix it right. More work on the holding tank system - maybe Monday. Superbowl tomorrow!! No work :-) Tonight: pot luck superbowl party here at the marina - should be fun.

Wednesday, February 1: Banana Bay, Marathon, FL

Yea! We are now in the Florida Keys at Banana Bay marina in Marathon.!! The anchorage at Barnes Sound served us well but it was time to move on yesterday morning. A short 70 mile from Marathon, our plan was to travel about 35 miles to Lingumvitae Key and tie to a mooring ball for our last night out before heading into Banana Bay for a 2 month stay. The day was pleasant enough but still very windy (15 mph). This boat we passed was the oddest one we've ever seen - sort of a cross between a sailboat, trawler and catamaran. Bet it had lots of room though. Dolphins are still around and following the bow wave occasionally. There were manatee at Barnes Sound when we left yesterday morning so lots of wildlife to watch.

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I have now concluded that 'deep' water is a matter of perspective. The northern part of the Florida Bay (which is what we've been on since Barnes Sound) is quite shallow. And even shallower when the wind blows consistently from the east (which it has done now for 4 days) as all of the water moves with the wind. So when I saw depths of 4 ft consistently, I was becoming concerned (our draft is 3'8''). Once through that and the water was a consistent 6 ft - I definitely felt like this was 'deep' water!

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But no issues. The ICW winds it way through mangrove shallow, and wide open spaces with great blue water and sandy bottoms -- much of it less than 4 feet deep. Amazing to me.

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So we have our plan: stop at designated island, tie to mooring ball and relax. Not so much. The wind was howling and there was no protection from the island. No problem - on to plan B: just go into Banana Bay a day early, tie to the dock and relax. Also not so much - the dock that was available earlier today was now occupied. Now there's a problem as there is no plan C. Steve went on the internet and once again using Activecaptain.com, found a very small key they looked like it would give some protection for the winds which were to continue throughout the night. Channel Key was full of sea birds of all kinds. The anchor set well - time to enjoy our last night on the water with tator tots and steak on the grill! Steve was up for the sunrise again .......

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We arrived at Banana Bay, tied up and promptly walked up to Hurricanes for - what else - a grilled fish sandwich. Steve (actually both of us!) is very happy to be here - as you can see :-) Dave and Joyce from Joysea (whom we last saw in June on the New York Canal) were waiting at the dock to welcome us. It was GREAT seeing them again.

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So now what? Make a list of things that need to be done on the boat (some maintenance and some improvement to the boat). Life is good in Marathon. Blogging will slow - especially if we aren't doing anything - which I expect will be most of the time :-) - at least for me!