Monday May 7: Work is Done - Headed to San Diego

Yesterday's Dream is packed away and ready to sit until November. This year we sincerely hope that when we return to Safe Cove the boat will be in the same exact spot we left it!

The flybridge cover worked well last year so I made another one. Just about everything fits under the cover - adding an extra layer to try and protect things that are typically stored outside (like the generator, fuel tanks - empty of course - kayaks etc).



The last of the recoating of the raptor bed liner on the port side was completed. Well, at least as far as we could get. Sadly there wasn't quite enough of the material (which is basically a very thick paint) to finish the aft deck.

Not really a problem but it takes days for it to be fully hardened so it will have to wait until we're back at Banana Bay in November to be finished.

It's hard to travel and not be able to walk on the aft deck :-)

After packing clothes, and cleaning out the freezer and refrigerator, one of the final jobs was to put the bikes inside the cabin.

Seemed like a good place for them to be - just in case another hurricane heads to this area again. It's funny how our thinking when leaving the boat is now "how will it do in a hurricane?"

Never thought that way before Irma!






So the boat is nicely tucked away and mostly out of the sun. The front and back of the storage 'shed' is open but opens to the north and south. Which means for the hottest part of the summer the sun will be more directly overhead and less coming in the front and back.

Of course there was a last minute stop by this morning to return a few things back to the boat and check everything over again.

Car viewpoint of the bridge

Then we left for Tampa. Our flight leaves tomorrow at a leisurely 11:30 so being at a hotel nearby the airport makes for a non-rushed morning - my favorite :-)

It took us an hour and 15 minutes to reach the beautiful bridge over the  western end of Tampa Bay. Over it today but under it on the water last week.

Then it took us 3 days to go from the bridge to Safe Cove!

Boat viewpoint of the bridge

We'll hopefully be in San Diego for a full 10 days but most likely we'll cut the trip short to return to Ohio if my uncle's health continues to fail. I think there are lots of prayers headed his way ......