May 24th: Change of Address & Getting anxious to get to California

In an earlier blog I listed Banana Bay as my mailing address during the Corona Virus. I will be leaving next Wednesday and will be staying in Encinitas very close to Matt & Wendy. I don't anticipate anyone sending anything, but just in case, For now, I'll use Wendy's mailing address: Steve Franko, 245 Delphinium, Encinitas, CA 92024.

Banana Bay pool

With the boat fixed, it was a lot easier to have a positive attitude, without having to work at it. Of course, I think of Linda often, but its helpful knowing I'll soon be with the kids in California. We talk more than daily and have enjoyed using technology to stay connected.

I was swimming again for exercise, but not to work out frustrations. It's a beautiful pool with lush tropical plants and lots of birds. Too often I take it for granted.

Yellowtail

Mike on "Flyin Fish" wanted to hire Jeff,  the charter captain of "Catch em All", to teach us about fishing for Yellowtail. We enjoyed the Tarpon fishing with Jeff and had learned a lot. I fished for Yellowtail many times, but certainly was no expert so I went along. It was a little wavy and the wind and current were opposite. That makes for harsh little waves which makes it more difficult to catch fish, but over all it was a successful trip. Mike and I each caught a nice Yellowtail, (His was huge) and we learned a lot. We actually caught for or five others apiece, but didn't get them into the boat. Getting one on the hook doesn't mean it will stay on the hook!

Judith Lynn. Dennis is
preparing to leave

That night at Docktails, George on Reflection asked if I could help him move his friend's boat, the Judith Lynn, to Marathon Boat Yard for maintenance. It is a very nice 57 foot Carver. The owner went home to New Jersey in March and could not get back into the Keys in April due to CO#19. He had arranged for work to be done at a marina on the ocean side thinking he would be back to deliver the boat, but George informed him not to come back because the Keys were closed to non-residents. George said he would get the boat there for him. 

Salon of Judith Lynn

George and Dennis on
the huge fly bridge

He needed help from me as a deck hand and Dennis, who is a well experienced captain. Dennis can captain anything, so he came along to drive. It was a beautiful day so it was fun to help take it to the Marina for maintenance.





The boat delivery was successful and we were back at Banana Bay by 1:00 PM. My plan was to continue getting my boat ready for storage and boxing up items to send to California. I decided that given the hurricanes increasing in number and strength, I wanted to remove valuables and sentimental items just in case.

Flint & Leslie on Amazing Grace

However, as soon as I finished lunch, Flint came by and asked me to help him pull his boat out as he and Leslie planned to leave the next day. They have a 26 foot C Dory boat that they can trail. They spend the winter on the boat in the marina. Obviously they get along well! I followed Flint to the City boat ramp to drop off his truck and boat trailer. We returned to Banana Bay and boarded his boat for the short ride to the city ramp. Everything went well and we loaded the boat on the trailer straight (not always easy) on the first try. They spent the night on their boat on the trailer at Banana Bay and left early the next morning.


The marina is slowly getting empty. Flint and Leslie were the latest to leave. Docktails were now down to me, Dennis & Lois on Mystified, George & Pat on Reflection and Mike & Natalie on Flyin Fish. My arrangements were all set for leaving next week.

Banana Bay Marina behind Yesterday's Dream

The black teardrop is Marathon

The weather turned nasty for a few days. We had three days of rain with two nights of spectacular lightning shows. It was good to be tied to the dock. 

Jay" dinghy

We had a tremendous amount of rain. Yvette walked by my boat in the rain after the first night and told me the transom of my dinghy was about to go under water. It wouldn't sink because it is an inflatable, but still! Bailed it out. Next day, same thing. We must have gotten 8 inches of rain over the three days.

The picture of boat neighbor Jay's dinghy was better than the picture of mine. Note everything is floating and the transom is almost under water.





The rain gave me plenty of time to go through the entire boat and sort out what to keep, what to give away and what to send to California. Sent pictures to Wendy and Rebecca of any clothes of Linda's that I thought they might want, and packed the rest up to donate. I could hear Linda saying, "You know someone could be using these." Also cleaned out some obsolete stuff but actually not that much. In the process I found two N95 masks that I had purchased at Home Depot for when I sanded the boat. Didn't realize they were N95 until I looked at them, but will certainly use them at the airport and on the plane.

My plan was to minimize any contact while flying to California. My Nissan will stay at Banana Bay. I reserved a car for a day to drop at the Fort Lauderdale airport where the rental cars dealers are on site. That meant no shuttle. I had a 4:00 PM flight that had one stop but didn't change planes. That also was planned so I could leave Marathon and drive up the same day, no overnight stay necessary. I was packing things up and sending them to Wendy in California so that I would not need to check luggage. I felt pretty safe about the upcoming trip.

The rain cleared out that afternoon and I decided to make a good dinner. I bought some whole chicken wings to barbecue with my homemade honey garlic sauce.  (2 Tbsp. honey, two Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 clove fresh ground garlic). Also made green beans with mushroom soup and dried onions. It was a great dinner, and lunch the next two days!