May 17th: The Visit and Getting Ready to Head to California

 

Sailor Dave and Kelly

Dave and Kelly arrived and we were fortunate to have a good weather day for a boat ride. That was on the to do list because Kelly had never been on a trawler. Part of the reason for their visit was to allow Kelly a chance to see if she wanted to live on a trawler. Mychael, my friend who is going to stay on the boat and work on it while I am gone, came along. Mychael is an experienced boater and it was great to have him with us.

Kelly's only other experience living on a boat was Dave's 32 foot sailboat. Not nearly as comfortable. Kelly was sold on the idea by the time they left. There were four other items on the "To do list". The Turtle Hospital, the Dolphin Research Center, a lobster dinner and Key West.

The Turtle Hospital is always enjoyable. It's great to see all the displays about the sea turtles and the ones that have been rescued.More info about the Turtle Hospital 

I took a few pictures and videos but the ones on line are better. 

If you look closely at this large turtle swimming in the video below you'll see two round discs on its shell. When a turtle gets hit by a boat it can develop an air pocket under the shell. The air pocket prevents the turtle from diving down to swim and eat. The hospital staff attaches weights to the turtles shell so it can swim under the water. Unfortunately these turtles cannot be released because as the turtle grows it sheds the outer covering of its shell and the weights fall off. These turtles become permanent residents.

This little Hawksbill turtle is cute and very colorful. They don't grow as large as the green sea turtles.

The hospital staff members were giving this turtle a good scrubbing with some type of ointment. Something you don't see every day. The turtle didn't seem to mind too much.

They do wonderful work at the Turtle hospital and all the locals know to call the hospital if they see a distressed turtle. The person who contacts the rescue team gets to name the turtle. Most of the rescued turtles are cured and released. Many are suffering from eating plastic bags which they mistake for jelly fish, their main diet. 

Kelly & Steve at the
Dolphin Research Center

The Dolphin Research Center is always entertaining and informative. Again, the pictures on line at their website are much better than I could get. Kelly signed up for being able to shake hands/flippers and pet the dolphin. She had a lot of fun and was able to send pictures to her grand kids who were duly impressed. 

Also at the Center were some pet birds, Macaws, Parrots, etc., that have been taken in because their owners no longer kept them for whatever reason. This particular bird could say "Pretty Bird" quite clearly. The staff said the birds are starved for attention and miss their owners attention so we were encouraged to stop and talk to them!

Chef Mychael, Dave & Kelly,
watching the lobster pot

Years ago, when Linda and I were in Baltimore and met Dave, we invited him to our trawler for a lobster dinner. He wanted Kelly to experience it also. So Dave ordered four live, 2 lbs. Maine lobsters delivered to the boat. Mychael was happy to join us and he arranged for the pot, etc., to steam them. 

Dave and Mychael decided we needed some appetizers so off they went to the seafood counter unsupervised!. They returned with enough seafood to feed the marina. Originally they were just after "A few" clams and oysters. They ended up numerous beer options, oysters, clams, mussels and two pounds of shrimp! I said there was no way we could eat all that before a 2 lbs. lobster. Sanity prevailed and more than 1/2  of the other seafood was saved for the next day.

A few appetizers

The lobsters were delicious. In case you are interested, you can get live lobsters on line from numerous sites delivered in 24 hours!

We all enjoyed the lobster dinner. Kelly was duly impressed.

We completed the fourth item on the list by going to Key West. It's definitely a tourist city. Kelly and Dave shopped for souvenirs for the kids and grandkids. Then we had lunch on the beach at Salute"s, a great Italian restaurant. We had a table right on the beach in the shade. Very pleasant. 

Lunch at Salute's Key West

Next we did the Conch Train tour, Conch Train info which covers a lot of the history of Key West. Then we went into the air conditioned Key West Shipwreck museum. It was quite warm so after getting some ice cream in the shade we headed back. It was a beautiful day so it was a nice ride over the ocean on the way back.

That evening we were sitting on the fly bridge enjoying the sunset, looking West. When I turned around I noticed a cool cloud formation to the northeast. The sun was almost completely down but the clouds were high enough to catch the sun shining.

New aft hatch cover

While Dave and Kelly were here Kelly helped me sew some new hatch covers. The old ones were quite sad. 

Old aft hatch cover

Old forward hatch cover

New Forward hatch cover

Dave and Kelly at Porky's for breakfast

We enjoyed several great breakfasts while they were in town. The Cracked Conch has an excellent seafood omelette. Dave liked it so much he said we had to go back for a second try. We also went to Porky's which is fun because it is right next to the water in a little harbor.

The next day Dave and Kelly headed to Idaho to visit family and hit many national parks along the way.

I mentioned above that Mychael was going to stay on the trawler while I was gone. He is an excellent mechanic and carpenter and was looking for a place to stay. He was willing to complete some challenging projects that I was dreading in return for staying on the boat. Plus, I didn't have to put the boat on the hard for the summer. The marina is relatively safe as far as hurricanes go but I wouldn't leave it in the water without someone to look after it. Upon returning to the boat every Fall it was a major job to clean it up and get all the systems running again. It will be wonderful not to need to do that and come back to a boat with many improvements. 

Stuff emptied from the closet

Two in particular involved the engine and exhaust system. There is an exhaust elbow that needs to be replaced. The hot exhaust wears it down just like a muffler on a car. I replaced it last time and it is not fun. Also, after our boat ride I felt certain I smelled some exhaust. I didn't need to check it while Dave and Kelly were here. To get to it I had to empty a closet in the aft cabin and open up a panel. 

Worn out 4 inch exhaust hose

Sure enough, there were two small holes in the exhaust pipe that runs from the engine all the way to the back of the boat. Very difficult to get at it. Mychael will take care of both these major items! Way to go Mychael. He is also going to work some cosmetic issues. It's been twelve years since we refinished the teak and wall paper and it all needs to be redone. 

I'm certain you can see why I am happy things worked out for a win-win between Mychael and me.