Feb. 21st: Back to Yesterday's Dream at Banana Bay, Marathon FL

 

Following a great trip to Mexico, I flew from Cancun to Ft. Lauderdale. It took an hour to get through customs but all went well. Mychael, my young, strong, friend who has been staying on my boat and working on it, said he would come and pick me up. Very nice. 

Mychael did quite a few mechanical repairs, which I was well aware of. The first priority was to make sure everything was mechanically sound and the engine would be ready to go when I returned. 

Very tight working space
to remove the old exhaust
hose and reattach the new one

The biggest mechanical challenge was replacing the 4 inch exhaust hose running from the engine, which is in the center of the boat, to the back of the boat.

 I had replaced it when we bought the boat and was not anxious to do it again. It requires a lot of crawling around in tight spaces and loosening some very tight old bolts which attach a connecting plate to the engine. You can see he also painted the engine which was needed. 

Elbow off of the engine, 
a left hand turn, another elbow,
through the bulkhead
to the back of the boat

The exhaust hose goes through the back of a closet, under the aft bunk and then to the transom. The trouble is, there is a 125 gallon water tank in the way. He successfully completed the job, as I knew he would.

Mychael next found and repaired some leaks that I was having trouble finding. He had to remove the ceiling of the salon area to get to the leaks. That led to some significant cosmetic work in putting things back together. Note the very nice planked ceiling.

He also replaced some of the wallpaper that was falling off with wood planking that matches the ceiling and some white vinyl.

And while he had the ceiling down and the walls exposed, he also replaced some old wiring that was not the correct type of wire for marine use. 

He put in a new counter top. He didn't send pictures because he wanted me to see everything in person. I was very happy with the results. It is still a work in progress, needs some staining, painting, trim work, etc., but basically very functional for now.

Mychael at our favorite
breakfast place the Cracked Conch 

Speaking of Mychael, he keeps things interesting. He is 32 years old and has his own boat and auto detailing business. We were listening to "Oldies" at docktails one night and I asked him how he liked our "Older people" music.? He said he enjoys it and is an old soul at heart! He must be because he keeps hanging around we "Seniors." Of course we seniors love having a strong hard working young man in the marina. He will help anyone with anything. I took Mychael to breakfast and took his picture. I told him he looks like a pirate. I think he was pleased! He actually looks a little more rough in the picture than real life.

When I returned to the boat from California Mychael needed to find a new place to live. He wanted to live on a boat and was searching for one for several months. Used boats, live aboard size, are very difficult to find. He finally found a 1977, 41 foot sailboat. It was structurally sound but needs a lot of cosmetic work. It is also very hard to find a slip in Marathon. He had to move the boat before it was really ready so he decided he'd anchor outside Banana Bay. The trouble is the holding for anchors is not good. Plus he had almost no chain, a definite requirement. I loaned him a spare anchor and helped him get anchored the best we could with what we had. I was not optimistic because some 20 mph winds were coming in. He has an anchor alarm on his phone so if the boat dragged, he would have known it, started the engine, and headed into the wind. It's what you do if your anchor drags in a big wind. 

Happily the next morning he was still anchored. He came in with my dinghy and we proceeded to go to his work storage unit to repair his dinghy and pick up his engine. (He was borrowing mine.) As we were heading back, we got a call that his boat was dragging and drifting toward the rocks around the Banana Bay Harbor. There were 25 mph winds and the situation was very dire!

The Boat missed hitting
the steel marker poles 

The anchor caught at just the
right time to begin turning the boat.
The waves and wind were a lot stronger than the picture show

When we arrived, we were amazed to see 8 people from the marina holding Mychael's boat off of the dive boat that is docked on the point. Fortunately, we were able to grab a lot of fenders and tie Mychael's boat to the dive boat. It was rocking and rolling but safely secured. It's great to see boaters coming together to help when it is needed, as usual. 

Plenty of wind and waves but
all is good

The event was captured in photos and a video. It is a miracle that the boat drifted about 1/4 mile and came right into the harbor at Banana Bay. Anywhere else it would have rolled on it's side and filled with water, or ended up on the rocks. Not only that, the anchor caught just before Mychael's boat crunched the rental jet skis in front of the dive boat.

Next morning, still windy and
too wavy to move the sailboat

I told Mychael that Linda must have been watching out for him and guided it into the marina. "He said, "I believe it, she's the only one I know who could do it!" 

So it all ended well. Mychael got the needed chain and is now safely anchored with three anchors. He survived 45 mph gusts of wind a couple weeks ago so we feel pretty confident he's okay.

Buddy

We have a new dog on the dock, Buddy. He is too cute for his own good. He comes by my door occasionally waiting for a dog treat. He's allowed one per day. He's very friendly. 

Buddy

Then there is the return of the Manx cat Schooner! The biggest cat I've ever known. He is just kind of aloof, as cats in general are. Buddy does not mess with Schooner!

Farmer's Market

Saturday was the Farmer's market at a local church. They
have excellent produce.

Cinnamon (Chelsea) buns

And, if you arrive as they open, you can purchase what we call Chelsea Buns in Canada. They sell out very quickly.  There is one particular bakery in Bobcaygeon that makes the best Chelsea buns. The ones from this farmer's market seem identical. Good thing they are only open on Saturdays!

It's been interesting getting back to the boat without Linda. I knew it would not be the same, and it isn't. But I still enjoy Banana Bay, the people and living on Yesterday's Dream. I miss travelling on the boat but then we didn't travel this time of year anyway due to the weather. I'm looking forward to travelling up the West Coast of Florida with the Rahns (San Juan Capistrano).  They are joining me on the boat for a couple weeks at the end of April on Yesterday's Dream. They are long time boaters and will be very helpful, easy and enjoyable guests!

In addition to Mychael needing to fix his dinghy, his outboard motor needs work. We started rebuilding the carburetor but have been waiting for parts for two and a half weeks. It's always something when living on a boat. We covered the engine with a garbage bag and for now it is living up my aft deck! Hopefully the parts will arrive Wednesday.

I was just getting settled in, and it was time to visit Andy and Helen. They bought a house in Naples so I said I would drive up to see them. Then my cousin Marialice, her friend Emily and my niece Christi from St. Louis all decided to join in. It was great to be able to get together again in person. I also visited our former boating neighbors, George and Nancy Murphy, who now live in Punta Gorda. That trip will be covered in the next blog.

The weather here has been windy but nice. The sunsets are beautiful. Here are a couple contrasting pictures and a video, all taken from my fly bridge.