Settling in Nicely

1-28-17     Last night was a cool night, not sure how cool it was but I’m sure it was somewhere in the mid to upper 40’s. I woke up to find Karen had snagged the extra blanket we had covering us up and pulled over to her side. It was 1:30 AM and the cool wind blowing outside sent a bit of a chill over me. I got up, used the head, took a look around to make sure we were still where we should be and grabbed another blanket and returned to bed and quickly fell back to sleep. The next thing I remembered was hearing the noise of the solar panels moving to catch more of the morning sunlight to convert to amperes to charge our batteries. I thought to myself “Karen’s settling in nicely”. You see Karen was up and she took it upon herself to adjust the panels to the angle of the sun to maximize the output. Quite a woman, I know.

One of my nice finds.

 I made a morning tea, grabbed the dinghy and went to shore to hop on the bicycles with Greg from Fracas to head to Lowes. Yesterday I broke a tool and since the Lowes is only a little over 3 miles away I figured I’d return it for warranty replacement. Fracas needed to make a couple of other stops along the way and kept me on my toes while riding the bikes. You see here in Florida (land of the U-turns) I found that turn signals and red lights are optional to for many motorists. When I arrived day one here in Stuart Greg instructed me on approved intersections to cross and retail establishments that boaters like me would be interested in. All went well and we both returned unscathed with our shopping needs fulfilled.

Beer Pong Approved

Sid Luckman Agrees.

I do have a bone to pick with some of you. (JARED) It has been reported to me that PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) is the choice of “Wife Beaters”. Not sure where this stereotype came from but I assure you that if anyone’s getting beat it would be me. I’m a PBR fan and will continue to be, me and Sid Luckman. By the way PBR haters, PBR is the official beer of the Masters of Beer Pong.

By the way we ran into the couple that bumped into us the other day at the dock. We walked past Keri as we were returning from a walk, she’s in a sling and has been told she has an ulner nerve contusion. They gave us a card and some Canadian maple candy that we will consume soon. Their boat is doing better than we thought since Wind Seeker’s life lines are not broken. We wish them luck and hope to see them somewhere down here in the future.

Hobie Sound Beach on a near Perfect Day

Day Marker washed up on Hobie Beach. It's
way off course/

1-29-17     I spoke yesterday about how well Karen adjusted to our new surroundings but didn’t tell you about me. My new wardrobe consists of a swimsuit and t-shirt on warm days, shoes optional. Cooler days consist of shorts and t-shirt, underwear optional. I do think I need to leave Sunset marina soon as I’m accumulating too much stuff. Near the showers there’s an area reserved for items people no longer need. I’ve hit the jackpot several times with the following: Maptech Chartbook Norfolk Va to Florida, 1 pair brown Croc’s (perfect for dinghy and shower), 1 liter lamp oil (perfect for our lamp on cool nights). I’m still catching some shit from people about the Croc’s. I do have to admit a change to my attire today as it’s in the 50’s and rainy so I’m currently in long pants, t-shirt, socks and underwear. Do to the weather Karen’s got a pot of chili on and MaryLynn’s making bread. Hopefully sun by 4PM, we’ll see.

Galivant from the Port of Miami washed up ashore
January 10 according to Feds paperworks posted on
the wreck.

Waves and water took its toll on the hull.

The sun did show its face at 5 O’clock just in time to watch it set at 6 O’clock while we’re eating Karen’s chili. Shortly thereafter we ate a desert of carrot cake and watched the sliver of a waxing moon above the horizon. A beautiful cool night with many stars in the now clear sky.

1-30-17     It was so nice to wake up to bright sunshine coming through the ports. Karen was the first to rise while I lazed in bed listening to news on NPR. Karen shagged me into action as she wanted to go ashore and jog and I wanted to do another T25 and a quick shower before we left the marina. 

Our plans are to go to Peck Lake and spend a day or two in the quietness of its anchorage. We left the mooring ball at 11:11 when Fracas gave the signal that they were finished at the fuel dock. We waited a few minutes for the bridge tender to raise the bridge, she wouldn’t answer my repeated calls but was quick as a bunny to answer Greg as soon as his call went out. Must be that great north of the border accent.

A beautiful anchorage and a short walk through the Palms and Mangroves
to a deserted beach.

We arrived at Peck Lake shortly after 1:00 without any issues other than bucking a bit of tide but the 15 to 20 knot winds were behind us most of the way. It was a clear sunny day but cold with that north wind blowing. I was wearing my fleece lined pants, fleece jacket and a coat on top of it all.

Karen told me this morning that she was excited but a bit apprehensive, she stated this happens every time we leave especially the first time. We discussed it and I believe this fact is what makes cruising special. Leaving port is guaranteed but where you end up is not, many things can happen that can change your plans. Wind, waves and weather are never guaranteed, not to mention delays of bridges or possible breakdowns. 

We set Mango’s anchor down in 6.5 feet of water much to Karen’s dismay as she’d like to have another foot or two under Mango’s keel. We arrived in this 6.5 feet of water shortly after high tide and are looking for 1.5 feet less at low tide. If we do scrap the bottom it won’t be too bad as the bottom her is all soft mud. According to the local weather there may be frost tonight after 3AM, at least the wind all but died. We installed all the canvas on Mango trying to keep in all the warmth we can. We’ll see how chilly it gets overnight.

Each of the past few nights we’ve been playing Mexican Train Dominos with the crew of Fracas. I believe Karen purchased the Dominos at Walmart and from her play I think that Walmart threw in lessons because she’s been wiping up the floor with the rest of us. Fortunately for my ego Greg did a little investigating into the rules of the game and it appears Karen may have been taking a little liberty with the rules. Since our corrected rules have got into effect Karen’s still been winning quite a bit but so has everyone else except me. My day will come.

1-31-17     Last nights low for our area was 39 degrees and it felt every bit of 39. With Mango’s canvas on we only fell to 50 degrees in the boat and shortly after sun up the enclosed area of the cockpit was warm and toasty. We performed a few simple boat chores after breakfast and went for a walk on the beach. It was a picture perfect day with a light breeze, clear sunshine with little wispy clouds and mid 70’s. Mango’s solar panel had the batteries topped off by 11:30. 

Beach walking was wonderful per usual. MaryLynn gave us the lowdown on sea beans where they come from and jewelry people make out of them. We found a wreck of a sailboat down the beach a bit, it appears from the paperwork that it washed ashore around January 10th of this year. Another item to wash ashore is a green marker buoy that according to the plate belongs in the Bahamas, it’s way off.

Evening came and the wind settled to nothing. Peck Lake resembled a mill pond and the no-see-ums came out in force just as MaryLynn was serving dinner. The group of us quickly scrambled down the stairs and closed all screens in attempt to keep them from the interior of Fracas. We still received a few bites but were able to each a wonderful Indian dish without too much insect interruption. Afterwards Karen and I hopped in the dinghy and motored over to the unlit Mango under a sliver of moon and bright stars. Mango was unlit because I forgot to turn on the anchor light before we left for Fracas to have dinner. We made our way to Mango through the darkness, another end to a wonderful evening.