March 17 - April 1 2016 Marathon Marina

It was one of those morning here where the sun was shinning and the wind was a light zephyr.  The reef was relatively calm too.  We had decided last night to go out to the reef with Dave and Joanne.  

Early.  Of course we didn’t get up, “early”.  Mary didn’t want to go anyway so I was about to load up and go when the trucking company called.  They were in the lot with our pallet of batteries.

I ran down there and found Aaron, a new employee in the boat yard.  He graciously went and brought over the yard's fork lift and took the batteries over to a shed where I figure I could deal with them Friday instead of today.  It is a party day after all.  I double checked the boxes and yes, they were the correct model and size.

Walking back to the boat I rationalized that since we had new batteries now (never mind that they weren't installed) I could go out and play on the reef.   But as I was leaving Mary shouted out that Dave and Joanne had called (they were out at the reef) and couldn't find a mooring ball and were headed back in.  I took the dinghy out there anyway thinking we could maybe buddy up with someone which is the usual custom when the balls are all occupied.

I met Dave and Joanne about half way out to the reef.  They weren't too interested and trying to find a mooring ball again so they cruised back towards the marina.  The wind had picked up and the initial low swells were building, but I went out anyway.  And found a free ball to tie up to.

At least there was this school of fish 

Fred and Ethel, the resident barracuda  

Loggerhead (bad picture I know)

I snorkeled around for about an hour and found lots of barracuda and schools of some black and blue fish.  Otherwise nothing much of interest.  I swam back to the dinghy and shortly after left the ball which was immediately taken up by another boat.

Some of the dolphins playing near the dinghy

On the way back I ran into the that pod of dolphins in the same area where we saw them yesterday.  And another mile or so toward shore I spotted that Loggerhead turtle again.  I slowed down and was within a few feet of it but this damn camera took forever to turn on so I was only able to get a few parting shots as it swam under.  Polaroid made this abomination of an underwater camera.  They sure aren't the same innovative company they once were.

When I got back I drilled out the hole in the top of our new (flea market purchased) flagstaff where I’ll be putting a solar powered LED light from Walmart just like we have on our present flagstaff which is a piece of PVC pipe.

Next I disconnected all the starboard side batteries was able to haul them out of their battery boxes.  I may be old but I can still lift 90 lbs.  I called Dave who helped haul them up out of the engine room and out on to the dock.  We are now using only one bank of batteries (600 amp hour) until I get the new batteries installed.

Dave, ever the ambitious one, said what the hell, lets go get the new ones.  So what the hell.  We can haul 720 lbs of batteries 1/4 mile.  Maybe ... But fate intervened and we ran into Aaron again who was with Ryan, the sweet guy who does pump outs for the yard.  They suggested  we put them into their little golf cart utility vehicle.  So I, well really they did.  Without handles I couldn't lift them very far.   Youthful muscle tossed them around like a beach ball.  Ugh ...

New Batteries on their pallet

New batteries in the starboard battery boxes

We started out for the dock but not 30 seconds later the tailgate, bed suddenly tipped back spilling the whole load of batteries onto the gravel of the working yard.  

No damage to the batteries except some superficial scratches.  So after loading them up again amidst a sea of apologies, we drove to our dock where Ryan put them all on the finger pier right next to our salon door.  And, he graciously (for free) took 2 of my old batteries from the starboard side.  Two of the four batteries were the new ones I had ordered in January.  They are undersized but they tested fine so I’ll probably sell them.

Getting batteries ready for their box

One more to go

Dave helped me get the batteries aboard and into the engine room.  He left then to deal with their potatoes which they are bringing to the Saint Patrick day party.  I went back into the engine room and got the four new batteries into the battery boxes.  I’ll wire them up in the morning. 

After a quick shower and we headed over to the party where Judy and Dennis, the marina managers, made corned beef and sauerkraut along with the pot luck offerings from the attendees, including Dave's potatoes.

The group St. Patrick's Day party

Good food!  We sat with Dave and Joanne along with another couple who were on a sailboat planning on heading across the Atlantic and spending a few years poking around in the Med.  It was an interesting evening.

This morning I hooked up the new batteries in the starboard bank after cleaning the terminals.  Working wonderfully.  

Next, I shutdown the port side battery bank and disconnected everything and then removed the batteries from the boxes.   Another series of 90 pound lifts.  Ibuprofen anyone? 

Rob had made an offer earlier in the month that if I helped him with his batteries and he'd help with mine.  So I went over to collect Rob and Dave but in the yard we met Aron and Ryan again.  I suspect they were feeling unusually sympathetic ... 3 old guys trying to lift batteries?!!  Anyway, they insisted on helping us again. 

Aaron brought the batteries from the dock into the boat.  He took two at a time.  90 pounds in each arm, lifting them up like they were a box of marshmallows.  Sheez ...even took the old batteries back for us.  

While  Dave and Rob manhandled the batteries down into the engine room where I could moved them into the proper orientation and position for lifting into the battery boxes, Aaron and Ryan took the four old batteries for me (free again!).

 I should mention the battery boxes are rather high sided, about a 14 inches but the ceiling of the engine room is about four feet requiring a perpetual crouch. 

Rob insisted helping me get the batteries in the boxes and we completed that in 15 minutes or so, sweating like pigs. 

Once that was done I worked on the flagstaff a little and then headed out to the reef with Mary (work begets play time, right?) but we turned back after getting offshore a few miles.  To bouncy and I was too tired anyway.  We met Dave and Joanne on the way out to the reef and they decided to turn back as well.  They went off towards Vaca Key while we went under 7 mile bridge and took a little ride in the bay which was quite a bit calmer.

When we returned Mary started laundry and I cleaned up the rest of the battery cables and hooked up the series connections before heading to the pool and meeting  Dave, Joanne and Jim and his wife.  Cocktails in a warm pool is very relaxing.  But rumors swirl they will soon turn off the pool heaters and start to cool the water instead of heat it.  It was up in the high 80's this morning.

Got back to the boat and after another hour of sweating in the engine room I had the port side batteries all connected and on line. We have oodles of power now!

We grilled a humongous pork chop and watched an episode of West Wing.  It was so humid I only took a short one mile walk before we hit the hay.

We cleaned up the boat.  Basically I had wired all the batteries the previous day, and today we got the battery box covers on, and returned everything that goes in the engine room back in the engine room.  We now have only a semi cluttered boat now.

I stopped by Rob and Sue to borrow some Dielectric grease and they showed me their refurbished cabin and house which they had sold.  Sweet!!  Rob is putting some homey finishing touches on the cabin where they will live when not on the boat.

And Sue has a teddy bear/doll collection that is, mildly put, extensive.  

I cleaned up the forward stateroom, Mary did the rest of the laundry and then we dug up all the bedding we have for Dan and Kathy and their family who are arriving tomorrow.  After all that work  we went to the pool and with drinks before returning, eating dinner and watching an episode of West Wing before going to sleep.  Exciting day.

Mary ate the biggest Hot Dog I've ever seen, at 7 Mile Grill

We cleaned up the rest of the boat this morning.  I made two bike trips to the store hauling back necessary items.  We strolled the docks with some wine before walking over to 7 Mile Grill for dinner.  They really have good fries there, reminiscent of MacDonald's back when they were first starting.

The Shea’s arrived the next day.  Dan and I stayed up until 11 talking and having a few drinks.  We all headed back to bed around 11.  Where the kids are sleeping is a mystery to me.  Just hope everyone is comfy!

The Shea’s left for Key West sometime in the morning but we didn’t hear them. 

It was rainy and very windy last night.  Windy today too, and getting cold … mid 60’s.

We didn’t mosey out of bed until 10.  We got a cable box which didn’t work and I bled out the air in the dinghy power/tilt hoping it would fix the sagging problem which it didn’t.   Charged up the dinghy battery and rode to the store.

We went for dinner at 7 Mile again.  Burgers this time.

Sheas returned from Key West around 10 and are planning in leaving tomorrow very early, like 6AM.  

Yoga Teacher, Sue

Dan and Kathy left at some ungodly hour which I didn’t hear but Mary evidently did.  She went back to sleep and woke up for yoga which is at 10 but she goes with Sue who leaves here at 9:30.  I slept through it all.

Finally talked with Mermaid  about re-building the A/C unit and they estimate it can be done for 1/3 the cost of a new unit.  I can either ship it or drive it up and then they can get it down in a day.  I'll need to talk with their tech guy about specifics though, so we'll see.

Did some maintenance on the dinghy and we worked on some cruise planning, specifically the Bahamas.

We all (Rob, Sue Dave and Joanne) went off to NoName Pub tonight.  Great time as always but Dave elected to skip feeding the Key deer tonight so we’ll have to go back another time.

Mary, Sue, Rob, Dave and Joanne at NoName Pub

Found out Rob and Sue spent 3 months in Europe traipsing around in 1972.  And she is French!  Joann is Italian.  Mary is German.  All pure breeds.  Rob, Dave and I are of mixed breeds but I guess we married well.

 I called Dennis, the Mermaid A/C tech specialist and they can make repairs (new compressor) for $500, which, even with renting a car is cheaper than the $1700 for a new unit.  Shipping it to Mermaid in Ft. Meyers would have been around $250, but we have to be out of here by April 1 and with shipping it very possible we wouldn't get it by then.  So I told Dennis I’d be up there tomorrow which mean I have to fetch the car and be on the road ASAP.  It’s a 4 hour drive each way.  I must like to drive.

Sooo, I cleaned out the laundry closet where the washer/dryer is located.  There is an access panel cut into the bulkhead in there where the A/C unit has to be removed.  Mary and I got the washer/dryer out and everything disconnected. 

Laundry center is out and pretty much staying there until I get the repaired AC unit re-installed

Dave came over and he and I removed the A/C unit after spending some time coming up with a method to disconnect all the water lines and electrical connections.  But we got it out and I took it over to his car since he was kind enough to offer to drive me to Enterprise where I’d pick up a car, get the A/C unit in and drive 240 miles north to Ft. Meyers.

This might necessitate an overnight stay but still it would be better than shipping the darn thing and then waiting for it to be fixed and shipped back.

Mary washed some windows and after the A/C experience I rode to Walgreen's for prescriptions and then joined Dave and Joanne at the pool while Mary tinkered with her glass.  They are thinking about buying a Pilgrim 40, so they would be a two boat family.

3/24/2016

Dave took me to the airport where the enterprise car rental located.  The Enterprise lady showed up at 8:30, not 8 which is their published opening time.  It’s the Keys…

Poor Dave had to sit in the car for 40 minutes while we waited for the lady to arrive and then process me through.

Once that was done it was a 4 hour drive to Ft. Meyers.  I pulled into the little strip mall where their address indicated but all I saw was an Evangelical ministry office.  I pulled into the parking lot and then saw the rather small sign for Mermaid.  

Dave the technician came out and grabbed up the A/C unit and immediately began diagnosing.  He had to give me a new control cable, and re-wired the control connections, then tested the unit and discovered it was low on Freon (R22) which he figured was due to a slow leak.

David working on our AC unit

So he plugged the unit in and ran it for a minute before disconnected the water cooling lines and waiting for the high pressure cutoff switch to engage.  He then disconnected the power, grabbed the unit (it weighs abut 70 pounds)  and walked me back to a water tank behind the building.  Without blinking an eye, dunked the whole thing in the tank.  I was speechless (he wouldn't let me take any pictures) but he explained my old unit, (2001) was built with this kind of abuse in mind.   So no harm.

All fixed.  And Girl Scout cookies to boot!

We were looking for dirty bubbles as he called them which are air bubbles coming from the unit which, when bursting on the surface, leave a little oil-like brown spot.  Sure enough we found one from the needle valves on the input valves for adding Freon.

10 minutes later, freshly charged with R22 refrigerant (they can legally use R22 when it’s a repair job), two new needle valves, I was out the door.  The expected $650 bill was a paltry $74. 

Why is it that we always have full shopping carts?

So another 4 hour drive back to Marathon but first was a stop at Walmart where I bought oil among other things.  Oil there is 12.97.  Most other places its well over $20.

Drove for a solid hour through rain storms so dense,  traffic was reduced to flashing lights and 25 mph.  Then of course, Miami traffic added another 30 minutes so I never made it back to the boat until 8:30pm.

I took back a few things and just left the rest for the next day.

Up early today so I could empty the car of oil and other things I had left in the car the night before.

I moved the washer/dryer out and cleaned up the A/C compartment before David and I took the A/C unit out of the car and back to the boat where we installed it.  I had to fiddle with some electrical connections, but once that was done, and after hooking up the water lines, it ran!  And I mean it ran cold!  I immediately began breaking out a blanket under the disapproving eye of one of those warm-loving people who relish sleeping in 80 degree temperatures.

Then it was off to the store, back to the boat to unload an then to the airport where the enterprise lady was once again not there so I left the keys on the desk and left.  I also, as it turns out, left my Sunpass transponder in the car too so it’ll be another trip there Saturday.

Dave came over then and we hooked up the washer/dryer and tested the A/C before he left and I closed up the bulkheads and reattached all the laundry room things and started putting things away.

We then went over to Dave and Joann’s for no-sunset cocktails (it was cloudy) before going over to Key Fisheries for a lobster Ruben sandwich.  Very yummy.

Then quickly back to the boat and bed since we have to be up early because we are going to the flea market on Big Pine Key across Seven Mile Bridges.  At 8:30AM with Sue.  Oy vie!

The A/C unit is keeping the aft stateroom at a comfy 72 degrees!  Finally, good sleeping!

8:30 AM we went with Sue to the Big Pine Key Flea market.  I bought some sunglasses cheap and Mary got a few things too.

Back in Marathon we met everyone at the Stuffed Pig for breakfast.   Luckily I had the foresight to get $100 cash at the Capital Bank near the flea market earlier.  It still burns though, to have to pay  $3.95 for the privilege of withdrawing money from our account.

Stuffed Pig was good. But they only take cash! All six of us were there again.

We came back to the boat and I called the Enterprise office because I had discovered last night that I left my Sunpass transponder in the rental car.  The guy in the phone said they were closing and wasn’t real helpful.  So I rode the bike to the airport and looked for the car to see if it as still there.  Nothing.  Took a chance and went inside where a nice lady at the counter said they were closed but I replied I was just looking for my transponder and she actually had it!  Lucky day.

Went to the store on the way back and then we had wine out on the bow to watch the’sunset.  We skipped the pool party tonight although I met someone who worked at UW Marinette about the same time we were working at UW.

Mary talking with Diane 

Also helped Diane off her boat.  Again … she’s on the big Krogen 55 parked across the dock right in front of us and the distance between the dock and their deck is substantial.  

Took a long walk tonight and started copying Bewitched off of DVD and onto our 2 TB net worked attached disk.  

Tomorrow we can sleep late!

After  hauling it around for 15,000 miles and twice used, it's good bye red kayak

Sold the kayak to Linda of Mitch and Linda.  They had originally stopped over to see of it would work for their grandmother.  Not so much.  But Linda wanted it and happily paddled off into the yacht basin.

I tried to remove the port side exhaust hose but its really stuck on there and I debated whether to start another major project or just use my remaining rescue tape.  Guess what I decided.

I cleaned up the bottom of the port side fuel tank and engine mounts and slathered Restoleum on them.  Then tested the generator and it didn’t start.  Using the start button on the actual generator as opposed to the remote start did the trick. After that the remote start worked fine.  I'm thinking its just  a weak battery.

Rode to the store, Publix this time.  We are going everyday to stock up for the Dry Tortugas and Bahamas although I ordered a bunch of parts this morning and they my not arrive until after April 1 so we are debating whether to stay another few days.  We could just go anchor out in the harbor too.

But … a preliminary tropical weather advisory forecast for a low pressure system to form east of the Bahamas next week could be a concern.  Not a hurricane but possibly a tropical storm.

Went to the pool tonight and talked with Dave and Joanne and Mike who is an RV owner.  Another guy showed up who owns a Prevost motor home,  Very expensive and luxurious.

We came back to the boat where I started our taxes before walking to Faro Blanco Marina again, then bed.  Maybe tomorrow we can go to the reef.

Began updating all our charts and finishing taxes.  We are receiving a refund.  Did I cheat too much?

Headed out to the reef this afternoon for a quick swim.  It was cloudy but water was pretty clear.   Didn't see much of interest though.

Galatic, the Krogen 55 with Diane had left the previous evening for the Bahamas, but returned this morning with stabilizer and FLIR problems.

Going to Dave and Joanne's party tonight although Dave was getting a little sea sick out at the reef earlier this afternoon.

Great party.  Wonderful time.  Mary, Jeff Sue and Rob.  Little stormy weather blew thru tonight but left clear skies and far less humidity.

We trimmed up the teak laminate replacement for the aft stateroom using the Dremel.   Earlier this month we had taken the template over to the Teak Guy who sells teak among other building materials here in Marathon.  He also has a CNC machine so we bought a half sheet of 1/8 teak laminate and he cut out the template Mary had made from heavy construction paper.  Dave, on one of our several errand trips, brought it back for us.   

Mary did laundry and worked on her glass project (for David Hagen's dad, John). 

Anchor chain cleaned and ready for marking

But first task this morning was me updating all our Bahama charts.  It will take awhile since we have 4 devices that store these charts.  After starting that and letting it run, we went out and let out all most of the anchor chain onto the dock.   150 of the 220 feet we have aboard and marked it with colored wire ties every 25 feet.  And more importantly I wrote all that down and made a little laminated sheet with it all for the fly bridge.

Then I wanted to repair one of the bolts on the secondary anchor roller, so I took off the 55 lb. Rocna anchor we have and slung out on the dock.  Mary and I were standing there on the bow pulpit when we heard this scraping and a big splash.  The damn anchor had tipped over and went in the drink.  I didn’t have the line secured to the anchor, even though I thought about doing that in case the anchor fell over board.  sheez ...

So either Wade the diver can get a line on it when we does our bottom or I’ll go in tomorrow when its sunny out around noon and try to get a line on it.

We did manage to get all the bolts out of the anchor roller except one which I had to saw off.  I want to take off this secondary roller and see if I can position it so we can use the gypsy for either it, or the big Bruce anchor we normally use.  I noticed too I may have to do some epoxy work on the fiberglass around the anchor roller where my earlier repairs appear to be wearing. 

Alas, we couldn’t get the darn roller off because it seems to be epoxied to the platform itself.  Not of my doing but regardless, this could be a far bigger job now than I first thought.  Ugh …

The official Publix greeter?

Rode to Publix for more food and made a stop at West Marine first for some bolts and screws to fix up the secondary anchor roller.

I used the Dremel and a coarse sanding bit to trim up the teak laminate we are laying down under the windows of the aft stateroom.   It was almost a perfect fit but needed a little trimming here and there to get it to lay flat.  Now comes 5 coats of varnish.  Always fun to do that when there is high humidity like we have now.

Tomorrow we are seeing Dave and Joanne who are leaving Friday.  Rob and Sue are leaving Saturday.  We are leaving, well maybe one of those days but most likely Monday or Tuesday.

We aren't leaving.  Well, not leaving right away.  Too many little details undone.  Mail to be delivered, pumps to be put back together, money to obtain, food to  buy, filters to purchase, wood to varnish, and of course breakfast at the 7 Mile Grill which we have yet to do.

Ready to dive in the muck

Today we attempted to bring the dinghy around the port side of the boat so I could dive for the anchor and Mary could wash the port side of the hull.  Too windy.  So I finished up some paperwork and she worked on her stain glass.  Then I varnished the wood piece that we had cut for the aft stateroom and did some touch up varnishing on the salon door and swim platform steps.

Varnishing the new Flagstaff

And I sanded and began varnishing the flagstaff.

It being the last day, we met Dave and Joann at the pool and then drove over to Burdins for a last supper.   We had the company of a delightful Golden retriever who knew suckers when he saw them.  Yes, he dined on all our left over pepper burgers that we couldn’t eat.  And some lettuce.  

Remember this is the Keys.  Dogs in restaurants isn't abnormal behavior.

I stopped by Dave's place briefly to retrieve my 5 little USB Wifi adapter and said good bye although I’ll probably see them off in the morning if I can wake up that early.

Had a texting conversation with Randy and Sherry on Priorities about Dry Tortugas.  They are leaving tomorrow and, well, we aren’t.  So we cant join them.

I met Mike from the pool, and Joe who are sail boaters from Virginia (Deltaville).  Nice folks.  They invited us to tie up at their dock if we are ever up that way.

I was out  at 8AM to say good bye to Dave and Joanne but they actually left before 8!

Found out I can get $500 cash from an ATM and each of our debit cards are separate accounts so we can score $1000 cash for the Bahamas.  No free ATM’s down here though so it’ll cost us about $10 do do that.  Grrr…

Varnishing

Stain-glass ...ing

Added another coat of varnish on the wood veneer sheet this morning.  Well, second coat.  Same on for the salon door.

Finally got the Blue Ray player connected to the internet and it turns out it has all the same capabilities of the little media server we already own.  Except, The blue ray went into a network upgrade process and now, YouTube is no longer supported, Netflix wont work unless we go through Sony’s web site and login.  Same for Hulu.  And, although it can see all the TV shows and movies I’ve been ripping off of DVD’s and moving to a big storage disk on our little boat network, it cant play any of them.  It only plays mp3 or VOB files, not the MKV files.  Ugh …

Wade, the diver cleaned our boats bottom and tied a line to our anchor which had fallen overboard.  I hauled it up this morning.  It was buried to the shank in the muck.  Now just have to put the anchor roller back together.

We spent the day varnishing, doing glass work, epoxying the secondary anchor roller bolt holes, replacing the anchor roller bolts, playing with video electronics (Sony blue ray player is a bit out of date).  I rode to the store, and then we went over to Rob and Sue’s for a farewell drink before heading back to the boat.

Mary, Jeff, Rob and Sue

We had a great time at Rob and Sue’s boat, Papillion.  We even had a few Manatees swim by for a visit.  Not sure, but they seemed rather frisky?

We were up early enough for a breakfast out at 7 Mile Grill.  It was ok.

My invention.  The little white bar.

Almost finished up the secondary anchor installation and repair.  I came up with an idea of using an old ½ inch pvc ½ pipe design that keeps the Rocna anchor from gouging out the anchor platform.  With the extra long bolts tipped with rubber, it should work out just fine.  Except I didn’t pot the screw holes with epoxy, so we’ll do that Monday and have it all back together by Wednesday.

I’m really giving Mary’s bike a workout.  I rode to the store numerous times as we stock up.  Better to bring a ton of food and stuff to the Bahamas rather than try and buy it there.  Usually they don’t have want you want or if they do, its triple the cost.

Mary worked on her glass projects most of the day.

Heard from Jeff and Curt & Marilyn today too.  We may meet up with them up the coast when we return from the Islands.

I finally finished up ripping a whole lot of movies.  Took all the DVD’s over to City Marina today and hung around for 5 minutes.  It took that long for several people to start wading through the stack.  The other stack I had left there a few days ago was gone..

Talked with a Looper boat that came in the other day, a math teacher from Detroit.  Also a 58 Krogen pulled in where the 55 Krogan was tied up until recently.  They are also a Looper boat.  The 58 has a disappoint tiny cockpit in relation to its size when compared to the venerable Krogan 42 and its cockpit.  Not that we are going to buy a Krogen, but its goof to have such information in hand ... just in case 

Replacing the broken impeller

Another work day.  I fixed the engine room blowers, and then swapped out a water pump on the port engine which was not easy since its hard to get at.  Finished up painting the engine mounts, and then replaced the impeller in the pump I just removed so we have a ready spare.

We installed the aft stateroom window ledge laminate I've been varnishing for the last few days.

Fiddled with the generator fuel pump because it appeared to be leaking earlier.  I tightened up the clamps and added some chafe protection for the fuel line.  It started and ran just fine.

Next we cut the left over wood piece that was from the piece of teak laminate we bought for the aft stateroom shelf.  The teak guy cut it for us and we basically had to buy the scrap since he only sells full or half sheets.  We measured the fly bridge table and plan to use this wood under its top since the wood there now is all delaminating.

Frisky Manatees

Several manatees showed up in the basin.  Many gawkers, most of them women, were on shore watching .  Their general consensus was the Manatees were mating.  It's unclear how they determined that, but who am I to dispute their findings.  And yes, there was alcohol present.

Defrosting the chest freezer

We defrosted the chest freezer and then I had to run to West Marine for a 1/3 #20 stainless steel bolt to replace a corroded bolt on the old water pump.  The nice lady gave them to me for free!

After I had the pump all together and everything put away we walked over to 7 Mile Grill for a burger and yummy fries.  Tiring day!  Tomorrow it may be worse!

Today I sold those 2 smaller batteries I had purchased back in January to a sail boater named Matt over at City Marina.  We dinghied them over to him.  

While we were at City Marina we reserved a large boat mooring ball since it was going to blow pretty hard the next few days and we are slated to leave Marathon Marina at the end of the week.  This also puts us closer to the stores then if we anchored out but in either case we still have  to use the dinghy to get to shore.

While we were on that side of Boot Key we met Bruce and Rhonda at FLKeys.  Then after we walked to Home dept to buy rescue tape and TP, the last 4 pack of the special kind we need to use in the toilets on board.

Next morning I peddled the 5 miles to NAPA for filters, the Dollar Store for glasses, and Home Depot for more TP.

I went to the pool when we returned.  One person was there sitting on a chair.  Otherwise all I had for company were the birds fighting over the best place to crap in the pool.  Exciting times here in Marathon.

Next morning I was installing the anchor roller PVC brace bar but Mary called over to me and as I turned the damn PVC rolled to the edge of the dock, hesitated for a few seconds as though tauting me, and rolled into the water.  I tried to grab it and succeeded only banging up my hand on the concrete dock.  

So now it’s a little difficult to grasp anything tightly but I managed to fabricate another brace bar and install it preventing the Rocna anchor from digging into the anchor roller platform.  Deploying the Rocna anchor may present a problem because the gypsy (the thing the chain fits in when the windlass pulls up or lets chain down) isn’t aligned to this secondary anchor roller so I'm pretty sure the gypsy will get worn edges in short order or simply jam when bringing in the chain.

We'll have to talk this over with Huckins when we stop there in November for our annual haul out.

I biked the grill little propane tank over to America Gas and got it filled.  No hassle about the tank being fiberglass this time.

Continued ripping all our TV show DVD's.  They are all on line but I need to upgrade the media player so we can actually recline on the couch and use the remote to play them on the TV.

Rode to the store for more stuff in anticipation of the Bahamas.  Varnished the salon door and another teak round piece for the lower help station I want to use to cover a large access hole where cables for the lower radar once ran.

Helped Mary finish up her stained glass piece.

Spend a few minutes with the guy from South Carolina down a few slips from us before Mary and I headed to the pool where there were only a few people.  A little chilly with the wind.

Wade had stopped by earlier and cleaned the boats bottom. Nothing bad reported.

Tomorrow is our last day here so going to bed early.  Lots to do.

Frantic Activity.  We did laundry, washed the boat, cleaned all the head and shower sumps, cleaned the salon and stateroom carpets, updated all our charts and added some new routes to the Dry Tortugas.  And of course I rode to the store.

Lonely pool on our last evening here

We went to the pool for the last time (the old gang has been replaced by a sparse spattering of new people of a different ilk), kibitzed with our neighbors since we are leaving tomorrow, hauled the kayak up and cleaned its bottom (it was surprisingly saturated with growth, hauled the dinghy up and re-bled the hydraulics, charged the battery (its still charging as I write this),  grilled burgers, tightened the port side raw sea water flange bolts, back flushed the water maker with water from our tanks. 

Like I said busy day.  Weather will turn crummy Friday and then moderate early next week which should leave us a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas.  Yeah!

We left the dock around 9:30, fueled up (166 gallons) and pumped out.  The winds were light so grabbing the mooring ball was pretty easy.  Once we were moored we took the dinghy down and went into the city marina dinghy dock.  I walked back to Marathon Marina to get the bike, and Mary stayed back and used the internet.  Where we are moored there is no internet so its back to the phone hot spot for us. 

Wine on the bow in the mooring field

I did make a run to the store and then we came back and sat out on the fore deck to watch the sun set and drink a bottle of wine.

We ran the generator for a few hours and watched another episode of west wing.  Satellite isn’t working again so I need to all KVH to get new satellite parameters.   I hope.  It could be something more serious that's causing the lack of signal.

So, with barking dogs from a nearby boat, but a cool, calm night, we went to bed early

Discovered, or I should say fond a report of fee, free ATM’s here.  We need to accumulate cash for the Bahamas and the best I can do is $100 a day at Winn Dixie when using a debit card.  I’ve been doing that but we need $350 in cash to enter the Bahamas, and then spending money.  They have a horrendous credit card fee there.  Much cheaper to spend cash.  From our previous experience, $1000 is about right for a month.  Hey, its only money and you can't take it with you!

We loitered around the boat most of the morning.  I did some epoxy repair work on the rub rail and then epoxied a snap together.  The sundeck starboard side window has a snap missing on one of the support straps.  I can fix it with the snap crimping pliers I have without taking the whole window down, a task not agreeable to any who have tried.  So since I had some epoxy out, I’m trying to bond the two halves of a snap together.  We’ll see how well that works tomorrow.

We did hear from Liz and Steve and they had a harrowing tale of a breakdown at sea between the Abacos and Berry islands.  Turn out ok, but a bit daunting for them.

They lost all their transmission fluid and essentially couldn't run the engine and drifted for several hours until a sailboat passed close enough that they could hail them on the VHF.  The sailboat, with its tall mast and antenna, was able to contact the Bahamian SAR unit which arranged for a tow.  They ended up being towed to a marina near Freeport where he was able to order a new transmission cooler.  But it took three weeks.

We first contacted them when they texted they were in Harbortown, a marina in Ft. Pierce.  But we, assuming they were still in the Bahamas, were in Harbour town on Eleuthera  Island in the Bahamas.   Quite a funny conversation when we talked with them. 

We went to the store today, Mary walked, I rode to Winn Dixie to get water and then rode back to Publix to meet her.  This is the last of the big shopping before we leave Wednesday or Thursday?  Waiting to see how the weather pans out.

All these trips to the store are a result of a limited carrying load I have on the bike.  But it turns out to be easier with more frequent smaller trips because we have to load up the dinghy and then unload the dinghy onto the boat which is bobbing around on the mooring ball.

We had some wine on board and then took a dinghy ride and stopped in to see Jeff and Mary who are still at Marathon Marina.  We stayed for a short time  before returning to the boat to cook steaks.  I started the generator and then left to take a shower on shore.

By 10:30 I was back, the generator shut down and dinghy secure.  And us in bed. 

We stayed aboard this morning.  It was really windy so it was a good time to try and plan out where the heck we are going to head.  Looks like Berry islands and then up to the Abaco Islands now since we don’t have a lot of time to linger down in the Exumas.  We need to be back in Wisconsin by July and leave the boat up around the Charleston area.

Needless to say we have abandon our plans to stop in the Dry Tortuga's.  Time sort of ran out, helped by the crappy weather.

Batteries are doing great.  So are the solar panels although new ones weigh 1/10 of what ours weigh and add around 10% more efficiency, would be so much nicer.  With new panels, we could double the number of panels and have in excess of 1,000 watts of solar energy available which will add a significant boost to our battery charging capability.

I took the dinghy into shore intending on taking a long walk which I did but I ran into Mary of Mark and Mary.  Mark took off for the BVI's (British Virgin Islands) with another boat.  Mary has to stay behind because she works from the boat.  They are planning on leaving here next spring for the BVI"s when she retires.  Their boat is on a mooring ball in the harbor here just like us.  The internet is everywhere!

I went to the Winn Dixie and bought some stuff.  I mainly go there because I can get $100 cash back.  which I  did again today.   And they finally gave me $100 bill which is what the immigration guys in the Bahama's prefer.

But I had ride back to Publix for some additional items.

Tomorrow is the last day we’ll be in the mooring field so it’s the last store trip.  Tuesday we’ll put the bike on the dinghy and haul it up on the boat, then move out of Boot Key to the anchorage outside the entrance in anticipation of a 15 hour ocean run to Bahamas either Wednesday or Thursday. 

We signed up for Chris Parker Weather Service broadcasts again so I'm hoping to get his take on a decent weather window.

Our saved season 7 of West Wing is troublesome, skipping large segments so I tried connecting my phones hotspothot spot to our boat router which works fine except the DNS lookups are being shunted somewhere.  Basically Netfilix wont work thru our router when connected to one of our phones. 

Happy Birthday LeAnn.

The weather from Chris Parker and other sources seem to indicate a good possibility Wednesday night into Thursday morning, a few days from now.

We poured over Bahamas info all morning and then went into shore for a last shot at the store and to pick up some of Mary’s last minute prescriptions.

Noticed the dinghy is getting a little flat so will have to pump it up some tomorrow when I go in to get the bike.  I have one last run to the store and then I’ll get the bike on the dinghy and run it back to the boat.  We are slated to leave the mooring ball by 11AM, meaning we have vacate the ball and head out to the anchorage area about a mile away.

I did manage to get sufficient cash from using our debit card at the grocery stores.  $100 a crack makes it easy to accumulate a nice storehouse of cash.  I feel mildly guilty though, buying $1.25 worth of Bananas and getting a $100 cash back.

The KVH tech sent me some bad news.  He did include a set of parameters to try, but basically DISH has changed the transport protocol of their satellites.  Our older satellite antenna can’t cope with the newer protocol.  The basic problem is that all their programming is now HD and we dont have a HD capable antenna.  This of course means we won’t have SAT TV any longer.  Mary is in mourning.

Our latest Bahamas cruising plan is to run to Bimini, then Great Harbor Key in the Berry_Islands.  After a few days there we’ll cross the Northwest Providence Channel and run up to Little Harbor on the east side of Great Abaco Island which lies north and east of Great Harbor Key.  Then we’ll swing up through the well know island chain that runs north before turning west and back across Little Bahama Bank and eventually Florida.  It should be about 5-6 weeks of Bahamas fun, if the weather cooperates.

Happy Birthday Brant!

I took the dinghy into shore and went to the store a few last items (sale on Seltzer).  The sale, lucrative as it was, also turned out to be difficult.  It was 3 12 packs for the price of two, plus the sale price.  Trouble is, I could only fit two of the three 15 packs (they even added 3 extra cans) into the basket.  Anticipating this, I took out a few bungee cords so I could strap the 12 packs together, mimicking a container ship with stacked 12 packs in the bike’s basket. 

Bungee cords ...good thinking.  Only wish I remembered to have brought the darn things with me.  I ended up riding back to the boat carrying one 12-pack in my lap.

After I got all the grocery stuff in the dinghy, I took the bike down to the dock and got it in too.  Luckily it was rather calm out so there wasn’t much water splashing up and hitting the bike.  Salt water is nasty stuff for bikes with metal parts.

Once on board, I got the dinghy set up to tow, and we unhooked from the mooring ball and drove out to the anchorage just outside the harbor entrance.  As we were leaving the harbor we had a single dolphin zipping around our bow wave.  It stayed with us for quite a while even though Mary was singing to it the whole time.  Deaf dolphin maybe?

Anchored outside of  Boot Key

We were the third boat out in the anchorage but I suspect there will be a small flotilla here by nightfall.  It’s a great weather window to cross over to the Bahamas.

Even Burdine's bar was listless this afternoon

After repairing my, at the time, brilliant antenna epoxy job, we packed up all the garbage and headed into Burdines for dinghy fuel and to dump the garbage.  Except they charge for garbage so instead we drove down to City Marina and made use of their free dumpster.

Went back to Burdines, fueled up (2.5 gallons) and then left the dinghy at the dinghy dock and started to walk to West Marine for some line and burgee clips but it didn’t seem fruitful to walk two miles for some string so we abandoned that adventure and just went back to Burdines for dinner.  Met some folks that we in the slip next to us at Marathon Marina too. 

Also met a couple on DeFever 49 fueling up.  They are also heading for the Bahamas but leaving tonight and doing 120 miles out in the ocean.  My own weather sites indicate that Thursday is a better, calmer day to make the crossing so we’re sticking with the original plan and going to Rodriquez Key tomorrow and leaving from there for Bimini very early Thursday morning.  There is a cold front heading down to the Bahamas and is expected to arrive Late Thursday night and through the weekend.  Looks like we may be stuck in a Marina for a few days.

Once we made it back to the boat we hauled the dinghy up, decided not to make water until tomorrow and Mary headed off to bed at 8:30.  And we’re not even leaving until 8 tomorrow!