Where Do Dusty Bunnies Come From?

SHIP'S LOG:

31-25-27-27-34 if you are wondering at that string of numbers, those are the predicted low temperatures for Jacksonville, Florida, Monday through Thursday night! This aberrational crappy and cold weather seems to have started the day after Thanksgiving will have its worst week this week when I am here to experience it.

Truth be told, I am stuck here because of the bad economy and a leaking raw water pump seal. The raw water pump seal needs to be repaired before the pump fails completely and the engine fries. The place for me to do this is at a friend of a friends boatyard in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, the friend of a friend's boatyard is on the wrong side of a fixed 45 foot vertical clearance bridge. so the work will be done by his mechanic in a marina on the right side of the very same bridge. Unfortunately, that marina, like most others, is experiencing an economic downturn and so has cut back on its hours. It wasn't open after noon on Saturday nor was it opened at all on Sunday. This meant that it was closed before I could get there yesterday and wasn't opened at all for me to slide in today and so be ready to receive the mechanic first thing tomorrow morning. In fact, since I was unable to contact anyone there, I have no idea if they even have a spot for me. I won't know before I contact them tomorrow.

As a result, I didn't move from my spot next to Blount Island and spent a not bad day cleaning the boat and reading. Where do dusty bunnies come from? And if you know, tell me where dust elephants come from. It is amazing how much "dirt" gets on a boat when I don't get off it for 5 to seven days at a time. And the dust bunnies that gather in the cockpit under the floor grating, get wet and take on the consistency of matted cat hair. Cleaning the cockpit drains is such a joy!

The sky was clear and the temp was somewhere in the high 50's low 60's so it was quite pleasant for a December 5th. Though I have to say that when the sun went down, the temperature went with it. I am not sure what the temperature is right now, but it is a lot less than what it was. Sometime around midnight, it should hit its low and hold there for at least three hours before it begins its rise to the mid 50's sometime tomorrow. It will repeat this performance for the next four days and then, come the weekend, begin to head into the normal weather and temperatures for the season. Also, hopefully, by that time, i shall be much further south, too. As an experiment, I left a bottle of water in the cockpit to see if it will freeze overnight, any night this week.

I am hopeful that it will be a short and inexpensive stay in Jacksonville and that by Tuesday at the latest, I will be sailing further south. Next stop will probably be around St. Augustine. Hope it's warmer there than here!