Tonight It Will Be Cold Eough To Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey!

SHIP'S LOG:

In case any of you think that is some kind of obscene statement, let me assure you that it is very nautical. It is a saying the comes from the British Navy - wooden Ships & Iron men. During the days of sail and canons, the British Navy used iron for their canon ball shot. These cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid configuration on a brass tray called "The Monkey." Due to the fact that brass and iron have different properties, they expand and contract at different rates at different temperatures. When it was cold enough, "The Brass Monkey" would contract more quickly than the iron canon balls and would cause the pile to fall apart spilling the canon balls all over the deck. Hence, when it got cold enough for this to happen, the very proper British Naval Seamen would accurately not that "it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey." Don't believe me, then look it up.

That aside, it is going to be cold enough tonight down here in sunny Florida to do the deed. NOAA, that bastion of weather accuracy is call for temperatures at Fort Pierce to dip into the low 30's, perhaps even into the high 20's. I had really thought I had left all that behind. Now I have to dig out the cold weather stuff again and wrap up for sleeping tonight. That won't be so bad, it's tomorrow morning that I am not looking forward to facing.

Speaking of the toilet, I thought that I had a leak in the forward head flushing system. I dismantled everything around the pump and thought I had found the gasket in the pump leaking. However, after cleaning the pump, it pumped just fine and did not leak, at least not that I could see or feel. I am happy for that as dismantling that pump to put in a new gasket would have been a foul smelling though easy task, so long as I could keep breakfast from coming up!

It has been rather windy today, right out of the north which probably accounts for the dropping temperatures, that and the fact that there ain't a could in the sky. There will be some serious radiational cooling tonight!

Brad stopped by and we made plans to finish installing his radar tomorrow. Since it is boat, he gets to climb the mast. I'll just be pulling wires which is fine with me. I have enough difficulty going up my mast let alone one on a strange boat. It is nice though to help someone out like this. I can learn a lot through the process which will undoubtedly come in handy some time in the future, but hopefully not on this trip.

Itchy foot is setting in and that means as soon as I can, after dinner with Jerry and Lucille, I will haul anchor and start heading South again. As I mentioned, I won't be going far but the fact that I want to keep going is a good sign. I thought there for awhile that I had completely lost the
travelin' jones," but it is back and I am interested "in seeing what is over the horizon." I realize that I have only about two more months down here before I have to start back and I want to get to where I can div e over the side and not be afraid of hypothermia setting in. Right now, the water temp here in Fort Pierce is 65 degrees which doesn't sound all that bad . . . so long as you are not in it.