Saturday, January 15, 2011

The First Sunburn Of Winter!

SHIP'S LOG:

Ah yes, that familiar sting as you put your shirt back on after having spent the day in the sun. The redness. The itch. The Sunburn!

I was working out on the deck for a couple of hours and in was in the 70's and today, probably just for today, there was no wind. And when I had finished with my appointed tasks, I slipped my shirt back on and feel the "welcome" sensation of a sunburn sting. AHHHHHH! Sure the last of the cold weather has gone for good . . .. . . . . .. . Then again, who knows. The weather patterns have been sufficiently weird enough to qualify for some heading in Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Brad never made it to his boat. He had a case of "la Gripe" or stomach flu, you know the kind..."Two Exits, No Waiting!" Hopefully he will be recovered by Monday when I can once again help him with is boat projects. Sunday is football watching time and I will find a spot somewhere to watch.

I did take some time to plot out a few courses for points further south. I'll check with Jerry with regards to what is available for anchoring in Stuart and Port St. Lucie. Jupiter looks pretty good further south and then I'll be in the the Palm Beaches. Then there is Fort Lauderdale and on to Miami. South of Fort Pierce, you really start running up against bridges. I am not talking about the kind you can sail under but the kind you have to ask nicely to open. Some open on request, some open at set times, and some will not open at sometimes and will open at others. i gather it can play hell with your schedule if you are dumb enough to try and keep one. Some cruisers really get stressed out down here. The goal is almost insight and the bridges and their peculiar opening schedules strive to keep them from their goal.

Strangely, here in the Fort Pierce anchorage, the Nauticat 44 still sits and no one has been out to it since I got here low these many days. It is a bad thing to leave a boat unattended on an anchor for as along as this was has been as there is too much that could go wrong. I am beginning to become concerned. I hate to say it, but having been scoped out by some locals, it would be an easy target for a burglary(yes, they do happen on boats!). I am not sure if it would qualify as piracy but who cares what you call it if you return to your boat and find stuff missing. It could ruin your whole day, not to mention your trip and the hassles with the insurance company and the police etc, etc, etc! I hope the owners show up soon, because if they don't somebody else surely will.