SHIP'S LOG:
I spent most of the day helping Brad ( he's anchored near by) trying to get the old radar cable out of his mast and putting the new one in. It hasn't been a success. We tried using the old cable as a messenger to carry the new cable from the mid point of the mast down to the bottom of the mast where it should exit. It didn't work. The cables got hung up just a couple of feet from success and then became detached. We lost the messenger and didn't have the new cable all the way down. Tomorrow we will try again. There is still an old FM/TV cable in the mast that used the same hole as the radar cable so it is possible that it will suffice as a new messenger. If not, it will be string and a weight. AS I mentioned to Brad, this is why they usually pull the mast when they are doing something like in this is a boat yard.
I actually took the time to do a little maintenance myself on ABISAHG, lubing up all the seacocks and blocks. Nothing major, just trying to get everything in working order. I even did a little bilge cleaning to make it nice and fresh smelling. There is no major stuff that currently needs doing but a whole host of little things that do, but which will probably be put off until they become sufficiently annoying to warrant the effort necessary to correct them.
The weather is beginning to warm, though Northern Florida is still freezing. Orlando has taken a big hit and I am sure that Mouseland is paying for it. It is still rather strange to hear NOAA giving detailed instructions about how to recognize frostbite and announcing that the biggest danger during cold snaps is house fires caused by improper use of space heaters.
Discovered today that Lucille is coming in NEXT WEDNESDAY. Well there are worse place to be than Fort Pierce.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
29 Degrees! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Who can you sue over this weather? Somebody has got to be responsible. Who is it? 29 degrees and they even got snow flurries some place north in Florida this morning. Snow? In Florida? Something is definitely wrong here. And the temp in Fort Pierce topped out at 59 for the high today. I am sure there is an appropriate Anglo-Saxon expletive that can be used but let's just say it is damn cold.
And then there is the wind. That don't help at all. Wind chill makes the temp feel even lower. And that wind was a lot more than NOAA forecast, sufficient enough that I had to haul and reset the anchor this afternoon. I trust NOAA about as much as I trust my depth sounder.
Speaking of the depth sounder, I think I finally got it working correctly. Being in one place for a while, I have been checking the depth not only with the depth sounder but also with a led line. The difference was usually about 5 feet or so. Getting tired of this and wanting to give Towboat/US a break, I called the Garmin people and asked what the problem was. I told them that I had put a minus 5.5foot keel offset into the system as indicated in the owners manual. The response was, "Oh, the manual is wrong. It is supposed to be a positive not a negative number." Boy, you just can't trust some people.
There was a fire somewhere today in a marsh. The north wind blew the smoke over the anchorage and it really created a smokey haze. Perhaps the best thing was that the wind, more than NOAA called for, blew the smoke away as quickly as it brought it. Now, if only the wind would go away, taking the cold with it. Not tonight though, at least according to NOAA, though it may only get down to the low 40's. Then again it is NOAA saying this.
Haven't heard if Lucille made it in from the left coast or whether she is hung up because of all of the delays caused by the recent snow. Hopefully she got in safe and sound and she and Jerry and me will break bread together soon. I really want to meet her but I also want to get to where the air is at least as warm as the water!
Who can you sue over this weather? Somebody has got to be responsible. Who is it? 29 degrees and they even got snow flurries some place north in Florida this morning. Snow? In Florida? Something is definitely wrong here. And the temp in Fort Pierce topped out at 59 for the high today. I am sure there is an appropriate Anglo-Saxon expletive that can be used but let's just say it is damn cold.
And then there is the wind. That don't help at all. Wind chill makes the temp feel even lower. And that wind was a lot more than NOAA forecast, sufficient enough that I had to haul and reset the anchor this afternoon. I trust NOAA about as much as I trust my depth sounder.
Speaking of the depth sounder, I think I finally got it working correctly. Being in one place for a while, I have been checking the depth not only with the depth sounder but also with a led line. The difference was usually about 5 feet or so. Getting tired of this and wanting to give Towboat/US a break, I called the Garmin people and asked what the problem was. I told them that I had put a minus 5.5foot keel offset into the system as indicated in the owners manual. The response was, "Oh, the manual is wrong. It is supposed to be a positive not a negative number." Boy, you just can't trust some people.
There was a fire somewhere today in a marsh. The north wind blew the smoke over the anchorage and it really created a smokey haze. Perhaps the best thing was that the wind, more than NOAA called for, blew the smoke away as quickly as it brought it. Now, if only the wind would go away, taking the cold with it. Not tonight though, at least according to NOAA, though it may only get down to the low 40's. Then again it is NOAA saying this.
Haven't heard if Lucille made it in from the left coast or whether she is hung up because of all of the delays caused by the recent snow. Hopefully she got in safe and sound and she and Jerry and me will break bread together soon. I really want to meet her but I also want to get to where the air is at least as warm as the water!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Where'd The World Go?
SHIP'S LOG:
When I got up this morning at the usual time, about 6:15am, it seemed darker than usual. In fact, I looked at my watch to check the time. The time was right and while dawn was still an hour away, it should have been lighter. I made coffee and went up to the cockpit and couldn't see a thing. We had FOG! And I mean a real Sherlock Holmes-London-Pea Souper!Looking forward I could just make out the bow of ABISHAG and then only because I followed the furled Genny down to the bow. It was, as many before have said, like being inside a light bulb, and in this case, a rather small light bulb. I expected it to burn off rather quickly but it stayed for lunch, dripping water everywhere, making everything cool and clammy and damp. Probably wouldn't have bothered a Mainiac(a resident of Maine) but I haven't been in a fog on a boat in quite a long time. It is a very strange sensation, feeling very alone and still knowing that one of the Carnival Cruise Liners could be bearing down on you and you would never know it until it ran you down. The only saving grace is that no Carnival Cruise Liner could get into where I was anchored but that wouldn't stop the local crazies. At least one went by in what sounded like a runabout doing what sounded like top speed. The boat would have been too small for radar( not that it wouldn't fit but that it would have been considered unnecessary bu the owner). I have no idea where he was going or if he got there, but he went by me like a shot. I doubt he even knew I was there.
Fog left after lunch and Brad Smith, owner of the Freya 41 anchored near by, came by and asked for help taking down his old radar dome. with nothing planed for the day, it was a good way to spend the afternoon. The job was easy and only had the typical snags that accompany most such projects, like of the four bolts that held the unit in place, one ( the last one) had a rounded head so that trying to unloosen the nut just spun the bolt. It to a bit of finagling with some vice grips and a fair amount of Anglo-Saxon expletives before the task was complete. Brad has a large Pyrenees dog - think Newfoundland - who is friendly to the extreme. It is not the type of dog I would recommend for living on board as it probably eats more than Brad does and as Brad noted "tends to leave large piles on deck. . . " which he did to show his judgement on the job we had performed.
There is another boat just beyond Brad's. It is a Nauticat 44, a large motorsailer. It is a really comfortable boat for people who are more interested in comfort than speed in getting to where they are going. It looks pretty much set up for cruising, with bikes and solar panels and extra fuel and water canisters tied to the rails, but no one has been on it since I got here. Brad said they showed up about four days before I did. Six people got off, queried him as to the best place to land their dinghy, and headed off to the spot he indicated never to return. They didn't even show up after last Thursdays exceptional weather to check and see that everything was alright. Their anchor could have dragged putting them in danger of grounding. Their anchor rode could have been at the point of chaffing through. There could have been a leak hose or and electrical problem, a hundred little things could have gone wrong. But no one has been by to check the boat. It is possible that what we are witnessing here is the end of a dream. Perhaps they wanted to go cruising and after a taste, some, perhaps all, decided it wasn't for them. And no they have packed up and left. I hope that's not the case but it is a possibility and I gather it happens more than people know. I'll have to ask Jerry to check the local papers and see if a Nauticat 44 is being offered for sale "at a discounted price."
When I got up this morning at the usual time, about 6:15am, it seemed darker than usual. In fact, I looked at my watch to check the time. The time was right and while dawn was still an hour away, it should have been lighter. I made coffee and went up to the cockpit and couldn't see a thing. We had FOG! And I mean a real Sherlock Holmes-London-Pea Souper!Looking forward I could just make out the bow of ABISHAG and then only because I followed the furled Genny down to the bow. It was, as many before have said, like being inside a light bulb, and in this case, a rather small light bulb. I expected it to burn off rather quickly but it stayed for lunch, dripping water everywhere, making everything cool and clammy and damp. Probably wouldn't have bothered a Mainiac(a resident of Maine) but I haven't been in a fog on a boat in quite a long time. It is a very strange sensation, feeling very alone and still knowing that one of the Carnival Cruise Liners could be bearing down on you and you would never know it until it ran you down. The only saving grace is that no Carnival Cruise Liner could get into where I was anchored but that wouldn't stop the local crazies. At least one went by in what sounded like a runabout doing what sounded like top speed. The boat would have been too small for radar( not that it wouldn't fit but that it would have been considered unnecessary bu the owner). I have no idea where he was going or if he got there, but he went by me like a shot. I doubt he even knew I was there.
Fog left after lunch and Brad Smith, owner of the Freya 41 anchored near by, came by and asked for help taking down his old radar dome. with nothing planed for the day, it was a good way to spend the afternoon. The job was easy and only had the typical snags that accompany most such projects, like of the four bolts that held the unit in place, one ( the last one) had a rounded head so that trying to unloosen the nut just spun the bolt. It to a bit of finagling with some vice grips and a fair amount of Anglo-Saxon expletives before the task was complete. Brad has a large Pyrenees dog - think Newfoundland - who is friendly to the extreme. It is not the type of dog I would recommend for living on board as it probably eats more than Brad does and as Brad noted "tends to leave large piles on deck. . . " which he did to show his judgement on the job we had performed.
There is another boat just beyond Brad's. It is a Nauticat 44, a large motorsailer. It is a really comfortable boat for people who are more interested in comfort than speed in getting to where they are going. It looks pretty much set up for cruising, with bikes and solar panels and extra fuel and water canisters tied to the rails, but no one has been on it since I got here. Brad said they showed up about four days before I did. Six people got off, queried him as to the best place to land their dinghy, and headed off to the spot he indicated never to return. They didn't even show up after last Thursdays exceptional weather to check and see that everything was alright. Their anchor could have dragged putting them in danger of grounding. Their anchor rode could have been at the point of chaffing through. There could have been a leak hose or and electrical problem, a hundred little things could have gone wrong. But no one has been by to check the boat. It is possible that what we are witnessing here is the end of a dream. Perhaps they wanted to go cruising and after a taste, some, perhaps all, decided it wasn't for them. And no they have packed up and left. I hope that's not the case but it is a possibility and I gather it happens more than people know. I'll have to ask Jerry to check the local papers and see if a Nauticat 44 is being offered for sale "at a discounted price."
Monday, January 10, 2011
I Moved Today!!!!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
I have really been rooted here in Fort Pierce and I have had no reason to move. But a reason showed up today - I had to get the holding tank pumped out. It didn't entail all that much and the municipal marina is about a mile away but it was an interesting trip.
First of all, I had to get the boat ready to move. All of those things I have been doing almost every morning for the last three moments I suddenly had to think about and make sure they all got down. Nice to be sure for instance that there is lube oil in the engine and the raw water seacock is open. things like that.
Next I had to haul up the anchor which was really fixed in the sand/clay/mud bottom. Not the easiest pull out of the trip by a long shot but after about 15 minutes, she came up. At least it didn't have the "malodorous fragrance" of that mud up in North Carolina!
Next I had to wend my way out from Faber Creek to the ICW. Sounds a simply thing but the channel and the depth sounder were at odds with one another. Luckily, I still had the track I used to get in here on the GPS and so I simply followed it out, even though the soundings made me nervous.
Next was crossing the ICW Channel into the Municipal Marina. I hailed them and found that the channel on the chart was no longer usable. It was a victim of the winter of 2004 and is shoaled badly. They didn't dredge it because it is now loaded with sea grass the favorite munchie of the Manatee and so is as protected as they are. There is a new channel to the marina but according to the GPS/ Chartplotter, it is only between 2 - 4 foot deep. It creates a rather uncomfortable feeling going down a channel where the cart says there is no channel and not a hell of a lot of water either. I took that one really slow but there was really plenty of water.
Got to the marina and got pumped out - free! Bought 25 gallons of diesel - $90.38! and then went right back to Faber Creek and anchored petty much where I have been for the last few days.
It really was strange moving after all this time. I didn't quite feel comfortable or all that confident and yet I only went about a mile and docked( and un-docked) like an old pro. I also have to say that I feel more comfortable on the boat now than I ever have before. Actually, when I am off too long, I feel antsy to get back. Part of it is nautical paranoia - worrying about the boat and whether it is still there and OK, and part is just that it is home now. Perhaps it is just "The Rapture of the Deep!!
I have really been rooted here in Fort Pierce and I have had no reason to move. But a reason showed up today - I had to get the holding tank pumped out. It didn't entail all that much and the municipal marina is about a mile away but it was an interesting trip.
First of all, I had to get the boat ready to move. All of those things I have been doing almost every morning for the last three moments I suddenly had to think about and make sure they all got down. Nice to be sure for instance that there is lube oil in the engine and the raw water seacock is open. things like that.
Next I had to haul up the anchor which was really fixed in the sand/clay/mud bottom. Not the easiest pull out of the trip by a long shot but after about 15 minutes, she came up. At least it didn't have the "malodorous fragrance" of that mud up in North Carolina!
Next I had to wend my way out from Faber Creek to the ICW. Sounds a simply thing but the channel and the depth sounder were at odds with one another. Luckily, I still had the track I used to get in here on the GPS and so I simply followed it out, even though the soundings made me nervous.
Next was crossing the ICW Channel into the Municipal Marina. I hailed them and found that the channel on the chart was no longer usable. It was a victim of the winter of 2004 and is shoaled badly. They didn't dredge it because it is now loaded with sea grass the favorite munchie of the Manatee and so is as protected as they are. There is a new channel to the marina but according to the GPS/ Chartplotter, it is only between 2 - 4 foot deep. It creates a rather uncomfortable feeling going down a channel where the cart says there is no channel and not a hell of a lot of water either. I took that one really slow but there was really plenty of water.
Got to the marina and got pumped out - free! Bought 25 gallons of diesel - $90.38! and then went right back to Faber Creek and anchored petty much where I have been for the last few days.
It really was strange moving after all this time. I didn't quite feel comfortable or all that confident and yet I only went about a mile and docked( and un-docked) like an old pro. I also have to say that I feel more comfortable on the boat now than I ever have before. Actually, when I am off too long, I feel antsy to get back. Part of it is nautical paranoia - worrying about the boat and whether it is still there and OK, and part is just that it is home now. Perhaps it is just "The Rapture of the Deep!!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sunday, A Day Of Rest
SHIP'S LOG:
It is not as though I have been extremely busy recently but Sunday is a day of rest and so, after moving the boat a hundred yards or so to a slightly better spot to anchor, I went to Jerry's and we watched football. following the game, Jerry took me to the Yacht Club where he is a member for a prime rib dinner. It was quite the place, two banquet halls, a dinning room and bar, waiters, bartender, fitness facilities, a real blue blazer, Breton Red Pants place. It is moire social that really boating with over three hundred members and only 90 or so boat owners. It is a beautiful spot and the food was fantastic, but it is not like home. And afterwards, I rowed back to ABISHAG for the night. Like I said a day of rest.
One slightly disturbing thing: last night a couple of guys in a run-about cruised by after dark. They were a couple of hundred yards away, heading toward Thumb Point but made a sharp and unnecessary turn toward the three boats in the anchorage. I was in the cockpit as they approached and was heading out to check the anchor setting. When I switched on the flashlight they veered off and did a slow cruise by the other two boats. They didn't stop but continued on in the direction that were originally headed in. They could have been coimplketely innocent and they probably were, but they also could have been casing the boats for some future criminal activity. Dinghy theft is epidemic in some places in Florida and you are warned not to leave your dinghy in the water at niught and to always lock it up when you go ashore. It wasn't a pleasant experience for what it could have been, but nothing really happened. Paradise isn't always paradise.
It is not as though I have been extremely busy recently but Sunday is a day of rest and so, after moving the boat a hundred yards or so to a slightly better spot to anchor, I went to Jerry's and we watched football. following the game, Jerry took me to the Yacht Club where he is a member for a prime rib dinner. It was quite the place, two banquet halls, a dinning room and bar, waiters, bartender, fitness facilities, a real blue blazer, Breton Red Pants place. It is moire social that really boating with over three hundred members and only 90 or so boat owners. It is a beautiful spot and the food was fantastic, but it is not like home. And afterwards, I rowed back to ABISHAG for the night. Like I said a day of rest.
One slightly disturbing thing: last night a couple of guys in a run-about cruised by after dark. They were a couple of hundred yards away, heading toward Thumb Point but made a sharp and unnecessary turn toward the three boats in the anchorage. I was in the cockpit as they approached and was heading out to check the anchor setting. When I switched on the flashlight they veered off and did a slow cruise by the other two boats. They didn't stop but continued on in the direction that were originally headed in. They could have been coimplketely innocent and they probably were, but they also could have been casing the boats for some future criminal activity. Dinghy theft is epidemic in some places in Florida and you are warned not to leave your dinghy in the water at niught and to always lock it up when you go ashore. It wasn't a pleasant experience for what it could have been, but nothing really happened. Paradise isn't always paradise.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Wind, Wind, Wind
SHIP'S LOG:
When you want wind, it never seems to be around. when you don't want it, you get more than you need or want. Today, it is the latter with winds 15 to 20m gusting to 25 to 30. It made going to get the batteries in Jerry's boat a rather "wet" procedure, as his boat doesn't have a lot of freeboard and wave, stirred up by the wind, kept climbing aboard. And this after I had just dried out from a couple of days before.
The batteries are all in place an working just find. It took a bit for me to figure out how to reboot the battery monitor, but Chuck, who knows seemingly everything, put me on the right path and BINGO, all is right with the world . . .except for the wind.
It is in the 70's and that's fine with me, except for the wind, and it will be so for the next few days . . . .and the wind is supposed to died down tonight.
Tomorrow Jerry and I will overdose on football at his place, no wind there, and hit a dive called "ARCHIE's" which supposedly sells more Bub than any other place around. Reported to have the greatest burgers and fries, and no wind to speak of. It is something like "The Seahorse" in Noank and "Hughie's" in New London used to be. Evidently the lady who owns it has an ongoing war with the City of Ft. Pierce over something, probably zoning or some such nonsense, especially since it is right in the beach, but hopefully it will survive intact and unchanged, at least until tomorrow.
It is great to be electrically back together. Before the new batteries were installed, I literally had to run the engine to run anything electrical that was part of the boat, like the propane system for cooking, or had to hook things up to my portable generator, like my laptop and charges for the phone and the handheld radio. It was a royal pain and noisy as well, and that meant I had to select the proper time to run stuff so as not to"dist rub the neighbors." Well, no more of that, the new batteries stay charged up and topped off by the wind generator and no one new has dropped a hook where I am. That will probably change before too long as it is getting to the time when people start looking for a place to spend the night at anchor. Of course, the wind may discourage most as it is right out of the West and that is the most exposed direction in this anchorage. It is fairly well protected on all sides except the West and when the wind dies down tonight, it will be a comfortable spot as it was last night. The wind is supposed to shift to the North/ North West over night and drop to 5-10 and be from the East tomorrow, again 5 to 10.
I'll be sticking for awhile, probably another week and then head off south, at least to Stuart and/or Port St. Lucie. I wonder what the wind will be like there?
When you want wind, it never seems to be around. when you don't want it, you get more than you need or want. Today, it is the latter with winds 15 to 20m gusting to 25 to 30. It made going to get the batteries in Jerry's boat a rather "wet" procedure, as his boat doesn't have a lot of freeboard and wave, stirred up by the wind, kept climbing aboard. And this after I had just dried out from a couple of days before.
The batteries are all in place an working just find. It took a bit for me to figure out how to reboot the battery monitor, but Chuck, who knows seemingly everything, put me on the right path and BINGO, all is right with the world . . .except for the wind.
It is in the 70's and that's fine with me, except for the wind, and it will be so for the next few days . . . .and the wind is supposed to died down tonight.
Tomorrow Jerry and I will overdose on football at his place, no wind there, and hit a dive called "ARCHIE's" which supposedly sells more Bub than any other place around. Reported to have the greatest burgers and fries, and no wind to speak of. It is something like "The Seahorse" in Noank and "Hughie's" in New London used to be. Evidently the lady who owns it has an ongoing war with the City of Ft. Pierce over something, probably zoning or some such nonsense, especially since it is right in the beach, but hopefully it will survive intact and unchanged, at least until tomorrow.
It is great to be electrically back together. Before the new batteries were installed, I literally had to run the engine to run anything electrical that was part of the boat, like the propane system for cooking, or had to hook things up to my portable generator, like my laptop and charges for the phone and the handheld radio. It was a royal pain and noisy as well, and that meant I had to select the proper time to run stuff so as not to"dist rub the neighbors." Well, no more of that, the new batteries stay charged up and topped off by the wind generator and no one new has dropped a hook where I am. That will probably change before too long as it is getting to the time when people start looking for a place to spend the night at anchor. Of course, the wind may discourage most as it is right out of the West and that is the most exposed direction in this anchorage. It is fairly well protected on all sides except the West and when the wind dies down tonight, it will be a comfortable spot as it was last night. The wind is supposed to shift to the North/ North West over night and drop to 5-10 and be from the East tomorrow, again 5 to 10.
I'll be sticking for awhile, probably another week and then head off south, at least to Stuart and/or Port St. Lucie. I wonder what the wind will be like there?
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