in the water and gone

28 January, 2016

This was the view from our condo in a gated community,

 which we rented through airbnb. (If you haven’t used an airbnb before and would like to try it, let me know.  I’ll send you an invite which will give you a $25 discount on your first rental.) We enjoyed the space rather than living on board while doing the many projects.  If we had been living on board, we would have had to put tools and a million other items away so we could eat, sit down or go to bed, only to drag them out the next day. It should have sped up our progress. Maybe it did, it is hard to tell.

This is our view this week. 

Check out GowithGusto.ca for their take of life on the hard. It did feel good to climb into our bed here on Submit for the first time is several months. Our weather has been less than tropical. Friday it rained most of the day with severe weather warnings. Today is windy with gusts expected up to 35 miles per hour.  I put the last coat of barrier paint on our new rudder, just minutes before it started to rain again. Superman Reggie successfully shielded the rudder, so we think no damage was done. Anti fouling paint will go on this afternoon and tomorrow. We will be ready to launch on Monday.

It is about a 3 hour trip from here to the lock, which we will have to go through at high tide. Unfortunately, high tide will be at 4:00 AM.  The plan is to motor down the canal after we launch and anchor out close to the lock. Get up at 0 dark 30 and negotiate the lock in the dark. Tuesday is predicted to be good weather, but Wednesday and Thursday, not so much.

From Reggie:  We’ve had various adventures since arriving.  One I had not counted on was a night in the hospital.  Apparently I developed Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) while doing a lot of desk work this fall and it was exacerbated by the 11 ½ day road trip.  It could have dire consequences, but they would be dire on the boat or at home, so off we go.  Yes. I know I would be closer to medical care at home, but odds are I won’t need it, and besides, aren’t sunshine and sandy beaches supposed to be healthy for you?  Keep moving.  Do not become sedentary.

We had a couple minor problems leaving Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage, all caused by operator error, mine.  Nothing catastrophic, just embarrassing. 

A long day began at 3AM Tuesday, out the lock, and motoring to Fort Myers Beach.  We picked up a mooring ball in the municipal marina, $16 per night.  We stayed on the boat all of Wednesday due to non-stop rain.  Even though we have 120 gallons of fresh water on board, we collected several gallons of rain water to use for dishes and a sponge bath. 

Today, Thursday, we dinghied to town in the rain, and after stopping at a local bar/restaurant for “toast”, hopped a trolley to Lovers Key and back.  At the moment, we are at the public library for correspondence.  A couple more stops and back to the boat for the evening.  Tentative plan is to head to Marco Island tomorrow, then on to Little Shark rive perhaps on Sunday and Marathon on Monday.  Weather permitting.  Always, weather permitting.