Sun, Jan 17, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

There was a little bit of rain during the early morning hours. Several times during the night, we were bothered by the mooring ball hitting the hull of the boat – it seemed the tide and the wind were working against each other and we were sideways to the mooring ball. By 8:30 am we were on shore and ready for showers. Maureen had brought the dirty clothes in for washing and did several loads of laundry while Gale ran over to Publix for some distilled water to add to the battery bank. At 11 am, he picked up Maureen with her bag of clean clothes and brought her back to begin putting things away.


At 12:30 pm we headed over to Liz and Steve Kemper’s boat, Shingebiss, to watch the Vikings beat the Cowboys in a big playoff game. If the Vikings can beat the Saints next Sunday, they’ll be in the Superbowl on February 7th!! We toured their well-maintained trawler, shared some snacks and conversation, got to know their cat, Lucy, and cheered on Brett Favre and the Vikings. Liz and Steve are from Newport, Minnesota, where they have a nice home on a canal leading to the Mississippi River. We first met them at the marina in Port St Joe, Florida.

At 5 pm we were back at our boat to pick up Lucy and go for a little dinghy ride. We still wanted to check out the channel where there were so many derelict boats anchored. There wasn’t much daylight left so we weren’t out long, but we did see many abandoned boats as well as some that looked abandoned, actually were inhabited, but hadn’t been moved for a very long time.





After dark, Steve and Liz stopped by in their dinghy. They had made a trip downtown and were on their way back to their boat. They had just met another couple from Minnesota who had just started their sailing adventure and had questions about doing the “Loop” in a sailboat. Liz called them over to talk to Gale about our trip, and we invited both couples aboard for a quick tour and a short visit. The second couple from Minnesota, Bob and Ilona Rouda, s/v Maija Lisa, had trailered their 23-foot Precision sailboat from Minnesota to Florida where they had recently put in.

Sat, Jan 16, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

After enjoying a spectacular sunrise we were in the dinghy by 7:30 am and heading for Snook Bight Marina and the Publix grocery store. On the return trip, we stopped at Last Call and talked to RL and Karen for a few minutes. They were interested in going to West Marine a little later and then to a rib place for lunch and hoping to catch the New Orleans Saints game at the restaurant. Maureen had already started a defrosting project at home by turning off the refrigerator before we left on our shopping trip, so she thought she better stay home and follow through with that project. Gale called Karen and RL to let them know that Maureen would not be accompanying the group and learned that the football game the Butlers were interested in watching didn’t come on TV until 4 pm so they decided they would rather make their trip into town later in the afternoon. Gale and Lucy went ahead and walked up to the hardware store near the beach to pick up the items he needed for his ongoing cockpit shower project. Maureen finished cleaning the fridge, put groceries away, washed fruits and vegetables, made salad, cleaned the inside of the boat and made lasagna. When Gale returned, he continued trying to fix the leak in the cockpit shower and also found time to insulate the locker where the generator was being kept. We worked until 4:30 pm and called it quits!

We enjoyed an early lasagna dinner and had hoped to go for a dinghy ride afterwards; however, the wind had begun to kick up and it was starting to look like rain. Instead of going out, Gale did some email correspondence while Maureen read.

Fri, Jan 15, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

This morning Gale worked on the locker where we had stored the generator. We were getting some exhaust from the generator inside the boat so he figured out what he could do to mitigate that problem. As he was working on the project, he noticed the engine radiator was leaking – something else to be fixed immediately – but, fortunately, tightening up the hose clamps seemed to do the trick.

At 2 pm we quit our chores and headed in for showers. We were a little late getting to the “Slurp and Burp” which began at 3 pm, but there were still plenty of fresh oysters and shrimp for the latecomers. We enjoyed meeting new friends and hearing tales of their travels. Thanks to Trace and Diane, s/v Faith, for putting this party together!

Thurs, Jan 14, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

This is more like the Florida we came for! It was supposed to warm up into the 70's today. We agreed early in the morning that at 2 pm we would quit whatever we were doing, grab Lucy and the lawn chairs and head for the beach. During the morning hours, Gale worked on clearing out a space for the generator in a cockpit locker that would work great for both storage and running the generator without having to carry it around the deck. Maureen did some work on the 2010 budget and some initial prep work for the 2009 income tax return.

True to our agreement, we left the boat shortly after 2 pm for the beach. We found a sunny spot to set our lawn chairs and watch the world go by. It was fun to see so much activity. We ordered a couple of Coronas (w/lime), sat back with our books and
our dog, and felt like the couple in the beer commercial where all your cares just fade away as you relax in the moment, right here, right now. Of course, we are blessed not to have any great worries these days. While relaxing on the beach, a couple of ladies under the umbrella a few feet over, Barbara and Camille, wanted to meet Lucy. Barbara was missing her dog, Charlie, who had to be left at home for this trip. The ladies were from Wisconsin (is everyone in Florida from the Midwest?) and they adopted Lucy for awhile keeping her in the shade of their umbrella and giving her ice water to drink.

Back at the boat just before 5 pm, we set the lawn chairs on the forward deck and grabbed two glasses of wine. We visited with a few couples passing by in their dinghies – it seemed everyone had been out and about enjoying the warm day!

Wed, Jan 13, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

The low this morning was 37°F – Hooray – an uptrend! The forecast was calling for sunny skies and 63°F for a high. And another beautiful sunrise!

We spent some time straightening things up from yesterday’s projects before going in to shore for showers. As mentioned in yesterday’s journal, our plan was to meet Gary and Marilyn Huffine at 2 pm, bring them out to see Blue Heron and then drive to the IMax theatre to see the new Avatar movie. After the movie, the four of us would meet Nick and Jane at PF Chang’s for an oriental dinner. When we talked to Gary early this morning, he reported that Marilyn had not been feeling well all night and he needed to stay home with her. No problem, we went on with our day and decided that we would quit with the chores early as originally planned and then head uptown and have a “date night.” As Gale was working outside, a couple in their dinghy, RL and Karen Butler of s/v Last Call stopped by and commented about the Honda generator on the back of the boat. They had had some problems with theirs and weren’t very happy with it. Gale said that before we bought our generator, all we heard was marvelous things about the little Honda, yet after we brought one home, we are now hearing negative things. Hopefully, with care, ours will end up serving us well over the years.

After visiting with RL and Karen for a little while, we made a plan to meet them at 3 pm at our boat and then go out for happy hour. They came aboard at the appointed hour, we had a couple of drinks and then headed over to Bonita Bills where we tied up to the dinghy dock, had a drink and then walked over to Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille. We enjoyed a fun happy hour with great prices on drinks and appetizers. That’s Karen and RL in the photo.

Tues, Jan 12, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

It wasn’t quite as cold this morning. The actual low temperature was 36°F; it was 39°F in the cockpit and 41°F inside the cabin. The sun streaming in helped to warm everything up quickly.

Gale worked on a few projects around the boat – he tightened electrical connections, made some adjustments for the leak in the cockpit shower, recalibrated the depth finder and the auto helm and worked on the inverter. In the meantime, Maureen baked bread, worked on the budget and caught up on her blog writing. While Gale was out at the hardware store, Lucy became very ill – vomiting, shaking and unable to get herself up off the floor. Maureen was afraid that Lucy had been poisoned by the bug she ate a little bit earlier – we had no other explanation. Lucy let Maureen hold her like a baby for awhile and then lay down on the couch in the salon without moving for a couple of hours. It appeared that she was going to pull through – she just needed to rest and let the poison work out of her system.

Gary and Nick surprised us late in the afternoon when they came by for a visit in their fishing boat. We made a plan to meet up with Gary and Marilyn tomorrow at 2 pm to see the movie Avatar at the IMax theatre and then join Nick and Jane for lunch afterwards at P.F. Chang’s.

Mon, Jan 11, 2010 - Ft Myers Beach, FL

When Maureen got up at 7 am it was 31°F outside. The thermometer on the boat showed 32°F in the cockpit (with the isinglass) and 35°F inside the cabin. She started the oven for some heat and then turned on the engine for more heat. The generator provided power for the coffee pot and the little space heater (more heat!). It didn’t take too long to thaw out.

The day was sunny with a light north wind – a good day to be outside again. We called the Animal Clinic and made an appointment for 1 pm to get Lucy a rabies shot and to start the paperwork needed in preparation for our entry into the Bahamas with a pet. We called a taxi to take us to the clinic and since we were early, we walked to Target to grab a sandwich. The staff at the veterinarian clinic was very helpful and said they would handle everything with the Bahamas for us. We can check back in a week or so to see if the paperwork is back. After Lucy’s appointment, we walked to the hardware store and to West Marine. Instead of walking home as we had originally planned, we called the taxi for a lift back. Gale still wanted to stop by the Westerbeke dealer’s place of business and make a trip to shore for water.

Gale stopped by the Matanzas Inn office to re-register for a few more days. While there he ran into a lady we’d met at Port St. Joe Marina who had just arrived with her husband on their trawler. He also visited with Diane and Trace, s/v Faith, who gave him specific information about anchorages between here and Cayo Costa. They especially love to go to Boca Grande where the rich and famous gather. She does her clothes shopping at the thrift store in Boca Grande where she finds wonderful barely-used clothing.

Tonight’s dinner consisted of leftovers. After reading for awhile, the three of us cozied in under the comforter for another cold night.