Springer's

Yep, that's my Cap'n, folding his big self up into the
forepeak of the Vberth, to get a handle on the
bolts in the side of the hull, that were covered up
by the rub rail.  The new bow plate will be bolted
on the sides of the hull, as well as on top of the deck.

My Cap'n worked throughout the morning, perfecting his template/model to take to the machine shop.  He extended the sides a bit deeper, so that the new one will completely cover where the old rub rail used to be.  He then decided which holes will actually be used, and marked them accordingly on the template.  He reconfigured the gusset, where it will weld to the chain plate. He also measured and marked the chain plate, so it will be cut, then bent at the proper angles.  By noon, he found the proper fastener he will need to attach our roller furling to the new chain plate.  He scored a deal on that one, from Jimmy at the used boat parts place.  By the afternoon, he was on the blue piglet, wheelin' and dealin' with several machine shops in town.  The first guy was a jerk and through out a $2600 bid (no, thank-you).  The second guy came in at $500, but needs to gat the stainless steel from up in Miami.  The third guy had already closed up shop for the day, so this decision was tabled until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Rupert and his friend from Denmark stopped by to get a closer look at Donnie's template.  He has never come aboard Marquesa before today (glad I had spent the morning cleaning 'house' and doing laundry while the Cap'n was busy working).  About that same time, Larry and Len showed up to take us to Springer's in Big Pine Key.  Danny and Penny, and Bryan were also planning to go to play.  Springer's looked familiar to me.  I think we ate there years ago when we stopped in on the motorcycle.  If I'm remembering right, it was when Cap'n was taking a diesel mechanics class at Key West.  We really didn't know what we were getting in to; we thought Springer's was some guy's backyard, where musicians gathered to jam!

As it turned out, there were a dozen musicians that gathered on the patio
of the restaurant.  They sat in a circle, and each one would take a turn.
 

When a person's turn came up, he would choose what song he wanted and
in what key.  From there, the others would join in to support him. 
At times, they took turns taking the lead, or "breaks" in the song.

We heard everything from gospels, to bluegrass, to
blues, to folk songs, to Len singing his fishing song,
"Don't set your drag too tight" :)  Loved it.

My honey sang Josh Turner's "Be Your Man" Really loved that one ;)

Larry lead on "Long Gone" and later on
"Wagon Wheel" :)

The old feller standing up was playing harmonica and lead the group
in "Grand Ole Flag" and "You are my Sunshine".  I told you there
was all kinds of music, lol.  Normally the group plays from 6-9,
but they didn't stop until nearly 10:30pm.  The harmonica player
had to be well into his 80's; and I caught him napping as the
night wore on.  Clearly he was up past his bedtime!

This accordion player also joined in late in the evening.
She was really, really good.  A Jersey girl, go figure!

If we're still here next Monday, and it is likely we will be given the current state of Marquesa, it looks like we'll be heading back again next week.  Good music, good food, good company, good fun- that's a winner in my book.  This girl is pooped, G'nite, y'all!

weekend projects progress!

After a relaxing evening with Len Friday night, and sleeping in on Saturday morning, we were refreshed and ready to tackle the old bow plate mess in earnest.

Before the bow project was tackled, Cap'n made a quick fix of our water
pressure regulator.  The old one (original to the boat) went kaput, and
the new one came in the mail last evening.  Gotta love Amazon Prime;
it was half the cost of West Marine, and free two day shipping!
Another project, tah-done :)  I love having a handy Cap'n.

When the bolts for the anchor chain guide came off, we
were able to see what sad, sorry shape the whole bow
plate was in.  In fact, I no sooner snapped this picture,
and that piece to your left fell into the water!  Again,
notice the pin to the right.  That was the only thing
holding our roller furling (forestay) to the deck; it
was not attached to the chain plate as it should have been.

It took nearly the entire afternoon on Saturday to simply remove the dozen
bolts up in the bow.  It would have been easier on Cap'n if I folded myself up in
the bow and held the nuts while he worked the socket set taking the bolts
out on deck. After the second nut came off, I was in a sweat and about to have
a panic attack. I cannot take being in tight, closed in places with no air.
I. simply. cannot. Look how degraded the bow plate was on deck; the
aluminum was flaking, crumbling, and like powder.  Notice the roller furling
 is laying on the foredeck on a boat cushion.  Back to the being folded up
in the Vberth...Cap'n had to take over down below.  He's a trooper.  He
never gave up, and in spite of being a sweaty mess with a scraped up
back, he hung in there and gotter' done.

For the record, we're not the only ones with boat projects!  Our neighbors were
working on their bow Saturday afternoon, too.  Their Cap'n did a fiberglass
repair job on a few little boo-boo's, then repainted the stripe.  It turned out great.

Once the old bow plate was off, Cap'n used a Dremel to grind down the surface
and even things up.  Because the aluminum bow plate was not properly
attached to the chain plate for additional strength and support, when the jib
sail would be under load, it was lifting the entire plate off the deck.
Several bolts had been pulled up so, that the fiberglass was cracked and
humped up like an ant hill.  I'm sure this is where I was getting an
occasional leak into the Vberth.  The water was seeping in through the cracks. 

This is the old chain plate the attaches to the very front
of the bow.  Not only is it not thick enough, it had these
crazy angles going up and over the fore peak.  Every bend
in the chain plate weakens the strength of the metal :(

So, in addition to grinding down the 'ant hills' in the fiberglass, Cap'n
did some grinding in the front as well, so the new chain plate will have
only one bend in it. 

Next, Cap'n used poster board to make a pattern for the new bow plate.
The 3/8" bar of stainless steel in his hand will be the new chain plate.
It is not only thicker, it is wider, too.

 

 

From there, he went to Dave's shop here at Banana Bay to make a 3-D
pattern out of wood. 

It was beginning to take shape!

And Willis eventually woke up to see what was
happening in the world...

Hey, it's really coming together! Now imagine it all in stainless steel :)



Before Cap'n could see if his template fit, he had to cut the rub rail where
the new stainless steel sleeve will fit in its place.

We paused after dinner to walk over to our old spot on the Pointe
to enjoy another beautiful Florida sunset.

FITS LIKE A GLOVE!  The one thing Cap'n has left to do is to add a wedge
of wood along the side so it covers the bolts you see here.  Then he
will drill holes through the stainless side, and bolt the whole thing
to the hull of the boat.  Of course, there will be bolts on the deck, too.
In fact, his plan is to cut a piece of starboard in the same shape
to put underneath so that the fiberglass deck is 'sandwiched' between
the stainless bow plate and starboard down below.  Super, super strong!

Cap'n also made a slit where the new, heavier chain plate will come up.
I was so excited with his handi work!

And when all is said and done, the new bow plate will be similar to the
one you see here on our friend Travis' boat.  The only difference is ours
will be one solid piece all welded together.  See how the chain plate comes
up and the forestay/roller furling is then shackled directly to the chain plate?
That's how it should have been designed from the beginning.
I dare anyone or anything to play chicken with Marquesa when she's all
 put back together!  WAY TO GO, CAP'N!  I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!

I have to say though, this isn't my Cap'n's first rodeo fabricating boat parts.  As a retired tool and die maker from General Motors, he made a lot of boat parts through the years.  On our first sailboat, a Chrysler 22', it had no stanchions, life lines or stern rails.  One mis-step, and you were falling into the lake!  My main man once built a stern rail for Celestial out of one inch stainless tubing that he bent with a pipe bender and used the hydraulics from Pap's wood splitter to make it all work- true story!  And it also looked beautiful and fit like it was made for the boat :)

With that, it's now time for a hot tub....G'nite, y'all!

things happen for a reason...

So, you know how people say things happen for a reason?  It's true; the reason may not be abundantly clear at the time, but hindsight invariably makes things 20/20.

Some time ago, we were out on Marquesa, and Donnie did some spearfishing and diving.  When we went to pull up the anchor, it took some serious doin'.  Lots of tuggin', drivin' forward, backin' down, and such until it finally gave way.  Donnie had to dive down to see what the trouble was; nearly thirty feet of water, tugging and pulling on just one breath! When the anchor finally cut loose, some things got bent up a bit.  Then when we came in that blow ;ate Monday night (early Tuesday morning), we had issues getting the jibsail down.  Part of the issue was me at the helm, as I learned later on.  I should not have powered down, and should have got it turned into the wind and just headed out further into the Gulf.  I was afraid to turn up as usual, as it would have caused the jib to back wind, most definitely covering up Cap'n on deck.  I was afraid the force of the sail coming around might have sent him overboard.  The last thing I want in a blow and approaching storm is my Cap'n in the drink!

The next morning, while we were safely tucked in Banana Bay and the wind had abated, we noticed first of all that the halyard on the jib was completely frayed.  It could have easily snapped in the blow, sending the sail over the deck and into the water.  What a mess that would have been.  By Tuesday afternoon, Kenny and Cap'n had made a trip to West Marine, and we had a spiffy new jib halyard on.  In replacing the halyard, Cap'n also noticed that the bow plate, where the anchor guide and roller furling connect, was completely CRACKED IN TWO PIECES!

If you look to the right of the anchor guide there is a crack
front to back, all the way through on the bow plate- YIKES! 
You can see, too, that the bow plate was made of aluminum
which is all degraded.  Bleck.  Actually, this whole thing
is a poor design.  The roller furling should be bolted directly
to the bow chain plate, (the stainless steel bar coming up and
around the bow.) but instead our furling runs through the pin
you see in the center of the bow plate. Because the roller furling
is not anchored and bolted through the bow plate directly,
every time our jib sail was under extreme pressure, it
was pulling on the entire bow plate, which caused it to
eventually crack all the way through.  Upon seeing this problem,
we had more than one sailor tell us to NOT SHAKE OUT OUR
JIBSAIL until that whole bow plate gets fixed.  If that
cracked bow plate had completely given way with
the jib sail  up and under pressure, we could have lost our
roller furling, which contains the forestay. That means
that in a really big blow, our entire mast could have come
down.  Oh. My. Lord.  We have a problem, Houston.

 

 

Since we came in from a blow early, early Tuesday morning,
the wind has continued to blow out of the W, NW, N, and
eventually NE all week.  With no protection in front of us
anymore, it has been especially bouncy out at the Pointe.
 

 

Now that some cruisers have left Banana Bay already, and with this problem we have going on up on the bow, it became clear that we needed to move Marquesa off the wall by the entrance to Banana Bay.  Taking on this bow project means that we have to disconnect the roller furling, which also means that we will have no forestay holding the front of the mast.  Instead, Cap'n has to tie off the new jib halyard to a bow cleat as a temporary support.  We cannot bounce around on the wall without a complete rigging holding the mast up, so by Friday morning, Cap'n spoke with Larry the Dock master, and got permission to take one of the empty boat slips inside the marina. This will offer significantly more protection from wind and wave action.  Besides, by docking the boat with the
bow pointing in, we will have the convenience of sitting on the dock to do all of the manual labor involved. It would have been extremely difficult trying to stand up in a dinghy, balance yourself, and work with hand tools and power tools and such docked along side the wall.  While I will miss my unobstructed view of the sunset on The Gulf of Mexico, we were happy to be able to move Friday morning.

 

 

Willis was so very, very tired, he didn't even flinch when we fired up
Bessie to make the move!  We had to disconnect water, power, and
cable again, gather up all of our dock lines and fenders, exit out the
marina, and make a quick turn around back into the marina.
The boy was out like a light in all of the commotion.

 

We are now in Slip 17, and this is the view from our cockpit.  If you look
under the lifeline, you can see the 'empty wall' out at Paradise Pointe in
the distance.  The sailboat mast you see, belonging to Waterfront Property,
used to be across from us at the entrance to Banana Bay.  We would
greet each other from across the channel.

We no sooner got tied down and our dock lines and fenders
set, when I saw this manatee in the corner slip opposite from
us.  It's difficult to tell in this picture, but this boy was a teenager.

 

He was only about half grown.  I was surprised his momma
was no where to be found.

 

I got so sidetracked by playing with this fella, that I totally forgot about
helping Cap'n move our clown bikes, car, and other assorted CRAP over
to the other side of the marina.  I love how the manatees close their nostrils
while they drink from a hose. You can see it in this picture.  The girl who
 was giving him a drink accidently got water in his nose, and when he went
 to breathe, she got manatee buggers blown up her way!  This little guy
 only had one healed cut mark on his left shoulder, and besides the number
of barnacles on him, he otherwise looked healthy.  If Cap'n had known
where I was and what I was doing, he surely would have jumped
in the water with him.  He was a cutie; I named him Leroy.

 

When Willis finally woke up late in the afternoon,
and peeked out, he was a little confused as to where
he was.  It was a whole new neighborhood. 

 

With some coaxing, he finally made it off the boat, but his usual
laying spot in the mangroves was nowhere to be found.  Now
he has condos and landscaping in his front yard.  It's a whole
new world out there for him to explore.  Because we are closer
to the Banana Bay Resort property, I'm afraid he'll hook up
with One-Eyed Jack and Peg Leg, and all the rest of the
feral cat gang- where he'll develop exceptionally bad habits.
Not on my watch, if I can help it.  Momma has eyes like a hawk
and ears like a bat; just ask any of our five children! lol.

 

While Donnie ran some errands, visited some machine shops, and pondered how to tackle this bow problem of ours, I went to Mamaw and Paps to pick up the rest of our CRAP from their condo.  I had to repack the car and trunk twice to make room for it all.  While some of it belongs back on the boat, for the life of me, I don't know how we're going to get us, Willis, his carrier and his litter box in the car to drive home.  It doesn't look possible at all.  I don't even have the passenger seat available. 

 

By the time I got back, Cap'n had the jib sail down, and the halyard tied off to a bow cleat.  The jib was laying all over the deck, so I managed to get it on to the dock.  I spread it out and got it all folded up, then stuffed it in the last available space in the car for the time being until the bow is fixed and we are back in action.

 

We invited Len over for dinner, and to play music with Donnie.  I knew my
Cap'n would want to have some fun before his joy is stolen being
elbows to a$$ in the bow project. We have the weekend to get the old
bow plate off, and for Captain to make a pattern for a new bow plate
to take to the machine shop on Monday.  I know he's going to be frustrated
this next week.  He's a tool and die maker, and he has all the skills to
do the work himself, but no mill, lathe, or welding booth available to
him down here.  At $100/hr for labor down here, his usual cheerful
will dissipate quickly, along with the last of the $ in our savings account.

 

But for tonight, we're simply going to enjoy a beautiful sunset, some good
food, good company, and good music.  I made some mango chutney,
Cap'n grilled a large ham steak, and we had baked potatoes and fresh
broccoli for dinner. 

 

 

The boys played up by the Dock master's office, and several people
stopped to listen, sing along, and share stories and laughs late into the night.
Tomorrow we will hit the bow project in earnest, but tonight
was for making memories :)  G'nite, y'all!

 

 

 



last fun day with friends :/

The snowbird season is quickly winding down for many folks here, including ourselves.  Thursday was really the last opportunity for us to all be together.  Ken and Lucille are leaving for Long Island on Saturday morning.  Mamaw and Paps are leaving for home on Sunday.  Nancy and Ron leave for Jersey on Monday, and Chuckie and Ron also leave on Monday to Norfolk, VA, and Hatteras, NC, respectively.  All that will remain will be Kenny and Fran, and us.  Bryan and Polly, who are next door neighbors to Donnie's sister, Diane and her husband Dave, have all been full time residents here for years.  We have recognized recently that we do far more socializing, and have really developed some closer friendships with folks here, more so than the people we have known for years back home.  It's sad, but Donnie and I work like crazy for eight months to have the privilege of living aboard Marquesa for four months.  Frankly, that doesn't leave much room for cultivating friendships.  We are lucky to get together with our 'couple' friends two or three times over the course of those eight months at home.  We seem to all live crazy busy lives.  Eventually our life in Indiana has to slow down some, right?

This is why we so appreciate the respite here in the Florida Keys; in the sunshine, with our friends, and with Marquesa gently rocking us to sleep (most nights!). Next year (in China) will be a HUGE adjustment to Cap'n and I in so many ways.  We will both miss (terribly) our snowbird season on the boat.  I actually get teary eyed thinking about missing Kenny & Fran, Ken & Lucille, Nancy & Ron, Dan & Penny, Martina & Rupert, Bryan and Polly, Larry, Len, Big Ron, and Chuckie baby....and this doesn't even cover all of our marina friends here at Banana Bay...y'all know who you are!  Through the band, some new faces at the marina, Dock master Larry's famous BBQ's and such, we are going to especially miss our time and the circle of friends we have developed here in the marina, too.  After four years of spending our winters at Banana Bay, the friendships have really grown.  I hope there is still a place for us, slip 33 on the wall, when we return in November 2015. Ok....now I'm straight up getting myself all depressed here....bleh.

Getting back to fun day Thursday, and happier times...

We had spent Wednesday evening calling around to at least 15-20 marinas and boatyards looking for affordable storage for Marquesa for 18-19 months.  At one point, we even considered trucking her back home to Indiana and putting her back in the pole barn.  I sat with the cruiser's guide, looking at places all along our sailing routes both on the ICW/Atlantic side, and further up north on the mainland on the Gulf side.  I would call out phone numbers, and Cap'n did the dialing and talking.   We were getting price quotes anywhere from $4.50-12.00/ft./month.  He also left about half a dozen messages with places that were already closed for the day.  Through this process, we quickly realized that generally speaking, the further north we went the storage rates continued to go down.  This is why we had been looking at Green Cove Marina between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, FL. 

Waking up to the phone ringing off the hook, by Thursday mid-morning, we finally had the issue settled, with the best deal of all.  We will be heading up the Gulf coast, retracing some of our steps from our Gulf cruise last spring.  We will sail to Marco Island, then Naples, then Ft. Myers.  From there, we will travel up river along the Caloosahatchee River and into the Okeechobee Waterway.  We will go through two locks, and then to The Glades, where we are scheduled to haul out on Monday morning, April 21st.  In fact, we will want to get there on Sunday, to begin taking the sails down, and off loading all of our gear that we want to take with us in to a rental car.  We can only stay with the boat in the boatyard until 4:00pm on the 21st.  The good news is since we are first time customers, we got a deal for only $3.60/ft/month.  With tax, it will be around $130/month to safely store Marquesa.  It's going to be a quick turn around that day and a half we will have at The Glades.  Fortunately, we've pretty well got a system down of all that needs to be done to tear down the boat. Cap'n has his jobs, and I have mine, and there are several jobs that require all hands on deck. We are not as speedy quick as the days of setting up and tearing down our camper, but tearing down a boat is a tad more involved!

We will then return to Marathon to return the rental car, pick up our car, and deliver Willis to Kenny and Fran.  The band has their last gig at the Marathon Yacht Club on April 25th, and we fly out to Germany on April 26th.  It's going to be a whirlwind the last week of April, but with this decision  of where to store Marquesa finally settled, and a plan now set in motion, we were ready to spend the rest of the day poolside with all of our friends.

Minus the remaining band members, here's most of the gang:
Big Ron, Polly, and me
Paps, Mamaw, Lucille, Chuckie baby and Fran
Bryan, Kenny, Ken and Donnie.

We spent the afternoon sunning, swimming, laughing, and playing
a cut throat game of dominoes.  It looked like Adolph was going back
to Hatteras Island, North Carolina...

Until Paps swooped in the final round and stole the
bird from Fran by only FIVE POINTS!
Time for Adolph to get packed for Anderson, Indiana.

Thursday evening we all gathered for the last time for
Friday night Pizza Night (though it was Thursday!) Ron
& Nancy, Martina & Rupert, and their friend, Hans who
is visiting from Denmark, joined us in putting away six
large pizzas, popcorn, and all of the theatre candy our bellies
could hold!  The last movie of the season was The Internship
which had some great laughs in it.  It nice way to finish the season.
Frannie has been our social director and recreation
coordinator all season, so she was presented with a wipe off
calendar board to keep us all organized for next season.
(except we won't be here, wahhhh!) 



Join us in saying a prayer for travelling mercies
for all of our friends  and family (and Adolph!)
as they make their trek back north in the
coming days.  Thank-you all, for some
wonderful memories again this year :)

the sailing (mis)adventures of Willis

On Sunday, we decided to go visit Pastor Bob and Marcia Pavey up in Islamorada.  As always, the sermon was excellent, and the church had the most folks I've ever seen there!  I had no doubt that Pastor and Marcia would grow the church, and that is happening for sure.  Aunt Linda and Uncle Louie (Mamaw's baby sister and brother-in-law) have been there every Sunday since they came down the first of February.  Like so many snowbirds, their time here is quickly winding down.  There will be a mass exodus off the islands and out of the marinas on the first of April- us included.  After the service, the firehouse across the street was having a BBQ fundraiser, so Linda and Louie treated us to lunch before we headed back.  It was really good, but the company and visiting was even better. We always have lots of laughs when we are with Linda and Louie :)

Five Sheets to the Wind got together to practice Sunday afternoon.  They
have another gig at the Yacht Club on 4/25, but they will likely not all
be together again before that date.  We will be leaving soon ourselves, to
begin moving the boat up north to the Jacksonville area for long term storage.
Boy, are we ever going to miss Marquesa, the Keys, our friends, the
music, the church, the sunshine and fresh salty air...when we are in China
this next year :/  We'll just be having (mis)adventures of a different sort!

I spent the afternoon doing oodles and oodles of laundry- all the guest linens, towels, and such.  I also started sorting through all of the 'stuff' that's been stored at Mamaw and Paps.  Everyone is starting to get into "move mentality", us included.  It's a bit overwhelming to think about getting the boat moved, properly cleaned, serviced, and stored for the long term, AND to think about how to get everything in a rental car and back down to the Keys.  The plan is to leave our car here when we set sail, then rent a car one way back from the mainland.  We plan to return on April 24th, to sort through all of our crap and repack it into our car.  The band has their gig on April 25th, then we will be leaving Willis with Kenny and Fran when we fly to Germany on April 26th.  We will return on May 12th, grab the cat and our car, and then begin the long ride back home to Indiana.  These last six weeks are going to fly in a whirlwind- no doubt.  I'm already tired just thinking about it, but then I had all of about three hours of sleep last night.  More on that later.

Yesterday, we had a big sailing and fishing adventure planned with
Uncle Kenny and Willis T. Cat.  Willis was excited that Uncle Kenny
was coming; he was already laying in his bunk just waiting for him!
No really, that's his 'excited' look.  He's a cat. A dern cat.

When Cap'n fired up Bessie, Willis got all out of sorts, as he usually does.
It's time to get this boy out of the mangroves and off the dock, too.  He's
forgotten what it's like to sail.  He was a little stressed at first.
Notice the depth gauge says 5.1- it's hard to find water on the Gulf side.

By mid-afternoon, we made it to East Bahia Honda Key,
dropped anchor, and the boys started fishing.  I saw a
loggerhead turtle near the anchorage, and a shark swam
by the boat not long after we got hooked.  It didn't
take Kenny but a minute to reel in a nice ocean catfish!

Once Bessie shut up, Willis couldn't wait to go exploring topsides. 
He saw the shark, too!  I told him he better not think about stepping
off, or in his thrashing, he'd quickly become a shark snack.
It always worries me if he remembers there is water all around him
when Marquesa is on the move, but he does.  He does NOT want to fall in!

He saw Dad reel one in this time!

Just chillin' as he's watching the water.  It's one of my
favorite things to do, too.  The water was crystal clear.

He loves climbing all over the boat and smelling the salty smells.  Especially when it is flat calm out there.

I went down below to warm up the pasta and meatballs that Fran sent with
Kenny, before we got underway again. I felt somebody was peeking in at me
 through the salon hatch. He thinks he's such a BIG cat. and all that.

Once the pinfish came in, it was time to pull up anchor
and head for another spot.  The boys decided to go
out beyond the reef to the bridge rubble, to see what
they might catch.  We were motoring, and Windy was
hard at work making power as we headed out.
We had the wind on the nose, naturally. 
It didn't seem to bother Sassafras at all, at this point.
Now he thinks he's a hood ornament.

Mom, get the camera!  We're going under the bridge!



Got it- all lined up at the chute :)

It was a beautiful evening sail out the Atlantic side.

Willis was supervising Uncle Kenny as he set up his trolling rod.  We
eventually anchored up in 56' feet of water beyond the reef.  There
were several other boats we could see in the night that were also
fishing.  We kept our steaming light on, as we found out (after dark) that
the anchor light is burned out.  That means Momma K has to go aloft
to the top of the mast to change the light bulb.  That's on the to-do list
for later in the week; but definitely before we leave to head north.

 

As the boys continued to fish after hard dark, Willis
seemed content on the gunnels, smelling the salty
smells. Until he wasn't.  I was down below changing
clothes and I heard Willis crying up top.  He howls
just before he pukes- always.  I peeked my head up
from the hatch in our Vberth just in time to steer him
away from the hatch.  Else, he would have puked on
our bed!  I was worried for him as he continued to
wretch, as he always backs up as he pukes.  He was
walking backwards right over the anchor locker and
nearly off the bow.  I couldn't get to him, between
squeezing myself through the hatch and crawling
on deck between the piles of puke.  Ugh.  I had Cap'n
fumble in the darkness to bring me paper towels
to clean the mess up, and I pitched puke-face down
on our bed for safe keeping.  It was then that I discovered
the second mess of the night- he pissed on our bed :/
I was NONE too pleased with the furball.  I guess
he didn't have his sea legs after all, (though up to
this point in the evening, it had been an easy sail.)

It's all very blurry, but by the time we got back to the Gulf
side and dropped the hook for some more late night fishing,
Willis obviously was feeling better and was up to his
usual tricks.  Here is supervising Dad from on top of
the solar panel.  It's a good thing he didn't get his tail
caught up in Windy.  One of the fishing poles met its
demise in Windy earlier in the day.  Her blades are sharp!

Donnie got into some lane snappers, mangrove snappers, and small tarpon.
As soon as he'd release the tarpon, something MUCH BIGGER was thrashing
 in the water having a tarpon snack.  Donnie shined the spotlight in the water,
and sure enough, it was a shark, most likely, a bull shark.  I was afraid for Willis, 
and searched all over the topsides with a flashlight. I couldn't find him anywhere!
He had himself sandwiched on top of the dodger, but under the bimini.
Dern cat.  He was really getting on Momma's last nerve.  First messes
out both ends, a stinking bed, and then he scared the bejesus out of me.

As it got even later, there was heat lightening all around us.  By 1:30am, that wasn't heat lightening, as it was accompanied by thunder!  Fortunately we weren't far enough offshore to lose a cell phone signal, so I brought up the live radar to see what was happening.  There were no stars out, for the clouds. It was pitch black.  We were in a horse shoe, with red, yellow and green surrounding us, blowing in from the WSW.  It was nearly to Big Pine Key and heading our way.  Time to pull anchor and head for home.  Staying out all night was out of the question.  I tucked Willis in the chair next to me in the cockpit, and we stayed up with Cap'n keeping an eye on the weather.  With Bessie scaled back and a full jib up, we were heading home in record time.  We were steady at 7 knots and sometimes more-  until we weren't.

We were just beyond Key Fisheries and coming up to Pretty Joe Rock just outside Banana Bay.  The
temperature dropped, the wind shifted E/NE, and it was gusting well over 25-30 knots.  Cap'n tried to roll in the jib, before turning in for the channel...but it would. not. budge. at. all.  I took the helm while he went forward to sort out the problem.  There was a knot up in the bale somewhere, it seemed, and there was no getting to it.  After about 10 minutes of wrestling with it, us drifting toward
the rocks next door, and the usual yelling that cannot be heard over the WIND, he had no choice but to release the jib halyard and drop it on deck.  It's a lot of sail to try to corral in the gusting wind, and it's still new, and slippery, even without the rain on its way.  Finally, Cap'n came back to relieve me at the helm, while I laid on the sail and readjusted our lines.  We couldn't go into our slip on the wall without any help.  Our prop rotates us off the dock anyhow, and the wind was blowing us off as well.  Instead, we turned in and took Sundance's spot for the evening.  Though our ETA had been 4:00am on the chartplotter, we were all tied down and ready to turn in to bed by 3:40am.  Needless to say, when I jumped onto the dock to tie down, Willis also jumped on the dock and then got thoroughly confused.  He couldn't decide which way to run....he'd never been on this side of the marina before.
With the blow soon came the rain, and Willis T was nowhere to be found.  Lord knows how much le loves to be wet.  It was his own dern fault.

Kenny took the port berth, and I put Cap'n on the starboard berth, since Willis peed on his side of the bed.  I piled the covers up over the Willis' mess, and turned on the fan to blow the stink away. We all attempted to sleep a bit.  Between the pouring rain, lightening, and thunder, (and me being worried about the dern cat that was no where to be found), there was very little sleep to be had. 

I was back up by 8:30am making coffee and fixing breakfast.  The rain had stopped for the moment, so we decided to move back to our spot on the wall.  I went looking for The Turd (his pen names were getting worse as the night turned into day and I was feeling sleep deprived).  We were back 'home' before 10am, but it was after 2:30am before the boat was washed down inside and out, all the fishing gear was unloaded, the linens were all washed and put back on the bed, the dishes were washed and put away, the floor was swept, the trash was out, and the jib halyard was replaced. 

While in the early morning hours it seemed there was a knot in the bale (which was true), I think the good Lord was trying to save us from a bigger problem.  Back on the dock in the light of day, our jib halyard was in tatters....it was about to blow.  It was a good thing Cap'n dropped the sail to the deck before we broke a halyard and had all of the sail and sheets in the churning gulf.  I don't even want to think about what a disaster that could have been. A trip to West Marine, and $200 later for 100' of 7/16th's line, and we are now good to go once again. 

We had a nice bag of snappers and a grunt, and another
bag of ocean cats.  Cap'n was making a stinkin' face,
but honestly, I was too- we all smelled like stinkin'
fish, fish guts, chum, and just plain nastiness.
A shower never felt SO GOOD.
My clean home never smelled SO GOOD.

We visited with friends and family after our showers.  We were afraid to take a nap; we might not sleep tonight.  I made chicken fried rice for dinner, at the request of my Cap'n and we decided to take it easy the rest of the evening.  The wind has continued to build all evening.  It is now out of the W/NW- blowing us into and bouncing us off of the dock.  It's a steady 18-20mph (I just checked) with gusts even higher. Cap'n has had to go out a few times already to readjust lines and fenders.  The boat is like a bucking bronco once again.  It is supposed to blow like this all through tomorrow and Thursday.  Great.  You know who is nowhere to be found, once again.  Not that I blame him tonight.  The bed is a little too bouncy for me, too.  Time for a pop tart, a glass of milk, a Dramamine, and bed for Momma K- in that order!  G'nite, y'all!