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!