progress :)

 

Willis was 'busy' supervising Cap'n today as he continued to work at the helm on the VHF radio conundrum.  After more fiddling and testing and such, together we decided that we just needed to fish an entirely new wire down the mast and start from the beginning.  While he left to go buy 100' of wire, I made some tuna salad for lunch.  While I was in the galley, some alarm on the radio was going off.  I flipped the circuit breaker off to shut her up.  I didn't know what her problem was.  I'm naming the VHF Voshkie, as she is the long lost cousin of Helga (the head), another crotchety woman I do not understand.

So, Donnie got back with the wire, and we discussed about a plan to send me back up the mast.  I made a pitch for getting Brett to go up, as I know NOTHING about wiring.  About this time Donnie asked me to flip on the power to the radio.  I did....and voila!  It worked!  It worked?!  How did THAT happen?  Voshkie!  You temperamental beast of a woman!  The whole scene reminded me of Cousin Eddie and Ruby Sue in Christmas Vacation, "She falls in a well, her eyes go crossed.  She gets kicked by a mule and they go uncrossed...I don't know."  At any rate, Donnie requested a radio check, and some other sailor responded.  Cap'n requested his position....HE WAS 10 MILES OFF SHORE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO!  It was music to my ears, y'all.  I did the happy dance.  We go- as soon as I get the laundry done and groceries bought...and the weather looks favorable.

 

It's always a little disconcerting to bring a garden hose and start spraying water INSIDE the boat.  Thank goodness we have a bilge pump in good working order. That was tested yesterdayas we cleaned the bilge.  So, the floors all got sprayed and scrubbed, three times over, until they were squeaky clean.  I turned the fans on and when the teaks were good and dry they all got oiled and buffed.  While I was at it, I oiled all of the cabinetry again for good measure.  I gotta say, Marquesa is looking good for an old gal (circa 1984).

With the VHF radio now working (again, how did that happen?!) Cap'n decided to reward a job well done by going huntin'.  He was in the mood to shoot something, so he got permission from the Dockmaster to kill the lionfish we saw by Danny's boat last night.  If you see a lionfish,  you can kill them as they are destroying the reefs.

If you look to the right of the piling, you can see him from last night.

 



This is what you're looking for.  It's what Cap'n was looking for, too, but didn't find.  He got an itchy trigger finger for nothing.  Naturally he saw about 20 lobsters or more, all of legal size, but the season is out.  Bag one now and that will get you a quick trip to the local pokey and a hefty fine from FWC.  

 

We got a couple of important documents today.  One was Marquesa's Coast Guard registration renewal, and the other was our contract for Slip 33 at Banana Bay next year :)

We went to Brutus's this evening with Dan and Biddi, for their $3.00 half pound burger.  Only. the. best. burger. ever.  We got back in time for the sunset, and found Willis out, working the crowd.

He's like the bears at Yellowstone National Park back in the day.  The park tour bus would come down the road and one bear would flop in front of the bus to stop it.  Then the other bears would come out of the woods to work the crowd...people throwing them apples, potato chips and stuff.  Ask Donnie about the time he saw the "Just Married" couple in the car behind the bus.  Let's just say the bear ran off with a mouthful of dry cleaning plastic and wedding dress, lol!  All I'm really trying to say is Willis is the most photographed (and belly rubbed) cat in the Keys.

This was as pretty as it was going to get, for the low lying clouds on the horizon.  As the pelican flew by, and I marveled at the sun's rays beaming down, it reminded me of when the little girls called scenes like this "heaven".  I paused and said a prayer for a friend who is hurting today.

This evening, Cap'n got out the charts, and when ever that happens, Willis is always there ready to supervise.  We were looking over the west coast of Florida and where we'd like to sail the next couple of weeks.  Looks like an 82 mile run, nearly due north, to Marco Island.  From there we'll head on up to Naples, Captiva Island, Sanibel Island, maybe the Charlotte Harbor area.  Depending on the wind and the weather, we'll then do a longer crossing back down to Banana Bay when the time comes.  We have to get home during the first week of May for Michael and Emily's college graduations on the 11th of May.

The wind has picked up tonight, and it's supposed to blow 15-20 tomorrow, then 10-15 on Friday.  We talked about the +s and -s to leaving tomorrow vs. leaving on Friday.  If we leave tomorrow, it will be a night passage, as we couldn't be ready until afternoon at best.  I'm not altogether comfortable on a night passage in such shallow waters.  Most of the passage will be in less than 8' of water.  Night crossings don't bother me when there's plenty of water under the keel.  But, there's some superstition amongst sailors about leaving for a trip on a Friday. Many folks we know would never take off on a Friday.  However, the winds are more favorable for Friday.   So, Friday, it is.  AIS is 4:00am, according to Cap'n.  We have an 82 mile run, so that should get us in with plenty of daylight left. 

 

So, tomorrow, I have to do laundry, provision, and take care of some banking business.  Cap'n needs to fill the water tanks, jerry jugs, top off the gas and diesel tanks and get more fuel.  We also need to start icing down the Yeti tomorrow, lash down the jerry jugs, and move the dink up onto the bow.  We also need to let the Dockmaster know of our plans to be gone a few weeks. We'll come back to Banana Bay for several days for some R & R, before we move Marquesa over to the dock on Angler Drive in the canal on the ocean side for her summer home.  I dread all of the packing, sorting, cleaning, moving, and drive home.  I don't need to think about that for now...we're FINALLY going cruising!  I get to think about planning our trip.  I love planning a trip :)  I'm taking the cruising guide with me for some bedtime reading.  G'nite, y'all!