12/01/2009, Titusville, FL
Cheryl's Notes:
We had two bits of excitement today. We left Daytona Beach and headed south. Shortly before noon, we passed a small boat from the local County Sheriff's department. They circled around and pulled up to our boat. They wanted permission to board our boat and make sure that we had the through hull for the head closed off. Florida is very fussy about boaters dumping their sewage overboard. We were prepared, so we passed inspection. But, the incident makes we ask. Why do all of these guys were black boots? Is it disrespectful to ask them to remove their boots when they board so that they don't leave black marks all over our white decks? Just a thought. I don't think that I will test my idea.
Our next incident happened only minutes later. John had gone below to get his book and tripped coming up the companionway stairs. His sandal caught on the top step and he pitched forward into the cockpit. In the process, his shins were scraped across the bridge deck. His right shin swelled up with a giant bruise, and his left shin had two very bad cuts. The smaller one at the top is pretty deep, and the longer one is more of a surface scrape. But, boy oh boy, did they bleed. We were not in an area where we could pull over and anchor, so we had to practice our first aid on the fly. Luckily, there was a roll of paper towels laying in the cockpit. John applied pressure while I was at the helm. When the bleeding stopped, he took the wheel while I retrieved the first aid kit. Now, you have to understand that I am usually the clumsy one, so our first aid kit is industrial sized. I closed the upper cut with butterfly bandages, and then covered the lower one with a big gauze pad. I then wrapped his leg with an elastic bandage to hold everything in place. Our final observation is that , damn that is going to leave a mark.
We are now anchored in Titusville. We are watching the weather to see what the game plan will be for tomorrow. It looks like we will be able to get to our next anchorage before the storms pass through.
John's Notes:
It's ok, I'm not hurt. Cheryl made more out of it than I would have. It's not a big deal but I will probably have to explain to everyone what happened when we get to Vero Beach. It will probably leave a mark but on these old legs, who can tell?
Today was the first time in my sailing life that I have been boarded by any law enforcement agency. Not a big deal but I just don't like it when they have the authority to board you without provocation.
It hasn't been as cold the last couple of nights and the condensation problem hasn't been with us either. Both are welcomed.
Kinda bummed out that we have not seen an alligator or a manatee. We have dolphins everywhere we look. Every half mile there is a sign cautioning us to go slow, Manatee area. They must see us coming and hide. I'm guessing someone has told them all kinds of terrible things about Leprechaun's. That's ok, manatee's are way too ugly to be Irish anyway.
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