Monday and counting down in Stuart town
15 May 2017
• Sunset Bay Marina, mooring ball 53, Stuart FL
by Mike/it can't make up its mind but hot sunny and no rain despite the forecasts
Last night was hot, still, and sticky, and for the first time I fully understand Barb's problem with hot weather. Old softie that I am I couldn't get used to the different mattress in the v-berth so I couldn't reap the advantages of the small breeze up there like Barb could, and I lay awake in our cabin finally drifting off to a sweaty sleep some time around 0200. E gads! If that is what Barb has to deal with all the time, no wonder she is so often out of sorts and the sooner we can make some northing to cooler climates the better. Even during the day, although tired and yawning, I couldn't bring myself over the edge to sleep even as a nap.
Our new BBQ worked very well last night except I forgot how long it takes to Q sweet potatoes so the full meal was not available simultaneously as the chef had planned. Oh, and by the way, guess what we found while looking for a shackle for one of our jobs this morning? The replacement valve for the old BBQ, so we might have the ability to have the two of them going simultaneously for those big raft up parties that we throw so often. Did you detect the note of sarcasm just there?
Monday, and we are looking at a Wednesday departure at the earliest. Apparently we got an especially good deal here at the marina since, although we arrived on Wednesday we were too late to go into the marina to check in and when we did the next day, although we were speaking to the same fellow that we talked to on the phone the day before he marked us down as having arrived in the Thursday which means that we got an extra day out of our week registration.
This morning's tasks? Well, the storm jib is bent on (may we never have to use it again) with Barb's patented new sail bag design that allows it to wrap around the baby stay and a top zip opening. We also got the life lines put back on and stowed away the sails that we aren't planning on using straight away which has significantly cleared the top of the pilot house of stuff that was blocking our forward view. The mizzensail is bent on complete with jiffy reefing points, but the Florida sun bit us one more time as one of our lazy jack lines parted.
Sigh.
Another trip up the mizzenmast mast and another trip to buy the necessary cordage. Sigh. Will it never end? No, of course not you bonehead. This is boating!
In spite of the weather forecast it did not rain last night. The burn index down here is awful. I am amazed at how green the grass is, even the stuff on the verge of the highways. It's either a special draught resistant strain of grass or they paint it. It is tempting to assume that the weather witches will continue to be wrong with their forecasts and just head out offshore, but with the famous gotcha factor that would be the one time that they are right and we get spanked. So, we continue to deal with the Intel that we are given and see where we get to.
The breeze came up again mid morning, thank heavens, and we were able to get some air circulating through the boat in the shade below. This afternoon after a brief cool down in the marina lounge we went into town to mail a couple of post cards and pick up one or two items from a hardware store. As we walked too and fro the air temperature dipped and then rose again. It just can't decide if there is to be a front come through or not. This is when I tried to nap but couldn't.
We have put up the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) pennant that we received for membership and agreeing to be the Port Officers for Shelburne, and, of course the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club (SHYC) burgee. I had been remiss and had forgotten that we had them aboard, but when I went to lie down in the v-berth I noticed the flag locker and checked it over. Besides the alphabet pennants and our collection of courtesy flags, there they were. Other fabric tasks for today has been Barbara sewing a neck cloth on one of my straw hats to shade my neck from the sun much like the French Legionaries have on their kepis for service in French North Africa. I now have quite the Beau Geste appearance, if a Legionnaire would ever wear a straw hat. I have a suspicion that some of my problems with headaches and fatigue coupled with an inability to sleep might have something to do with the sun beaming down on my neck. The top of my head and ears are well protected but when you get down to my neck it's another matter. Hopefully this will help.
When we went in for our evening shower Barb and I (mostly her) took the opportunity to scrub out the dingy. We should have done it back in Indiantown but the days were so damn hot and the bugs in the evening were beyond imagining so we didn't. Here the evenings are tolerable. It now looks a little more presentable and is another good example of Norwex cleaning products.
Judging from the number of private jets that are flying into and out of the Stuart airport I would guess that there are a lot of wealthy people living here. Or, at least this is where they have their homes and they commute to their work elsewhere by jet. Must be nice. Or maybe not. Imagine leaving your wife and family Sunday night and flying off to, say, Washington, for work all week, crashing evenings in a pied-a-terre apartment and they flying back Friday evening for the weekend. I guess the fabulously wealthy can't telecommute like the rest of us, or perhaps it's the requirement to network. One of the local boaters tells me that many, if not most, of them are lobbyists in Washington. Damn, that job must pay well!
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