Life "On the Hard"
30 November 2009
Now that Sea Sharp is in the water, life is much better. Boats are made to be in the water, moving with the motion of the water, adjusting to the current, wind and in her element. Life on the hard is... well, hard.
I spent almost a week living on the boat in the boat yard. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is hot and dusty in this yard. In addition, there are other perils and nuisances. Fire ants proliferate as well as sand flies, otherwise known as no-see-ums. But perhaps the most aggravating part was the nocturnal passage of mighty freight trains within 200 feet of where of where I was stored. Frieght train transit is something I had long forgotten from the days that as children our parents used to take us "cross the causeway to the train station" to watch the train come in. We now know that it was to distract us seven children enough that Mom and Dad could have a few minutes of peace.
Anyway, this is a very busy railway with a passage probably six times a night and with each passage, the boat would tremble.
The sanitary facilities are another matter. I won't go into too much detail but suffice it to say that the plumbing on the boat does not work when the boat is not in the water. And, the water in this marina has the most repulsive sulphuric smell. I showered usually twice a day but it seemed to leave me raunchier than before.
On the plus side I met or re-acquainted many folks; many Canadians. In typical cruiser fashion they organized a couple of events after a long day of working . And the folks at the boat yard were very good; professional and considerate. I would recommend Riverside Marina.
Having said that, we're glad to get under way.