Crusing Life Chapter One
05 March 2010
We had been anchored "temporarily" in Sisters' Creek while on the waiting list for a mooring in the main harbour. When we got here, we were about 30th on the list and given the poor weather, the list did not run down very quickly. We get a couple of decent days and I get the call from the Marina that our name's now up on the list so they offer us a mooring. While we've grown accustomed to this pleasant anchorage and consider passing up the mooring and staying particularly if we are assigned a mooring distant from the facilities. But, if you pass up the offer, you go to the bottom of the list so we accept.
Lucky us, we get the best mooring in the field (this of 265 moorings), closest to the Marina. We're glad we've moved. It's really fun as our former Sisters' Creek colleagues and others pass by and comment that my status as Prime Minister of Sisters' Creek must have earned me this prestigious place. Good fun!
So, we settle into our new life in Marathon Harbour. Like in Georgetown Bahamas last year, where we intended to spend a week or so but ended up staying five weeks, it is easy to fall into this easy and comfortable life.
So what's a day here like? I'm up around 7:00 and put on tea, read a bit, catch up on email, etc. Around 8:00 I put on the coffee for Judy and serve it to her in bed. She and Chopin love this time between when I get up and she gets coffee as they have more room to snuggle and gradually wake up.
At 9:00 is the Cruisers' Net. This is an organized "party line"-like exchange of information on the marine radio. It is moderated by one of the cruisers and includes such features as welcome to new boaters, farewell to departing vessels, notification of events, buy, sell and trade and ends up with a short trivia quiz. There's lot of stuff going on and the "net" informs you of what's coming up.
There are things like Yoga, photography lessons, softball, discussion groups, and many other fun events. Every Wednesday is a meet and greet at the marina where you bring a potluck offering and meet other cruisers.
Following the net, we scope out our day. Judy often goes to Yoga while I go for a run. If this is the case, we usually finish with showers on shore and venture back to Sea Sharp (which as you can see from this picture is not a long voyage). We often go for a long walk in the afternoon or borrow bikes for a bike ride.
There are chores to do and keeping ghe boat clean, provisioned and orderly takes time. The marina has a good Laundromat and this'll take some time.
For dinner, we sometimes dine with other cruisers either on one of our boats or at one of the many local eateries. Other times, if there is a happy hour, we dispense with dinner or just have something light.
Chopin has come to expect his walk, so Judy often takes him ashore for longer and longer hikes and early evening is a good time as there are fewer dogs for Chopin to terrorize. In fact on one of their hikes, a large retriever, off leash, bounds over to greet Chopin, who is less than delighted by this approach. Judy puts herself between the dog and her cat and tumbles to the ground with a few minor cuts and bruises. As is usually the case, Judy suffers the worst from this encounter and Chopin shrugs it off. People never cease to be intrigued by this walking cat and Judy loves the attention. Chopin could care less.
To be continued......