4/11/2011-5/15/2011

Today is a beautiful day – blue sky with white puffy clouds and a cool, dry wind. What a relief from a week of warm, muggy days and then a rainy, thunderstorm laced day. This is the most comfortable we have been for a couple of weeks. Oh, what does that mean for the summer? I hate to speculate.

Just after the last blog update I took a dive on the dock and hit the cement with my sunglasses. It only put two small scratches on the lens but the wrap around frame really did a number on my left eye. There was no other damage to either the sunglasses or me but that was just good luck. The picture in the photo gallery shows the shiner I had for almost two weeks. Bill told me I had better wear my sunglasses whenever I went anywhere or he would be suspect. Then just as the shiner was disappearing I snagged the middle toe on my right foot on a floor lock down cleat and ended up with my foot all purple. I was sure the toe was broken but I didn’t go to the doctor since I knew there was nothing to be done but simply tape it to its neighbor and ice it to keep the swelling down. It is now basically healed but it doesn’t bend at the outer joint any more. Of, this living on the dock can be hard on a body. Bill, of course, does none of these things and just keeps going along and shaking his head at me and my mishaps.

John and Joan Lane arrived here April 28 and what a joy to see them again. I don’t think any of us quit smiling for a day. They didn’t leave until May 10 so we had some time to catch up with each other and spend time together. They were busy trying to get a long list of things done on Changing Lanes before leaving her but since she is docked in the slip right next to us there was a lot of back and forth. John is a whiz on their grill so many joint suppers were on Changing Lanes. With the heat John’s grilling talents were a real boon. We rented a car the day after they got here and all drove up to just south of Charleston where their car was parked. After a cooling drink at the restaurant deck in the marina it was back to Brunswick. So with their car available we ran around and shopped some but didn’t do much sightseeing. As other cruisers know, boat work takes precedence most of the time and they only had a couple of weeks here before returning to Canada. We did get over to St. Simon’s briefly and to Jekyll Island for the famous Sunday Brunch at the Jekyll Island Club House. It is listed on some dining list as one of the 10 best brunches in the US and we now know why. We all forgot the cameras so we didn’t get any pictures, darn it. Bill and I will just have to do it again sometime and remember to take the camera. Changing Lanes is staying here for hurricane season so we will watch out for her until John and Joan return in November.

Of course, there was another trip to Jacksonville and the West Marine Flagship store with the Lanes but Bill & I did quite well. NO purchases – this time. That is hard for even us to believe. The Lanes were here for one of the Wednesday cruisers gatherings which we all enjoyed. It was a new group of about 25 or so folks we hadn’t met. Many of them were just passing through going to the Chesapeake for the summer but we may see some of them again next fall. One couple from NY and NJ had been cruising for 10 years and were finishing up their second circumnavigation. I am continually amazed at the interesting people we meet.

The day after the Lanes left our MN friend, Bill Rohde, stopped by on his way back to the Twin Cities. Their boat, Jubilee, is now on the hard in Fajardo, Puerto Rico for hurricane season. We had a lovely seafood supper at the The Shack here in Brunswick. Talking to Bill about Puerto Rico has gotten us to thinking about perhaps spending next hurricane season there rather than doing a hard slog to the southern Caribbean. It would be another “delivery” trip and we have done that. According to their web site, the Puerto del Rey Marina has a couple of hurricane programs. With one of them you have a slip at the marina but also have a reserved spot and first priority for haul out if a hurricane is predicted. Think I’ll look into that later this summer.

We spent a very enjoyable evening with Sam and Mae, the couple on our dock from Scotland, and a couple of fellows on another dock. The five of us had a roaring game of Mexican Train (with dominoes) in the cruisers lounge. Bill not being much of a game player just munched and read while I quite easily took last place for the night. I DID get some terribly bad draws but some of it had to be the sharks I was playing with.

We got a call last night from Jean-Denis and Louise on Nemea and they are in Fernandina Beach just down the coast from us. They are in company with two more Canadian boats and they all three should be here the middle of the week. We are so looking forward to seeing them again. This month is evidently our month to see old and new sailing friends.

Spanker continues to be endlessly amusing. Who needs TV when there are books and kitty? Bill has now read the water maker installation instructions twice and we have dug out the parts to be installed so that is the next big project. He reports that the electrical part is no big deal but he is not looking forward to the plumbing. We want to get it done before the real heat of summer. I have only the saloon to deep clean then that will be done for the year. Bill, bless his heart, scrubbed all of the floors for me since I couldn’t crawl around with my toe.

We saw our first Manatee sleeping away in an empty slip. It was over 10 feet long and you can see in one of the pictures the scars on its’ back. The schools of small and not so small fish swimming around the boat are fascinating to Spanker. She hasn’t fallen in yet but it probably will happen. Her harness goes on whenever she can get on deck so we will at least have something to grab on to. We have been lucky and missed all of the ugly storm systems that roared through the south this last month. It looked like we would get hit a couple of times and we were all tied down and ready but lucked out. And so life on Eos goes on.