MIDORI ADVENTURES

Did you hear the splash on October 16th? Actually, there was no splash as MIDORI was gently lowered into the water by the boat lift operator. Then, the two slings were drawn back under her keels and rudders and she was slowly walked ahead and secured to the dock. The starboard engine started almost immediately, but the port engine took several more tries and then revved up too fast. The new shift cable had to be adjusted to slow things down.
It was a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the sky when we released the dock lines and motored from the launch dock over to dock #2 , slip #I. And, I lassoed the dock cleat on my very first try! A fellow dock mate grabbed the forward starboard line and secured the boat. We are back aboard MIDORI and this slip will be our address for however long it takes to get the boat ready for traveling.
When Brian plugged into the shore power, the reverse polarity light glowed on the electrical panel. This was not good. It was a problem last year from time to time, but he is determined to solve it. The trouble-shooting for this problem will take up most of Brian's time for the next few weeks. This also means that we will go without power for long periods of time during the day while he systematically checks the wiring.
My first priority is to clean our stateroom (bedroom) and make the bed. We took home all the bedding, pillows, and towels in June to ward off mildew. I spend days cleaning out holds and rearranging "stuff" left on the boat as well as bringing on more "stuff" packed in the truck. I pull out our vinyl and canvas cockpit enclosure and the dodger pieces and find that we have some broken zipper stops to contend with. We find a local canvas shop and are able to have the dodger zippers repaired under warranty as these were made by A Ship's Taylor in Virginia last Fall.
The Brunswick Landing Marina is situated in the old historic district of Brunswick which is quite lovely. We are next door to the shrimp docks where fresh shrimp can be purchased right from the boats and, next to that is Mary Ross Park where there is a market for fruit, vegetables (and pecans) every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Mary Ross Park is where the Rockin' Stewbilee Cook-off was held on October 18th where amateur and professional chefs competed for the coveted title of "Brunswick Stew - master". (usually chicken based, with vegetables, but the broth and the seasonings is what makes each recipe unique) On the same night, entertainment was provided by KC and the Sunshine Band! (We didn't go, but we could hear the music from the dock.)
Unfortunately, the grocery stores, West Marine and Big Box stores (like Home Depot and WalMart) are not within walking distance. That's why we are really appreciating having our truck here.
On October 26th our friends Jack & Diane arrived on A STRING OF PEARLS. What a pleasure to see them again and hear those New York accents! We had supper at Ruby Tuesday's and one happy hour together and then Jack left to visit a friend in central Florida and pick up his car which he had left there earlier. They enjoyed the use of their car for a few days before heading back up to New York for an early Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Brian installed our new VHF radio and successfully found a short in the panel that plagued us last year. The reverse polarity issue continues to be elusive, but at .01 amps, is not considered dangerous.
I attempted to scrape the barnacles off the dinghy,, but not very successfully. It is amazing how tough it is to remove the crusty shell of those little creatures from the plastic and PVC of the dinghy. (Brian has since succeeded with muriatic acid and the dinghy looks like new).
In the meantime, I have tackled the job of polishing the starboard hull. Again, I am not having much success. There is a dark stain on the hull that appears to have been made by whatever product was used to remove the shrink wrap residue. Also, there is still wax where the shrink wrap was, and oxidation where the shrink wrap wasn't. I just do not know what product to use and there are many - Cleaner/Wax; Restorer/Wax; Polisher/Wax; or plain compounds for light, medium or heavy oxidation - and I don't remember how many different name brands carrying all these different types of products. This is a work in progress which goes better in the shade and when the sand gnats are not around! We bought a lightweight buffer to see if that will help.
Sometime in the past week, we spent a day rebuilding the head. Brian says that it really wasn't that difficult.
You may remember that when we were in the Abacos in May, we and our friends Geoff & Ruth of GERU had an outing on a beautiful motor yacht to Powell Cay. Our hosts were Charlie and E.J. and they live on St. Simons Island which is one of the barrier islands near Brunswick. They also own a restaurant called Crabdaddy's. We all got together again for a very fine meal at Crabdaddy's. The main dish was sea trout which had been caught by Charlie - it was delicious! The "sides" were typical southern fare like red beans and rice, cheese grits, green bean casserole. Oh, and the desserts - key lime pie, cr�me brule, and their signature bread pudding (to die for)! It was a very fine evening spent with very fine people.
On Friday, dock mates from last December/January, Diane and Don from FITSCAT pulled into dock # 2. They are on a PDQ 36 and making their way down the east coast of Florida and plan on crossing Lake Okeechobee to Fort Myers on the west side.
Today we waved goodbye to GERU as they make their way out to the Atlantic, across the gulf stream and then will head south to the British Virgin Islands and eventually Trinidad. The leg to the BVI's will be 1,200 miles - non stop. We wish them well on their great adventure! (Yes, they have been keeping an eye on the hurricane).
Well, it has taken me a few hours to catch you all up and it is time for lunch. We are taking the day off today and going out to do a touristy thing - we are going to St. Simons Island to see the beach and the lighthouse and the little shops, etc.
Life is good ............

Lynn

P.S. We hope to be ready to start traveling South sometime next week.