2nd February

12 03.520 N
68 51.216 W

Weather; sunny, wind blowing a gale up to 25 knots, waves chop on the water

We woke up today to a repeat of yesterday's weather and whilst it was blowing a gale we were still not moving around or rolling like we did back in Prickly Bay - this is good! our Kiwi neigbours still hadn't taken off and we weren't quite sure why as the dinghy was stowed and they appeared to be ready to leave last night, so we thought to check out if everything was OK if they were still hanging around by 10 am. A slow start ensued with a late breakfast and then showers and by the time I got out into the cockpit to blow dry my hair in the breeze White Arrow had departed without us knowing why they had delayed for the overnight period.
Today was going to be a "take it easy day" as we had nothing pressing to do and really needed to just laze around and navel gaze. We were almost out of bread so I decided to get the bakers hat out and make a loaf or three of herb bread. It's unfortunate that this particular bread smells and tastes so darn good that it only lasts for a day or two, it always gets fingerblight! Anyway Gerry decided that we need to make some more ice - ready for those sundowner drinks and set the ice maker machine up right where I kneed the dough, never mind I could overcome the obstacle somehow. I have a recipe where the dough is basically made in a large freezer bag which I'm quite partial to as it saves getting the hands messy with mixing and has the added bonus of not requiring washing up of any bowls afterwards, so I set about getting the yeast started and put it out in the warmth of the cockpit to begin its magic whilst measuring out everything else and preparing the baking sheet. After the usual 15 minutes out in the warmth the yeast was only just starting to ferment but I thought it was good enough to begin with adding in the rest of the ingredients and set about squishing it all together to form the dough ball and shaping it into loaves. Back out in the cockpit to prove it went and I sat answering emails, paying online bills (how is it that they always manage to find us no matter where we are?) and doing housekeeping stuff like making the bed. I gave it the normal amount of time outside and checked it - it wasn't increasing in size as quickly as usual, must be something to do with the wind today even though the bowl was out of the direct wind, oh well nothing for it but to leave it a bit longer. Gerry was getting anxious now that we wouldn't have bread, he's got no patience for anything that has no specific time frame! After a couple more emails and a game or three of solitaire I checked again - this time it was ready for knocking back, a second kneed and
shaping and then a second proving (not essential but it's how I like to do it). More waiting and then it was time to put it in the oven followed by the delicious smell of herbs and bread wafting through the boat - got to love that smell, but Gerry says it's a bit like the smell of coffee - where the smell is so much more enticing than the actual devouring. I pulled the loaves out and left them to cool on the side, Gerry couldn't help himself and within 5 minutes he was in the kitchen and slicing himself a couple of chunks of fresh hot bread, I resisted - didn't need the indigestion! The result was awesome, if I do say so myself!
What had Gerry been up to in the meanwhile? Not a great deal, emails, watching YouTube videos and checking the weather data - it's meant to be calming down wind wise as the week progresses which won't have a great deal of effect on us except that the chop in the harbor might lessen. He did some fiddling about with the spinnaker pole and cleaned a couple of the cockpit Isen glass windows on the inside - pity the outside is still grimy and salt covered but we'll get to that eventually. It was still too windy to put up the awnings over the dodger or over the salon part of the boat - maybe tomorrow.
We watched the second half of a movie that we had begun watching the night before in the early afternoon before deciding that we would go ashore with the trash late in the afternoon and try out the closest restaurant for an early dinner. We've obviously hung around Florida for far too long as we set off to shore just shy of 5pm, for an early dinner. Tied up at the dinghy dock and disposed of our trash in the conveniently located dumpsters and walked the short distance to The Pier restaurant which is the closest place only to find it was closed on a Monday and Tuesday. We had known about the Monday closure but not the Tuesday - dinner plan blown out of the water! There is another place right next door called La Costa Nostra which looked more like a bar than anything else but we thought we would at least have a drink, it was only just opening up so we made our way inside and asked if we could get a drink and did they do food, got a yes to both questions and found a table. We were in no hurry and they didn't appear to be either. We got drinks and menus, ordered and ate a delicious seafood dinner off of a limited menu. All the while we were the only customers in the place and I ended up asking the waiter/owner if we were early or was it always slow on a Tuesday - turned out that most people here tend to eat more on the European time line - after 7pm. It was good to know and we will take that into account next time we eat out, it suits me better anyway. The shore line appears to be quite a popular spot for people to do their daily walking exercise and we saw a whole load of people doing just that as we sat drinking and eating, I think it's because it's a relatively vehicle free place as the scenery can't be the reason they walk there - there little to see!
By the time we finished dinner I was getting cold, it was time to return to the boat and for me it was going to be a very early night, for some reason I felt overwhelmingly tired - too much sun and fresh air!
So that was it for the day, not terribly exciting but safe and warm. Will be back tomorrow with the next exciting installment.