The Key’s in the Conch Shell, C’mon on In
08 July 2009 | Inlet Cove Marina, Ponce Inlet, FL
Chris & Linda, 79 & Cloudy, Lt. Rain

Every day around 5 pm we stop "working" on our boat projects. Chris gets a Corona Light from the fridge, Linda pours a margarita or a glass of wine, and we open the Tostitos Scoops and (Paul) Newman's Own Black Bean & Corn Salsa, and well, you know... live the dream! (Check out the Photo Album - Friends & Family and Refit Round Three.)
The blue crabs don't seem to be running at all...another check of the crab trap revealed a few more fish, and some stone crabs, which are out of season, so everything goes back in the water.
Monday, Linda vacuumed sand & sea shell dust from the floors and rugs, and washed and polished the interior bright (wood) work. Chris cleaned the anchor locker, getting ready for our new primary anchor chain which should arrive next week. He also moved items from the aft cabin to the crew cabin. We are expecting his sister, Lindy, and her friend Linda for an overnight visit, tomorrow. We will give one of them the aft cabin and the other the salon settee bunk. We slept on the settee bunk four nights last week while Chris completed the sanding and finishing of the teak arch in the master suite. The bunk was comfy for the two of us, being 47" x 101" which is a little wider than a twin and long enough for a giant! But I couldn't wait to get back to my master suite berth. We decided to order cushions wide enough to convert this sleeping berth to a king size, rather than queen size bed. I plan to place the order this week for 6" thick medium density polyurethane foam to replace the current cushions. We will top it with 1" egg crate foam, followed by 3" ventilated visco elastic memory foam, with a waterproof cover. Mattress choices and types are hot topic among boaters. I think we've found the solution that works for us.
A few weeks ago we visited Chris's brother Andy, and his family, at the hunt club Andy belongs to for a pig roast. After a quick stop in St. Augustine for some boat parts at Sailor's Exchange, we took a rural route along the St John's River to the club and some great food. Chris got a chance to get re-acquainted with the clay pigeon thrower from his youth as Andy reset and loaded enough pigeons for Chris to shoot a box of shells. Linda tried it for the first time and got one!
Chris has successfully gone aloft to attach the combination anchor/tri-color light, and the anemometer. This was a two day project that involved using our new winch to hoist him to the top of our 60' mast. Wearing his climbing gear he sat or stood "comfortably" for the 2-3 hours he was aloft working on this project. While up there he took some pictures of the great view of our boat and the scenery. We use walkie-talkies to communicate with each other, so I am able to go below decks, while he works. When he needs anything I can hoist it aloft using a spare halyard (line to lift) and a down haul (line to control the lift and to lower).
The wire to connect the anemometer at the top of the mast travels down through the mast, under the cabin sole, and out to the instrument panel...almost! It is a little short, so our electrician will provide us with another piece of cable to splice in. Then, we will go out in the Atlantic, do some circles and calibrate the instruments. Plans are to do this on Wednesday. We'll see.
We went to Milwaukee and Lake Geneva, Wis. (Linda's home town) to visit family and friends last week. We had a wonderful time and were happy for the relief from the unusually hot weather Florida was having. Sorry, but you Wisconsin folks have no idea what humidity really feels like! I do now! Of course, according to Chris, who spent his college years at Tulane University in New Orleans, we are lucky to be in Florida!
We have Linda's family coming for a visit this weekend. We really enjoy visitors, so if you are traveling in the area of Orlando and toward the Eastern Coast of Florida, drop us a note on this blog.
Bring nothing, but a smile!
Kenny Chesney's "Key's In The Conch Shell" is our new favorite song.