Tuesday 31 January 2017

Bit of a Glitch!

January 31, 2017

Day 2 – Bit of a Glitch!

A beautiful, sunny, cloudless day in Florida – what could go wrong? J

We made our way back to the marina, and finished preparing to launch just on time. The hydraulic dolly carefully hauled Sea Change to the water’s edge, and was about to launch her, when one of the guys exclaimed – “hey wait – she has no propeller!!”.

Whoops … Dan, who had done some boat repairs for us in November had forgotten that little detail L. No prop, no movement.  So Dan was called back to the marina, and two hours later we were in the water.

Now, if we can repair the non-functioning head (read “toilet”), and the not well functioning engine, we’ll be in good shape. The mainsail is up, the stainless is polished and ready to receive the bimini (sun protection), and the cabin below is ship-shape. Tomorrow our new dinghy arrives, and we still have 4 more days to get things in order before we leave to meet our family in Orlando – so life here is pretty good. Just let the sun keep shining …





A New Adventure Begins!

Now that we’re on land, we’re noticing some things of cultural interest about Northern Florida …

We’ve eaten grits for the first time – and probably for the last J.

We haven’t caught or eaten catfish – but we notice lots of people do that here.

We asked about getting a senior’s rate at a museum, and the cashier quipped: “No special rates – everyone’s a senior in Florida!”.

We were told it was “Bike week” here in Daytona – and we envisioned lots of healthy people on bicycles – NOT! As our biker/mechanic put it – “quite the opposite”. Lots of not-so-healthy looking men and women on Harleys – tattoos, heavy metal, etc.

Cars and trucks driving along our beautiful ocean beach, right outside our window!

Not a cultural curiosity – but lots of pelicans – certainly a curiosity for us. I painted one below.


We’re having a good time here, though we miss Sea Change.