First, the visit with family went well. Jam packed with visiting...the autumn leaves were pretty but in the end, there's no place like home. There's something about the lapping of the water against the hull and the wind through the spreaders that just lulls me...
We've been procrastinating going to the grocery. We've been planning to take the dinghy upriver to Borrell Creek and navigate the swamp back to where we can tie up and walk to the market. About one hour in the dinghy each way...it's no big deal but we've just been putting it off in lieu of one project or another... Well, the universe caught up with us. Unfortunately our friend Marion is quite ill and going to be with family. But he asked us to drive him to the airport and then he suggested we take his car tomorrow to the store. Bad for him, good for us. Just this one time, procrastinating worked to our benefit.
We're also spending a lot of time scrubbing and sanding and prepping and doing things to prepare for:
1) Hauling out Nov. 6
2) Bahamas/Caribbean
Spending time on your hands and knees doing detail work leaves your mind with ample time to work out its frustrations, fears, and those little things the subconscious hordes to unleash at times like these. While I am very much looking forward to island hopping I also have a good deal of anxiety.
Navigation, depth, so many options of where to go and what route to take... Heather and I spend endless hours discussing these things and yet my mind feels the need to bring them up yet again to hold court in my noggin. Every other sailor, most of which have many years' experience cruising the islands, says not to worry, plenty of water under the keel, much less stress than the ICW stateside (that's why we only run outside...less stress + better sailing = happier Cap'n, First Mate & crew.)
I'm also mixed about the upcoming work on HP. She's a beauty and we want to make her shine...but this is our first go-round on a job like this. Thank God one of our friends is a professional in bottom jobs & hull refinishing. We're helping him with his boat, Southern Cross and then he is helping us on Holding Pattern.
We leave town by next Monday and there is so much to do in the meantime. Yet, to be honest, in a year plus we've come so far. We've weathered hurricanes, tropical storms, hail, catamarans dragging into us, running around, kedging ourselves off after running aground, waiting for the tide to rise after running aground, and many more lessons, some better kept to ourselves.
Oh, and to answer several emails (including a call from my mother...I warned you) yes, we found the "package" (condoms.) After buying new ones they were in the head below the sink. We both looked there multiple times. I think cats & Gremlins are the same thing. | 