I tried to upload a photo of Davey, Heather, and I. Server wold not upload, it's Friday the 13th. So, imagine if you will a 45 degree day in Florida, 15 mph winds, foul weather jackets on. Davey is the one on the left (good going, Soupbone), Heather is the pretty one in the middle sporting her cute red Columbia jacket that used to be my favorite... I'm the one on the right, yellow Gill foulie, blonde hair pulled back.
We're going to hang out in St. Mary's, GA through the weekend, the weather is supposed to get snotty and we're nicely tucked in right now, lots of swinging room, good holding...no need to move until the coast is clear.
Davey left this morning. I think he had a grand time and got in some much needed R&R. It was nice being able to have an extra hand here and there, lots of good talk of books, movies, and music. We gave him a journal and asked him to keep a little log of his time on HP, we will continue to do this with visitors in the future. Here are a few excerpts:
April 8, Day 1. Met the folks at Green Cove. Nice lot. Older, wiser, and more scrappy.
April 9th, 9:00 am, Heading out of Green Cove N into Jacksonville. Pretty darned cold. Brian is getting the worst of the cold being Capt'n and all... beautiful sky and the water is almost calm. Listening to my iPod shuffle, Tom Waits. Enjoying the absolute different situation...no solid gound but the boats flooring. Capt'n Brian has great tea
April 11th, Sitting in the St. Mary's River...I had a chance to take the helm, enjoyed the experience. Dolphin everywhere. Lovely, comfortable, glorious, day. Seafood tonight.
April 13th, Had a great adventure...St Mary's had great food and nice evening walks. The marsh is beautiful and lights up when the sun heads down for the day... Cannot wait until I'm back to visit. Always a fantastic time.
Davey was gracious. What he didn't tell was the comedy of tragedy, the forces that conspired to keep us from leaving...
Diane on Silver Girl was going to take us for a last Wal-Mart trip for snacks and misc. goodies. Well, the outboard wouldn't start. Nothing we did helped. Wind was blowing 15-20 and good & rocky, well...we rowed in. Mark Twain would have penned the story, I think.
The fridge/freezer conked out. It worked the day before. After much time spent talking on the phone with Claus, a master technician from Glacier Bay, it seems to be the relay switch. I call Glacier Bay sales to order one...seems they are no longer made. They may be able to locate one. Our consolation...seems there is another cruiser in search of the same part, so there is some incentive for the company to locate them. If not, they say they can supply a different relay switch that may be compatible. May be able to locate...may be compatible... Hmmm We should know sometime next week. Until then the freezer is an ice-box. Works well for now.
The bow navigation light quit working Friday. The bulb connection was corroded. I worked on retro-fitting with LED's I had laying around but I was not satisfied so we used a portable mount navigation light when necessary.
There's another incident that I will not own up to...one of those blonde-moments for me. Suffice it to say, I learned a grand lesson.
Regardless, we left, we sailed, we conquered. Despite the forced that conspired against us. Those things can be fixed underway. Anything can, really. So, let's wait out this rough incoming weather and get underway again. Beaufort, SC, here we come. | 