I am alone on the boat for a week. D is off for Orlando to pick up his truck and
bring his tools for the many projects.
Some of those projects are - fix the 9.9 hp Honda motor, replace some
running rigging – halyards, lines on the lazy jack, topping lift, roller
furling line, crane line, and davit lines – while they looked good in St. Pete
they hadn’t been used, and now using them, they are showing some wear, repair
front hatch hinges (blew out in a storm), repair one of the starboard lazarette
hinges, repair and replace deck lights (also blew out on our sail), install radar reflector on new flag
halyard (while I am up the mast for the deck lights), make a shelf for ice
trays on bottom of freezer (comfort), make curtains for privacy and filter the
sun in the day, install new sink faucet for the water maker, shorten outboard
tiller extension, figure out our new radio with AIS distress system (it will
show all boats on our chartplotter like radar), repair our single side band
radio for weather when we are out of VHF range, install remaining lifelines, relocate toilet anti-syphoning hose,
install a garden hose connection in the boat, make container for hatch boards,
prepare the watermaker for the time we are in the marina, air conditioner line
repair, and other projects are on my list.
Unfortunately, D is the only one of us who can do 95% of these projects
so I am the helper, and I am typically pretty good at helping. So I will cheerfully help as best I can,
knowing that when we get these projects done we will be closer to going to the
Bahamas. Not all projects need to be
done in the marina, but they are more easily done at the dock with the right
tools and access to the supplies at stores. It just makes sense. Projects are
also difficult to estimate how long they will take. D is very efficient and focused so I hope one
project per day.
I love being alone on the boat. Just as I love being alone
at the condo. I look forward to my week
alone with excitement and some anxiety.
D has trained me and cautioned me about the boat, but there are so many
systems. Electrical power is important. I am to monitor it. I use propane to cook, and know how to ignite the grill. I am careful to turn off propane when cooking is done. Water is serious, there are at
least 3 ways to get water and valves everywhere. Plus there are several
through-hulls (holes in the boat by design). For example, we have a hose to
supply water from the marina directly to our sinks. Should anything break, i.e.,
a hose in the boat or a connection, water could fill up the boat and sink
it! Therefore, if I leave the boat for
more than a few hours I turn the supply off at the spigot at the dock. No
worries. We also have a bilge pump sufficient to keep up with the inflow of a
lot of water, but why go there.
While D is gone it’s my responsibility to ensure the boat is
safe. No sinking, no fires, and to a
lesser extent, no failures. Just like at
home, except the sinking, but it seems more urgent now. We tested our Skype so that if I need to show
D a problem, he will be able to help me over the phone. I am happy to say, writing this after the fact,
I had no sinking, fires, or failures.
So let’s go to the good part – It was so peaceful on the
boat. I followed my own schedule, completed my chores, and got to explore my
surroundings and Marathon. I wake up refreshed after 8 hours of sleep,
meditate, write in my journal, fix fruit and coffee for breakfast, and plan my
day. While waiting on laundry I walk to
the library about 2 blocks from the marina, next to the Fishermen’s Hospital,
and find that a beginners' Spanish class is today at 4-6! And the library book club meets this Friday
at 10:30 am! What luck! I commit to both and schedule. Spanish is a delight! There are 6 students –
a married couple, Judy and Hal, missionaries from Seattle, Washington, with the
Mormon church, 2 young adorable sisters, Tinashay and ? (I didn’t get her
sister’s name), a studious man, Julius, and myself. The teacher is
Margarita teaching with her daughter, Grace.
We learn about 20 practical words, and the teacher has us spell them the
way we hear them - it was a great exercise.
We practice using these words in phases and repeat them properly. I look forward to the class next week. Gusto! Mas Tarde! I think I said, "It was a pleasure! Till later."
The book club was reading Old Filth by Jane
Gardam. The title didn’t sound
appealing, but when I looked at it on my kindle, it sounded worthwhile. I
bought it and read it in 2 days. On
Friday, we met. The leader of this book
discussion was Amy Lynch, artist who has lived in Marathon for 37 years. There were 5 others including me. They told
me it was a small group for their summer session, they have 20+ show up during
the season! We met in a small room with
a board table, Amy on one side and us on the other – very formal, then she ran
the meeting with a series of questions, which we all pondered and when one
answered, we went to the next. Barbara (45
years in Marathon and docent at the Crane Nature Center) and Claudia (local RN)
read the book, Deborah read it 4 years ago, and Susan couldn’t get it until
this week from the library and hadn’t finished it. It was different from our St. Pete book club,
not worse, not better, though I do prefer a more dynamic discussion and the
free flowing conversation that we have in St. Pete. The Marathon club decides the book selections
for the year and have pre-scheduled dates each month and meet at the library, no
food or drink. They go to lunch together
afterwards. St. Pete decides the book
selection, date, and whose house to meet, for the next meeting at the current
meeting. Marathon also selects a leader
for each session, to run the discussion.
St. Pete has everyone contributing.
I can see merits of each, but if everyone contributes, I prefer the free
flow. The questions used by the leader
may have brought up issues not covered by St. Pete, but I felt St. Pete would
have had a deeper discussion on the important issues. I look forward to the next meeting, if I am
still in Marathon – they are reading Secret Daughter by Gowda, on August 7.
I meet Gordy for breakfast at the Pig and we have a great
time discussing boat stuff and activities. He will go to Home Depot for screens
to put in the 2 front windows for mosquito and no-see-um protection. What is it about men that prompt them to be
so project oriented? I guess thank
goodness. They must think we women just like to play. Oops, they may be
right! I am off to the Turtle Hospital
and get to see 53 turtles – injured, in surgery, in rehab, and ready to
release. There are some permanent members with incurable diseases that would
prevent them from surviving on their own in the wild. Most have tumors that are caused by a virus,
but once removed and rehabbed, the turtles are able to return to the saltwater
environment and they are then immune to the virus. Some have ‘bubble butt’ which is a result of
a traumatic injury, like a collision with a boat propeller, that creates an air
pocket past its lungs near the back of their shell that is incurable, making
them unable to dive for food. The air
distorts the shell and they float with their butt up, just like it sounds! The
history of the place is fascinating. The
primary founder, a VW dealership owner, Richie, leaves corporate and buys small
motel in the keys. The Hidden Harbor
motel has a large salt water pool for its guests that becomes a special haven
for marine life when the motel builds a new fresh water pool for its
guests. The owner stocks fish and stuff
and school children begin to visit on field trips from school. When Ninja Turtle movies came out in the 80’s,
some of the school children asked ‘where are the turtles?’ and so it
began. The owner looked into the turtle
question and to his surprise, he found a need for a turtle rescue operation and
so it began, and it is now the first turtle hospital (of 20 in the US), and
only does turtles, no motel, no other marine life. It does green turtles, loggerhead,
leatherback, hawksbill and KimpRipley turtles.
It was quite an impressive visit, we had a marine biologist give us the
tour and she gave the personal story of each and every turtle. We visited the
communal pools for permanent residents, the individual pools for the rehab
residents and loggerheads, and the salt water pool for the rest. I bought turtle jewelry – not illegal tortoise
shell, but turtle shaped ring, ear rings, and necklace. I would recommend anyone visiting the keys to
include this place on their itinerary.
Very cool.
I ride our folding bike everywhere. One day I ride from our
marina at mile marker 49 to Vaca Cut and the Marathon Chamber of Commerce at
mile marker 53 ½ . I do errands and chores
– Publix, Kmart, Walgreens, Dollar Store, Home Depot, West Marine. Marathon has plenty of stores and is very
community oriented. Around our city marina is a park with tennis courts, an
amphitheater, basketball courts, half-pipe runs, and a lookout tower. All very well kept, and with children out of
school, they run camps every day. I ride
out to Sombrero Beach, a lovely and well-kept sandy beach overlooking Sombrero
Light, and around some of the marinas. I
hope to go to the Crane Nature Center, the Marathon Aquarium, and take the
southbound bus to Key West for the Butterfly Garden. I learn from the Chamber of Commerce that
Marathon is a group of islands AND a city, so that is why I was a bit confused
on the geography. The Islands of
Marathon, or Marathon Keys, start with Duck Key to the east and run to Pigeon
Key to the west. The city of Marathon is
a city on Vaca Key, the largest key in the Marathon Keys. There is no Marathon
Key. I hope I understand and relate it correctly.
I plan to go to Tai Chi at St. Colomba Episcola Church on 52nd
Avenue, about 12 blocks to the east.
Gordy calls and I choose to go to Upper Crust Pizza for pizza and beer!
I can always go to the next class, but Gordy is leaving next week, so I grab
the opportunity, and enjoy it thoroughly! I look forward to Tai Chi next week.
I defrost the freezer and polish the stainless steel
appliances and sink and generally get ready for D’s return. Projects await!
Next: Fireworks
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