Boat work, care and feeding

Another whirlwind week of coordinating boat projects and various contractors, plus squeezing in a bit of bicycling on the side! Ron's been out in California the past week, so I was doing it all solo: meeting with the guys doing the detailing and waxing, going over the needed items for inspection, maintenance and repair aboard Equinox with the mechanic, meeting with the electronics guy so he could remove the SSB transceiver and tuner to send them back to the factory for diagnosis and repair, then making phone calls and handling the incessant correspondence that  goes along with being land-based again. Not to mention running to the store, bank, and post office in my spare time, of course. This all was usually after I rode 10-15 miles on my bike in the early morning. SO, I haven't exactly been lazy just sitting about eating bon-bons while Ron's been gone!

Thankfully, the riding weather has been perfect this past week, although a tad windy one morning with winds out of the north. (Sound familiar?? After this past winter and spring, I shouldn't ever be surprised by the winds.) Still, it felt good to get out and ride early even with the head winds that morning, before it got too hot and humid. Plus, it's just so gorgeous around here! I found more mailbox art to make me smile and more beautiful seascapes to make me appreciate the amazing beauty of the ocean. Love it!!

Great use of an old surfboard!

Florida tree art

A bit of a stiff riptide today, it seems!

So, it was great to start my days off right with a modicum of exercise before I was hunkered down below decks cleaning and organizing. It's amazing how you can expand to fill the available space aboard a boat....so many things, in so many small spaces and places! While Ron is gone and while we've got workers aboard, I've been taking the opportunity to clean out and clean up a lot of the storages spaces. Some areas are fairly straightforward, and others are black holes, but it sure feels good when it's done!! 

Of course, to cap off these tiring and busy days this week, the National Weather Service has come out with their 2010 hurricane predictions for this year, with it predicted to be "extremely active", with a range of 14-23 tropical storms, with a chance that 8 will become hurricanes. Great...not what I wanted to hear for our first hurricane season here in Florida, let me tell you!! It's already stressful enough to contemplate without the fun forecast of a "more-active-than-average" season. We'll be focused on getting Equinox hauled and safely stored should the need arise, although I'd rather not have to do that too many times. But...it will be whatever the weather dictates, however!! Ron's latest focus has been on getting a trailer and appropriately bigger car/SUV so that we can tow Tingum and store her safely as well. SO...even more running around is on the horizon, I'm sure. I have to admit, all this scheduling and juggling of boat projects and preparations makes me long to be back aboard in the islands, with nothing on the agenda!! Soon, soon...!