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...!

Busy week!

I apologize for the delay in posting, but life has been intruding on my time lately! It's easier to write aboard the boat when there aren't as many distractions going on. Although, it's actually a bit of a double-edged sword, since communication and internet access is often more difficult then too. Still wouldn't trade it for the world; we love being aboard!

Being in port though, has enabled us to get a lot of work done on Equinox! Gel coat work and cap rail work are proceeding nicely, on the way to getting Equinox back to looking her best. We'll be getting her detailed and waxed outside once the paint work is done. This past week we had her thoroughly cleaned and detailed inside as well, which was a godsend! With the weather so windy and cool this past winter and spring, we had the hatches and windows open quite often. While the cooling effect of the wind was delightful, the amount of dust that came in was definitely not. Thus, it was fabulous to have the interior professionally cleaned, dusted and polished! 

Some of the cosmetic repairs underway

Aft cap rail ready for polishing 

Eclipse and Tingum have been receiving attention as well, with each taking turns for service at the dealer's boat yard. Tingum had new and better stereo speakers put in (seeing as how Ron and Ally love their music, this was essential) along with a few needed repairs and punch list items. We also got extra bow cleats installed, to better secure her when at the dock. Lots of little things accomplished, and more being coordinated!

This past weekend we had a reprieve from boat work while Ally was home from school. It was great to be with her again!! She is now officially done with term exams and will wrap up her senior year with her final Oldfields' May Program. She's participating in a two-week community service trip to Argentina this year, and is very excited about seeing that part of the world. From sight-seeing in Buenos Aires to living with host families in the northern part of the country, it should be a great experience! We spent part of the time getting last-minute items for her trip, but she also went out riding with Ron Saturday afternoon -- she rode my bike, and it was her first foray using clipless pedals. They did an easy 10-mile loop; Ally did quite well and she really enjoyed it. We followed that up with a delicious dinner at 11 Maple, in celebration of being together!

Father and daughter ready to ride...

Heading out!

Sunday afternoon was a travel day, as both Ron and Ally had flights. Ally returned to school, as her OS group will fly to Argentina tomorrow, and Ron headed out to California for a few days to visit his stepbrother. Never fear, I won't be bored as I get to continue to coordinate and schedule work on Equinox until his return. Yep, it's a boat: there's always something to do!

More Mailbox art!

Well, another couple of days of bicycle rides, boat projects, and mundane errands! Bright and early Monday morning, Ron took Tingum over to the dealer where she will get several punch list items repaired and some extra work done as well. It was a gloriously quiet morning, so his cruise around into Stuart was a smooth one. Thankfully, he took it over before it started raining cats and dogs! The weather has been warm and sunny of late, but that is changing as there are isolated and scattered showers in the forecast for the upcoming week. After I picked up Ron at the boat dealer's, we stopped in Stuart for a bit of breakfast, eating outside on a sidewalk porch. We had barely started our meal when it was interrupted by a real tropical downpour, complete with thunder and lightning. Glad the porch and awning provided some cover! With the rain and intermittent storms throughout the day, we took a rest day from biking; after riding 55 miles over the weekend, we didn't feel too badly about doing so!

We ended up having to attend to an unexpected car repair later, as the car onboard systems computer kept insisting that we "check coolant level". We took the car into a repair place, where they discovered that the coolant reservoir was cracked. (Just another item in the lengthy list of to-dos! At least it's not boat-related!) Tuesday morning, once the part was in stock, I took the car in for repair and waited while they replaced the coolant tank. After I got back, Ron and I were able to get out for a bike ride, this time just doing a bit more than 15 miles, and thankfully without a great deal of wind for a change! We've been trying to bicycle in the morning before the winds pick up and the storm clouds roll in. We were lucky to finish up before the afternoon rains arrived yet again.

We did see some more "mailbox art" during our ride, so I'll include just a couple more photos of those. I have no idea about the reasons behind some of them, but it's really starting to amuse and amaze me, how elaborate some of the designs are! Fun!! 

Complete with a tagged left ear!

This manatee mailbox sculpture is amazing!! It includes reef fish 

and sea fans at its feet, and a mailbox door in the shape of a shell.

I spent a good part of Tuesday afternoon aboard Equinox, sorting galley items and doing yet more cleaning. As far as the gel coat work goes, that is almost finished, but we're awaiting better weather (i.e., no rain) before the final painting can get done on the cap rails. It's looking good so far, though! Of course, we have assorted other jobs queued up, from detailing and waxing to oil changes and maintenance, and are coordinating those as we can. Yep, living the life!! 

Florida art!

One of the things we've noticed about Florida is its abundance of artistic free spirits! It's lovely in that there are a lot of art galleries and studios around, with special events and shows on the weekends in the county parks or sponsored by the local Chambers of Commerce. While bicycling around here, though we've noticed one area in particular where people apparently want to be creative: with their mailboxes! 

This past weekend it struck me as to just how many unusual mailboxes there are here. Some are clearly purchased, like the fairly common fiberglass manatee or porpoise mailbox stands, but there are several that are definitely one-of a-kind! There are lots of different hand-painted boxes with flowers or palm trees or other tropical motifs, to boxes with actual seashells and rocks adorning them, to boxes with ceramic cats perched on top, to boxes with antlers. (Kid you not!) All amusing and very creative! 


On Saturday, Ron and I went out and did a 34-mile bicycle ride, north up towards Port. St. Lucie and back. It was not intended to be such a long ride, but we're not all that familiar with the roads around here, so we didn't quite know where we were going! Still, it was great to get out and push it a bit. Although, the winds pushed us right back...the head winds here are brutal, especially along the river! But, while bicycling Saturday I saw so many of these artistic mailboxes that I began to look for them as I went cycling past! Today, when we did a shorter 20-mile loop, I took my camera along to capture the mailbox sights and funky fun! I wonder what the mailman thought when he first saw these?

Some boxes show folks' hobbies and passions...

...and some are very nautical in their decor.

This is made out of an old buoy, I believe.

Pineapple is King along the Treasure Coast!

Making use of a huge banyan tree by the driveway

And, my personal favorite...a tower (lighthouse?) with 

Rapunzel letting down her long braid of hair. Literally!! 

New bikes and old friends...

Well, I need to catch on a few days here... being in port is not like being out cruising on the boat, where every day is an unusual adventure and there's lots to write about! Thursday, Ron and I took a hiatus from the "all-work and no-play routine", and had an impromptu day of fun! In the early morning, we rode our bikes again along the same 10-mile route that we did yesterday, just working on getting our bike legs back. Riding is gorgeous here: long riverside roads, views of water and palm trees, banyan trees and beaches, as well as "old Florida" homes that are so unique: wooden-framed with metal roofs, large, wrap-around porches, some with the old, propped-up hurricane shutters. Just pretty biking! After our ride, we went to Mac's, a bicycle shop here in Jensen Beach to look at some hybrid bikes to replace the rusty remaining folding bike for the boat. Ron's on a mission, wanting to get these bikes!

Afterwards, we put Eclipse in the water alongside Equinox, since the guys now working on touching up the gel coat and cap rail needed it to access the port side of the boat. (We're docked up along our starboard side without a finger pier on the port side.) Then, in the afternoon, we drove down to Pompano Beach to see some boating friends from Pennsylvania, Kim and Al, at their gorgeous Florida home! It was a blast being with them, especially since it was a surprise for Al -- he thought we were still aboard in Bimini! We enjoyed the sunshine and lounged around their pool before going to dinner at Yolo in Fort Lauderdale (utterly delicious calamari, as well as tuna sashimi!) before heading back to the house for apres-dinner drinks and more relaxing poolside. We had such a wonderful time; it was great to see them again!

Lounging poolside!

Friday we focused on getting more boat stuff done. Most importantly, we got Equinox and Eclipse registered in Florida, now that we are back in Florida waters and not returning to the Chesapeake. In contrast to the rather common experiences at the Maryland MVA of horrendous lines and long waits, the Martin County DMV is refreshing!! It's smaller, rarely crowded and the staff very friendly. We've had numerous visits here to get the cars registered in FL, get our driver's licenses, get fishing licenses, etc, so we can attest to their efficiency. Thankfully, though, I think we've jumped through the final hoops regarding all vehicles, vessels and licenses! 

After a quiet afternoon of reading and relaxing, we went out to dinner with some Kadey-Krogen friends at Peter's Steak House in Jensen Beach. We've discovered there's lots of great restaurants around the Stuart/Jensen Beach area here, which is another reason we enjoy it here so much. Since the food at Peter's is consistently delicious, we were delighted to return and introduce our friends to the place as well! We enjoyed catching up with Bill and Tracy, enjoyed the good food, great service, and just had fun. A nice time! After weeks of quiet anchorages and relaxing dinners aboard, it feels rather decadent to be dining out! 

Home Port Projects

Well...I have to admit, it feels very odd to be land-based again! Having Equinox right in our marina condo complex is utterly lovely though, since we are able to take our time in doing all the unloading, cleaning and odd jobs that are desperately needed at the moment. If we weren’t so OCD about keeping Equinox looking and working her best, it would be easier on us! Oh well! :) Satisfaction in a job well done, at any rate!

Monday started a little later than usual, since after our long passage day Sunday, we needed to catch up on sleep. It felt totally decadent, let me tell you! The morning found us making many, many phone calls, from arranging for generator parts, compressor diagnostic information, boat detailing and waxing to gel coat work to take care of the scratches we inadvertently put on Equinox while Tingum was fendered on the hip during our cruising. (Many thanks again to the inconsiderate Sea Ray at Staniel Cay which created the nasty wake that rocked Tingum so violently she raked her rub rail screws into Equinox’s gel coat!) While Ron took care of tracking down info and arranging some of the boat work, I emptied out the flybridge freezer and refrigerator, defrosting and cleaning each one thoroughly. Since we’ll be here in Florida for the next few weeks, we’ll continue to use our provisions at the condo, to make sure we turn everything over. You can be sure we used the hot tub in the evening to relax and treat ourselves after all our work!

Hot tub ready and waiting

Tuesday we continued along the same theme, diligently working on some boat projects, but also getting doctor’s appointments out of the way. Being away from good medical care makes one appreciate it when it’s available! Both Ron and I had check-ups, to make sure all is well...after my accident, I certainly don’t take good health and fitness for granted! We then spent the afternoon running errands; Ron took some of his underwater photos in for framing, picked up our accumulated mail from our mail forwarding service and got new lines for Tingum; I did the more mundane items of laundry, paperwork and correspondence follow-up to the above-mentioned mail. 

Today was more focused on enjoying the moment and being in Florida. In the morning we took a great 10-mile bike ride along the St. Lucie River, north from our place in Jensen Beach, over to Hutchinson Island and down its length to the southern causeway and back. IT felt fabulous!! It was the first  “long” ride we’ve taken in months; most of the islands where we bicycled were so small that lengthy rides were hard to come by! We ran a few more errands (post office, bank, framing store, etc) before a great lunch at Mulligan’s to quell a mahi-mahi rueben craving! 

I spent the afternoon aboard Equinox cleaning and re-organizing her pantry. Things that we can use for the next couple weeks I took to the condo, then wiped down the shelves and bins, and rearranged things to prep for the provisioning run for the next passage. Ron visited a couple bike stores in the area, actively researching replacements for the folding bikes, now that we’re short one. He’s looking into more robust hybrid bikes that we can tuck into our Sunbrella bike bags and keep up top while underway, freeing up room in the lazarette. All fun things in the midst of the other more serious projects! 

Home again, home again...

...which is bittersweet, at best, after the great time we've had during the past 6 months cruising the Bahamas. While we've totally enjoyed our time in the Bahamas, and were reluctant to leave...it was time to head back to the States. We were up at 3:30 am, in order to ride the high tide out of the Sands Marina. Ron left first, heading out in Equinox, while I followed in the tender. I have to say that it was a very different experience piloting Tingum in the dark, making my way out the cut and pulling up to Equinox's stern without much more than a quarter moon for natural light. Ron had the aft cockpit lights on, so while it enabled me to see where the boat was, it wasn't exactly easy since the lights were also blinding me a bit. Of course, adding to the excitement (um, fear factor) on my part was that the winds were higher than anticipated too -- so much for the "light and variable winds" that were in the forecast! (Definitely shades of the mild forecast but no-fun rough weather on our return from Bermuda!) 

I made my approach as gently as I could, but I needed to use some power in the current and wind so that the boat would make headway and wouldn't swing back in the current and hit Equinox after I shut down the engines to ready the boat for towing. After I pulled up, Ron caught the prow of the tender and attached the tow line while I went about shutting down the electronics, switching to one battery, adjusting engine trim and making the boat ready, before scrambling forward to scoot over the bow onto Equinox's transom. I fended off the tender from Equinox as Ron went back to the helm , then I paid out the towline and ... we were underway!

We took turns at the helm in the morning hours, each napping a bit in turn to catch up on sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't a smooth cruise; just after dawn we hit a squally area with clouds, high winds and waves, which was a bit stressful for me, watching the tender tow line pull and jerk as Tingum followed us wave to wave. I was definitely thankful for the high-tech tow line from Rope, Inc!! They make the tow lines for the large megayachts that go at much faster speeds, so the technology is sound for us to tow at our low speeds and smaller weight. Nevertheless, I hate towing in anything but perfect seas! Since it was hard enough to be heading home, I guess I just had to fret about something! 

About 3:00 p.m., just prior to our arrival at the St. Lucie Inlet, we were contacted by a sailboat that wanted local knowledge of the cut. We'd been watching the boat meander all over the place -- apparently his dog was freaking out in the rough weather, and he was wanting to come in to the ICW to get out of the waves. We slowed down to let him follow us in, which was fine, since the St. Lucie Inlet is not one to taken lightly with its constantly shoaling waters. Plus, it was Grand Central Station inside the cut: not only was it Sunday, but Mother's Day, and everyone and his brother -- er, mother -- was out on the water!! We pulled Tingum in through the inlet jetties, and headed north on the ICW towards Outrigger Harbour. Once we were clear of the heaviest traffic, Ron slowed Equinox down so that I could pull in the tow line, release the tow line, hop aboard Tingum, and go. I then ran ahead, pulled in and tied off the tender so that I could help Ron when he came in with the big boat. Always exciting, making landfall!!

So, we're now in Florida, which is kind of exciting at it's our new home port! We have a bit of land-based business ahead of us between getting the boat registered in Florida (now that it's actually here), doctors appointments, preparations for Ally's graduation back in Maryland and tweaking out the boat systems for care and maintenance. We timed our return well, rather serendipitously, since we arrived just as the main engines are due for their routine scheduled oil and filter changes, with both gensets in need of care and petting as well. We have a list of little things on various systems we want looked at, inspected and adjusted, just for our own peace of mind after our time in the islands. You really feel far from servicing and amenities! From repairing gel coat scratches to a good cleaning, detailing and waxing, we're going to pamper the girl!