The holiday rush is over and we’ve spent a lot of time enjoying our family, exchanging gifts, eating good food and catching up with old friends…now it’s time to return to the boat and relax. Even Santa needs a break at the beach after such a busy tim…
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Merry Christmas
2015 has been a wonderful year. A nice mix of boat time and family time. We began the year in the Florida Keys enjoying the warm weather, the beautiful water and the company of old and new friends. Marathon is home to hundreds of cruisers during the winter and there was always something to keep us busy.
In March we crossed the Gulf Stream and spent six weeks exploring Abacos. We enjoyed beautiful white deserted beaches, small quaint towns and wonderful clear water that ranged in color from beautiful shades of blue to turquoise. We felt like we were cruising in a huge swimming pool. We truly enjoyed our relaxing warm winter, but by spring we were ready to reconnect with our family…especially our grandwonders.
We returned to our home and the Texas Pearl the middle of April. We spent the remainder of the year bouncing back and forth between Port Lavaca, Rockport and Temple. In the past eight months we’ve finished most of the major projects we wanted to do on the Texas Pearl and she definitely feels like home now.
The best part of our year has been filled with lots of family time. We welcomed our third grand child, Eelyn Reece, into the world on July 9…her big sister’s (Mayven) birthday. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. We’ve really gotten to enjoy watching Mayven, Graham and Eelyn grow this year. Every minute spent with them is a true blessing. They are all wonderful loving little people…full of hugs, kisses and wonder for everything they see. I have no idea how we’re going to get along without those wonderful little hugs and kisses when we return to The Pearl after Christmas.
We also had a chance this year to catch up with old friends we haven’t seen in a long time…some as long as 30+ years. Hopefully it won’t be so long between visits now. We look forward to spending Christmas with our family and watching our little one’s excitement for this amazing time of year.
We are excited about new adventures in 2016 and hope it brings all our friends and family good health and good fortune.
Living on the Hard
Indiantown, FL
Living on a boat is a little different than living in a house…and there’s a drastic difference when you stay on your boat when it’s on the hard. We have limited electrical power (at this marina) and we are using the hose for water. I rank this situation as one step up from tent camping. All our grey water drains out of the boat straight over board. Under normal circumstances it drains into the water…we never see it, but while we’re on the hard it all drains into the work yard. Not a good thing since we’re working on the bottom, so we’re using a large bowl in the sink to wash dishes, our hands and brush teeth. Then we throw it off the back of the boat into the ditch.
Need water…we have plenty!
Need water…we have plenty!
Welcome aboard…we climbed this later 20-30 times a day…maybe more. It’s hard to keep track.
With our limited electrical power we can’t run the refrigerator or use any of our 12-volt lights or outlets. That’s the opposite of how it works when we anchor out. Where as Texas Pearl is a dock princess, almost everything runs from 120-volts, The Pearl is equipped to be more self sufficient, almost everything onboard is 12-volt. That leaves us with a lot of things we can’t use at the moment. Sundown comes early this time of year, leaving us in the dark…almost. Cooking dinner is almost done by candlelight, because we only have one small lamp in the salon. Stan rigged up a flashlight over the stove that helps a little. Remember we have no refrigerator so I have to buy meat each day or use can meat…the crock-pot has come in handy and the marina has provided us with free food and drink four nights. The good new is the icemaker works…so I guess I really can’t complain.
The marina also provides private showers, which come in handy since we can’t use our shower (remember grey water over board…not good), but we can use our toilets since that water goes into our holding tank (but to flush I have to bring water in from the hose). Can you imagine going up and down a 10’ ladder in the middle of the night to use the bathroom…I guess things can always be worse! The marina also has a nice boater’s lounge with a full kitchen, equipped with just about anything you need, grills and a wonderful picnic area. Some people use the refrigerator in the lounge, but I’ve heard things disappear frequently so we’ve decided not to use it. Plus it’s a pretty good hike over there and back every time you need something. We’ve stayed extremely busy each day and are worn out by the time we have dinner, after a few hours of Netflix we’re ready for bed.
Indiantown Marina – Office and boater’s lounge
The marina
The bathroom and laundry
Our little corner of the work yard
As I’m writing this blog, the weather has improved…much cooler and a lot less humid, until those crazy little down pours start. Here in south central Florida, rain seems to be a daily thing…it just starts up…completely sunny and then it rains. By the time we run to close all the windows…it stops. Our first week on the hard was VERY hot, VERY uncomfortable without our AC, something else we can’t use while we’re on the hard. It uses water that is circulated from outside the boat…no water, no AC. Sleep was somewhat of a problem…hot and sticky, but we were so tired it didn’t take long to fall asleep even though we were sweeting.
Now that the hard work is behind us and we’ve had time to visit with old friends and make a few ones and enjoy a little down time, the memory of the hard work and inconveniences are beginning fade. We’re ready to splash and move back to the coast. Our Pearl is back to her beautiful self…time to enjoy the holidays with family and then start our cruising season the end of December.
Lots of activities all week
Lots of activities all week
Good food, lots of wine and beer, entertainment and dancing.
Lots of dancing
New friends Michelle and Ellen
The full moon looked pretty coming up over the marina
Nov. 24 – The Work Yard
Indiantown Marina
“The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.” —Rosita Forbes
It’s a busy place here in the work yard…our neighbors are constantly changing as one boat finishes their projects and others begin. The lift operator slips in between boats and snatches up one boat and then returns with another from the storage yard. The boats come in looking neglected and leave all shiny and clean…ready for another cruising season.
One neighbor leaves and…
and another arrives
Nov. 22 – Progress Continues
Indiantown Marina
“To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan…believe…act!” ―Alfred A. Montapert
We’ve had a busy week in the work yard. Seven months of dirt, slim and mildew have been washed off, the hull has been waxed and two coats of new bottom paint have been applied. These projects are hard work and they were even harder this week with the heat and humidity that is still around in south Florida. It’s hard to believe it’s November…it feels more like August.
But it hasn’t been all work this week; we’ve made time to catch up with old friends and enjoyed meeting new ones including blogger and Facebook friend Ellen from Cynical Sailor. Hopefully I’ll have more time this coming week to visit with her. We’re also enjoying events the marina is hosting this week as part of their Thanksgiving Rendezvous. Free meals, drinks, music, fun and fellowship as their way to say thank you to all the boaters that use their marina. We’re scheduled to be put in the water on Friday November 27…and I think we’ll be ready.
The Pearl in our temporary home
Waxing the hull
Preparing the bottom for new paint
We had a little helper come by…she wasn’t much help
First coat of paint going on
Look how nice the bottom and running gear look…I wish it could stay that way.
I love the new bottom paint…she is really looking pretty now
Dinner in Stuart with our friends Charlotte and Magnus from Swede Dreams
Meeting other boaters that are here doing work or waiting to move to on to the Bahamas
Entertainment last night at our get together
Nov. 17 – The Work Begins
Indiantown Marina
“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” ― Tom Bodett
There is a knot in my stomach as the lifting straps groan with the strain of The Pearl’s 20,000 pounds of bulk as she is hoisted into the air and moved. This time she isn’t being hoisted out of the water, but moved from the storage yard to the work yard. Our eyes are fixed on the boat as she is lifted high in the air and moved down the road, she looks like a toy boat and the travel lift operator is a little boy getting ready to play with his toys. Although we have had our boats hauled out many times, it’s still nerve wracking each time we have it done. The boat swings just a little from side to side as the lift moves down the road and I pray that nothing will happen…just in case the there’s a mishap; I keep the video camera running.
Indaintown Marina is very busy this time of year. The travel lift is busy all day moving boats from the storage yard to the work yard and other boats from the work yard to the water. Everyone is preparing their boats for a winter of cruising in the Keys and Bahamas or places further south. We’ll spend the next week and a half painting the bottom, waxing the hull and doing a few miscellaneous projects that are easier to do when we’re out of the water. As I said the yard is very busy, so you have to be on the schedule to get moved. We’re scheduled to be splashed on Friday November 27…if the weather stays descent we should have plenty of time to get our work done.
On her way to the work yard
Getting set up in her new home
Lots of water, soap and scrubbing and The Pearl was looking more like her old self.
Leaves and seeds from the trees blew on faster than we could wash them off. Between that and the ash from the sugar cane fields they are burning are gong to make it a challenge to keep the boat clean.
Our view for the next 10 days
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Jan. 13 – Marathon, FL
Sombrero Resort & Marina
“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.” -Henry Beston
Well even in paradise there must be a little rain. Yesterday we woke up to cloudy skies and we had a few showers in the morning. Now as I write this blog entry, laying in the dark, I can hear the rain hitting the hatch above my head. It sounds nice at the moment, but I’m hoping like yesterday’s rain it passes in a few hours. Tuesday is one of our softball days and we’d hate to be rained out.
Jan. 11 – Marathon, FL
Sombrero Resort & Marina
“Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on the shore and merely existed?” –Hunter S. Thompson
It was another beautiful day in paradise. It was such a pretty day that we decided to pack a picnic lunch and the fishing gear and head out in the dinghy. We took Sister’s Creek up to Sombrero Beach and then out into the Atlantic to a small island. I could have done a little snorkeling but I didn’t think about bringing my gear with me…maybe next time. Stan did a little halfhearted fishing and then we headed back to the boat to watch the Cowboy game.
Jan. 10 – Florida Keys Facts
Sombrero Resort & Marina
There isn’t a lot to report on today, so I’ll share a few fun facts about the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys are a coral island archipelago near the southeastern tip of the US state of Florida, starting about 15 miles south of Miami and extending out in a southwest direction and then west toward the Gulf of Mexico. The islands lie along the Florida straits.
Jan. 9 – Marathon, FL
Sombrero Resort & Marina
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
Life in Marathon is beginning to get busy. There are so many things to get involved in. There are all types of activities taking place every day. A cruiser can be as busy or lazy as he chooses. Today we went to the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) luncheon. They met every Friday, mostly for the camaraderie of the group, but also to share cruising information. We don’t belong to the group at the moment, but friends of our do and we met them there. We enjoyed seeing our friends and meeting a few new ones. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at other marinas in the area…the ones on the Gulf side of the island were very pretty and even had small beaches of their own. We asked about reservations…maybe for another year, but were told they never have openings because the same people come back year after year. From what we can tell every marina slip and mooring ball in the harbor are full.
