Off The Ball, On The Wall

Well we made the jump a couple days early and moved from the city mooring field to Sombrero Resort yesterday evening. We are now firmly secured and tied up to a dock and it feels a little strange. Maybe I'm weird but actually enjoy being out in the mooring field and the community I already miss. 

This will be a really good opportunity for me to get some work done on the boat and get some bugs straightened out with our battery bank. When we re-enter the mooring field we will be in much better shape then we were before. The last update I listed the projects I'm hoping to get completed and I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. The problem is I'm in a time crunch between getting things done and having the money to do them before we move back out to the ball. 

The biggest reason for moving to the dock is actually for my Grandparents. They are coming to visit mid May and there is no way they would have gotten to see our boat if we were still on the mooring ball. Getting in the dinghy and climbing onto the boat at 85+ years old isn't happening. As much as I hate to think about it, this could be one of the only trips they make down here and I'd like them to see the boat and our life, not just from shore. Depending on the weather I"m hoping to actually take them out in the boat and maybe for an afternoon sail. 

It's strange being hooked up to power and water, we are so used to heavy conservation. I'm really hoping the kids don't get used to having unlimited resources and forget what it's like to pay attention to use of power, water and limiting trash. It's easy to fall back into a life of just turning something on without thinking about what it's using or to just let the water run while rinsing dishes. I think it's a good thing for the kids to realize things aren't endless and that resources are limited and come from somewhere, just as I think it's good for them to understand where their food really comes from. *SPOILER ALERT* It's not from the grocery store!

On that note, the week down here looks like a wet one and currently it is a mediocre downpour in Marathon. Even though it storms in paradise, it sure beats the hell out of a "normal" life ;-)

No Escaping Dinghy Scraping

After going spearfishing last week and seeing what our dinghy looked like underneath, I knew it was time for a very overdue trip to Sombrero beach to give the dinghy a good cleaning. Now environmentalists will swear that our reefs are disappearing and in decline, but after flipping over our dink I'd have to argue the reef is alive and well!

Normally we wouldn't go so long between cleanings and it should be done every few weeks to a month, but due to unfortunate circumstances it's been about 10 weeks since we have cleaned the bottom. Hey it wasn't our fault, ok well maybe it was but it was unavoidable,,,, well it wasn't entirely but that's beside the point. *head hung in shame* we forgot the combination to the lock on the outboard and couldn't find it.. Combination in hand the kids and I set off down Sisters Creek to our little dinghy cleaning beach. Now anyone that's ever kept a boat in Boot Key knows where this is, and it's a great little spot. We began by emptying the boat of life jackets, fuel tank, bilge pump, dry pack, phone, radio etc and put it on shore. Then it was time to crack the lock off the outboard /cue Mission Impossible Music

The marine environment is harsh. Between the salt, humidity, sand and rust things take a beating, which is why you should never use a conventional padlock to lock up your outboard. The combo lock would turn left but no dice on turning to the right which posed a slight problem. If you've ever opened a school locker you know exactly what I'm talking about. After some finagling, a little cussing, and a whack or two with cave man type tools (a rock) I was able to free up whatever was stuck inside and get the lock to turn right. Mission accomplished and the outboard was promptly taken off and placed up against a palm tree.  

The kids and I scraped, brushed, pried, banged and tore at the colony of sea creatures that had made a home for the past couple months on the bottom of our dinghy. We would go at it with a putty knife and we would hit something that would squirt water (God I really hope it was water) all over us and then just keep going. Peyton and Colby were troopers about it and gave it their all as well. It wasn't long before fish started to show up for the free meal and there was a particularly inquisitive cowfish that was getting awfully close. There were also some crabs sneaking in on the action, they don't like being stepped on btw. 

Well after two hours of scraping, scrubbing and brushing the dinghy is much cleaner, however not completely done. Some of it will have to wait a week or two and then we will go at it again. We finished and then placed the motor back on the transom, bolted it down and because I'm obviously a glutton for punishment we placed the same lock back on. We motored back through Sisters Creek a whole lot faster, lighter and cleaner!

Remember to always clean your dinghy, oh and your boat too! ;-)  

Earthday 2013! Boot Key Cleanup

So yesterday was Earthday, and what better way to celebrate then cleaning up our very own backyard here in Boot Key Harbor. Mother nature was doing her best to wash everything down and the festivities kicked off during a downpour that soaked everyone. 

I had some work to do on the boat and let the kids go off for a few minutes on their own with the intention of getting picked up a little later to join in. Little did I know Colby and Peyton would be canvassing the harbor and forget about me. I'd listen to them coordinating on the radio with the other boats and couldn't believe the etiquette they have when operating the VHF. They weren't two little kids out there, they were boaters and part of the community, working hard and helping where they could. 

I radioed for them to come by and pick up their old man, only to be told I would have to wait since they were on the other side of the harbor and had a full bag of trash. It was nearly an hour and a half later I finally got picked up. So off I went with them to help continue the cleanup. I managed to get around an hour of helping in before the event was almost over.  I took the camera along to get some shots of the effort. The day ended with a large boat full of trash that filled up an entire construction dumpster. The City Marina and all it's employees were involved and the turnout was great. 

At the Tiki there were hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and refreshments for those that helped clean up the harbor. A little bit of why we love living here. The boating community is a very tight knit group of people and it doesn't take long before these people all feel like family and for this harbor to feel like your backyard. 

My Grandparents are coming to visit next month and we are going to move the boat to a dock for a while. This will allow me to get some work done that's hard to do while out in the mooring field and for us to make it easy for them to get on and off the boat. I'm looking at getting some projects accomplished and I think making my to do list public will put the pressure on me to get it done. 

1. Re-bed the port windows to seal up some leaks

2. Get the fuel tank cleaned and polished as well as redo the fuel system (filters etc)

3. Find a way to mount solar panels to the boat either with dinghy davits, on the bimini or stanchions

4. Installing some new electronics and maybe a new VHF antenna 

5. Things as they arise. 

Below are a few shots of EarthDay 2013 Boot Key

Burdines where Jessica works now.

Burdines

The crew of KIT our neighbors

Vito from S/V Temple exhausted after a lot of work

Tiki hut full of volunteers 

Outer dinghy dock City Marina

Net controller Sage

Bob & Bill (Bill helped get our engine running after the no start)

Shaun the City Marina Dockmaster

Charles from "Ship O' Fools" the coordinator for Earthday Boot Key 2013

Sage's dog Bella was whipped as well

Peyton enjoying the get together

Tiki Hut

Spearfishing & Chillin...

Spearfishing

Monday morning we woke up and the weather was just about perfect for a day out on the water. It's been blowing for quite a while and hasn't been that clear or calm out there but conditions were just right for doing a little diving and spearing. 

We went out with 2 other boats and initially started at a structure called Washerwomen Shoal about 1 mile out of Sisters Creek off shore. The water here is about 10 to 15' deep and perfect for the kids. We saw a few good fish and I took a shot hitting a decent Mutton, only to have him wiggle his way off the pole spear. I chased him for a bit but lost him when I went up for air. We stayed at Washerwomen for about an hour and then the other boats said they were headed out further for deeper water and we decided to tag along. 

We left Washerwomen and headed out to a location known as Delta Shoal. Delta Shoal is several miles offshore and keep in mind we are in our dinghy not a big boat. We weren't the fastest in the group, which consisted of a Carolina Skiff w/ 3 and another inflatable with Vito, but we brought up the rear and made our way out. 

Delta Shoal is a completely different feel than the first spot. This location is 25ft'ish and has more structure. It also has bigger fish, more coral and better visibility. We dove for quite a bit and I took a shot at a decent size Amberjack at the bottom, just missing him because I hesitated. Colby shot a few times and overall it was a good time for our first time out. We saw eels, lots of different reef fish, huge barracuda etc. and on our way back were lucky enough to see two huge sea turtles. After almost 6 hours out there we were spent and the group hauled the catch back for a dinner at the Tiki hut. We ate quite well on a huge "Mutton Snapper" and a couple Lion fish. Potatoes, corn, rice, beans, of course the fish as well as rum ;-)

Peyton ate a little bit of everything and Colby tried some. He was afraid to eat the Lion fish though and thought he would get poisoned lol. Lion fish is great meat it's very white with the consistency of chicken. 

Vito in the background. 

Peyton driving us in. 

Chillin

Yesterday I picked up the Engel fridge I ordered at work and after I got off came home to install it. Believe it or not the installation went great! No problems and within 30 minutes I had it wired up, running and cooling. This is a huge upgrade for the boat after our fridge went out a couple months ago and hauling ice hasn't been bad but it's losing it's effectiveness as it gets hotter down here. The fridge draws 2.5 amps max with a maintenance draw of only .7 amps. For those of you not familiar it translates into very low draw and living on a boat requires thoughtful consideration to all things that draw power. The fridge can be powered essentially by 1 solar panel it's so efficient. 

To all my Williamson EMS friends. This is the same brand of fridge that they were putting in the ambulance to chill the fluids for the hypothermia protocol.

Hello, Goodbye, Hey There!

First off I'm guilty.. I am guilty of being lazy and neglecting the blog for a couple weeks. No excuse really, just busy with work etc, mostly just lazy. I'll try not to let it happen again. 

So Ty, Sarah and Debbie have been gone a little over a week and we had a great time having them here. Ty & Sarah are already like family to us and it felt really good having them around. The day after they arrived a strong cold front moved in and the temps dropped pretty drastically pushing lows down into the upper 50's. (For the Keys that's like Arctic) We still had a great week and we spent time checking out the sites, visiting Key West and then the last few days got in a good day sail and a couple days at the beach.

This was the first time taking the boat out since our no start issue and I couldn't wait to try out the repair  as well as raise the sails and let her stretch her legs a bit. We left out of Boot Key Harbor via Sisters Creek headed for Sombrero Reef with the wind and waves behind us. The wind was blowing 20+ but it was supposed to calm later in the day and the dive boats on channel 11 were reporting 2 to 3 foot swells and 25+ visibility. Not the best day for a dive, but a great day for a sail. The sail was a bit like being in a washing machine while it's on the agitate cycle. When we got to Sombrero it was a little rougher then expected and the decision was made to just keep sailing and work our way back. We had no issues and enjoyed our trip back without a hitch.
Their last day they enjoyed the normal weather for around here and we made sure to get a hefty dose of vitamin D with temps in the 80's.

Not long after we waived goodbye to Ty, Sarah and Debbie I was at the dinghy dock talking with a friend when I saw a family dinghy up and tie off. I couldn't help in my excitement but yell "Ethan!" He had grown but was instantly recognizable as I saw Nick and Stacy hop off the dink and look up. Now to those of you following the blog from the beginning, we introduced Nick, Stacy and Ethan over a year ago back in Nashville.

In my blog post titled "New Friends, New Found Jealousy" I talked about meeting them and having them on our boat Windsong before they left to do what we were only planning. They had sold everything including their house and bought a boat, prepared and were leaving to go sail. We met them around a month before their departure and enjoyed hearing about how they were actually doing it. They inspired us and left us thinking "wow I wish we could get there sooner, how can we do it?" Since they sailed off into the sunset to places we only dreamed of going we have followed the blog http://svnightmusic.wordpress.com A year ago they sat on our boat as we marveled at what they were doing and here we are moored out in the same harbor in the Florida Keys!

Tonight we got together for snacks, drinks and another amazing Boot Key sunset, with Nick blowing the conch shell to signal the end of another day. Another chapter has begun and the torch is passed on here in Boot Key as they prepare to leave and head back to Nashville. They head back salty and full of amazing stories, pictures and memories, as we prepare to make some of the same journeys and sail the same waters as they did. We shared drinks, stories and they gave us some valuable tips all while the kids swung out over the water from a shock cord tied to the halyard.

It's amazing watching dreams unfold, looking back at what such a short time ago seemed so far away. All it really takes is that first step. Take it, you don't even need to put on your shoes ;-)