Danube River. Day 3.

      Engine noise overnight sounds like a hotel air conditioner with some minor water swishing sounds. Calming. Soothing. Something we're used to from living on our boat. We seen complaints about the sound level on Facebook but no issues for us down in our cabin in steerage with the other poor people. Some folks have balconies or verandas and elevators to change decks. Not us. Stairs for us for the 4 decks. And small windows just above eye level. Cabins at our level are small but comfortable. Not much time is spent lounging there. Mostly sleeping. Large deck space is up top for lounging/sightseeing with a little less space for that on deck 3. At some point we will be kept off the 4th deck as everything is lowered, including the bridge (helm station), to get under some low bridges. Clearance will be 10cm after rails, shade covers, radars and other poles are lowered. 

     We went on deck before breakfast while it was still cool and breezy, came in for breakfast and then went back on deck. We went by the city of Bratislava about 0930. It is the 3rd of 4 capital cities that are on the Danube. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. Budapest is the capital of Hungary and this evening we will get to Vienna, the capital of Austria. Belgrade of Serbia is the other capital on the river but that was well downriver from out start in Hungary. 

     Young kids waving to us at Bratislava.

     The Castle. (Another one)

     Just so you know where you are. 

This is a restaurant called the UFO. It wasn't originally called that but the locals called it that so the owner changed the name. I wonder why? 

 Very beautiful. We will have to get used to that.

     We got a tour of the bridge and chatted with the helmsman. The captain came by to talk to groups in the later scheduled tours, not ours. Navigation is mostly a glass cockpit. No paper charts out. Several large GPS and one small one. The small one was in the format similar to paper charts, a substitute. Suposedly. I'm old school. The helm is just a small lever and the throttles are also very small. There are two engines and two bow thrusters. The bow thrusters are jet pumps as if they were large PWCs. A highly technical bridge with no manual backups visible. Since the ship was built in 2022 it is like most modern ships, very automated. 

All screen gauges and dials. Electronic. 

The helm (steering) is the lever in the helmsman's hand. 

     As the day warmed up we started removing clothing layers until we got down to shorts and tee shirt. Sightseeing on the river was interupted by lunch. I went light, skipping the entree. A salad and a soup. Oh, BTW, I didn't skip dessert. Wonder why?

Our next amazing castle. We could see the tourists walking about and climbing the battlements. 

     Our next river event was going through our 1st lock. Very long and narrow with about a 7 to 8 meter water level rise. It was a double lock with a separate lock besides us. We had plenty of room but the double wide barge in the adjacent lock barely squoze through. I have great videos but this format is best with still photos. 

We have to rise above that slime line. And we're already part way up.

Entering the lock. 

Approaching the lock.

     Most passengers had no experience with locks and had questions but no one to ask. I had plenty of lock experience with our boat but nothing this dramatic. Still didn't stop me from answering questions. After the lock we had to go under several very low bridges. So low that the crew lowered the sunshades aft and the whole bridge housing had to be lowered into the deck. The clearance was so limited a crewmember had to come up to us up forward to remind us to duck. Or sit down. While sitting I could have reached up and ripped down electrical wiring from under the bridges. In the future there will be bridges where we will not be allowed on deck. 

    These rails will have to come down for some future bridges. 

    The ship's bridge lowered into the deck to clear under the highway bridges.

     We tied up at Vienna (Wien in German) almost 2 hours before scheduled because our lock passage was quick. After dinner we went ashore and walked about 1.6 miles to the outer part of Vienna's inner ring. We went to an amusement park and went on the ferris wheel. About 65 meters in the air. Great view but Carol was not all that excited about it. Height and motion bothered her slightly. Some of the other rides looked pretty scary and we passed. The ferris wheel ride cost 14 Euro each so about $31 all together.

      The ferris wheel cars and great views.

     Some folks went to the opera. We went to bed. Early bus tour departure tomorrow. And more walking. Visiting the cities are wonderful but for me, so far, the river, the cruising and the views are the best. 

     Of course it's only the first full day underway. 

Budapest. Day 2

      At the end of our first (part) day aboard the Egdir we had an orientation session, a lifejacket muster and a great first dinner. It's open seating so you can sit with your group, if you have one, or just sit with random people an enjoy conversations with folks from all over the world (but mostly from the U.S.). Most people are at least in their 60s but more are significantly older. Some are experienced cruisers, some are first timers. Most are like us, some experience but not an extensive cruise ship lifestyle. After the U.S., the largest contingent seems to be Australians. 

     After breakfast at the start of our first full day we boarded a bus for a tour of Buda and Pest. BTW, Pest is pronounced Pesht. Say it that way and people will know you are a sophisticated traveler. We toured Pest first, on our side of the River (Danube). Shopping areas, historic areas, cultural areas and more. Several palaces of different eras and the synagogue. Interesting fact: a large section of the city was torn down and rebuilt in a more modern way in 1876 to celebrate 1000 years of their founding. Speaking of rebuilding, a lot of construction and reconstructing is going on. They are still undoing some of the effects of WW 2 but most of it seems to be undoing the effects of Soviet era construction. We then went over the river to Buda. The bridge closest to our boat is the Chain Bridge. It is the only one that is not known by its color and we could not use it as it is only open to city busses, taxis and pedestrians. No cars, no commercial busses or trucks. Castles and churches on the itinerary in Buda. Plus some walking and unstructured time (shopping). The inside of the RC church was beautiful and the views overlooking Budapest were amazing. 

The return trip, over the Yellow Bridge this time, took us past the Parliament Building, the 2nd largest in the world, and the iron shoes along the river. After the tour and after lunch and a nap, we walked back to this memorial to pay our respects. 

     My lunch.

      Carol's lunch.

At this location the Nazis would have the victims, too young, too old or too ill to be taken to the Concentration/Work Camps, remove their shoes before shooting them and allowing their bodies to fall in and be taken away by the river current. The iron shoes are a remembrance of those atrocities. There are modern remembrances of pebbles, yellow ribbons and photos of victims of current horrors around the permanent shoes.  

     In the evening there was a welcoming champagne toast and speeches from the Captain and some of the other officers then an outdoor dinner with some new Aussie friends, Peter and Wendy. We were also brought a special 50th Anniversary cake and had our wrists bound to each other as the maitre d sung love songs to us. Totally unexpected. Only slightly embarrassing. 

     The cake was on this plate. Writing is in chocolate.

     We got had gotten underway just a little while before the evening activities so we were on our way upriver by the time bedtime came along. 

                  Parliment Building. 

                First bridge. The Yellow Bridge. 

50th Anniversary. The start of the cruise.

      We started our 50th Wedding Anniversary cruise on Labor Day with a drive to Heather's home in Massapequa. We left before 0900 as planned, to beat any holiday traffic. The plan worked. Surprisingly. Just a couple of brief slow-downs with no stops at all. We think it was our best drive to Long Island ever. The Cross Bronx AND the Southern were without issue. Amazing. After a night and an afternoon there we took the LIRR from Massapequa to Jamaica and then the shuttle to JFK. We had a 2145 flight on Austrian Air to Vienna. 

     The train trip started with walking into an elevator at the Massapequa station with a lot of semi-fresh blood on the floor. A lot. Enough that it was difficult to avoid getting some on our luggage wheels. Large elevator - two people - a struggle to stay out of the blood puddles and footprints. An inauspicious start to our journey. The balance of ride went smoothly. All the way to the AirTrain and JFK. Security was mostly easy and quick and we were in. At the gate. To wait. Since it was an international flight, we were advised to arrive 3 hours early. We did not get to the airport quite that early but we knew we had a wait coming. This let us relax and not have any worries. Yet. Of course, with less than hour before departure, that departure was delayed. We could see the B-787 was waiting for us, the crew was waiting to board and the passengers were lining up. Yet we waited. They said the plane was late in arriving but we could see it there very shortly after its planned arrival. Sigh. 

     We got aboard with assurances we would still get to Vienna ahead of schedule because of tailwinds. Hah! We pushed back from the gate only 40 minutes late. Fine. No issues. Hah! We travelled about 50 meters away from the terminal and stopped. Missing your departure window at JFK does not go unpunished. We waited. And waited. And waited. We eventually got moving again only to find we had just moved enough to get in the line of aircraft waiting to depart. What fun. Miles of taxiing to get to our actual runway. A scenic tour of JFK taxiways. Well, it would have been if it wasn't dark. We finally took off about an hour after we pushed away from the ramp. And for some reason we would not now be making up the time lost.  Flying faster or something wasn't going to work. Go figure. Meeting our connecting flight was getting to be a bit questionable, too. But, that was so long into the future there was no point in worrying about it. Nothing to be done. 

     7.5 hours of flight time. What fun. A 787 is a large aircraft but people are stuffed in. Canned sardines have more room. The food was reasonably good. It had been a long time since we had gotten meal service on a flight and were pleasantly surprised. Of course, our breakfast was a bit boring and flavorless but, hey, low expectations. 

     The flight was a little lumpy but the seatbelt sign stayed off. A domestic flight would have had it on most if the time but a transatlantic flight, on a foreign airline (Austrian Air), well, different guidelines I guess. It wasn't airsickness inducing just bumpy. Like driving on New York State highways and Parkways at speed. Not uncomfortable but not sleep inducing either.  

     Getting off the plane with about 20 minutes before our scheduled boarding time for the next flight was interesting. Walk to the gate. Up stairways. Down stairways. Around corners. And most importantly, past restrooms. No time. We get to our gate only to find it's a bus stop. An airport loop every 10 minutes. We wait 8 minutes for it. We take a scenic tour (not!) about the airport and are dropped off at our gate. Uh, no. We walk up stairs, down stairs, around corners, up stairs, though passport control/customs to get to our gate where we check in. Then go down a hall, around a corner and downstairs again to find... another bus. We board this bus, take another scenic tour of the airport, come as close as possible to running over as many airport workers as possible to finally arrive at our aircraft. A small(ish) regional jet, an Embraurer 195. We squeeze in for the 25 minute flight to Hungary. We did, however, receive a bottle of water each and a Lindor chocolate. Our bladders didn't need the water but our throats did.

 A quick and easy flight at relatively low altitude so we got to see the countryside. Somewhat. At the Budapest airport it was the usual hike and wait to get our luggage. But time enough to use the restrooms. Whew. Once luggage was in hand we exited to look for our Viking Cruise representative. No problem. And no customs or passport control. Just walk out into the world. It was a 45 minute drive to and around Buda and Pest to get to our ship. Several times over the Danube and back for no known reason. Not a scam. Nothing at all in it for the driver. Just seemed a bit weird but the quickest route through a busy city. We arrive on the ship. Look around at the scenery in the middle of the city. Unpack and then get oriented to our home for two weeks and finally start our cruise. 

     Overall, with all this complaining, not a bad trip. Long but not bad. About 12 hours plus the 6 hour time difference but we are ready to go. After an orientation talk. A lifejacket/emergency drill with local firefighters aboard. Dinner and a well earned nights sleep. Ready to go. 

Summer-izing 2024

      Summer (spring, too) was unusual this year. No boat. Well, yes we still have it, we're just not aboard anymore. 

     My last blog post indicated it might be the last. It isn't. The boat did not sell so we will return to it, head south to Marathon and continue to try to sell her while enjoying the winter in the Keys. As  write this we are a few days away from heading to Europe to take a river cruise on the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers. A separate blog will be written about that 50th wedding anniversary trip. So this entry is just to summarize the events since we left the boat in Georgia for the summer.

     We drove our not quite truck load of boat stuff north without incident. About 3 days of driving. We filled Heather's garage with boxes of stuff.

We then started shopping for a home in Connecticut. We made a couple of trips looking at homes we researched on the internet. Long drives to eastern CT and back to Long Island but we stayed at a cousin's home in Old Saybrook overnight a couple of times to break up the round trips. We eventually settled on a home in Mystic, CT in a new neighborhood that was added onto an older neighborhood.

We chose a new home in the hopes of not having older home repair/maintenance issues. We'll see. We moved in near the end of May. A quick closing due to no need for financing arrangements. While still in Massapequa, Long Island we took a trip to the City to the Natural History Museum with the kids.

Very nice. Except for getting Covid. 1st time. Carol got it first and passed to all but the grandkids within a few days. Maybe from the train. Maybe from the crowds in the City. Who knows? Miserable for one day and Paxlovid helped with the rest of the experience. No long term (we hope) affects. So far. 

     June consisted of building furniture for our new home. Every piece of furniture. We had nothing, having sold our last dirt-based home more than a dozen years earlier. Dining table, bed, sofas, chairs, desk, more beds (for guests), bureaus, shelves and a TV/stereo case with a fireplace. Yes, a fireplace. Under the TV. After complaining about the physical pain of boat maintenance, I spent a month on my hands and knees building kit furniture. Pains in back, knees and hands. Sigh. What fun! 

     I restarted working at Mystic Seaport Museum again. Just a little later than years past. One of the reasons to volunteer besides talking to folks about history is getting a number of learning and other experiences. This year these included cooking in our ancestral home, the Buckingham House, and a downriver cruise on the Sabino. I am a distant relation to a family of early settlers of the Connecticut Colony in what's now known as Old Saybrook. The home had to be moved to our Museum in the early 1950s to make way for I-95. A grandchild of the builder/owner became Governor of CT in the 1860s. Nobody famous in the family since then. Now in a brief dry spell. 

Fellow staff at the museum in the Buckingham House mincing, mashing and mixing.

One of my cooking tasks. Whisking eggs. Yes, that's the whisk on the bowl. 

Final product. Cod fish balls. Pretty bland. They didn't spice much back then. 

Cooking on the hearth in the Buck. Very hot. 

     We also spent a week in July on Martha's Vineyard with the kids and grandkids. Oak Bluffs this year. Some beach time but way less for me than all the others. Good weather anyway. 

      I also flew to Savannah for 4 nights in August to check on the boat and to do some minor maintenance. It was very hot and humid. Very tough to do any actual work while I made puddles on the cabin floor from my sweat. A reason we don't do summer in the south. 

     As the summer winds down and we head into a September of boating in Europe, we prepare for more changes in our lives. Back to our boat for a while then more land living probably. Change is good. I guess. Maybe. Some things. Still in remission and don't want that to change. But not much changes after you're buried or cremated so welcoming changes until then.  

A walk-in visitor to my Nautical Instrument shop at Mystic Seaport donated, to the Museum, a very early 19th or late 18th century Octant. I had the pleasure of interviewing the donor and studying the instrument before calling museum management. Blew my mind! 

One of our exploration/exercise walks.  

Our upcoming schedule on European rivers on our Viking Cruise. 

Northbound 2024

       We departed Marathon early on St. Patrick's Day. The forecast had wandered around from moderate to light and back again. It ended up closer to moderate than light but it wasn't too terrible a passage. Just 2ft seas forward of the beam. It was hot but with high overcast so we didn't cook our brains. Breeze kept it okay, too. We anchored at Tarpon Basin, Key Largo. I went in for a swim in the 80° water to check the depth sounders and the knotmeter. No issues but it was a good thing I checked. We had a light warp from a crab or lobster trap wrapped around our starboard propeller. Not tightly wrapped so the engine didn't jam but it would have eventually. Nice. 

     Of course the next day while getting underway I discovered the starboard exhaust mixing elbow separated from the exhaust manifold. Perhaps from vibration caused by the line on the prop. Just a guess. Maybe unrelated. The repair took 2 hours of sweat and pain. It lasted 30 minutes and failed again. After letting the engine cool for an hour it only took another 30 minutes to retighten again. It's temporary as the gasket is burnt and leaking some exhaust. A little. Probably won't die of CO poisoning. Maybe. The 2 hour repair involved looking, guessing and trying. The 30 minute repair was the result of the earlier experience. Just as soon pass on the experience of fixing things. 

     We ended up at Marine Stadium at Virginia Key, Miami. They were setting up a huge stage on land for a concert of groups we never heard of. Lucky to be missing it. Because of the weather we stayed 2 nights. At 0200 the first night a boat came in and blasted 'music' for about an hour before departing. While here we shopped for cheaper insurance and reviewed summer haul-out options. Changed our minds about summer storage (again) to go to Thunderbolt, GA instead of the Charleston, SC area. It's slightly cheaper, closer to where we are, but we will have a longer drive home. Still very expensive but we are limited in our choices due to our beam. South Carolina presented property tax issues for us. No thanks. The 2nd night in Miami was slightly quieter (not bad) but the concert venue was testing part of the light show. Flashing lights. Lasers. All night. Weird. Quiet anyway. 

     Winds were fairly light when we went out of Government Cut Inlet into the ocean the next day. Nearly on the nose, however, so we had about 1ft seas on top of 2-3ft swells. Not great but not all that uncomfortable. We went into Port Everglades Inlet (Fort Lauderdale) back onto the ICW then had to deal with all the bascule bridges. Not fun but more comfortable than north winds on the ocean. The VHF radio noise can drive you nuts, also. Too many bridges too close together and poor radio procedures. Floridiots. 

     We anchored in Lake Boca, Boca Raton. It was more crowded than any week day that we'd been here previously. Spring break crowds? Someone blasted part of a song at 1130 at night but otherwise it was quiet. Wasn't even a complete song before it went off. Weird. 

     The passage towards and beyond Palm Beach went well. Not too hot. Breeze on the stern and we made all the bridge schedules. We anchored at Peck's Lake near the north end of Jupiter Island for the first time. This made the next day's passage in the forecast rain a little shorter. It was still breezy when we got underway from Peck's Lake but as soon as we turned north it was fine as the wind was at our stern. This meant the rain was at our backs, too. It never rained too hard as the serious storms went south of us. Marathon and the Keys got seriously affected. The rain paused just as we got to the Vero Beach City Marina for fuel and to register for a mooring for the weekend. The wind picked up as the rain ended which made our raft-up to another catamaran a bit of a challenge. The wind was forecast to be more than it actually was but also forecast to crank way up later at night. It did. Overnight gusted to 50. Steady 30-35. Dock line stretching noises but otherwise all was fine. Slept through most of it. Our neighbors are new to boating and worried about the line stretching and other noises. Also our wind generator has taken to making noises above 35kts of wind. When we talked they were surprised to learn we slept through it all. Used to it. Worry about other things. Not sure if they were reassured by my lack of concern. There really wasn't an issue but you don't know until you have experienced it a time or two. Or a dozen. Or two dozen. Our time at Velcro Beach had wind and rain and cool weather but wasn't the washout that was predicted. Wasn't terrible but not quite the nicest. 

     Our passage from Vero was very fast due to a strong breeze being behind us. We put the genoa out and reduced engine RPMs and flew up the Indian River. Reduced fuel use, too. It was a little choppy, briefly up to 1 1/2ft seas, before easing to under 1 ft. We anchored just north of the Sally Ride Memorial bridge south of Titusville, FL. A little lumpy to start but it quieted overnight. There were 6 transient boats anchored in the spot. I had never seen more than one. The next day was slightly less windy but it picked up as we anchored at Daytona Beach after a brief fuel stop. Started gray but ended up a nice day and an easy passage. Once again the wind eased after sunset. Leaving Daytona was almost, but not quite, foggy. Wind was light but it was an all day gray day. Slightly cool because it just seemed damp. Not a bad day but it just seemed dull. 

    Passed by friends at Palm Coast. Former boat owners from Marathon. 

     No issues along the way and we stopped at St. Augustine Municipal Marina and got a mooring. The forecast was not good and had the potential to be horrible but we got ashore for showers before the rain started.

     Nao Trinidad, a replica of Magellan's flagship, at St. Augustine. 

The severe weather missed and we just got rain. The winds picked up after the rain on our second day as we were getting back to the boat after lunch and errands ashore. Jane Fulton took us around as Bob wasn't feeling well and couldn't join us. We were able to pick up a gasket we ordered for the exhaust manifold. We easily installed it after we were hauled out in Georgia. As we got back to the boat the wind pushed us into the folded up boarding ladder just right (just wrong) and we popped one of the inflated tubes. A very big rip. Wonderful. We've hit that point dozens of times without any issues. It wasn't all that hard an impact. @@%&$ happens. 🤬💩 We don't think we'll need the dinghy again before we are hauled out. It's repairable just a major pain in the 🍑. More repairs before layup. Grrrr.  

     It was cold when we left St. Auggie (54°) and a bit breezy. The wind was not an issue on the ICW but made tying up at the free dock at Sisters Creek, Jacksonville a little tricky but not awful. All big powerboats tied up with us this time. Unusual. While here we notified our insurance company of our location and our intention to haul the boat for hurricane season near Savannah, GA. As we will no longer be considered full time liveaboards our rates went down. Still outrageous but lower. We'll actually get a refund. It's something but it just means we overpaid. Still shopping for cheaper. 

     It was colder still when we left Jacksonville the next day. Turtleneck, sweatshirts, long pants. Socks!!! Got off the dock easily and had an easy day. The shallows near Amelia Island were negotiated with relative ease as it was almost to mid-tide. The shallows at the Cumberland Dividings had been dredged but the dredge working just past them made the passage a challenge briefly. The operator was very helpful in getting us by him. Had to hug the vessels very closely, however. We ended up in Umbrella Creek off of Jekyll Sound for the second time. An out of the way spot with no wind protection but deep and wide. 

     It was slightly warmer the next day but still cold. We got underway about an hour later than normal due to the tide and a shallow area in Jeckyll Creek, about 45 minutes away. We crawled slowly through the area and made it fine. Saw about 8ft at lowest. The rest of the day was reasonably easy. Fairly deep through the other shallow areas. There is a 6 to 8ft tide in Georgia so with planning (and luck) you can get through. Usually. We stopped early at Crescent, GA on the Crescent River because the next potential anchorage spot was 20 miles farther on. 2 to 3 hours farther on. No thanks. 

     Our last full cruising travel day was slightly warmer. Still long pants but fewer layers. Again it got to near 80° in the afternoon after a cool start. Our passage timing got us to Hell Gate after mid-tide so it went by with ease. We anchored in Herb River within sight of the marina where we will be hauled out. The Hell Gate in Georgia is completely different than Hells Gate in New York. Georgia's is very narrow and shallow connecting two rivers. It has little current. The New York version is much deeper and very swift due to the hydrologic difference between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean south and east of the City. It also has an S-curve to make it even more challenging. One you have to time the tide to have the current with you, the other (Georgia) you have to time the tide to have enough water under your keel(s). 

     Our last day underway didn't start until after 1230 and ended at 1315. We picked up the anchor, went out of the Herb River into the Wilmington River. From there it was only about 15 minutes to the marina. We drove right into the travellift without tying up and were hauled out. Four days of cleaning, repairing, oil changes, packing and moaning and groaning followed. I can't believe there is so much stuff! And we're not taking everything! We learned the marina does not allow people on boats on land to sleep on them overnight. We had to get a hotel room about 15 minutes away. By car. Oh, we don't have a car. This meant getting a Lyft each way every day ($$$) until we picked up the truck we rented to ship our stuff home. Or at least to Massapequa. The rental from the Savannah area was less than half the price as it would have been from Marathon. Same company. When we went to pick up the truck at a Home Depot they didn't have the one we reserved (cue the Seinfeld episode) so they gave us a larger truck. Made packing easier but it's a bit harder to maneuver and gets poorer gas milage. Parking is an adventure, too. We finished packing in mid-afternoon and got on the road for a couple of hours.

     Some of our stuff on the boat - all of our stuff on the truck. Looks like a lot on the boat, not so much on the truck. 

     So, we drove home. The end of an era. Almost 15 years of the full time liveaboard life has come to an end. We may return in October to cruise back down to Marathon. May not. Boat may sell. May not. It's strange transitioning to a new lifestyle at this stage of our lives. Strange facing all this uncertainty at this stage of our lives. I know, it's all an adventure. If you been reading this blog for all these years you know what I think of adventures. 

     So. Hmmm. I guess this is the end. Maybe. No more need for a blog about the cruising liveaboard life. If the boat doesn't sell and we return in October maybe the blog will return. Maybe not. 

     Bye for now. 

Weird Marathon Winter

      About a week after the Celtic Festival we had a couple of virtual showings of the boat and several requests for more info. With a virtual showing the broker walks on, around and through the boat with his phone in his hand and showing everything to the potential buyer via the video feed to their phone. Semi-high tech. The first virtual visitor flew in from Texas 2 days later for an in-person visit and then made an offer on the boat. It was close to what we wanted and we accepted the bid. This had been all too quick and we were going to have to prepare for leaving our home and lifestyle of 14 or so years. It was a lot of work, especially for Carol, to organize and clean the boat and what came next was even more work. For both of us. 

     Our outboard motor decided it was time for the carburetor to start acting up again. Ethanol in gasoline messes up boat carbs, clogs jets, etc. It takes about 2 years for the gasoline to start messing things up and, guess what, it's been about two years since the last time I swapped out the carburetors. I clean the carb and put it with my spare parts until it's time to make the swap again. It's not that hard but wrestling the outboard off and then back on the dinghy is a pain. A major pain. Back. Knees. Wrists. A reminder why we put the boat up for sale. Things that were very common and easy are no longer easy. Still common, unfortunately. Hoping not much else wears out or fails before we sell. These are not faults or defects, just normal wear and tear from full-time use. Sigh. 

     Our survey was in Key Largo, roughly 50 miles from Marathon. Before we went there with the boat we drove to Miami for a visit with my oncology-hematologist to do some blood tests and a check-up. All good. For now. 

      Alabama Jacks after our Miami visit. 

 

    Our passage to Key Largo was a bit lumpy but calmed as we went east (north). We anchored between Rodrigues Key and Rock Harbor after about 7 1/2 hours underway. It was very hot. Our haul-out location was in Rock Harbor, Key Largo. The breeze picked quite a bit after we anchored and it was a slightly rough night at anchor. Not terrible and we were comfortable knowing our anchor would hold with just a little extra scope. No one was near us. The morning was rough as we got underway to the marina that would haul us. We got to about 15 feet away from their wall and went aground. Apparently the strong winds (about 17kts) blew the water out of their basin. We struggled to get free but after nearly 30 minutes, with the genoa out and a lot of backing and filling, we got turned around and got away and headed out without getting ourselves hauled for the survey. We went to another marina a couple of miles away and up the Port Largo Canal to pick up our broker, the surveyor and 2 of the 3 potential new (we hoped) owners. We then went back out to sea to start the survey and have a demo sail. The sail was great! We hit 8.6kts. and the sail was enjoyed by all. We had not seen the mainsail in a while. This was all in Small Craft Advisory conditions. Sporty. We then went back to Marina Del Mar to continue the survey. The canal is very narrow with a lot of traffic. You have to call out securite warnings several times especially at a spot called 'crash corner'. Ominous but obvious why it's called that. A very tiring, frustrating and long day. The potential owners seemed nice as well as the surveyor. The surveyor seemed to be thorough and meticulous. Seemed. He worked for the new owners, not us. He spent a lot of time showing and instructing one of the two women that came from Texas, the 'official' spouse of the original visitor who made the offer a couple weeks earlier. Slightly unusual living arrangements let's say. Not quite defined for sure to us. No matter. Nice people. 

     The second day of the survey started with a 'free' breakfast from the marina. At what they charge for dockage (not paid by us) it wasn't exactly free. Everyone arrived a little after 0800 and got to work again. At 1030 we got underway again to try to get hauled out at the other marina. The one with very shallow water. There was more water due to less wind blowing it away from shore but we still got stuck. With some maneuvering and help from a man from the marina we finally got in position to be hauled. After an extremely rushed inspection we got away. With a lot of bottom bumping, slow downs and temporary groundings. The survey showed the bottom of the keels were damaged by the groundings of the previous day. Minor, easily repaired damage. But still damaged. By the marina chosen by the new owners for the survey.  We then returned to our docking spot at the other marina and the survey continued. A couple of items will need attention but should not have affected the sale. If all was perfect we could have asked for a whole lot more $$$. The long day ended after 1600 again and all were exhausted. Except Cleo. 

     After three tiring days (including the passage to Key Largo) we got underway to head back to Marathon. The passage started out great! Fast. Comfortable. Then it got a bit sporty. Not terrible at all but choppy. Still fast, however. All in all it was a nice sail. We were home at Marathon but it was another tiring day. 

     We got back into the regular routine, pickleball, happy hours, Crane Point tours, etc. Then nasty weather hit us again (damn El Nino) and we stayed on the boat for three rough days. The day before we were scheduled to get the survey report our buyers decided they no longer wanted the boat. They are going to buy a house instead. A bit angry here. We disagree with our broker on our next steps but what we agree on is that the boat is back on the market. The next day we had our first video visit and we know there are around ten other interested parties but, of course, we don't know how serious any of the others are. We were not at the beginning of the process again but close to it. Video visits are steps three or four with in-person visits, offers, contracts, surveys, etc. to follow. Again. Grrrr. Just before we had our second in-person visit we received a copy of the survey. Carol printed it out at our local library, 164 pages. Crazy. It was signed by a surveyor who was never on the boat. Turns out our surveyor was a student. Not how he represented himself. Some strange things were noted. Some irrelevant. Some things missed. And a few things we will need to correct. All-in-all, it was okay for our boat's age and price. Not perfect. A few items in the report indicated to me some lower level of expertise, on the surveyors part, than he claimed. Oh, well. The survey, as wrong as it was in some parts, should not have affected the buyers decision to buy or not buy. If they were smart. Apparently not. They spent a lot of money (a lot) and cost us some money just to back out in the end. Without a real reason. Sigh. 

     So we got back to our winter routines and our original plans to haul the boat somewhere in the south (for the summer), come home, live with our daughter and her family and look for a dirt based home in Connecticut. Then we would return to the boat in the fall to sail back to Marathon. Not sure if any or all of this will happen. Not sure exactly what the future will bring. Not sure we're ever sure. Another adventure. We got to work on the survey issues that were legitimate, changed the engine oil and continued to prepare for showings or a departure northbound. We had a family with kids visit the boat but they did not make an offer. 

     A few weeks later Paul and Karen Rosa came to Marathon to visit. They sold their house (and boat) and bought a mobile home to cruise the United States. They parked their home in Key Largo and drove their tow vehicle down. We showed them the marina and took a cruise around the harbor. Great to see long time friends! 

     The final couple of weeks had us preparing as we always did. Resupplying food, fuel and water and cleaning the bottom of growth. It only takes a month to get plenty of drag inducing barnacles, grass and fuzzies to collect under water. We also prepared our taxes and took care of other financial issues. What fun. 

     The weather really got nice our last few weeks in Marathon. Hot at times with high humidity. Not our favorite conditions but better than cold and wet. BTW, cold here is under 68°F. Brrr. Everything got stocked and topped off (food, water, fuel) and we did a tour of our favorite restaurants. We went to our last few Friday social hours and the monthly brunch and gave a last few tours at Crane Point. I got a chance to say good-bye to friends there as well as Rocco and Charlie. The latter two are African Spurred Tortoises that I pet and feed sometimes. I also give mini-talks to visitors about them occasionally. They were very friendly to me on my last day. Hugging and rubbing up against me. Of course, the previous week I gave them some sweet treats, hibiscus flowers and apple bits which may have led to the affection. Apparently Charlie forgot he bit me the previous week. On the finger and totally my fault as I gave him too small a piece of flower. Still hurt like hell. A deep puncture wound with no tearing. They have strong beaks and powerful jaws. Totally not aggressive but... Anyway maybe his extra affection was in hope of getting more of my blood. Not sure how sweet it is. 

     It was a very unusual winter season. El Nino meant up and down weather patterns. Cold (for here) and rainy at times. More storms than usual but also very warm days, too. Up and down. It was up and down emotionally, too. Putting the boat up for sale. Dealing with the preparation. Dealing with Essex Boat Works not wanting to take responsibility for the damage they did to our saildrives. Issues with the survey. The sale falling through. New interest but then no new offers. Finally we just decided to enjoy our last month in Marathon like normal and look for a marina to haul us out for the summer hurricane season. We plan to leave the boat in the Charleston, SC area and drive home, spend time with the kids and then look for a dirt based home in Conn. It'll be a change. We have no idea if or how it will all work out. An adventure. 

     I may have mentioned before just what I think of adventures.