Dawn in Boot Key Harbor

Here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful, calm, quiet dawn we had here today. It's rare that the wind dies to this extent. There's almost always a breeze here, so this morning was a real treat.
This morning we also said goodbye to our friends Bette and Billy on "Inspiration." They left at dawn this morning bound for Ft. Meyers.

We're OK!

Some of you may have read in the news that a "freak storm" ripped through the Keys the other night. We made it through unscathed, but it was a little frightening. It wasn't as "freaky" as the papers may have led you to believe. We had 2 or 3 similar storms last winter in Key West.
The scary part was a report of a waterspout inside the harbor! I'm not sure it really was a waterspout but the sound that accompanied the onset of the storm was something out of a sci-fi movie. It sounded like tearing metal, or a banshee screaming. The boat spun around on its mooring and the dinghy got all twisted up in the mooring line, but other than that, no damage. It's nice to be attached to something that's screwed into the bedrock! The weather service confirmed 60 knot winds but nobody broke loose.
On a lighter note, Bev took a trip last month to see her granddaughter, Kahlenn, on her first birthday. Here are a few pics of Kahlenn and the family.

Annie Hill

I just discovered that Annie Hill has a blog!
Annie Hill's book "Voyaging on a Small Income" was my inspiration for building the boat and "living the dream."
It's nice to find out what she's been up to. She's still out there, somewhere around Tasmania, still sailing the world.
I've posted a link to her blog on the "Links List" on the left side of the main page of my blog and I've included it here:

Annie's Blog

Lobster, the moon and Chinese sails...

The other day, while Bev and I were trying out our 2 seater kayak (purchased used and cheap from another boater) we were waved over by our friend Mike on "Sailing Grace." He had been lobster hunting and offered us one of his day's catch. We said "sure!"
We took the lobster back to the boat and boiled it up. It happened that we were having Sande and Donnie from "Gypsy Cat" over for dinner that night and the lobster made a great appetizer!
That evening we were treated to a great moonrise. We tried to get some pictures, but it's hard to get the boat to hold still..
I've included a shot of Morgan sharing Bev's breakfast. He likes to pick the green peppers out of her eggs.
Also, I've been toying with the idea of changing the rig on the mainsail to a modified "Chinese" or "junk" rig. I've done a lot of research on it and I think I might be able to make it work. It would be far easier to use than the gaff and give better downwind performance. A junk sail is much easier to reef and unreef. It can be done from the cockpit without going onto the foredeck, so it will be safer.
I made a model of the proposed sail. Here's a picture. The model is to scale and includes all the control lines, so it actually functions. If anyone out there has any experience with the junk rig, I'd like to hear from you.

The New Year, The Wazoo Cup and global...cooling?

Yeah, cooling. We woke up this morning to a temperature of 45 degrees, a near record low for the Florida Keys. Not just a record for the day, a record cold for any time. The last time it was this cold here was 1892! It seems we're in a weak sunspot cycle so, as predicted, the earth is actually getting cooler. Ice age, here we come.
Thankfully it is supposed to get back up into the 70s by this afternoon.
New Years Eve we were invited to spend the evening on "Inspiration," a Catalina 36 owned by Billy and Bette. They had several other couples over and a splendid time was had by all.
Last weekend the coveted "Wazoo Cup" was awarded to the winner of the Wazoo Cup race. The Wazoo Cup Race is a really strange dinghy race in which the boats race around a set course, not to see who has the fastest time, but to see who comes closest to an unknown "mystery" time. Bev and I entered and had a lot of fun, but we didn't win. The crew of "Cloudwalker" won the race. It was all for charity.
I finally got around to building a bracket to store the dinghy engine on board Walkure. That way we can take the engine off the dink and set up the sailing rig. It will also make towing the dink easier.
Here are a few pictures of the race, the dinghy sailing and Morgan sharing Bev's coffee! I've also included a new picture of Pete, the macaw who lives on "Gypsy Cat."
If you are reading this post from the Yahoo mailing list, make sure you log into the main blog site to see a new feature I've put up. On the left side there is now a gadget that lets you see the weather here in Marathon, or wherever we happen to be.

Small world

Marathon is one of those places where, if you hang out long enough, you are going to run into someone you know.
Yesterday at the pig roast at Dockside, we ran into Sande and Donnie from the catamaran "Gypsy Cat." We first met them back in January 2007 at Clearwater. They have a beautiful macaw named Pete.
After a pitcher of beer and some story swapping, they followed us back to our boat to meet Morgan.
Here's a picture we took of Pete during our first visit with them, almost two years ago.

Christmas in Marathon

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a great day yesterday. The good folks down at the "Dockside Bar and Grill" closed the business for the day and held a great Christmas dinner for the boaters in the harbor. They deep fried a bunch of turkeys, baked some ham and roasted a pig. Each of the 120 or so boaters brought a dish and we all ate entirely too much. Several local musicians provided entertainment.
Here are a few pictures.
I've been told by the Admiral that I absolutely must mention that our little Christmas tree sports an ornament made by Bev's sister Gayle. It is homespun wool that Gayle spun and died herself.
We had phone calls from all of Bev's boys, Mike's son Mike and granddaughter Chandra and Mike's sister Jane. (Bev also got to speak to her not-quite-one-year old granddaughter Kahlenn.)
Happy Birthday Julie!

Tis the season

We've been busy getting ready for the holidays and partaking of holiday fun. Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to.
Last night, Bev's boss Debbie (she's the one with the funny headgear) drove us down to Key West to do the "Conch Train Holiday Tour." We saw all the Christmas lights on the houses down there. They have a contest for the best decorated house. I tried to get some pictures of the houses but the train was moving too fast.
Saturday night we went to the weekly jam session at the Tiki hut at the marina. Several performers were there, I got to do around 10 songs, and a splendid time was had by all.
I have also included a shot of Morgan playing in his new playground.

Christmas is coming!

The last week or so has been really busy getting ready for the Holidays.
We went to a "tree lighting" at the hospital where Bev works, a holiday concert at the community theater, a boat parade and an "end of hurricane season" party. We even caught a glimpse of Santa and Mrs. Clause on the way to meet some kids.
Here are some recent pictures.

Touching history

We made it to Key Largo yesterday and got to see the "African Queen." As previously reported, she is in sad shape. It looks like no maintenance has been done in years. The old steam engine that Humphrey Bogart fiddled with in the movie is still there, but in obvious disrepair. An outboard engine bracket has been added to the transom. It looks ugly and out of place on a boat like this.
Here are a few pictures.

Thanksgiving and a party

On Thanksgiving, one of Bev's coworkers invited us to her house for dinner. We had a great time and ate our 7,100 calories as required. (Yep, that's the average American Thanksgiving dinner - 7,100 calories!)
Thanks Jody!
Last night (with borrowed car) we drove down to Ramrod Key. We went to a place called "Boondocks" (surprisingly upscale) to see Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band. They were having a CD release party for the release of their new live CD/DVD collection "Live on Duval." Just before the band went on, I walked up to Howard to say "Hi." He remembered us from Key West. Of course, we forgot the camera so no pictures today.
Bev offered to be "designated driver" and it was a good thing. I was not in shape to drive 20 miles back to the marina. (Hey, I said it was a PARTY!)
Today we are making a Christmas shopping expedition while we still have the car. We will be passing by the spot where "African Queen" is on display, so we are hoping to stop by and get some pictures. Look for them tomorrow. We hear that the current owner hasn't been diligent about maintenance and the boat is in poor repair, but it is still a piece of history for several reasons so while it's still there we want to take a look.

Rope clutches

Folks have asked what rope clutches look like, so here are a couple of pictures.
The clutches have two positions, open and closed. In the open position, the rope can slide in either direction. In the closed position, the rope can slide through the clutch in one direction only. Thus, you can pull on the line and let go without the line pulling back from the weight of the sail.
This set is a triple, and we are only using two of the three clutches available. Someday, we may find a use for the third and we won't have to pay for it. (The price we paid for the triple was less than the new cost of a double.)

A day on the water

Recently, we bought a set of "rope clutches" for our main halyards. Ever since we started out, Bev has had a hard time raising the main by her self. The rope clutches allow her to pull each halyard a bit at a time and makes it much easier for her. Yesterday we took the boat out "Sister's Creek" to the Atlantic and sailed around for a few hours. Bev put the sail up by herself and sailed the boat by herself for about two hours including two tacks. She did really well.
When we got back to the harbor, Bev picked up the mooring buoy on the first try. She's really getting to be quite the sailor.
On the way back into the harbor we saw a huge manatee. They say that the cool waters farther north have driven the manatees all the way down to the Keys.
Here are a few pics of our expedition yesterday. Note the pic of the Man-of-War. Ouch! Don't touch one these guys.