Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink March 23-24, 2021

 Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Day 107.

So, after our absolutely wonderful paddle board ride, when we returned to the boat, and heard the water pump running, and realized that our hot water heater was leaking all of the fresh water, and there was no turn off valve, our only choice was to turn off the fresh water on the boat.

This was not a happy day. Here we were in the Upper Keys, no marina and no water. This was a major problem; this was serious; and this was not fun!

Captain Roland went to work immediately: calling, texting, and emailing, to find a replacement water heater, identical to our current, 14 year old unit to enhance the chances that the install would be relatively simple and would work on Magic Moments, and a repair person to install it, all near Aventura, where we hoped the marina where we had reservations would allow the repair, and let us arrive a few days early. This was a major undertaking and a logistical nightmare.

After many calls and emails, he located the unit we needed, not too far from Fort Lauderdale, a repair person, not too far from Fort Lauderdale, and confirmed that the marina in Aventura (not too far from Fort Lauderdale), would allow the work and allow us to arrive Wednesday. It was a minor miracle that he got all of this together in a couple of hours and got everybody to agree to a Thursday install. Of course this was going to be extraordinarily costly but at that point Time was of the Essence and reliability, and skill were the key points. Not the time to shop for a bargain, and.....not DIY.

Fortunately, I had to leave the entire mess in Roland's hands (he really works better alone in a situation like this), and normally, I have a few thoughts and opinions, but we lucked out; I had my own crisis starting a 3pm. I had an enormously stressful and time sensitive issue to handle involving one of my angel funds. Because I was busy with those issues, I had no time nor bandwidth to “contribute” to the water heater situation solution, and Captain Roland was free to make his miracle work.

OK; we had the miracle, we had a plan, so now we had to execute. We turned on the freshwater pump for short periods of time to fill up a bucket for washing some dishes, and for collecting some drinking water, and some water for us to wash (no showers), and to flush the head. The bilge pump took care of the water leaking out of the heating tank as we filled the containers.

We went to bed early, trying not to stress.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Day 108.

We were up at 6:30am, with the sun. Neither of us slept well; I was up from 1am to 2am or longer and tossed and turned and stressed about the water and no water. We brought up the dinghy (only the fourth or fifth time and we were actually getting better). We tried not to use too many dishes or utensils. It was a beautiful day and we pulled up the anchor and started for Aventura. It was a sunny, calm, beautiful day (perfect for the beach- too bad, we were on a mission). The views approaching Miami, the city and “the Beach”, as the natives say, were very cool.

 I love, love, love, Miami Beach architecture and the views were fabulous. At 11:05am, we arrived at the Venetian Causeway Bridge which opens on the half hour so we had to idle for 25 minutes; ugh!

Hopefully, at five knots, we would make all the bridges without waiting. We snacked on kind bars to avoid dishes and utensils, and we drank water, sparingly.

The next couple of bridges went well and we were making good time. The West 79th St., Bridge tender, held the Bridge open for two extra minutes so that we could get by. We were very grateful.

As we approach the Broad Causeway Bridge, connecting Miami to Bay Harbor Islands, it was old home week for me. I had lived there as as snowbird for eight years and it was great to see the island and the building from the bay. I got a real kick out of going by. I called Allen, who has lived in the building for decades, and he came out on his balcony and waved as we passed. I hadn’t seen him for many years and he said that this is the first time he knew anybody going by on a boat. It was a kick for him too.

We passed Haulover Cut, and the Haulover sandbar, where dozens of boats were anchored on the sandbar and families were playing in the water. I had lived there for 8 years and never saw or knew about this area. It was astounding to see folks spending the day in waist high water as if it were a beach.

As we passed Sunny Isles and approached Aventura, we went down a narrow canal into Lake Maule, where we idled to set up the docking lines, and the fenders, vertical on the port, and horizontal on starboard. It was a narrow entry to a narrow slip, and Captain Roland was attempting his first stern in docking. He wanted to make it as easy as possible for the repair people to be able to get the water heater aboard, and felt that the stern at the dock was mandatory.

It was not an easy docking; it took him three tries (this is not really unusual), to line up the boat for his first stern docking.

My job was to watch the sides and make sure that he was coming in straight and guide him if he needed to go more to port or more to starboard. Unfortunately, I was so distracted by the port and starboard issue, that I failed to pay as much attention to the swim platform which is a foot or so longer than our stern and 3 feet below the rail, and not easily visible when on the deck. As a result we had a bit more forceful “contact”, shall we say, with the pilings, than we should have had. I don’t think it did permanent damage but it did make us look like we didn’t know what we were doing, and will require repair. Fortunately for the Captain, the dockhands were there and saw that it was I who didn’t know what she was doing, and that it wasn’t the Captain's fault. The dockhand also pushed the boat away as much as possible to soften the “contact” and thereby, to minimize the damage.

We got into the slip, notwithstanding, although tying up was a little bit of a challenge. One of the dockhands (masked), with permission, boarded the boat and went to the bow and helped the Captain tie the lines to the pilings. Again, this was our first (and maybe our last), stern in docking, and I think, considering the circumstances, Captain Roland did a fabulous job.

In the slip we connected to the marina's water. Captain Roland was able to wash off the boat, and I collected the laundry to go to the boaters' lounge where I was told there was a beautiful, free laundromat, and a wonderful bathroom and shower. After 36 hours sans water, I was delighted to hear and hoped it was true.

They were right, instead of doing 4-6 loads of laundry, I did only two or three; the machines were huge. There was one minor problem: the washers and dryers were stacked and the dryer was so high that, not only could I not reach the buttons, I could not even see them! Fortunately, there were several young crew members in the boaters' lounge and one of them gave me a hand.

I had a lovely shower and washed my hair, and was really pleased that this problem occurred over two weeks after our second vaccine, so that using the boaters' lounge (even masked), did not feel like a major risk.

After my shower, I went for a walk and checked out the restaurant near our slip, and made a reservation for the first available time for an outside table, on the terrace at the Island Grille. We had a great dinner and even had leftovers to take back to the boat.

It was a great evening. We were safe, we had the boaters' lounge, water, washers and dryers, a shower, and a bathroom. The only disappointment to the evening was the email from the repair people that they would not be there on Thursday (tomorrow), but they would come on Friday. Captain Roland was not happy with this. He was concerned that they might cancel again; however, he had a back up plan, already.

Ding Darling Anchorage

 Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Day 66.

We have been at the Legacy Harbor Marina in Fort Myers since last Sunday; 10 days. This is the longest time we have been anywhere. The week turned into a month commitment here, coming and going during the month, as they don't have room for us for the whole month. Due to the vaccine schedule in the panhandle, combined with the forecast for heavy winds, all plans had to be changed.

The way pricing works, once we were here over a week, the most economical plan was to pay for a month, although we couldn't actually stay for 30 days. Part of learning to be a boater, I needed to get a handle on the marina pricing plans. It was a bit like volume pricing, the more you buy, the lower the price per unit. So, new plan: we had to leave today, not return until Sunday, and then go and return again on certain agreed upon dates.

We were anxious to start cruising again. We spent the morning getting ready to ship out (last- minute shopping, empty the holding tank, get the lines ready, check the systems, fill the water tank,warm up the motor, etc.).

The day was a pleasure: comfortably warm (still wearing Devigi summer clothing), and sunny. The birds were singing and it was quiet on the dock; Sassy must have had an extra day at the resort because they didn’t return yesterday; we will miss them.

We had left the stern door open all night to enjoy the cool air but, not with standing having the screen in place, the little black bugs were all over the ceiling and walls of the salon. Hopefully at anchor we will not be living with these little tiny bugs.

We expected to be out at anchor for 5 or 6 days and hoped to have good Wi-Fi with our hotspot because this was bill week and it takes me two days to get everything together, reviewed, and paid for the month. The process is new for me as until we left in December, all the bills came in the mail for my review. Getting all of them on line is a system change for me, and I do not take easily to change (this may seem unbelievable to some in light of my jumping off the cliff onto Magic Moments and motoring into the sunset with almost no preparation, but it is true. I tend to resist change and my bill paying system works for me. A new system creates stress....but there was no choice). When the weather is not so beautiful, I don’t mind sitting at the computer so much. I had lots to follow up this week for WIL, and I had at least two segments of the blog to dictate and edit, so I had many things to keep me busy in addition to the dishes and cleaning. Laundry had to wait until we were back on the dock.

We were hoping to get a second vaccine closer, although it was beginning to look more and more unlikely. But we were going to give it a try. In the meantime, we determined to enjoy cruising around the general area as much as possible.

In addition to several trips back to Publix before we left and of having missed a call from Lee County which I had hoped would give me a second vaccine nearby, (I really freaked out when I realized we had each missed the Lee County call!), we finally got off the dock quite beautifully actually. Captain Roland is getting better and better at de-docking.

A good part of my day while we were cruising was spent listening to the impeachment trial. It was extremely painful listening to the details presented by the house managers; so upsetting.

We anchored in Pine Island Sound within the “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, between Captiva and Sanibel Islands, where we had anchored before. The location is perfect protection from south winds and it was windier than we had hoped.

The anchorage is lovely: it is peaceful, beautiful, cool and clear, and comfortable. We had a wonderful dinner of lamb, grilled off the stern (no grilling on the boat is allowed at marinas, another advantage to anchoring), mushroom risotto, and lots of wine. While I did the dishes, we caught up on the news.

Thursday, February 11, 2021. Day 67.

The impeachment trial continued to dominate my life. I again listened on my phone, I didn't know if I’d be able to get TV reception, but I was concerned that seeing the videos of January 6, and all that led up to that day, would be far too upsetting; listening was difficult enough.

We had hoped to move to Pelican Bay (we had heard how lovely it was), but the winds were so heavy that we had to postpone moving and stay in this protected area. So there we stayed, between Captiva and Sanabel islands. The boat was rocking quite a bit with the wind so I delayed spinning until after 4pm. 

Roland put out the fishing line with lore hoping that he would be able to catch some fish. No success. We were really looking for an opportunity to test the dinghy again (we really needed the practice), and to try the stand up paddle boards. Unfortunately the heavy winds caused the delay of those plans as well. Between the impeachment trial, trying to arrange the second shot closer, simultaneously making arrangements for a second trek to the panhandle, and various computer and paperwork obligations, I had plenty to keep me busy.

Friday, February 12, 2021. Day 68. And Saturday, February 13, 2021. Day 69.

I wasn't sleeping. I had insect bites all over my arms and ankles, and the itching was driving me crazy. I was miserable. The wind was rocking the boat and the eerie sounds of the chain rubbing were not helping.

The day was cool, the morning foggy, but the wind had abated a bit. Opportunity to go to Pelican Bay, or try the dinghy or the SUPs? This is the only place nearby that was protected from the south wind so, we stayed. It is interesting on the boat at anchor: there is always a beautiful water view!

There were several other wonderful anchorages if the wind had been from the north, however that was not the situation so there we stayed. It was pretty and it was quiet, so I did my work, read, cleaned, and listened to the shocking and incredibly painful impeachment trial, for yet another day.

In the late afternoon, I got into my brand new shorty wetsuit while Roland set up one of the SUPs for me to try (I guess I look a bit like a guinea pig!). It was a little awkward the first time trying to board the board (smile), off of the swim platform (thank goodness for the staple), but the wind was still too strong and the water way too choppy. I had to paddle into the wind rather frantically to avoid being blown away from the boat. After very few minutes it was clear that the conditions were not appropriate for stand up paddle boarding. I got myself back onto the boat, not so easily, and we decided to wait until it was calmer. Unfortunately, calmer it was not going to be for quite awhile.

So, with the wind blowing steadily, we cooked, we ate, we drank, we cleaned, we listened to the impeachment trial, enjoyed the scenery, paid bills, read, and I found ways to exercise. Unfortunately, I was still sleeping very little as a result of the insect bites which were still causing me to itch all over.

We have had several weather delays throughout this trip however none have ever been as long as this one. As much as I enjoy anchoring out, I was now looking forward to returning to the marina, doing the laundry, going for a run, cycling, obsessing over getting the second vaccine shot, and waiting out the next 10 days of heavy wind.