One day Sue said to Jeff, "Let's go sailing," and so the story began….
07-25-2010
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Florence seems like a big town to us. We were excited to see the woods behind the building but quickly realized that they were impenetrable and not conducive to hiking. So Jaimie found Lynche River County Park on Google and today we set off to explore. The river was pretty mucky looking but the setting seemed to encompass different biomes. We started in cypress territory, wandered through red clay and ponderosa pines, and trekked across white sand paths surrounded by cedars and oaks. Interestingly, although we’ve heard rumors about mosquitoes in South Carolina, we had very few buzz us during the 2 hour hike. Of course, when we got home, Jaimie pointed out that we all were covered in tiny mites. Yuck.
07-22-2010
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Jack loves the warmth. Or else he thinks we should just skewer him and forget the whole fire thing – he’s already cooked
07-19-2010
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We made the 14 hour drive to South Carolina yesterday and spent the night in a hotel until our apartment was ready today. Who would have thought that by going 800 miles north the temperatures would get 5 to 10 degrees hotter? At least I don’t have to worry about losing my heat acclimation (is that a word?)
When Jeff takes these assignments we never know what kind of housing we’re going to get. Sometimes it’s nice, sometimes not so good. This place is a keeper. We’re on the second floor of an apartment complex. There’s no one below us but another family lives above us. They must like their air conditioning because we don’t run ours all day long. If we keep the doors shut and the ceiling fans on, the place stays quite cool. I even catch Jaimie sneaking the patio door open to let in a little heat.
07-18-2010
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Yesterday I took the bus to Key West to meet Jeff at the airport. He’d been in Phoenix the past 2 weeks because he was getting a little chilly here in Marathon. (NOT!) Poor guy, he hates the heat and here the VA goes and sends him off to the desert and temps of 113 F. Plus, they made him walk the 5 blocks to the VA from his hotel every morning and back again every night. Good thing they paid for his laundry bill. We picked up our government issued rental car in Key West and returned to Marathon just in time to pack for the next 4 months and go to bed.
This morning found us on the dinghy dock at 7am. Jeff and I allowed the girls each one 13 gallon trash bag for their clothes and incidentals. He and I each had a duffel bag. Jack and Buddy were allowed leashes and a bag of food. The cat once again took up the most space with her carrier, food, and litter box.
Kurt and Daniel had spent the night on shore so they wouldn’t miss us leaving. Kurt just looked sort of bleary eyed. Daniel, on the other hand, was showing the effect of one too many energy drinks.
07-10-2010
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Iggy went missing a few weeks ago from his cage at the local Iguana rescue shelter. He was Sue’s (not me) personal pet – she’s owned him for 17 years now since he was a young punk. Apparently some guests at the shelter decided he’d make a good pet and made off with him. Sue and her husband Ray offered a $2000 reward for his safe return – no questions asked. The marina residents captured every iguana within a 2 mile radius but no luck – Sue could tell they weren’t Iggy. Then someone up in Orlando fessed up and soon Iggy was home – free to go for walks wearing his little halter and do whatever it is that iguanas do.
06-30-2010
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The deckpod on the Tiki 46 is not made for living in – it’s just supposed to be a watch berth for long voyages. Well, Jeff and I have given the girls the 3 staterooms since we’re such pushovers, and we live in the deckpod. Granted, we’ve widened it from the original plans, but it’s still small. And there are no opening windows. We’ve already put dinghy hatches in at Jeffs foot of the bed along beam 5, and another along the mast case, but neither provides the kind of ventilation that Jeff needs. Today, we installed a hatch over his side of the bed. We’ll see how that works.
Using a jig saw and a circular saw, Jeff cuts out the deck pod roof
Hmmmm…Looks kind of bright in the bedroom. I hope that it doesn’t get too hot now!
I epoxied the edges of the opening, and after drying Jeff places the hardware for the hatch.
All finished. Since we just spotted a tornado off to the west of us we’ll soon find out if it’s watertight!
06-29-2010
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The boarding ramp design for the Tiki 46 is subpar in my opinion. It’s too wide (about 10 feet) and very unwieldy and floppy. It’s already too heavy as per plans, so if it is stiffened appropriately the weight would be too much to raise and lower without at least 2 people. Not a good option if someone goes overboard and one person needs to move the ramp for a rescue. An additional problem with the ramp for us is that the head of the Johnson outboard hits it preventing us from raising the motor as far as we can.
So with saw in hand, Jeff split the thing in half.
He put one half on deck to apply a new lug to it.
The other half he lowered onto the spare dinghy…
.. and then moved it to the other side of the boat where he had installed new lugs for it.
Hopefully the two smaller segments will be easy enough for even one of the girls to raise and lower if needed.
Two things to note additionally in the pictures. The top pic shows our new yellow Kipor generator. This little 2000w machine matches all of the specs of the Honda 2000 for about half the price. It’s extremely quiet, lightweight and very fuel efficient. Jeff and I can converse in normal voices while standing right next to it without any difficulty. Another thing to note is the blue fabric along the back of the cockpit. This is Sunbrella View Panorama. It has made our lives so much more comfortable by blocking 90% of the sun as well as letting the breeze come through while stopping the heat from penetrating. Good stuff.
06-27-2010
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The Blood Mobile recruiter greeted people as they entered church this morning stating that there was a critical shortage of blood for the holidays down here in the keys and would we donate after services. Last time Lisa tried, the techs couldn’t find a vein. This time we took her to Wendys and plied her with shakes and Dr Pepper. Then back to the Vampire Bus. Luckily, Zeke, a Haitian with incredible needle skills was able to find a vein where even I couldn’t locate one. Lisa’s reward: a free movie ticket.
06-26-2010
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Lisa turned 18 today. Jeff and I, Lisa, Jaimie, Christie, Kurt, Daniel, and Dave all piled into a taxi and went to Pizza Hut to celebrate. Since the Hut doesn’t offer birthday cake and singing waitresses we took matter into our own hands. While Lisa excused herself to use the facilities, the rest of us gathered around the bathroom door and sang “Happy Birthday”. I think she was suitably impressed with our talents and love. And the other guests at the establishment were highly amused.
06-24-2010
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Jaimie has taken up sailing with Forest, a local boy, in his Puffer sailing dinghy. For some reason, they waited until the wind was blowing 15-20 knots before taking out the little boat. Of course, they capsized it, and before they could get a life jacket slid up the mast the boat turtled and the mast was stuck firmly in the mud. Since this happened right in the harbor, there were soon numerous dinghys racing to the rescue and in minutes they were back upright. . They made their way over to a nearby sailboat that was on one of Forest’s moorings by his house in order to fix the halyard, Customs and Immigration came by in a speed boat to ask if they were the kids that had the capsized boat. They replied yes, but they were fine. “Well, the Coast Guard is looking for you”. was the reply as Customs took off. Next thing they knew, a Coast Guard boat approached (with the boat up on a plane). They kept wanting the kids to abandon the Puffer and get on the Coast Guard boat to be taken to land. Apparently this is protocol for “rescues”. But Forest kept telling them that the sailboat they were currently tied to was on his property and technically he was home.
At which point there was discussion amongst the Coasties as to protocol in that situation. Eventually, they just took everyones name, address, and phone number and the officer assured them just before he drove away “We’ll be contacting your parents”.
06-18-2010
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Some pics of Haiti. I’m still waiting for the blog entry from Jeff!
Jeff traveled to the various clinics by helicopter.
View from the air of a camp that Samaritans Purse has provided for those who lost their homes
After the medical team gets off the helicopter, they still need to drive to the place where they’ll be working for the day. Here is a typical Haitian bus – packed full
Some of the little kids who are living in the camps where Jeff worked
06-18-2010
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While Jeff was gone I decided to make a difference in our lives. We needed fans. It is so incredibly hot here and unlike the winter, the wind refuses to blow and at least give us some sort of evaporative cooling. Nightime is dreaded because it just doesn’t cool off and sleep is impossible.
So I wired the boat. Both hulls. With my trusty “12 Volt Bible” I read how to wire, and learned about Mr Ohm and how he resists any progress as well as other such terms as Volts, Amps and Watts. Really quite simple. I also learned never to cut a big 10 AWG wire with tin snips while it is connected to the battery. Quite a light show.
So now each room has several LED lights, a cigarette style plug, and fans. Jeff was shocked- well, not literally- but he was happy.
05-29-2010
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This morning we all got up at 4 am to drive Jeff to the airport in Miami. He’s taking off for Haiti for a couple of weeks to work in various clinics there. We’ll miss him….but I have plans for the boat while he’s gone ……
05-28-2010
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On the weekends, the kids try to cram as many people as possible into the saloon of the boat and they watch movies while making vast quantities of noise. We’ve had up to 9 hot bodies down below at a time. Every once in a while they have to stick their heads above deck for a breath of air before descending back into the balmy depths.
A good example of what to do with that Sharpie pen that’s just burning a hole in your pocket
05-25-2010
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Even Buddy thinks it’s too hot and he’s solar powered.
Yes, I admit it. I’m too hot. Okay, now stop laughing at me and get a grip. I know that I said it could never be too hot after living all these years in Michigan. But I am. Enough said.
05-22-2010
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Today, the marina hosted a clean up day. Volunteers got in their dinghys and drove the mangrove shoreline picking up trash. Jeff and I chose to do Whiskey Creek since I have such a love of that area. There really wasn’t much trash per se, it was mostly fishing line and rope. Lots and lots of rope. As in 2- 35 gallon trash bags full of rope.
We had wanted this to be a family event. Lisa had to work though, so Jaimie and Christie went to the assignment area with us. As they stood there, another teenager friend, Chris, showed up and the three of them were quickly assigned to do “Beer Can Beach”. This was the only beach that the volunteers were allowed to walk on due to the turtle hatchlings. When Jeff and I finished Whiskey Creek, we motored over to the kids area and were shocked to see the volume of garbage on this one little beach. Bags and bags of debris were picked up, and still there was more. Over 20 baseball caps and vast quantities of flip flops rounded out the flotilla of beer cans, water bottles, and unidentified plastic bits. I was pretty proud of my kids work ethic, and the great job they did.
05-20-2010
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Remember how it was hunting for that first job? The sweaty palms, stuttering answers, and shaky handwriting while filling out numerous applications. Then there were the interviews with questions such as why I wanted to be a dishwasher. Ummm..because I like clean things? Or I want to flip hamburgers at McDonalds because it gives me a sense of altruism to feed all those hungry people? Heaven forbid that I say it’s because I want to be able to buy that junker car so I can go out and party with my friends until the wee hours of the morning.
Lisa has never experienced the joy of the search. When we moved to Arcadia she went to the library in town every chance she got to check out books and movies. Summer time approached and the librarian asked her if she would like a job. Last summer we returned unexpectedly to Michigan and Lisa turned down the library job because we weren’t sure where Jeff was going to be stationed. But then he got a job that let us live in our old house, and the librarian from the next town called and wanted Lisa to work there. She was desperate for help.
This past Monday, since I knew we were going to be living in Marathon for the summer, I told Lisa she should get a job here. A friend told her to go apply at his place of work. Nervously, she rode her bike to the store, and before she even finished filling out an application they gave her the job and told her she started the next morning at 9!
Not that I’m complaining, but I hope she realizes that the world does not normally function like this.
05-17-2010
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So, what are our plans now that we’re back in Florida? Well, one of the reasons we were trying to get to the Bahamas and then on to the Dominican Republic was because Jeff had an opportunity to work in a clinic in Haiti. We were afraid to take the boat to Port Au Prince because of security issues, but it would have been nice for it to at least have been in the general vicinity. Now that we’re in Marathon, he just went ahead and bought airline tickets to fly to Haiti and will work there in June. In late July he starts his first assignment as a regular Veterans Administration employee.
For the last 2 years, Jeff has been working as a temp doctor in a myriad of locations. But because he is considered an independent contractor there are no benefits associated with the job such as retirement or health care. While surfing the web a few months ago, we found out the the government is now hiring doctors to do much the same thing he’s already doing – filling in at VA clinics and hospitals who for some reason are working shorthanded – and they are providing all the benefits such as pension, health care and even paid vacation and sick days. The great part is the job is only 6 months a year. Perfect for earning money during hurricane season and allowing us to continue to travel during the rest of the year. And with one kid graduating from high school in the next few months, as well as 2 others close on her heels, the steady income will be welcome.
So this summer my job is getting Lisa graduated, and getting Kittywake to shine.
05-16-2010
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Taken from www.boatsmithfl.com
Yesterday Jeff and I took the bus to Isla Morada and the Wharram meet that was being held there. I finally got to meet up with David, a professional Wharram builder , who had his Tiki 30 up on the beach. What a piece of art! Lots of people think that Wharrams are dark, narrow, and cramped with no comfort. His Tiki, though, had a huge open center cockpit with oodles of red cushions. The interior was white and clean with more comfortable beds in the same bright red. I was really enjoying myself until David mentioned coming to see our boat on Sunday. Ouch.
I’ll have to admit, once I developed my allergies to epoxy, I just slapped my fillets in the corners (or had the girls do them) and didn’t bother sanding them smooth. We also have this little problem with putting a finish on part of the boat, and then undertaking a project that gets epoxy, paint, or some other evil substance on the pretty part. And so it stays since it seems rather futile to fix it again if we’ll only undertake another project in the future. So today, I told Jeff that I was going to tell the pro that he couldn’t come. I was just too embarrassed. When the phone rang, I steeled myself, only to be told that David was already in Marathon! Just go ahead and shoot me and get it over with. My life was over.
Jeff gave the nickel tour, while I hid out on shore. So what was the conclusion? Well, we got a “B”. But at least he said that the boat wasn’t going to fall apart, which I guess was what I really needed to hear. Now I’m going to get to work fixing this puppy up. Just wait until fall, David, when there’s that Wharram meet on Florida’s East Coast.
05-11-2010
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Last night, just as dark descended, we sailed past South Riding Rock and out into the Atlantic Ocean. The waves had been growing all day, but because they were from behind us the boat rode very smoothly. While it was pitch black out, we could feel us climbing, climbing, climbing, and then sliding down with a rush or foam. Kind of cool – if you didn’t have to steer through it. This was the first night that the girls all spent in the cockpit taking turns on watch. Jeff actually had about 6 hours off in a row which he really needed. By dawn we were down to just the jib since we were going so fast and the boat needed so much attention to keep it going straight. And by 10pm we rounded the corner and started the final approach to Boot Key harbor and our home in Marathon. Um, yeah. Except the wind didn’t go that way and we were wallowing in the water unable to make any progress for that last little bit. Good thing we have a BoatUS membership, which I’m sure they’ll revoke any day now until we prove we’ve got a new motor. The tow boat captain was incredible – we barely felt the tug of his line, and we for sure didn’t feel the waves crashing into us. Nice. Once tied up to a mooring ball, we all sort of went comatose. Good job Kittywake getting us back here safely.