12/31/15   Thursday    Stuart, FL

New Year's Eve continued...

Christmas lights. Fireworks. Birthday party. Pot lucks. Cool breeze on the aft deck. Small worry about how kitty is faring with the heat. David has been a trooper in getting the tarp/sunshade over the mast. We both put the curtains up all around to keep the sun out. Someone at a potluck tonight talked about getting car eye shades for the major windows in their boat. An idea that has some merit. David is now searching for the wind scoop which I don't think we brought with us. I don't know how it would work with our reversed forward hatch anyway. But, go for it, David.

This marina has a number of return customers and we all seem to play together nicely. The potluck food was in the lounge where the football fans took over to watch the Orange Bowl (I think. Clemson won). I played "Heads Up', an app for your phone that is a version of charades but with verbal cues rather than acting out. This was with the patio crowd who didn't want to watch football. There was a birthday party around the fire pit and another group a little farther away. Now, I'm back at the boat in the cool breeze aft deck and I hear singing from the general direction of the  dock house/clubhouse. It is likely to be a bit noisy tonight but there is little traffic noise from the highway which is very near.

Haven't done much thinking about the year finishing. David and I, and me separately, have done some major traveling this year which has been so rewarding.

• We went to NC for last Christmas -
• I continued onto CUBA with an arts education group and met some wonderful people I'll probably not see again. Still, a wonderful excursion/journey into a new land.
• We spent so much time trying to make Wayne healthy, finally helping him to die or being present to witness his decline and departure. So much learning there. I feel we may have missed some cues, opportunities to end, before we had the courage to help his ending. No rancor, just thoughtful. Similar to my missing cues with my day. Small regrets but no blame. I DO hope to have learned when/how to just BE present without that ever present pull to DO something...to make it better, to help, to follow advice of others, to "do the right thing" without paying attention, or enough attention, to gut feelings.
• The joy of meeting Wayne's brother and sis-in-law and his nephews at his "funeral". Keith and Ann are loves.
• We traveled to Spain to visit w/Dick and Nora...just in time as they decided to put the condo on the market soon after we left. A terrific visit, again to a new place/country for us.
• Summer brought an premier production of Love & Lobsters to FCP w/David and me on stage with scripted lines. Oh my.
• I keep learning from my experience as Board President for FCP.
• We made Grace ready for another attempt - successful this time - of an ICW journey. This journey (Maybe we're halfway through) continues to bring lessons and new friends and joy and stretches.
• I "made something", a dance sketch at BDF in David Parker's class. Hard, courageous, fun, gratifying to be continuing to "make something" in dance in spite of age and fear of humiliation. Oh well.

I think I'm hearing bagpipes just now. And maybe dance music, but these are not my dance buds.

• We took a few people out on sailing trips but not enough to call ourselves a business.
• Went swimming in the ocean, off the boat, with Maggie, Shannon and friends.
• Invited Sharyl to come live w/us while she recovered from surgery. So many surgeries this lovely woman has endured. Hoping 2016 brings no additional ones. Enough already.
• Almost got Sharyl moved into an apartment in town so she wouldn't be so physically isolated in that beautiful spot on Rt 125. We fear her being  so on her own there. Strong and independent as she is, she has mobility issues that cause concern.
• I went to uNCSA's 50th anniversary and had a blast reconnecting with some old acquaintances.
• Saw Maggie "step up" to high school.
• Watched Shannon continue to grow in her own person while ast being an amazing parent.
• Missed Radio for the first time in many years
• Had a skype-y Christmas with Maggie, Shannon and Sharyl.
• Enjoying a number of new friends and new experiences as we continue our ICW cruise
• Learning, daily, with David - enjoying, stretching, cuddling in, giving space...this ICW portion of our journey together will always be hard to describe in less than 10,000 words.
• Witnessed, at a distance, so many human tragedies - physical and of the spirit, bombing in Paris a recent tragedy...and witnessed, again at a distance, such generosity both physical and spiritual , people providing refugees with water, bananas and clothing as they arrived in Greece, for example.
• Nancy Clark - mentor to David, iconic community treasure - passed over just this week.

The list goes on and on. So grateful for all the spirits that surround me, love me, support me, challenge me. Quoting Laura Faure's holiday wish words because they are well stated...

Sending best wishes for a better world in 2016.  

May we practice gratitude for any good fortune, cultivate love, compassion and kindness for all living things, 
and seek equality and justice for all.

12/31/15    Thursday  Catch-up day since I've been away for a couple of days.

Taking it from 12/29/15  Tuesday

After a pretty short day we DID moor at Vero Beach and we DID raft up with one other boat and our raft mate, Mike, was lovely. We'll look forward to meeting up w/him farther down the ICW, maybe Marathon. We were convinced to stop by Sheldon who mentioned the beach, the park, the art museum. And, when will we be this way again?

Just your average house on Barker Island, similar on John's Island

The bad news - I had a bout of vertigo and didn't get off the boat. Had some old drugs for the event but David insisted I call my doctor. Okay...she recommended a new script for same drug. Okay...David, being my knight in bicycle gear, took off to the CVS to fill the prescription...but only after my throwing up lunch convinced me that it might be a good idea. The odd thing was that after some food and a nap I felt fine - no symptoms. But later, dizzy again. So LOTS of water, drugs and recovery...but no Vero Beach excursion. Sigh. Another time, if it still seems important.

A decent night's sleep and an early morning departure to....

12/30/15   Wednesday

A long day of traveling but this time there were nearer to sandbar islands, some with campers or sun bathers on them, small boats pulled up to shore. So many interesting opportunities to be "on the beach." Just remembered that I was in a dance piece when living in NYC by Satoru Shimazoki (spelling could be all wrong but I remember him with pleasure) or maybe the dance was by Laura Foreman??? but there was a sentence the women said..."on the beach" as we made various sunbathing poses. Another reason to be partial to being on the beach!

As we got closer to Stuart the water was wide and shallow again...and boring but required attention. Turning up toward our "gift marina" there were LOTS of smaller power boats, and some BIG ones, going too fast for our comfort. Gnats and mosquitos buzzing around everywhere. We DID arrive at Sunset Bay Marina in ample time to find our slip, get tied up for the couple days, and get showers before meeting cousin, Nancy,...our limo to her house for dinner.

What a delight to meet her husband, Scott, her daughters, Alison and Jillian, Alison's beau, Grant and the dogs whose names I can't spell (a very old beagle and a younger, furrier Australian shepherd). Dinner was great, food delicious. Getting to know this family was the real treat.

Hoping to share some time w/Nancy's older sister, cousin Kathryn, who I've not seen since teen years (? could it be???).

Home to hot boat, hotter kitty who had thrown up (copy cat!) and was glad to see us. Our blessings continue. More about today later.

12/28/15   Monday

Best as I can recall, this was an uninteresting day of travel - pretty, had to stay in the channel, some power boats went rudely too fast past us so we had to hold everything down, we had a "take the outboard motor off the dinghy" after we got underway this morning (i.e. pull off the ICW into "other" water  - did we anchor? I think we did - like pulling into a rest stop on the interstate except that there isn't a rest stop. Anchored behind a little island tonight where the wind is blowing hard enough to keep any bug from landing so no mosquitoes. Hurrah! And it is delightfully cooler, yes, cooler.

Anchored behind this small island 

Nancy out.

David here:
The Indian River is most challenging because it is monotonous (spelling?) , the water is wide but the channel is narrow so there is considerable distance between the channel and anything one can look at. It is exposed to the SE wind (prevailing at this time) and the navigable channel is narrow, so close attention to depth and direction are what you do.

As Nancy said, as we started off, we quickly discovered the wind and waves were not favorable to towing Evon the Avon with motor attached. So we pulled off at a "deep spot" and hauled the motor. Evon is much happier and so am I.  We slogged through 20-25 kt winds on our nose all day, nursing the engine (more on this for your motor heads). As we grew closer to the Vero Beach end, it became more interesting because of the islands, primitive island campgrounds and views of the barrier islands. But, alas, too late.  a long day of motoring had taken its toll.

Boat Mechanical Stuff:
So, over the past week we have prepped and then done a haul-out to re-do the stuffing box, which has been leaking a great deal. We discussed how to repack with Dick Merrick and with others, and although Dick and I thought we could do it in the water, other advice, plus caution, led to us paying for a quick haul out. As it turns out, we could have done the stuffing box in the water. (now we know for next time) BUT, we did get to scrub the bottom, change some zincs and generally, lovingly, pat the hull that keeps us afloat. (Yes, some cruising dollars gone, but good stuff accomplished.)

Stuffing Box:
Re-packing the Stuffing box, (the thing that keeps water from coming in where the propeller shaft comes into the bottom of the boat) We found the previous "maintenance" was done by someone who took a few feet of the packing and wound it around the shaft in the stuffing box in a continuous loop. Oops! This is exactly what all the "experts" say one should not do. So i happily put in new packing in the proscribed manner (What? you want to know what that is? - Essentially, cutting each piece of packing so it makes a perfect ring with ends of the ring cut at 45degree so they lap. Then add the next layer with the cut 120degrees further around the shaft, and continue till full.)

Anyway, feeling quite holy and nautical we closed it up and dropped Grace back in the water. Unfortunately, after running the engine the packing still leaked (although it is a heck of a lot better than before.)
So, on to further research: Nigel Caulder (boat book guru) says that if the engine is out of alignment, the stuffing box will leak. Hmmmmm

So, our good friend, Sheldon ( a trained marine engineer as well as lawyer (go figure!)) met us in New Smyrna and we pulled apart the shaft to tranny connect.  AHA! We measured and found the alignment off by .046" (to those who do not know, that is a lot!) We suspect the problem is the engine is out of alignment with the shaft. Given the weird engine mounts we have, this will take someone well above my pay grade. (amazing that I can admit this!)

So, now we are working toward another haul-out in Stuart, FL, talking by telephone to boat mechanics referred to us by wonderful family (Richey) connections (Thank you- Lew and Kathryn)  as we work our way toward Stuart, to determine the best possible, hopefully lower cost, options for getting the engine in alignment and things working right, or better.

RE: The politics of getting ashore:
Vero Beach has a municipal marina that has a bunch of moorings. $16 a night.

Good price, Here is the catch. They tell you that you will "raft up" with at least one and maybe two other boats (that is, tie up to, side by side - up to three across) on one mooring ball. So, picture this. You go to a state park and reserve a camp site and when you arrive, the park ranger says; OK, so you are in campsite "C" along with two other groups who are complete strangers. We don't know if they know how to pitch a tent safely, or if their way of rigging things will snag and damage your stuff,  if they are trustworthy or will steal you blind when you leave your tent, or if they will party all night with music blaring. Just give us the $16 dollars.  Yeah, right!
I apologize for this expression of frustration but,...WTF???

Sorry, Vero Beach, we are moving on. (one has to wonder who dreams up these arrangements and if they ever consider if they would put their families, and loved ones, in these arrangements. I bet not!}

12/27/15  Sunday

Morning sun salute today was on the New Smyrna free dock, face lifted, arms stretched to a rainbow sundog. Beautiful sunrise!

New Smyrna Beach from free dock

Long travel day today...8 hours with a stop for fuel, water and a holding tank pump out (in case you wanted to know). There were waves (!) on Mosquito Lagoon, a place we'd considered anchoring so I could go to the ocean beach.  Sweet David keeps looking for places for me to indulge my ocean passion. We decided against Mosquito Lagoon. Beautiful but huge, and windy/wavy and we wanted to get farther south. (Soon I'm going to look up the difference in further and farther but not now because my computer battery will run out.

A couple of wonderfuls today -

Manatees! Never got a great view but several noses, a couple of backs and one alongside the boat was a full head, neck wrinkles and back. The "entrance" to Mosquito Lagoon where the mangrove islands are close to the ICW was where we saw them. I was at the helm and watching the water so I had the most views. It would have been fun to really slow down or stop to have a better viewing chance but we were the leaders of the boat parade - 3 sail boats and a power boat - so....

There is a right hand turn - that would be 90 degrees to starboard - the leads through a short cut in several mangrove islands leading to a Bascule bridge named Haulover Canal Bridge. It's pretty narrow (25-30'). It was FULL of little power boats with people cruising and/or fishing. Our sailboat parade wove its way through them, avoiding fishing lines and boats coming and going in all directions - a real social occasion. And both sides of the canal/cut were filled with people fishing from the banks. At one point we counted 20 boats of about 15', small-ish boats. They were a swarm! A delightful swarm. Then we were under the bridge and back in open, big water.

Now on anchor in Cocoa (Beach???) listening to swish of traffic going over the bridge, called a causeway here, and the music of Diane Krall. Earlier there was a conveyor belt of white and red color as cars' headlights, taillights kept apace. Now the color and sound is less regular. The warm breeze is gentle. A lovely night.

I'm thoughtful, and grateful, about my abundances being conscious of so many people with much less...the young, hopeful couple we met yesterday and the day before, a friend in very poor health who is less hopeful...grateful for all the homes I have, FB photos of my NC family's Christmas gathering, and of the smaller ME gathering.

When we started this journey and everything was new....and dangerous!... I thought about the possibility of death, daily. As I've become more confident (in self, David and boat) the ever-present possibility of death has not diminished but my attention to it has. This is not about fear, and I don't think the awareness is a bad/negative thing...something like Don Juan in that series of books by Carlos Castaneda.  The Teachings of Don Juan, I think, was the first one. Perhaps time to re-read...at least to remember the constant possibility. Remembering adds to my gratitude.

white dots under the tree live are more white pelicans/snowbirds

12/26/15    Saturday   Moon still mostly full    A sun dog this afternoon  Hot, humid night

We just celebrated Christmas w/Sharyl, Shannon and Maggie via skype. Not the same as being there but good enough in a pinch. Great to have this technology that keeps us connected even when far away. Our family is so generous. I have beautiful earrings from Sharyl, a Sunsmart shirt from Shannon and Maggie, yoga classes when I get back to Maine, movie tickets for anywhere we find a movie we want to see; David has Sunsmart shorts, a wind shirt; there is CHOCOLATE, sunscreen, chocolate, brownie mix, a new, heavy duty bottle opener which can also be used as a weapon, plus our mail and magazines and the camera David wanted picked up from our Maine house...and cards expressing love. Thank you all, our family. Oh, and the annual calendar Shannon puts together of photos she has taken through the year of the family. Perfect! and so looked forward to each year. Fun to watch us all grow and change, especially Maggie.

Much of this day was devoted to engine work for David. The stuffing box that was repacked on Thursday is still leaking more than it should with new stuffing. Barbara was going to come over and bring our Christmas mail (from Shannon, Maggie and Sharyl) but Sheldon decided to come too, to help David diagnose engine troubles...if there were any. Excellent! They arrived around 9 AM. David and Sheldon started opening the engine compartment around 10. Barbara and I took a drive to the beach,

Portuguese Man of War, we saw it on our beach walk

to the Thrift Store, to her friend's house and finally to the food store for sandwiches for the men and us.

David and Sheldon discovered that the engine was mis-aligned. Don't know how it happened...if we bought the boat that way or if it was pulled out of alignment when we wrapped the prop with line or...who knows. But we've researched a yard near Stuart that is recommended so will likely spend more time than expected in Stuart. B.O.A.T. = Break Out Another Thousand ($$$). We won't know until we get a more specific diagnosis what the exact problem is and the solution and cost. Does seem something we want to fix though. A man on the dock mentioned that apparently God has been with us. Yep. And now that we know there is difficulty, best to address it.

So, we're still in New Smyrna tonight and expect an early start to travel more conservatively (slowly) tomorrow, hoping the get a lift from the tide.

Two fun things: My cousin, Kathryn, and her family live in Stuart. Her sis (also my cousin), Nancy, and her family live in Jupiter about 20 minutes further south...so, we'll get to see them both/all, perhaps more than expected....and Nancy says it is fine to bring our laundry to her house AND to have a shower. I like that we're relaxed about the timeline and we're fortunate that we have no responsibilities that demand we be anywhere at a specific time.

And, we met a young, rather poor couple with small children on the dock here the past 2 days and were able to gift them some things that we no longer need for our boat...they live on a small sailboat that is anchored on the other side of the channel. Feels good, the gifting. The young man, Shane, clearly has a dream and is working that dream...make the boat safe for traveling, home school the children, cruise. We're appreciating his working toward his dream and wish him very well.

12/25/2014   Merry Christmas, one and all.

A conundrum.  How did we get the greeting "Merry Christmas"?  "Merry" is so light, jovial, playful, maybe mercantile. "Christmas" is Christ Mass, a religious event. I'm thinking Glorious Christmas or Merry Holiday or Celebrate Light or.... Just curious, why those two words which seem a bit antithetical.

Meanwhile, a glorious day - Glorious Christmas! No hurry today and besides, it was too foggy to move the boat until around 10 AM.

Halifax River anchorage in Daytona, FL

We had coffee and my favorite Christmas sweet bread - Panotoni (sp?) on the front deck. Amelia came out to join us and we FORCED her to be involved in a selfie family portrait.

Amelia is like a small kid who doesn't want photo taken. Look at those evil eyes.

We did pull up anchor and head through all the bridges to New Smyrna. The day was pretty and pretty easy and short. We passed our current favorite marina - 7 Seas - without stopping for a beach trip. Sigh. My choice to keep moving but...sigh. I was really hoping for a Christmas Day swim in the ocean. We tried to get to the beach at New Smyrna but the wind was really strong. Not a good anchoring day and not a good beach day. Another sigh.

So here we are at the Free town dock. Took a long walk into closed town. Christmas Day, remember? We grilled on the back deck, our second time this trip.

Now we're listening to John Rutter, making next leg of journey plans, and watching the beautiful full moon rise on this warm evening.

Christmas full moon, New Smyrna, FL

Gratitude continues.

12/24/15    Christmas Eve      Full Moon     Warm temperatures      Healthy     Happy

TODAY was a BEACH day! We stayed at 7 Seas Marina last night, slept well at the dock. Up at the regular time of around 7:00 AM, coffee on the foredeck. Then, to the BEACH, about a 2 block walk through a residential area. Swimming by 9:30 AM. Love it!!

I keep bumping into childhood memories. Being on the beach that went on forever. Shallow water for such a long way, scooping sand, making castles (well, plastic bucket shaped piles of sand), digging motes and watching them fill w/water...and later as an adult, sitting under beach umbrella and reading for hours. When I got too hot, a dip and a run of body surfing, eating sandwiches and hoping  there was no sand. I LOVE the waves, the constant motion which seems constant but is, of course, ever changing. The beach...the water...the waves feed my soul.

Happiness is!

Another memory bump is the small-house developments here in some parts of FL. The neighborhood we walked through today reminds me of the kind of neighborhood my grandparents bought into when they moved to FL. I must have been about 11 when they moved to Port Charlotte on the west coast of FL. I visited either w/my family or another aunt or uncle family at least once each year. I really like the size of these houses - probably 2 small bedrooms, 1 bath (I'll take 2, please), living room, small kitchen, screen porch, carport or garage, yard. Usually made of concrete blocks, maybe stucco over. My size..especially if only 2 blocks from ocean or from the boat in the other direction.

Ibises....

....as lawn ornaments

Even though I talked about the houses I have photos of the birds. They were eating something in the grass. I wonder if the white one which is slightly bigger is the adult with her brood. The other 9 were mottled. Wonderful to watch in their concentration on whatever they were catching and a wary eye on us humans.

Following the beach David climbed the mast to make a repair...

hanging from his safety harnesses

and I made a screen for the forward hatch. We've not been bothered too much by biting bugs but are expecting to need screens everywhere. Projects complete enough for the day we headed back NORTH! to hang out with our friends. We're anchored in just about the same spot as two nights ago, just across from the Loggerhead Marina. We dinghied/dinghyed (new word, dinghy as a verb) over to the park on "our" side of the ICW and walked to the Daytona Beach North. Sketchy neighborhood with a mix of one high end clothing store, a strip club, a tattoo parlour, couple of bars, etc. We made it to the beach by walking through a hotel parking garage. I think this beach was probably perfect. The high rise condos are closer, rather looming, but the neighborhood to get there was off-putting. So, we went, we saw, we left. Won't go to that beach for Christmas morning meditation.

Back at the boat, dinner, then I was totally ishkabibble about leaving again to visit w/Dan and Wendy before we separate until next year...okay two plus weeks since they leave the country for a couple of weeks. Yep, next year! I was, I am trying to figure how to get to another beach tomorrow morning for my own personal Christmas celebration. I'd love to go back to this morning's beach but don't think that will be possible. Sigh. So I was disappointed and distraught not knowing if/how I get to the beach tomorrow. Decision - go enjoy our friends. We went. We enjoyed. We said goodbye/see you next year. We came home...to Grace and Amelia...who is snoring and dreaming beside me.

Christmas eve.    Full moon.    Warmth.      Health.      Happy.