On April 11, 2023, I decided to wait out the weather for a few more days. If I had to be stuck somewhere, this is the place to be stuck. It looks like the front will move through Thursday and I can move down the ICW Friday with winds at my back and possibly sail across the Gulf on Sunday or Monday. We will see about that.
Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures today and will try to give context to them. The morning was brisk but beautify. I had coffee and oatmeal on the boat. Sorry Paula, no vegetables, but I did get some wonderful vegetables for dinner. I will work on the fruit later.
The boat is doing better. I spent most of the morning changing oil, taking old parts off to replace them with new ones, and rearranging things to make the cabin more useful. The Bluewater Marina is so accommodating. What great people. They let me use a car to go to town, so I decided to go to a laundromat and clean my bedding and dirty clothes I even washed Gnarly’s bed. She liked that. I stopped by West Marine and picked up a Fuel-Water Separator. I think my engine trouble was simply too much dunking of the engine and fuel tank in the water during rough travels. I will minimize the rough travel and try not to burn as much water in the engine.
On my way home, I ran by the airforce base and saw an SR-71. If you don’t know about his amazing plane, please look it up. You will find the stories about this plane to be unbelievable. It is the fastest plane in the world. It flies so fast and heats up so hot, that the fuel is constantly leaking. It can outrun any antiaircraft missile, and it has never been shot down. It is 60s technology which makes it even more amazing that the thing flies. Read about it when you can.
When I returned with my supplies and laundry, I was invited by some lovely people to join them for a beer. Even Gnarly met some new friends.
The marina had a traveling artist/instructor stop by to teach anyone here how to paint a sea turtle. I passed because I have no artistic ability. My brothers and mother soaked all of that up and left me with the “stick man” gene. That is all I can draw, a stick man.
The oyster bar opened a new food truck last night. I had the most wonderful wrap tonight. The wrap was made of radish, and the filling was vegetables and raw tuna. It was outstanding. The chef even cooked Gnarly some chicken. He was so nice.
We finished the evening with a little walk. Gnarly is currently in a coma, and I am sure I will soon be.
More about the fixing of the boat tomorrow.
