Yesterday dawned another beautiful Southwest Florida day. Naples sure does have a monopoly on fantastic scenery and great weather, but it is a big city ith a lot of traffic and I longed to get back out into our water world.
So we called the Xantrex people and sent them back our inoperable inverter. They said a 2 to 3 week turn around time so we figured we could tough it out for the next 10 days since we will be leaving the boat at the Naples city dock for the 3-4 weeks we will be home to ready the house for our renters and visiting with Dorian and Todd who are coming for Christmas.
Yesterday we never even turned on the generator! See we can do it. I cooked boat potatoes (recipe courtesy of Wendy) and pork chops on the grill, and the grill only went off once, evidently the little propane tanks don't last long. I had purchased a head of lettuce and tomato before we left, so we had a great meal from a cooler and a propane grill. I honestly think this is a great thing that I am learning to make things happen with what I have to work with. The only problem with the cooler is that the ice melts quite fast but that means a dinghy ride, which I really enjoy. Thanks to Gary's foresight we purchased a large igloo cooler at the Marine Consignment store in Punta Gorda last April. It is indispensable right now!
We met Phil & Margaret McGovern yesterday, owners of a catamaran that have been wintering on it for the last 4 seasons. They are headed to Mexico this year. They also are having daily breakdowns and have a blog where a friend describes what it is like being a boater and dealing with the daily problems and still smiling about it all. Now that I know it's just not the Sea Angel "aka Tie a Knot" that needs daily surgery I can deal better! There are also 2 couples with children on sailboats in this anchorage. One has 3 kids and 2 adults on a 27' sailboat with no refrigeration. The kids are being home schooled and she says she is dealing well with the no refrigeration according to Margaret & Phil who spoke with them. And I had the nerve to complain, jeez. The other couple lives with their 3 year old daughter on a ,I guess maybe, 34 footer. As we were going to the dinghy dock yesterday she was rowing across the water and we offered a tow. She said her name was Melinda, which of course made her special to us. They have been living on the boat for 4 months. She was on her way to work and appreciated the tow, their dinghy motor had broken the day before and they were waiting for parts.
Every boater we've met so far have been wonderful, relaxed and happy, helpful people. This looks to be an interesting winter.
Right now Gary is trying to hook up the television...gives him something to do. It's hard to go from constant work to constant play, so the Sea Angel and I are doing are part to help him in the transition!! :)
What a great post! I loved the part about meeting Melinda and offering her a tow.
ReplyDeleteI know, from our time on Sea Glass and the "old boat", that the vast majority of boaters are indeed wonderful people--always willing to offer advice, or lend a hand--or at least give you a shoulder to cry on!
We were glad to know that your inverter problem can be solved by the time you return to the boat after your Christmas holiday. I promise not to complain about lack of space on the boat anymore after reading of five people on a 27 footer!
Your posts make me want to cast off for long term cruising this summer, but we shall see what life holds in store for us.