A Little More Time in Key Largo

It's Christmas day so pretty much everything is closed.  We're on the boat and in the water, but we still haven't left the dock yet.  I kind of wanted to hang around until right after Christmas so we could communicate with Tom and with Andrea and Kyle.

Two days ago we were invited by the owners of the boat yard to travel with them by boat to a nearby restaurant, Alabama Jacks, for lunch.  We left about 10:30 am in the 30' wooden electric runabout that he had built about 2 years ago.  It's a beautiful boat and the electric motor is wonderful.  Totally quiet and pushes along at about 5 or 6 knots .  He could go faster but then he doesn't have the range if he would by going slower.  It took us about an hour to get to the restaurant and a little longer on the way back.  When we got back he'd only used about half the potential for the batteries.  I was very impressed!

We attended church this morning in Tavernier at the Emanuel Lutheran Church.  There were between 40 and 50 people at the service.  Fortunately most of them had shorts on, so we fit right in.  There were people from Denmark, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana a well as North Dakota of course.  It was a small church but the service was very nice and the people were very friendly and inviting.

Unfortunately or probably fortunately, with the time on our hands, I found that the backing plate for one of our port shroud lines was severely rusted and corroded.  To the point where it had the potential to fail.  I have pictures.  So, after a few special words and help from my first mate, we were able to remove the backing plate.  Now I need to get another one fabricated.  I've talked with the owners of the yard and they've suggested a welder in Homestead.  Tomorrow we'll call and see if they're open and get it to them to duplicate.  It's always a question of how long it will take.  So, it looks like we'll still be here for a few more days.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.  Contact us, if you can.

Splash Time

9 Lives went back into the water at about 10:00am this morning.  Had a little trouble getting the diesel to fire, but persistence paid off and she started up.  The Manatee Boat Yard is really a tight little yard so moving from the lift to the slip was interesting.  Fortunately there was little wind and we had a yard hand to help us get around a really crowded corner.  We've decided to stay here through Christmas and then head on out.  That way we'll be able to Skype with Andrea and Ky on Christmas Day.  Marilyn got an email from Tom yesterday, but we still don't know where he is.  Sounds like there is a good possibility that he'll be home on or near Christmas.  We hope so!!

The picture is 9 Lives next to another boat.  We're now back off the highway, which is close to the boat yard, so the traffic sounds are much better than where we were when she was still on land.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.  Marilyn just got a call from Tom!!!!  He's in the Crete airport waiting for a plane.  They're sending him all over to get home, but he doesn't care as long as it ends up back in the US.  Our Christmas will be much better now even though we won't be able to be together.  I'll try to post more as things develop.

Back to Key Largo and Goodbye to the Kids

We're almost back to Key Largo.  Should be back to the boat tomorrow.  We haven't had much in the way of a wireless connection while we were on a Carnival cruise with Andrea and Kyle.  Both Ky and Andrea had a wonderful time and neither wanted to go home.  Ky used his charms on all of the waiters and the room steward to make friends forever.  If you're friends with Andrea, you can see Ky dancing with the waiters on her face book page.  The weather was great except for a couple of days where we had some rain on and off.  Andrea and Ky thought it was a lot better than the weather that was back in Bismarck, so no one was complaining.  We visited the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos.  We'd never been to the Turks and Caicos before and the water was beautiful.  We did a semi sub tour there and Ky thought it was great to be able to see under the water without having to get wet.  The photos are of the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos.  By the time I get done posting this information Andrea and Ky should almost be home.

Tomorrow we'll be heading back to the boat yard and hope to see about getting the boat back into the water.  I still need to have someone clean the port fuel tank, so it still may be a few days before we actually get it in the water.  That will give me a chance to think about where we're going to head.  I guess I'm trying to stay close for the Christmas holiday.  As soon as we get something figured out, we'll let you know.  

Cleanup Continues

Just put new covers on the windows, compliments of Micki Giese.  Micki took the covers we had and the new material and put the new covers together while we were home this summer.  They're beautiful compared to the original covers that were there.  The originals were getting pretty tired.  THANKS MICKI!!!

Marilyn was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, but seems much better today.

We did go to Marathon Friday and talked with the guys at the Inflatable Shop their about our Dinghy situation.  Looks like we're going to buy ourselves a new inflatable for Christmas.  At least we know what we're getting each other now.  The Dinghy we had was made out of PVC and it could be fixed for $600-700 dollars and because of the material, he wouldn't guaranteed the glue job for more than 1 or 2 years at the most.  Like I said, we did want to get a little smaller boat to make it easier to carry and move about.  I just hadn't planned on doing it quite so soon and under this type of circumstance.  The one we're getting will be Hypolon and should deal with the elements much better.

Today is Sunday, so that means we'll be looking for someplace to watch the Packer Game, so not much will be done on the boat today.