In The Water

 One week after arriving, we are in the water, although with a lot to do still. However, it is much easier to get jobs done while at the dock (when you have power and running water) rather than on the “hard”. Climbing up and down the ladder all day is very tiring, so we are glad to have a small climb of 3 steps onto the pier.  The docks are all full until boats start leaving so that is why we are tied up to a pier.

So what did we do all week? Cleaning, organizing, fixing stuff, having new batteries installed, shopping for staples and unloading stuff from the car up that ladder. Cleaning all the dishes required the 4 bucket and a hose method.

Canned goods that are stored in the bilge (under the floorboards) have to have their paper labels removed in case water soaks the labels off and then you don’t know what anything is! For that reason, all the cans have to be labelled with permanent marker.

Gunter working hard in the head, so we can hopefully avoid toilet troubles!

We took a break one evening to view the Christmas lights in St. Augustine. The entire downtown historic district is decorated with primarily white lights and it is stunning.

Finally, launch day arrived and it is always nerve-wracking watching your boat suspended in air and travelling down the road to the launch area.

Hurray it is in the water…..however as boaters know whatever can go wrong will go wrong - the engine would not start. We had to wait for the mechanic to come this morning to see what was wrong and thus spent the night tied up to the launch dock. Our dock neighbours had 3 parrots on board who they intend to travel with. Luckily, parrots are quiet at night.

The engine issue was resolved but then we discovered our kitchen facet is leaking - another day taken away by trying to find a replacement. The days seem to go by and we are still not ready to leave…… that’s boat life! Tomorrow - sails on, maybe.