Thursday, 25 May 2017 - The wind has died to almost nothing here, so I had to start the Honda generator this evening to charge the batteries. Without the wind generator generating, and with the slightly overcast skies impeding the solar output, the batteries would have been to low before morning.

Friday, 26 May - A beautiful, clear, but hot day here in Florida. It hit 91°F today, which is about the average high for AUGUST. I hope that's not an indicator of an unusually hot summer to come. In response to the heat, I dug out the foredeck canopy and installed it today. It helps considerably. I measured the temperature of the the underside of the foredeck before I installed it and it measured about 112°F; afterwards, about 93°F. That really brings the saloon temperature down, too. Now, if we just had a little breeze to move this 87% humidity air around a bit... Last night I went over to the Dockside Bar to enjoy hear some music. The young lady playing guitar and singing was pretty good, but the place was empty, so I had one beverage, jumped back in my dinghy, and headed over to the Overseas Bar. No music there at all, so I had one (terrible) margarita and headed home. I can't believe how hard it is to get a good margarita in Florida. By numbers, margaritas are one the most popular alcoholic mixed drink beverages in America year after year, and nobody here can make a good one. Maybe I've been spoiled with all the good ones I had at the El Chihuahua restaurant in Salt Lake City.

Saturday, 27 May - Another hot, windless day. 10:30 AM and it's already 90°F and with the humidity, feels like 106°. It sprinkled at 4AM just enough to make me get up and close up the hatches and it raised the humidity a little. Today I'm off to the grocery store for milk and bread, and to a clothing store to see if I can find some more shorts to wear.

Sunday, 28 May - Well, there was one thing on board that I was pretty sure I wouldn't use, and that was an ironing board. The only thing I've ever ironed were my snow skis, to melt the wax into them, and since I don't have any skis, I got rid of the iron. This morning, after advertising the iron on the VHF radio net, I sold the ironing board. That will, perhaps, let me squeeze one or two more shirts into the hanging locker.
                  Once the buyers of the ironing board had finished their visit and left the boat, I headed over to West Marine for some good advise about how and what to repair and treat my teak woodwork on the boat. No success there; I left just as ignorant and more confused than when I arrived. It was windless again and very hot/humid so, since someone on the boater's net this morning mentioned that the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie was showing at the local theater, I thought sitting in the cool, dark of a theater might be kind of nice. I just missed the matinee and had about 4 hours till the evening showing. It was really hot on the boat so I thought, "What a perfect opportunity for a swim." I'd been contemplating going into the water to try to find a line I had hooked with my grappling hook one day, but had been afraid it might be on someone's anchor. Since that day, and as boats moved around because of the wind and tides, or left the anchorage, I had decided that it wasn't actually an anchor line still in use, so I had tried in vain to find it with the grapnel again. Today would be a perfect day to go look underwater.
                  Before I made it into the water, I noticed a 3 by 15 foot section of wooden dock that had broken away from somewhere and was heading right up the middle of the channel toward the mooring field and was sure to do some damage to someone's boat or boats. I got on the radio and warned anyone listening it the anchorage about it, then called the office at the marina. They said it wasn't their problem, but gave me the Marathon Police dispatch phone number. They said they'd notify the Coast Guard. I thought it could hit ten moored vessels before any "agency" would do anything about it, so I got in my dinghy and went over to warn people who's boats it was headed toward. The first two boats that I came to were unattended at the moment, but the third had a couple aboard, as did the next. When it became obvious that it probably wouldn't hit their boats, they lost interest. I didn't want to follow it through the whole mooring field, but I was also afraid to change it's trajectory for fear that I would be held responsible if it did hit someone. It was nearing an empty mooring ball, so I pulled it on over to the ball and attached it to the mooring, then called the marina and Coast Guard to let them know where it was.
                  I still had about 3 hours before the movie started, and I didn't think I'd be in the water for more than an hour, at most. I started over near the sunken vessel that I had hooked and pulled up near the surface when trying to find that line the second time. I had thought it was probably a sunken wood dinghy or something not much bigger. I proved that wrong today. It has masts laying beside it about six inches in diameter. It must have been a wooden sailing vessel about 25 to 35 feet. I had also thought that the line might be attached to it when it sank, but I couldn't find it attached or nearby. I headed back toward my boat following a wide zig-zag pattern. I was on my last zig, or zag, I can't remember which, and headed back to the boat when I spotted another sunken boat. This is an aluminum boat about 12 or 15 feet long that has settled on the bottom...and there, just beyond it, I spotted the anchor line. I followed it back toward the newly discovered sunken vessel thinking it must be attached to it, but it wasn't. It went right beside that boat off toward the first one, but disappeared into the bottom. I went back to the end nearest my new discovery and started pulling the line out of the mud. It had a chain attached, so I thought I must be near an anchor. I started pulling the chain out of the mud and suddenly my left arm felt like it was being attacked by a swarm of bees. What ever was in that mud burned like crazy. I surfaced and decided it was time for gloves. I went back to the boat, got gloves, a knife in case I decided to cut the line, and the grappling hook. I went back to the spot, now only about 20 feet from Island Time, and threw the grapnel overboard, then went down and hooked the grapnel to the line. I surfaced and got back in the dinghy, then attempted to raise the line with the grapnel. It's attached to something at both ends, so I couldn't get it to the surface. I decided to stay away from the chain and whatever caused my arm to burn, so I headed off it the other direction, past the aluminum boat. As I pulled the line out of the mud in that direction, it appeared to end at what I, at first, thought to be a block of concrete. Not so. the "concrete" was metal and passed through that, which now appears to be a deck fitting of yet a third sunken boat, a perhaps, much larger one, and comes out the other side as chain. Anytime I move anything on the bottom or get my flippers near the bottom, the mud disperses and I can't see anything until the tidal current moves the cloud of mud away. It makes it really hard to tell exactly what I'm seeing.
                  I'll have to find out tomorrow. I hated to quit, but the sun was about to set and the light underwater was getting poor, exacerbated by the stirred up silt. I put floating markers on the line near each end, unhooked my grapnel and called it a day. The water temperature was a nice 85-87°F. Perfect for staying in the water a long time without a wet suit, so warm that when I put my neoprene gloves on, they felt hot. It was already 7:30 before I got out of the water. I guess I'll have to see the Pirates movie another day.

Monday, Memorial Day Holiday - Back in the water today I think I found an anchor at one end of the line with about 5 feet of chain on it, but I couldn't pull it up, even after cutting the line in order to let me pull straight up on it. I marked it with a float. At the other end, every time I pulled up chain, it muddied up the water so much that I couldn't see anything, but also led me back awfully close to my boat and where I thought my anchor should be, so I went to my boat and followed my chain down and out. It looks like they may cross...and before I got to my anchor, I could feel what I believe to be an anchor of another style; and perhaps smaller. I couldn't see a thing, going by feel alone. I'm a little worried that my anchor may get, or be, tangled up in either another anchor or one of those wrecks now. My diving adventure, based on curiosity, may turn out to be more serious than I'd expected. It would be nice if the water would clear up here in the harbor, but with the silty bottom and as much boat traffic and tidal current as there is, that's not likely to happen. Again, I'll have to try later, so I also marked that end with a float.

Tuesday, 30 May - When I awoke this morning and came on deck, I noticed one of my floats appears to be gone. Perhaps when the wind changed direction last night, my boat moved and dragged my anchor chain over the other line, drawing the float below the surface of the water. Maybe it was run over by a boat or came untied. Who knows! I'll have to dive to find the line and wreck again.
                  I thought today I might go get the mail that I was expecting and go to the Florida Division of Motor Vehicles and get a Florida driver's license. In reality, neither happened. The mail still hasn't arrived, and on the way back from checking for my mail, I spotted a dinghy that had blown into the mangroves. I went and rescued it, but may have a hard time getting rid of it. It was totally deflated and, I suspect, intentionally abandoned rather than putting it in the trash.
                  Before going to get the license, I called to make sure I had all the necessary papers. All went well until I told the woman that I live on a boat. She then said, "Oh, you're one of those," then she put me on hold. After 10 minutes on hold, I gave up and called back, getting a different person on the phone the second time. I was told I would need a passport or birth certificate. Check. My Social Security card. Check. Two proofs of residency, like a utility bill or auto registration with my current address of residence on the receipt. Oops! I don't have that. I live on a boat and don't own a car or any real property here. I also don't have gas or electric bills. "Okay, do you have a receipt from the marina where you are staying?" No. I'm not renting a slip or mooring ball. They won't accept the address of my mailing service because that's not my residence. I guess I'm not a resident of any state in the United States any more. Maybe I'm not even a citizen of the U.S. any more. Without proof of residence, I can't register to vote, get a driver's license or state ID.

Wednesday, 31 May - Hey, I think I'm a Floridian! Today I registered Island Time with the state and got a Florida driver's license, even though I don't have a car or motorcycle anymore. It will be easier to keep renewing them than to let them expire, then have to get a new one. Especially the motorcycle add-on. She said if I didn't keep it on the license and ever wanted to get it back it would cost $350 for the class. Wow! I can renew that for 50 years before I go it the red on it. I may never own another motorcycle, but I might find it handy to rent one sometime. Then again, who knows what I'll do in the future; I certainly don't.
                  Since the two registrations took so long, I had lunch at Subway at 4 o'clock, then realized that I might as well stay and watch the movie at the library at 6pm, rather than go to the boat and then return, so I did.
                  My mail that was forwarded still hasn't arrived and that worries me a little. The chances of it dissappearing are slim, but, since one of them is a replacement credit card, I'm a little concerned. Tomorrow, I hope.