Thursday, 1 June 2017 - I checked to see if my mail had arrived again. It may have been here yesterday after all. Since I am anchored out in the harbor and not currently registered for dock privileges, they were holding the letter and I had to pay $22 to get them to hand me the letter. Unfortunately, I have one more letter that I'm expecting. Expensive mailbox.

Friday, 2 June - I dove again today, trying to raise and salvage an anchor. After spending numerous hours diving on it, today when I went down to the anchor, since I hadn't yet stirred up the silt on the bottom, I could see that I had totally uncovered a small kellet, which is a small anchor that is attached to an anchor line to make the line sink and lower the angle of pull. A kellet is usually located near the boat, but not supposed to be further away than halfway between the boat and the main anchor. This one was sitting right on top of the anchor, indicating to me that they apparently tried to raise the anchor and that the kellet slid down the anchor line until it hit the anchor and sat on top of it. I brought the 12 lb. kellet up. Boy, I'm making money now! It's probably worth $3 or $4. I continued to dig the anchor out and finally could feel, but not see because I couldn't even see my hands, that I had reached it, but am still unable to raise the anchor. The silt in the anchorage is compacted to such a degree that when I'm digging in it with my hands, it feels like dense clay, very hard to dig, and of course, very difficult from which to extract an anchor.

Saturday, 3 June - I need to go in and check to see if my second letter has arrived at the marina. I certainly don't want them to return it as undeliverable. It's too important, so important that I'll pay the $22 for it if I have to, rather than wait another week or two for it to arrive back through another mailing address....It hadn't arrived yet, so I'll have to wait till Monday and check again. I decided to go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie at the theater here a 7:00. Cafe style seating. Nice. Fun show.

Sunday, 4 June - Bright and early this morning I got a call from Steve Monaghan and his girlfriend, Alta, from Ft. Myers Beach. He was about a half mile away and only here for the day, helping a friend of his rig the sails on a "new to him" CSY 37 cutter rigged sailboat. A nice boat newly purchased by Ton and Trisha ?????? It was a real learning experience for me setting up the rigging and raising the sails on this boat. Where as my boat has all furling sails, his has a reefing main, a club footed staysail and a furling genoa; a little of everything. Very spacious for a boat of its size and it was interesting to get to see the differences in the layout of the 37' and 44' boats. When I arrived at their boat around 8:30 am and was greeted by a man with a beer in his hand, then learned that they have had two other boats, I thought that interesting. Later, I learned that after 20 years of sailing, he still doesn't know how to tie a bowline knot and that one of their previous boats sank and the other caught on fire and burned to the waterline, I started to realize it might have something to do with the beer and lack of sailing skills. At the end of the day, he was totally drunk and hadn't learned anything, because Steve and I did all the rigging, not him. I'm not sure he really knows how and why any of the rigging or other systems on the boat really work. The fellow on the boat in the next slip was a little surprised and concerned to hear that they were going to head out of the harbor in the next day or two to go directly to Ft. Myers Beach without even taking the "new" boat out for a trial run. Ton was very upset that the fellow couldn't realize that with all his experience, he wouldn't need to test the boat first. He still doesn't know which lines control which sails. I feel a little sorry for his nice wife, Trisha, because her life is on the line when they're out sailing, too. I sure wouldn't want to go with him.
                  It was great seeing Steve and his new fiancee. We spent the whole day working on the boat or running to the various hardware stores, then had dinner before Steve had to head back to Ft. Myers Beach to go to work tomorrow morning.

Monday, 5 June - I'm still waiting for a letter to arrive. I checked at the marina again today and it did not. I'm beginning to worry that it may not arrive at all since it was supposedly mailed over a week ago. I took the starter battery's alternator off the boat today and partially disassembled it, thinking I might be able to rebuild it myself. It's in pretty poor shape, so I think it's time for a new one. A fellow on a nearby boat said he had one, but the mounting bolt configuration is different, so that one won't work.

Tuesday, 6 June - On Sunday, the fellow in the slip next to Ton's new, used '37 CSY, Thin Line, suggested that they take the boat out for at least one shakedown cruise before heading north towards Tampa and Ton said that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "I've sailed boats (2) for over 20 years and a boat is a boat. I don't need no shakedown cruise," he said. I thought THAT was one of the stupidest thing I'd ever heard, especially considering what happened to those two boats. I think his wife, Trisha, may have insisted. They called on the VHF radio and asked if I'd go day sailing with them tomorrow and I said yes, because I'd sure hate to hear that something went terribly wrong on their trip that a shakedown could have uncovered.
                  For me, most of today was spent running around town with an alternator in my backpack looking for a replacement for the old one I have. I finally ordered one that should be here tomorrow.

Wednesday, 7 June - Right after the harbor radio net was over this morning, Diesel Don Shuler, who helped me find the alternator replacement, called. The alternator is being delivered to him here at the marina, and I need help removing the sheave, or pulley that is on the old one. He has an onshore workspace and an impact wrench that will be needed to remove it. I tried to get it off myself using a propane torch to heat the nut, but to no avail. Don's been very helpful to me with his knowledge and time. I needed to take the old alternator to him on his boat so that he can take it in, remove the sheave, and put it on the new one all in one trip to shore. I took it over immediately, but may have missed a call on the radio from Ton, on Thin Line, about sailing today. All morning, the wind was predicted to be it the 15 knot range, which should be perfect, but there was, in reality, almost no wind at all and thunderstorms out to the west of us threatening to come our way. Ton may have decided to wait for better weather. Thunder and lightning has been raging all around the harbor all afternoon and rain arrived the first time around 2 o'clock; since then it's been raining off and on with thunder in the background all afternoon. I tried to reach Ton on the VHF several times, but could not. It uses so little electricity when in the listening mode that I frequently leave it on all day to stay in touch with the harbor, but today, because of the storms, the weather service kept interrupting every thirty minutes or so to issue weather warnings, which changes the channel from 68 to 2, along with a very loud alarm that goes on and on until you push a button on the radio. I finally gave up and turned it off.
                  This evening, I had hoped to go over to the Overseas Restaurant for their anniversary party, but, since it's looking like the rain and wind are getting harder and more frequent, I think I'm going to get some reading done.