Thursday, 21 September 2017 - I believe this week is going to seem very anticlimactic and probably frustrating to me compared to the last two, although I went and met Steve Monaghan for dinner last evening. We're almost neighbors again. He's working for the lobster fishermen that brought him back from the Dry Tortugas where he lost his boat and their boats dock straight across this narrow island from the marina. That means that when I go to the dinghy dock at the marina, we're only about 3 blocks apart. For dinner at the restaurant we had two choices, chicken wings or hamburger, that's all they were serving and the place was packed. He got the wings and I got a burger.
                  Yesterday afternoon, I started removing the webbing on the mainsail that had broken so the sail repairman could make a quick job of the sewing, but this morning when I lowered the sail to the bimini top, I see there is other damage, too. The material is just getting worn out and sun dried. I think I'd better get some other, more experienced people to help me decide whether it's time for a new sail or just keep patching this one. I was also shocked to see, as I lowered the sail, that the shackle that holds down the tack (forward corner of the sail) was broken. It's a miracle it didn't open and let the whole sail fly loose. In fact, perhaps it's a good thing the clew did break. That may have been a lot easier to deal with than the tack coming loose. The bolt rope in the sail might have retained it, but I doubt it and I wouldn't want to deal with it if it hadn't. The whole sail would have been out of control in high winds. Somebody's looking out for me. I folded the sail and tied it up, intending to have the local sail repairman take a look at it, but I couldn't locate him today. I don't know if he sailed away and hasn't returned yet, or if they left the boat here and it sank. I'll try to find out in the morning on the Cruiser's Net on the radio what has happened to him.
                  As I was dropping the sail using two hands to do a three handed job; tie a knot with two hands and hold down the leading edge of the sail in a light breeze with my third hand, the halyard slipped out of my fingers just as I was about to pull my sheet bend tight, and went to the top of the mast, so I had to rig up and climb the mast to retrieve it. Thanks to Nick on the Antigua 44 Wind Shadow for tailing the winch for me.

Friday, 22 September - Looking onboard this morning to replace the tack strap shackle at the base of the mainsail and I must have 75 or more spare shackles of all sizes...except the one I need, 3/16" pin X 7/16" breadth X 1" deep. I have several with 3/16" pins and several that are 7/16"-1/2" breadth, but not on the same shackle.
                  Well, apparently, the harbor's resident sail repairman has decided, since he had run north to avoid Irma, to head on to Texas. Another boat that had run to the west end of Cuba, not too far from where I was, is at the entry to the harbor waiting for a tow in because they lost use of their engine, and told me they repair sails, too, so, again, I may have gotten lucky, we'll see mañana.

Saturday, 23 September - I failed to make contact today with the vessel that was to be towed in and that has a sail repairman onboard. I'll try again tomorrow morning. Most of today was spent researching drive belts on the internet and remeasuring the belts that I have installed on the engine to make sure that when I buy replacements I get the right ones. I thought I had and needed some 7/16" v-belts, but apparently, those were worn 1/2" belts because apparently, they don't make belts 7/16" wide, only 3/8", 1/2" and wider. I also learned that FHP means Fractional Horse Power. A couple of the spares I have have that designation on them. It means that they are for light duty use on motors or engines of less than one horse power, like lawn mowers, snow blowers, wood chippers, etc., not a 92 hp diesel engine. I also moved a couple of the devices on the boat so that I'll really only need to buy three different sizes of belts because the Sea Frost Refrigeration compressor and the Echo Tec Water Maker can now be driven with the same size belt.
                  Another discovery today was that one of the lugs on one of the terminals of my big alternator is getting too hot. The reason is yet to be discovered. I just replaced it in December. When a 1/2" electrical cable is getting so hot it crystalizes the copper, it's too hot!

Sunday, 24 September - What a pleasant day. I couldn't make contact with the S/V Whensday that has the sail repairman onboard, but right after the Cruiser's Net this morning Holly the young owner and captain of S/V Another Adventure, an older 44' Beneteau sloop, broadcast an invitation to go out on her boat to go swimming at Sombrero Lighthouse Aquatic Reserve. With nothing else to do, I decided that it would be a great way to make some new friends. We converged at her boat, took the dingies to another, then motored away. The group consisted of Holly the captain, her boy friend, Robbie, their workmate and friend Dallas, Odie, another sailor that I've met before, Holly's pet, swimming chicken, and me. Holly, Robbie, and Dallas have just sailed here to help others, but needed a day off. I was extremely impressed with the captaining skills of Holly. She determined where to go, raised and lowered the anchor each time, steered, caught the fish, everything. The rest of us were just along for the ride. She had acquired the boat by raising it after it sank and the owner gave it to her, then she completely rebuilt or repaired it almost all by herself, including rewiring everything in it except the anchor winch and has added 580 Watts of solar panels, and designed and had a beautiful and strong stern arch for the dinghy davits manufactured for her. There's still a lot to do on the boat, but she seems to know the boat inside and out. Very impressive, indeed.
                  There was hardly a whisper of a breeze. The water here in the harbor is filthy from sunken boats that are now leaking gas, oil, diesel, human waste, etc. into the water, but once we exited the harbor and motored a couple of miles out, the water started to clear and once we arrived at the lighthouse and coral reef, the water was crystal clear and clean; the clearest I've seen it in the three trips I've made out there. Absolutely beautiful...and we had it all to ourselves all day. There are usually 15 to 20 boats out there filled with divers, snorkelers, swimmers, and just plain partiers, but today, because of the aftermath of hurricane Irma, it was all ours. We swam and snorkeled there for a couple of hours, the raised anchor and moved over to the Flagler Barge, a sunken wooden vessel that was reportedly used during the building of the railway to Key West in the early 1900s and sunken there by the navy as a practice bombing target years ago in about 20 feet of water. Again, we played there for an hour or so, then moved to third and fourth locations, then headed home shortly before sunset. We could see there was going to be a nice sunset, so the engine was extinguished and we drifted to watch it, then motored into the harbor at dusk and dropped anchor to return to our own boats right at dark. Flat water, sunshine, clear water, and good new friends all day long. Wow! Perfect!

Monday, 25 September - I took my mainsail into the marina today to have Mike Barber do the repairs since Stitch isn't returning after Hurricane Irma. According to Mike, who is no spring chicken himself, Stitch has lived on his boat for years, but had never sailed it before trying to sail to Little Shark River to get away from the storm. He apparently nothing about sailing or the technology on his boat. He exited harbor here at Marathon, turned south instead of north, and got totally lost. It sounds like, to me at least, he may have had a mental breakdown. However, all's well. Friends frantically got control of the situation and he and his new wife are safe up near Port Charlotte.
                  I also signed up for dinghy dock service at the marina for the next month. I'm sure it will take that long to get everything back to normal, if there is such a thing.
                  After that, I hoofed it over to Home Depot, replaced the milk crates that I threw overboard along with about 400-600 feet of line in an unsuccessful attempt to heave to in high winds, and bought a replacement and spare 3/16" stainless steel shackles. Near sunset, I made a new outboard motor throttle extension out of 1 1/2" and 2" PVC pipe to replace the one I lost at sea.

Tuesday, 26 September - I inspected my smaller foresail, the staysail, today and it needs some minor repair work done on it, too. The next project was to try to get the bicycle back in riding condition. I have had it stowed on deck at the aft rail for at least a couple of months, ever since I quit paying for the docking that I didn't need, but now that I've re-signed up, I'll be taking the bike back to shore. It's nice for quick errands where I don't need to carry much. However, I haven't even come close to figuring out how to keep it from rusting up when salt water is flying everywhere. I had to take a couple of pair of pliers and flex every link in the chain and may have no brakes. I couldn't get enough WD-40 to go down the brake and shifter cables to loosen them up. I'll certainly take several "bike" tools to shore with me when I take it to shore the first time. Gotta pump up the tires, too.
                  I also tried a new, to me, at least, technique for plugging small leaks in the dinghy. I'm sure I'm not the only person that's thought of this. The strap that held it tight against the radar arch rubbed the outside layer of rubber away, leaving the fabric showing and air coming through the fibers. I decided to try plugging all those holes at once, not with a patch, but with Shoe Goo. I've found it very handy for lots of other repair jobs and think that by rubbing it into and through the fabric, it should seal all the tiny pin holes. I'll know in the morning about two hours after I pump the dinghy back up whether that tube is still leaking. It would be nice to not have to pump that tube over a hundred pumps anytime I want to use the dinghy after having not used it for over two hours. Of course, that isn't the only problem with it. A third compartment has LARGE holes in it that I still haven't decided how I'm going to repair. There's no way to compress or clamp a patch over the large holes. I'll figure some way out or revert to Plan B, filling that compartment with closed cell construction foam. While inspecting the dinghy today, I also discovered that as the retaining strap passed over the far side of the dinghy, it has rubbed away rubber at the joint with the aluminum hull and that I can see light through a crack in the joint about 2" long. I may try Shoe Goo on that, too.

Wednesday, 27 September - It's been hot and windless here most days since I returned and today I finally re-installed the foredeck canopy which puts the deck in shade and significantly cools the whole saloon down. I had seen a couple of fenders up one of the canals here recently and today I went and retrieved them. The Shoe Goo repair that I performed did well, but I discovered the other side of the tube needed as much or more than the first repair job did. That done, it's still leaking a little but not nearly as much. After about 5 pumps with the air pump after 4 hours compared to about 150 before the repair.
                  I, also, took down the staysail, the smaller of my two foresails, and took it over to the repairman to have some sewing done on it. That was convenient because a barbecue club threw the boaters a dinner party this evening. Boy, was it good! Tender, juicy meat, baked potatoes, fried chicken, three bean salad, two kinds of potato salad, corn on the cob, oh, so sweet, asparagus, which I let someone else have my share, dinner rolls, several deserts, including apple pie and Key Lime Pie, and all the fixings. I ate till I couldn't hold any more. That's probably the best dinner I've had in over a year. Yummmm!

Thursday, 28 September - Another day trip via the bus today, first a two hour ride to the Key West VA for an annual checkup, then into the older part of town hoping to tour a large Coast Guard ship in the harbor, but it was closed. That's the third try to take that tour so I walked over to Duval Street, found a tourist map with other interesting sites to visit, then went to the Key West Museum of Art & History at the historically preserved old brick Customs House featuring the history of the Navy in Key West, the sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba, the story of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway which was the predecessor to the Overseas Highway out to Key West, and Ernest Hemmingway's and Tennessee Williams' experiences in Key West. The museum consumed all afternoon for me so I took a quick tour to see the marina, then had dinner at Carolina's on Duval Street. That's two great evening meals in a row for me. After that it was back on the bus for the two hour ride home to the marina. Key West got lots of wind but apparently little or no storm surge so there's lots of vegetation piled in the streets, broken limbs, palm fronds, etc., but not too many household appliances, etc. Lots of the boats that were in the mooring field there blew into shallow water or out into the Gulf, but, apparently, many of the boats in the inner harbor fared pretty well. Charter boats for fishing and sunset cruises are already back in business.

Friday, 29 September - As I was about to set down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs and salsa this morning, Rob of the S/V Aspiration, a 57' Robert Perry design that Rob built himself out of steel, called my name from near the aft end of my boat and asked that I come by and hoist him to the top of his mast to tend to his wind indicator, which turned out to be totally upside down and broken, and to let him measure his upper set of shrouds, one of which has broken strands in it. We agreed that I'd come over to his boat, which was originally sitting up in the mangroves, but he managed to work it loose and into a side channel which is too shallow for his boat. We'll try to float it out about dawn Sunday on an extra-high high tide. He draws seven and a half feet of water. That's a foot more than I do, and quite deep for the waters of Florida. All went well with the measurements, so I have a little time before I'm no meet with the fellow that is repairing my sails and figured that this would be a good time to try to finish up this week's report.
                  I had promised to report on the damage here is Marathon, but to be honest, I haven't gotten around that much. I do know that there are thousands of boats here that have damage; mine being one of the luckiest. I haven't heard of any boat that stayed here on the water that didn't have at least some damage done to it. Some boats in the harbor on mooring balls might have been alright if other boats upwind of them hadn't broken loose and run into them, breaking them loose, too. I'v seen just about every kind of damage to boats you can imagine and some you wouldn't dream of. I saw one sailboat with the whole foredeck missing. Even before I arrived back in the harbor, many boats that had broken loose and run up against the bridge near the entry to the harbor were brought back to moorings. I think all boats that hit the bridge broke masts and some of them broke them totally off and went under the bridge, continuing on. Some boats hung up on the bridge and others piled into them. That's what happened to my friend, Will Aitken's boat. It was virtually destroyed by other boats in a pile by the bridge. Masts gone and everything on deck crushed and mangled or torn off. It's the one in the pictures with the small anchor painted next to a life buoy hang in the water and the deck's just a trash heap. Sorry Will!
                  Another boat now on a mooring near me looks like at least two other boats crashed into it bow first leaving deep "V" shaped gouges in its starboard rail, topsides, deck, and cabin, then raked along it tearing other things loose. Some of these boats are beautiful, older boats with lots of teak work on the decks and cabin much fancier than mine. It's so sad to see, but I guess storms like this are why boats don't live forever. I was talking to Diesel Don this afternoon and he related a story about a lady that was anxious to get her dinghy engine running because she would need it to take the insurance adjuster out to her $3,500,000 catamaran that ended up outside the harbor. She had just had it rebuilt to sell. He said, "Why don't you just drive over to the docks at the western end of the island and point it out to him from there? That's as close as you need to see there's virtually nothing left of it." "Oh," she said, "I never thought of that."
                  In town, at least on the few streets I've been on, there are huge piles of garbage and trash of everything you can imagine, everything that got wet in the 6 to 8 foot storm surge; lots of bicycles, mattresses, hot water heater, washers and dryers, refrigerators, every household item imaginable, plus all the trees and limbs. It's going to take an army of trash trucks months to clean this all up and even longer to get all the boats and flotsam out of the mangroves.
                  All this, and, from what I hear, we're still all way better off than the people in the Caribbean Islands. They have and produce virtually nothing, so everything they need will have to be brought in by ship and their infrastructure is virtually nonexistent.