Thursday, 12 October 2017 - To say that today was a day full of frustration would be an extreme understatement. I've been trying to arrange to see a dermatologist through the VA hospital system here for several months. It has involved getting financial information to them that they later said I didn't need to do, going to see a doctor for a referral in Key West, which somehow got cancelled, then trying several times to arrange for the appointment itself. Today I was given the runaround between the facility in Miami, Key West, and even St. Petersburg. Several calls to each and many to Miami. In Miami, their handling of phone calls is extremely unbelievable. I waited while the phone was ringing for over 30 minutes on their main line one time before it was answered, and when he answered, he said, "hold on a minute." I said, "I've already been waiting for thirty minutes, what's another minute?", and he retorted with, "I don't have to take that kind of talk." When he switched me, I wasn't sure if he connected me with the number I needed or the phone in the basement closet, but after about 5 minutes, someone picked that phone up...the wrong department. They told me to call one of two numbers, one of which was the Patient Advocate's number. I recognized it because when I had dialed it earlier, I let it ring for 45 minutes, then, someone picked up the phone and set it back down, disconnecting us. I called the Director's office. They said they'd have the Patient Advocate call me. They did, but now, I have to call back next Wednesday. I'll stop there. It was a frustrating day.

Friday the 13th, October 2017 - The day started off with me going over to Rob Zwergel's boat, S/V Aspiration, to help him remove the stainless steel davits off the stern. They had been bent and cracked during hurricane Irma. We then took the davits over to a local welder to be straightened and re-welded. After that, since I had finally come up with an idea I thought might work to repair the holes in the dinghy, I started putting the plan into action. Since there's no way to flatten the tubes to clamp them, I thought I'd use contact glue, which doesn't really seal well in the long run, to put small patches over the two large holes, allowing me to put a bit of air in the tubes to firm them up, then lay larger patches completely over those to seal and protect even more. Just as I got the two patches on I remembered that there was to be another dinner party at the marina tiki hut starting at 5pm. I quickly put about a quarter pound of air pressure into the tube on the dinghy that I had just patched, just to see if it would hold any air at all. That was just enough air pressure to remove a few of the wrinkles from the tube and hold its shape, but not make it firm at all, or make the patch come apart, I hoped. By the time I arrived at the dock, the tube was flat. I knew there was a lot of abrasion on that tube, so it didn't really surprise me. My rational told me the air is probably just oozing through the fabric where the rubber has been worn off. I was already late for dinner but there was still plenty of food left, and good conversation with Jay and Tami from "Avighna".
                  When I got back to the boat around 10 o'clock, I decided to air the dinghy tube up a bit again, and pour water over it to see where the air was leaking out. As I pumped it this time, I heard water gushing, then the air coming out of a hole at the joint of the rubber and the aluminum hull. I had not realized that hole was in the tube. I thought it was merely a separation of the hull and tube. This certainly complicates the procedures. It's in the crease at the very bottom of the tube/hull joint and will be very hard to access. I don't know if I can fix that or not, but I'll try. I'll probably have to do it on shore somewhere, but maybe I can get it onto the deck to work on it. Either way, I won't be able to use the dinghy until the patches cure, but I'd rather be stranded on Island Time than on shore.

Saturday, 14 October - As of today, I have a new closest neighbor who was towed in and anchored this morning. The hull looks to be in pretty good shape, at least from this side, but the stanchions on this side are torn down, the sails are all down, torn and tangled and the bimini is gone. The aft has a lot of damage as the solar panels and mounts are all in disarray and the wind charger is seriously damaged with two of the three blades gone. It doesn't look like it was under water, however. I haven't met the captain and crew, yet.
                  About 4:30, I headed over to the tiki hut at the marina for another dinner party. This time it was BBQ'd chicken and it was really good. Side dishes were potato salad, macaroni salad, and Maque Choux, a southern Louisiana dish made with corn, Rotel tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, etc.

Sunday, 15 October - I spent most of today defrosting the 12v refrigerator. It is cooling fine, but, I think, still accumulating way too much ice inside. The ice on two walls of it was about 3 inches thick. After defrosting it, I stuffed the space between the evaporator and the back wall with packing air bags that I received in the boxes with some of the drive belts I had ordered. I think I'll do the same with the space below the evaporator, too, but I need more air bags, or, if I don't get any more of those, maybe some packing peanuts. This extra insulation can't stop the ice from forming, but, by taking up more space will lower the amount of ice, and the extra insulation can't hurt.

Monday, 16 October - I spent today trying to determine why my port alternator is overheating and I replaced the 2/0 lug ring connector on the cable. I also removed, cleaned and replaced several connections in the house battery compartment and tried to physically trace several of the wires and cables.
                  Around 6 o'clock Tami and Jay from S/V Avighna called and asked me to join them for pizza and beer at the Hurricane, a favorite of mine, but I will miss Fiddle Rock. One of the duo lost his boat with Irma, so he's left the area.

Tuesday, 17 October - I started trying to trace wiring again this morning and came to the conclusion that I needed help. I called Jay and he joined me around 3 o'clock. He was a great help. I had made the mistake of assuming that things on the boat were wired as they should be, but he realize that is far from the truth. I had replaced the connector on the port alternator in December but it had overheated and broken again. He discovered why. There was a positive or "hot" wire from the house battery bank attached to the positive stud on the alternator and the connector that I had replaced was a "hot" wire from the starter battery connected to the negative, or grounding connector. I hadn't noticed and had just replaced what was there. It probably overheated as soon as I started the engine the first time after repairing it. It couldn't have ever worked like that. We started re-drawing the wiring diagram for the boat. I had notice some discrepancies in the drawings, but hadn't noticed that. This also accounts for the fact that the Master switch that switches power from one battery bank to the other never seemed to accomplish anything. It simply couldn't work as wired. At the end of the day that was fixed and the port alternator, which is probably fried, is out of the circuit altogether.There's still a lot of work to be done, but it will have to wait. I have to get up at 5 in the morning to catch a ride to Miami to the VA hospital for an appointment.

Wednesday, 18 October - Up at 5:15am to make sure I was at the pick-up point at the entrance to the marina by 6am to catch the shuttle to Miami for a consultation at the Miami VA. The doctor convinced me that I was right in my decision NOT to get a small hernia operated on, but wait to see if it enlarges significantly. Apparently that could happen sooner or later. I'll hope for later. Arriving back at the marina at about 4:30pm, I received a phone call from Kevin Vallee, another friend that lost his boat in hurricane Irma. He was approaching the dinghy dock and said he could spot me from a mile away. I'm not sure what made me so recognizable, but we chatted for a bit and decided to go get some dinner. We jumped on his 800cc Suzuki motorcycle, threw the dog into the saddle bags and went and got a good burger at the Island Time restaurant, then over to the grocery store for a very few groceries. A loaf of bread, 5 bananas, and a gallon of milk was all I could carry, along with the few items he got.

Thursday, 19 October - Another very busy day, It's now 1:15am Thursday and I've been busy all day. Right after breakfast I received a call from Bob Harrington on Towboat 1 who needed a ride into the marina. I was just about to jump into my dinghy when he hailed me on the VHF. I was on the way to shore to take my mainsail and staysail in to get an estimate for their repairs by AJ Sails. He's a young fellow with a sail loft at the airport where he can spread sails out in a clean hangar to work on them. I think he'll do a good job, and he's going to be a little cheaper than the previous fellow that broke his sewing machine trying to sew my sail.
                  While on shore I picked up a new seat and seat storage bag for the dinghy to replace the ones lost during Irma that had been delivered to the marina for me. On the way back, I stopped at Rob Zwergel's boat and spent about three and a half hours reinstalling the dinghy davits that we had taken off and taken to a welding shop last week to be straightened and rewarded. They certainly didn't fit like new, but we did manage to get them back on and I'm sure they are so overbuilt that they will be more than strong enough to hold his dinghy.
                  Just as I was about to leave his boat at 3 o'clock, I got a call from Jay Klassen on Avighna wanting to know if I was ready for him to come to my boat to work on the electrical wiring again. I returned to my boat and had a quick sandwich, then started opening up the boat to work on it. He arrived and we spent until about 6:30 tracing wiring and drawing a new wiring diagram. He left, then I did more of the same until now, only taking a quick break for dinner, then returning a call from Mark DeSermia, the professional metal detecting treasure hunter. He's recently found and returned a high school ring to a lady that lost it in 1968, and found another ring yesterday that has 100 diamonds in it, worth several thousand dollars. Returning the long lost high school ring made the local papers. Not bad for something most people consider a hobby.

Friday, 20 October - Jay Klassen came over about 10 o'clock and we headed over to West Marine to buy supplies we needed, including a new master switch, tinned electrical connectors and 40 feet of 1/2" (2/0) wire. His wife, Tami, is associated with a canvas repair company that buys a lot of supplies from West Marine so they have a professional discount at the store and they were able to buy the items at a huge savings for me. The wire is usually over $8/ft. and they got it for just over $4. Since we had to buy forty feet, it still cost over $160 for the wire and the total came to about $250.
                  Around 3 o'clock, I got a call from Steve Monaghan. He was just returning from Ft. Meyers beach to get his car. He'd been out of touch for awhile. I told him I'd be tied up for awhile before I could come to shore to meet him because we were working on the boat, but I'd call him when I got freed up. He returned and went over to the harbor where the lobster boat he'd been working on was tied up. Unfortunately, they had sold the boat so he's now out of a job and a place to stay. He called me again and we were still busy on the boat, but I finished around 5pm, took a quick shower, then headed to shore. I couldn't find Steve, so I walked over to the park where there was something loud going on. It turned out to be a kids movie and Halloween celebration so I realized he wouldn't be there, so I walked the short distance over to the closest bar to see if he'd gotten bored and headed over there. No. Back at the marina, I sat down in a chair under what's left of the "Tree of Knowledge." It's called that because a lot of the long-time sailors hang out there in it's shade daily and their total knowledge about all things nautical is significant and if you have a question about boats or sailing, someone there will probably know the answer. I sat under the tree for about an hour catching up on my email, etc., thinking Steve might show up. I had walked the parking lot once earlier, but hadn't seen his car, but my but got tired, so I stood up to stretch my legs and there it was about 100 feet away. I walked over to it and Steve was inside watching a movie on his iPad. About 10 minutes earlier, he'd gotten out to stretch his legs, but hadn't noticed me either. After him waiting for me for four hours and me looking for him for two, we'd finally connected. He'll be welcome spending some time on my boat since he has nowhere else to stay. He's going to look for work here, but may return to Ft. Myers Beach where he knows he can get work plumbing, however he'd prefer to stay here.

Saturday, 21 October - Steve and I headed ashore for breakfast, then returned and I called Jay to help with the electrical wiring again. We finished the wiring, at least this part of it, then Jay headed back to his boat and I put away some of the many tools that we'd pulled out to use so there would be somewhere to sit. The tools weren't the only thing we'd had to get out, in order to access the wiring, we'd had to pull almost everything out of both lazerettes, so there was "stuff" everywhere.
                  When I'd gotten a few things put away, Steve and I headed over to the park for a community celebration and had some free hamburgers and hot dogs while we listened to some local bands play all afternoon, then watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" on a big inflatable movie screen at the park amphitheater. As if that show wasn't surreal enough, the wind blowing the inflatable screen around really added to the effect, making the image dance and flow in waves and ripples. It was so windy that the screen even collapsed a couple of times but it seemed to add to the effect rather than distract.

Sunday, 22 October - We had breakfast at the Stuffed Pig Cafe then headed to Publix to buy groceries. I returned to the boat to put away the groceries and work in the engine room to further the wiring diagram and Steve headed to shore to look for possible job opportunities that he might contact in the future.

Monday, 23 October - Dad's Birthday - Right after breakfast this morning I took Steve to shore so he could try to find a job, then I returned to the boat to get a few things done, the most important of which was to run a test on the voltage regulator. Unfortunately, it proved to be fried and will need to be replaced. That certainly doesn't surprise me since the wiring to the alternator was so messed up. A new voltage regulator sells for about $375. Perhaps I can get Jay Klassen to buy it with his professional discount. That will help.
                  Steve called to have me pick him up at the dinghy dock around 4:30pm and on his return he informed me that he found a job and will be installing sea walls, docks, and boat lifts in the near future for a company just up the street from the marina. Back on the boat, I had him winch me up the backstay to raise the ends of the SSB antenna and a flag halyard, both of which had loosened and slid down the stay recently. After that we joined Rob Zwergel for Monday night pizza at the Hurricane. The entertainment for the evening was a fellow that I hadn't heard before, joined for one set by Randy, the fiddle player, of the now broken-up duo Fiddle Rock. The fellow was a bit hard to understand, but he played several Chuck Berry and Little Richard songs, along with others of that era, so I enjoyed it.

Tuesday, 24 October - Part of today was spent tracking down wiring in the engine room again, then later Steve and I went briefly to shore then headed over to Sombrero Beach to flip my dinghy in order to see what I'll be up against when I patch the hole in the joint between the hull and tube. On the way, we were hailed by Tami on S/V Avighna and stopped by to help her and Jay drink up a little ale. We got to the beach about an hour before sunset, started to take the engine off, and realized that the combination lock is corroded up too much to turn the dials. So much for that!...so we walked the beach. I'd been wondering why it was advertised as closed and we discovered why. They apparently had quite a bit of erosion and some damage to the facilities in the park, so they've brought in huge piles of sand to replace what was washed away and have been moving it around with heavy equipment.
                  I had thought that Hurricane Irma's strongest winds had been from the east, but Sombrero Beach faces south and there's even one concrete home over there that sustained significant damage due to the winds. It has several cracked concrete pilings that it is built on, the slab that was at ground level is totally undercut, and the upper level slab is cracked and broken by the force of the wind prying the hand rails over, too. I don't think it's possible to overestimate the power of Mother Nature.

Wednesday, 25 October - Good Morning! I read recently that as of the 18th, they had recovered 589 boats in this county alone...and the work continues and will for a while.
                  Since I'm a week late with this post, I think I'll get it out a few hours early! Today is blustery here and I'll probably be back in the engine room for a good bit of the day. At least it's cool. Winter arrived here last night along with rain and a cold front. The high today is only supposed to get up to about 82°F and the low was about 68° last night. Brrr! I had to turn off the fan and pull a sheet over me in the middle of the night!