Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, 23 November 2017 - Steve took off this morning to go to shore to download some movies onto his iPad so we can watch them in the evenings, so I took a short ride into the mangroves with the sit-in kayak he found swamped in one of the side channels and on one of the two sit-on kayaks we have tied to the boat. We've gotten four since the hurricane. The little kayak he found is very light and fast, the other, although more stable, is slow, heavy and hard to turn. I can't believe how poorly these boats are designed. The sit-on ocean kayaks are impossible to stay dry on and have absolutely no way to store something dry in them, much less stay dry yourself. and they both are very uncomfortable and have poor support for your feet and have tow line holes in the bow and the stern that are only about 1/8" in diameter, making you use a line that is way too small to be strong enough or comfortable in your hand. Both of the ones we have each has one of the holes ripped through because the material at that point is way too thin.
                    When I got back from giving the kayaks each a test run, it was time to start cooking up a batch of baked beans to take to the Thanksgiving pot luck dinner at the marina. I made a double batch and should have made a single. I'll be eating baked beans for dinner for a long time now. Other than the fact that my beans didn't all get eaten up, the party was great. Lots of good food. I hope your day was as good.
                    Rob Zwergel had called me earlier in the day. He was asking for help moving his boat back onto his mooring. They finally finishing the welding that needed to be done to repair the damage caused by hitting the bridge and ending up in the mangroves during hurricane Irma, so we all three went to his boat to move it after the dinner.

Friday, 24 November - Steve had the day off because the fellow he's working for went fishing, so I got him to try out two of the kayaks we have now. First, we emptied the water out of one of the sit-on kayaks and realize that it was destined to swamp. It had holes that were designed to drain water from the upper surface through and out the bottom, but one of the four holes poured water directly into the inside of the boat. Then there were several holes in the foot indentations, where your heels would rest, that did exactly the same thing, draining right into the interior of the vessel. It makes absolutely no sense. We managed to get the water out by raising one end out of the water with one of the davits for the dinghy then laid it across the dinghy to take it to the marina to throw on the trash pile. However, before we took it in, Steve got onto the other sit-on and paddled it around a bit. It's big, stable, heavy, and manuevers very slowly. The really funny thing about these boats is than, on Amazon, they are rated 5 stars out of 5. What? No Way. I then got into the smaller K-Mart kayak and demonstrated to Steve how to better hold and use the paddle and how to use it to keep from getting knocked over by waves, using it as a brace by skimming it across the surface of the water. He was a little reluctant to try that, but decided to paddle over to the mangroves and back. I think he enjoyed that because he didn't come back for about 45 minutes and brought a kayak flotation tube and a life vest that he found while exploring in the mangroves. This little 'yak is light, comfortable, fast, and much more fun to paddle. It is easier to turn, yet holds a straight line well, too.
                    When he got back we took the "submarine" kayak, the one destined to sink, to the trash pile then took his car to look at an old inflatable dinghy someone on the Cruiser's Net this morning that had offered for free. The tubes, we were told, hold air pretty well, but it needs a new wooden floor. He decided to take it, but wen didn't want to deflate it to take it back with us in the car, so we'd need to return with my dinghy to tow it back to Island Time. Steve thought that it might be good to replace the plywood floor with Starboard, an expensive plastic board that can't rot out like plywood does. We had driven about a block when we realized we were on a dead-end street and, as we slowed to turn around, I spotted a sign in a trash pile that was made out of Starboard. We, of course, stopped and put into his car and headed home as happy as could be. After arriving at Island Time, we headed back over and got the dinghy and towed it home. It would be hard to beat a deal like that.

Saturday, 25 November - After breakfast this morning I went over to Barefoot Gal, the boat I got some brackets to mount lights on the stanchions with the other day. One has already gone by the board so I called them on the VHF and asked if they still had any left. She said they still have one. One is all I needed, although I would have welcomed more as backups. Another fellow had about 4 gallons of gasoline he needed to get rid of because he's traded his two stroke engine for a four stroke and can't use the premixed gas anymore. I was certainly glad to be able to help him out by taking the gasoline off his hands. I hated to see him suffer. The four gallons of 50:1 in one tank and the five gallons unmixed in another took me about an hour to figure out how to get eight gallons at 100:1 evenly mixed without a tank large enough to hold eight gallons. I had a two gallon gas can and two five gallon tanks along with the two five gallon jugs I had the gas already in.
                    Later in the day, a girl from the harbor that had heard me announce that I'd found a kayak paddle over the Cruiser's Net came over to the boat and claimed it.

Sunday, 26 November - Another harbor cleanup this morning. I must be getting something wrong. It starts at 10 o'clock and lunch is served at 1 o'clock. I assumed we're supposed to work until time to go to lunch, but everyone else quits about noon and I'm left with a dinghy full of trash, chairs, boards, refrigerators, etc., and no larger boat to pass it to. Oh, well. I feel like I've done my share. After lunch I decided to see if I could find a kayak paddle in the mangroves since we have two kayaks now and no paddle. I headed back to the boat via the area where the most boats had piled up during hurricane Irma and discovered that the area, which I pass every time I go to or from the marina, is not a solid mass of mangroves, but there are two islands that can be circumnavigated with the dinghy...and they are FULL of trash and boat parts. I can't believe there is so much stuff in there... but no kayak paddles. I did, however, find a perfectly good aluminum propane tank, lots of good rope of various sizes and types, and...another kayak. This one has a hole in it where the previous user dragged it by the bow over the beach, rocks, or something similar repeatedly and wearing a hole in the bottom of the stern. People are idiots. All I have to do is figure out how to repair that small hole and I'll have a nice lightweight kayak that will be much more useful to me than any of the others I've found previously.

Monday, 27 November - I received a call from the sail repairman today and got my mainsail back again. This time we took it over to the tennis courts and opened it for inspection and it looks fine. I came back to the boat, coiled and added whipping to the ends of several of the ropes I acquired yesterday, then went to West Marine and bought Steve and I a kayak paddle each since they were on sale and today was the last day of the sale.
                    When I got back it was starting to look like rain and there were people on the VHF radio predicting strong winds and heavy downpours. I re-rigged the water lines from the bimini top to the water tank, but no strong winds developed, nor did we get any significant rain, not even enough to rinse the bimini top off.

Tuesday, 28 November - This morning I gave away one of the kayaks to a fellow that had his stolen in another port before arriving here last evening, leaving us only two. Someone else supplied him with a loner paddle. On the way back from delivering the kayak to his boat, I found a row boat oar, but luckily for the owner, spotted the row boat it came from and returned it to their boat. I can't understand why people don't put their names on these items. If they would, it would significantly increase the chances of their being returned. After that, I went to get the 2/0 heavy cable that I had ordered from West Marine and inquired about ordering the printed circuit board that I need. They promised to get back to me with a price later in the day and they did, so I told them to go ahead and order it.
                    While at West Marine, Steve called and said he was getting off work early to go take a look at a 51 foot boat that is here in the harbor that is for sale. I picked him up at the docks, then went to look. It's cheap, but would require a HUGE amount of work on it to repair the damage done by hurricane Irma. Both of its masts have been broken off and was rammed by the bow of two other boats during the storm.

Wednesday, 29 November - It's the end of November and here I sit with no shirt and a fan on to cool down! This is not Utah anymore. Today I went to the dermatologist and had a small basil cell carcinoma removed from on top of my right shoulder blade...finally! I've been trying to get it taken care of for about two years now. I'm tired of dealing with it and with the VA about it. It's hard to imagine a hospital with worse communication skills than this one has. I hope there aren't any worse. I got a letter from them today asking that I fill out an online questionnaire about the service I've received from them. They'll get an earful and it won't be nice, but I thank God that my health problems are so minor. Maybe my bad review will improve service for the others in much worse condition than I am.

Okay, I gotta get this posted. Steve and I are going to go to the Monroe County Library and watch "Star Trek: Beyond" tonight.

            Until next time.

                        "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S. Thompson

                                          Rick