Friday, 26 January 2018 - As I write this about 2:30 in the afternoon, the wind speed here in the harbor is just under 30 kts., or about 34 mph, out of the east. All morning it was in the low to mid 20s and here in the anchorage where I can see, one kayak, one hard dinghy, and one rubber dinghy got loose at the lower speeds. About 10:30 I thought I heard someone talk and went topside just as the boat that had been anchored in front of me drifted by out of control with its captain aboard. Luckily, she missed me and the girl fended her boat off the boat behind me. I had my dinghy out of the water on the davits, but soon rectified that and headed her way. A couple of other dinghies arrived before me, one of which boarded her and got an anchor down just as I got the boat's bow line tied to my boat, and just before it would have hit the bridge. With these winds, it's pretty hard to maneuver a derelict boat by pushing or pulling it with dinghies, they just don't have enough power to overcome the wind resistance the larger boats have. Soon, another boat broke loose, but went aground on the grass flats not far off without doing any damage. That's a soft bottom and if it stays there, it will be fine. With the havoc this 30 kt. wind is creating, it's hard to imagine what could happen with twice that, much less the 165 mph winds that had been predicted with hurricane Irma. Luckily, I don't think the winds here in the harbor were sustained above 90 mph. That was plenty.
                    I wasn't too worried about going anywhere myself today, The wind is strong out of the east, which causes the water to be blown out of the harbor, so much of the mid-day, at low tide, Island Time was sitting in about 5 feet of water with a 6.5 foot draught, stuck pretty good in the mud. I'm usually in about 7 to 9 feet of water here.
                    About 10 minutes ago, I checked the status of my boat while walking around the deck and noticed that the canoe tied onto the stern was about half full of water that has splashed into it, and I just got a call on the VHF radio from Bob on Christi saying it was sitting a little low in the water. I told him I already knew and thanked him for keeping an eye on it for me. I then went up to the cockpit and looked back to check again. The canoe was a little more than "a little low in the water," it was totally swamped, and floating one end down. I guess I'b better go pull it up and bail it out even though I'm sure it will repeat the swamping process overnight.
                    I decided the best way to handle the canoe was to bring it on deck, so now I have two kayaks and a canoe on my foredeck and two rubber dinghies tied to the stern. One of the fellows that lost his dinghy temporarily realized it might be to his advantage to have a back-up vessel too, with which he could chase down a runaway dinghy, so he showed some interest in the canoe this morning. He says that when the winds die down, he'll come take a look at it. I'd like to sell it, but won't count my chickens before they hatch. Winds are predicted to stay above 20 kts. until late Sunday evening. We'll see how much more carnage is created before that happens. We've been lucky today.
                    About 11 pm an urgent call came over the radio. A power boat had broken loose and as it passed a sailboat, a line was passed to it. That stopped it for the time being, but there was a danger that the line might break, the stanchion it was tied to might give way, etc., so they needed help. I responded, but had to get my 46 lb. Danforth anchor out of the aft deck storage compartment and load it on my dinghy. I knew I couldn't launch and set the anchor by myself in the dark while having to maneuver the dinghy in rough seas, so I stopped by Robert Dahmer's boat and rousted him out of bed. I guess it must have scared the daylights out of him to be awakened by someone hollering his name and pounding on his hull shortly after having gone to sleep. He quickly dressed and boarded my dinghy, then we headed over to the other boats. We were the first boat to respond. The plan was to deploy the anchor, then take the end of the hundred foot line over to the bow of the derelict boat and pass it to them to tie off. The next step would be to release the line from the other boat, which had the boats tied stern to stern with the derelict downwind of the sailboat. That would then let the derelict spin bow into the wind and hold them for overnight. Just as we were about to take the anchor out, another power boat showed up, tied on and towed them away. That turned out to be a lot simpler and safer, at least for us anyway. We were pretty loaded down with two people in the boat, along with the anchor, chain, and 100' of 1" line right on the bow so we got soaked by waves breaking over the bow of the dinghy as we returned upwind in 25 kt. wind to our boats. Such is life on a boat!
                    I was a little surprised that so few responded, but it was a little late. I guess most people had turned off their radios, but with the higher than normal winds and having already seen the other boats break loose, I had left mine on and my dinghy, which I usually hoist out of the water on the davits overnight, in the water just in case another emergency raised its ugly head. I was especially concerned about the young deaf girl whose boat drifted past me earlier. I think it would be good if everyone in the harbor knew that she is deaf. Not knowing that, if she calls for help, people may try to get information from her, but she won't be able to hear their questions. People need to know the name of her boat and is she calls for help, simply head out the door to help her, no questions asked. She needs to know to supply any information pertinent to the situation without being asked, too, of course.

Saturday, 27 January - It's funny how things happen. I've been trying to get rid of the small dinghy since Steve left and I don't need two. I've gotten no interest in it until yesterday. A fellow said he'd like to get it, but had to leave till Monday. I told him I'd probably still have it then, but that it would go to the first person that came for it. That happened today. Now I just have a mainsail, a canoe, a kayak, a bunch of fenders, and an electrical inverter to get rid of. I think I'd better get rid of some anchors, too. While putting the big Danforth anchor away today, I realized that I have nine anchors aboard, at least two too many. I've been trying to sell the sail for over a year and the canoe for about a month. Maybe tomorrow...

Sunday, 28 January - I went through all the V-belts that I have onboard again today and will finally get rid of all the surplus belts that I now know I don't need. I've had so many onboard that I was totally confused about which ones will and won't be useful. The engine drives four devices with belts; two alternators, a water maker compressor, and a refrigeration compressor. One of the alternators uses two belts for a total of five and there were 33 spare belts onboard, most of which are the wrong sizes. I'm sure that the reason for that is that as belts broke or approached the end of their usefulness, spares were purchased in out of the way locales where the variety of belts was poor, and rather than not have a spare, the closest size to correct that available was purchased. Some are too thin, some are too long or short, but on this boat, the proximity of the compressors dictates that if a belt isn't very close to the right size, it won't work because in adjusting the tension of the belts to one too short or long, the compressors come into contact with each other, so the belts won't work. The only way to determine if a belt will fit is to install it and if the one you are testing for length is the back one, all the other four have to be removed first, then reinstalled to make sure all work at the same time. Not hard work, just time consuming in uncomfortable positions and sometimes using flashlights and mirrors to see the nuts and bolts you're removing or installing. I'm glad it's all done and I know exactly what sizes I need now.

Monday, 29 January - Sunny with lighter winds most of the day. A good day to go grocery shopping. Winds are back up to the 20s again this evening and it's supposed to be windy for several more days again now.

Tuesday, 30 January - Most of today was spent compiling information I've gleaned from many sources and creating a list of the resources for nautical items and services I've come across in the cities and locales that I travel through, expandable into my future travels. I hope and believe the list will come in handy in the future as I return to places I've already been in need of supplies or repairs.

Wednesday, 31 January - I thought I had my canoe sold this morning. A fellow came to look at it and said he'd return with the cash tomorrow, but changed his mind before he even left the boat. He decided it wasn't pretty enough to be on his boat. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow!
                    In the evening, I went to the library with Patty Williamson, another single hander here in the harbor, and watched the movie "Atonement".

Thursday, 1 February - I am absolutely amazed at how little I can get accomplished in a day. I went to a small symposium about sailing to the Bahamas, Abacos, and Exumas today and really learned too little. I filled 25 gallons of water jugs and spent the rest of the afternoon learning more about anchor chain. Who could have guessed there was so much to learn. Size matters! So does, link length, tensile strength, coating thickness and type, ultimate tensile strength, working load limit, and minimum tensile strength. I found that I'd been pricing chain that is probably stronger than I need and about double the price. I still didn't get chain ordered. Now I have to start researching best pricing again, but, at least the prices will be lower.
                    This evening I went tho library with Patty Williamson and listened to The Kennedy's, a husband and wife folk duo. She plays an acoustic guitar and he plays electric, I had seen them last year and they are very entertaining.

At least, because of the wind, I haven't had to start the generator this week to keep the batteries charged.

            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