Friday, 17 May 2019 - I thought the highlight of the day was going to be the dinghy drift in the evening. From the open water of the harbor we could see some really dark clouds approaching and when the temperature dropped quickly and the first bit of wind hit, we all headed to our boats. I got back just in time to get the dinghy onto the davits and strapped down as the raindrops began to fall and the wind really picked up. I turned on the ship's anemometer and within minutes watched the waves pick up to about three feet here in the harbor and the wind velocity hit 47 mph. Someone else got a reading of 52. A few boats in the anchorages broke loose, but luckily the storm didn't last long and everything calmed back down, but not before several boats lost their biminis and solar panels. After the storm, I started illustrating my boat's antifreeze/cooling system in order to understand how it works better and worked pretty late into the night on it.

Saturday, 18 May - After a very short Cruiser's net this morning, Tom Krueger picked me up in his skiff and we drove about forty miles east on US Highway 1 to Islamorada to see some Wharram catamarans. Tom used to build boats and was interested in these unique boats. We had lunch at Lorelei, where the boats were displayed, then walked across the street to the Keys History & Discovery Center, a small museum, and toured it for awhile.

Sunday, 19 May - I acted as net controller on the Cruiser's net this morning and it lasted over an hour. Larry and Sharron, that I met on Wednesday evening, had arranged to borrow one of my kayaks to make a run through the Boot Key mangrove trails with me this morning, plus I mentioned it on the Cruiser's net. They showed up about 30 minutes early, but, even though I wasn't sure anyone else was going along, we had to wait until the appointed time to head off. It's a good thing we waited. Three more ladies showed up right on time. Unfortunately, Larry was pretty inexperienced and having trouble with his kayak. He almost fell over several times, but never actually went overboard. I had told them we would limit the trip to about 2 hours, so the three of us had to cut the trip short while the three other ladies made the complete loop through the trails. This afternoon I finally completed my illustration of the cooling systems on the boat.

Monday, 20 May - I made up three 10 foot and one 3 foot security cables so that I can lock the gas, diesel, and water jugs to the boat today. I haven't felt I've needed them so far, but I'm sure they'll help me keep my things mine in the future in different locales.

Tuesday, 21 May - This morning I disassembled the Honda generator far enough to run a cable through it, made a loop with the cable and put a Niccopress ferrule on it to allow me to lock it to the deck after I've put an eyebolt into the deck. The eyebolt needs to be welded stainless steel, so I checked at Home Depot for some, but they don't have any; none in stainless steel and none that have the eye welded closed.

Wednesday, 22 May - I checked at West Marine for the eyebolts. They have them, but are asking $25 to $50 each for theirs. I certainly don't need anything that fancy. For that price, they ought to be covered in gold leaf. I spent most of the day trying to repair my DVD player. It quit working the other night so I took it apart today. When it quit, it sounded like something came loose in it, but while I had it apart, I could find absolutely nothing wrong. Baffled, I was just about to order a new one online, when I happened to plug its power cord into the USB outlet on the other side of my computer and it started right up. I guess I need a new USB outlet in my computer. That, however, sounds more expensive and time consuming than getting a new DVD reader.

            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