Thursday, 2 July 2015 - I finished lubricating the steering cables and put the cockpit sole back in place. I hated the method I had to use to apply lubricant to some of the cable. It was so inaccessible that I literally had to just spray it on from a distance, and it the process, get oil all over the surrounding areas, but I couldn't figure out a better method. The heat and humidity, along with the cramped spaces, awkward positions you have to stand or squat in, and low air circulation in the engine room make it hard to think clearly.
                  I noticed a beautiful vine at the edge of an office building's parking lot near my daytime parking location today and walked over to see what was. I have a pathos vine in the motorhome that Mother got about the time I was born. The leaves on our are about 3 inches long. Maybe you have some too. This plant appears to be the same, just a little larger. I took a couple of pictures. You wouldn't know it, but the tree to the left of the vine is a mango tree. The mangoes aren't ripe yet, but I'll keep checking back.

Friday, 3 July - I went through some of the storage compartments in the saloon, behind the seats to see what was there. I found lots of kitchen and cooking utensils in the galley, most of which, I already have, several really dull knives, and a slow cooker. They actually have the same design of Corelle dishes that I have. Also, lots of cook books that I'll probably never read, but remember, just because I have the utensils and the books, that doesn't make me a cook! I don't want to make a wrong impression or mislead anyone, perhaps I should throw them all away. Well, maybe not, perhaps I'll find a First Mate that knows how what to do with them.
                  Behind the starboard settee I found lots of small miscellaneous spare parts and a few tools, including a Dremel tool and several hundred tips and attachments for it. I brought my Dremel over from the trailer and consolidated the contents of three containers into two. The portside stowage was mostly empty, so I'll see what kitchen items I can get in there, but it's not much space and very oddly shaped since it is space behind the seat-backs and the hull. It's also a little harder to access than the starboard side because of the seat configuration on the settee. The dining table has a storage compartment that has flags left, by the previous owners, that I'll be required to fly when I enter and stay in foreign ports in the Bahamas and Caribbean. It was nice of them to leave them onboard. I have quite a few that my parents used when they were in the Caribbean, too.

Saturday, 4th of July - I decided to do a quick inventory of items left by the former owners in the starboard lazarette, a storage compartment in the cockpit. It has two levels. The lower compartment has a large amount of fiberglassing materials, a 24" brass propeller, an old alternator that I can use as a spare after I get it rebuilt, engine hoses, water hoses, electrical wiring and cable, two cans of paint, paint brushes and stirring rods,etc. The upper layer has a small tarp for covering the dinghy when it is brought aboard, a tool box full of spare engine parts and hoses, another tool box full of mostly rusted up tools, two of my tool boxes, and LOTS of cleaning products, brushes, solvents, etc. I'll need to go through all those cleaning supplies and either consolidate, use them up cleaning up around here, or dispose of them. I started cleaning up some of the rusty tools. Many are duplicates of some of mine, but "hey", you can never have enough tools, and I'm not about to throw away good, but only slightly rusty Snap-On and Craftsman sockets and socket wrenches, screw drivers, adjustable wrenches, slip wrenches, etc. There were also a couple of 12v soldering irons that appear to be in good shape.
                  At dusk, crowds started accumulating on the piers to watch the fireworks over the river, so I cleaned up and joined them. I had a great view right from the dock, next to the boat. I took a couple of photos with my phone. That's "Island Time" sitting in the foreground and the U.S. flag is flying from my backstay.

Sunday, 5 July - I had to find the instruction book for the stereo in the saloon. I couldn't even figure out how to turn it on and off because it is a multi-function button switch that has to be held for two seconds to access those functions. It's a really nice Pioneer stereo with all kinds of bells and whistles, but unfortunately, it's just old enough that it doesn't have an auxiliary outlet to let me plug in my iPod or iPhone to play the music on them through the stereo. Bummer! I can still play my 800+ CDs, but to do so, I'll have to stick them in one at a time.

Monday, 6 July - Today, I had intended to get the my questions answered by the Coast Guard regarding the documentation for Island Time, but, instead, I spent much of the day trying to figure out why I couldn't get online here in my boat on the WiFi supplied by the marina. First, I went over to the sailor's lounge where it is usually quiet and air conditioned, but today there were two others there that were talking across the room to each other. Diving, sailing, shark stories. I couldn't ignore the conversations, so I finally gave up and came back to the boat. I spent about 2 1/2 hours troubleshooting the WiFi, finally gave up trying by myself and went over to the office to get help. I talked to one of the employees and asked if he knew much about the WiFi system and he said they are trying to improve the system to cover the whole marina better. There are currently five setups; Regatta Pointe 5 and 9, the Reef & Grill, the Boater's Lounge, and the Ship's Store, all with the same password. I was trying to get onto Ship's Store. He confirmed that the password is "rpm1005" for all of them, then our conversation got interrupted, drawing him away. Another employee was sitting near, so I told her my problem. I told her that I had tried "rpm1005", "RPM1005", "1005RPM", and "1005rpm" and had spent an excessive amount of time trying to get online with the system. She said, "Well, the password is not "rpm1005", it's "regatta". At least 5 different people had told me "rpm1005." She said that all but the ship's store are "rpm1005". She's right, I got right on. I went back to the boat, got online, researched the US Coast Guard site, came up with several questions, and called them. No one answered. More research. They quit answering the phones at "3:00 pm local time", whatever that is, don't answer the phones at all on Thursday, and of course, closed on Saturday and Sunday. If they'd put better instructions, in layman's terms on their website, they wouldn't have to answer the phones so much. Well, maybe not necessarily layman's terms. The second blank on one of the forms is "(B) FROM" "FROM" is a layman's term, but I certainly don't know what they expect in that blank. "(A)" is the date. I'm pretty sure it's not my name or address. There are blanks for those just below. I'm sure they think it's plain as day. Maybe THIS is why the company wanted to charge me $495 to register my boat that costs about $92 from the USCG.
                  I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing things I'd brought from the motorhome.

Tuesday, 7 July - Well, I was wrong, AGAIN! "(B)" WAS for my name. In my opinion, which they didn't ask for, but I did inform them of, that blank should be labeled "Application Filed By", since, as the the lady with the USCG explained, the blank is in case someone other than the owner of the vessel (like the leeches that wanted me to pay them $495) is filling out the form. Anyway, I finally got to ask the Coast Guard my questions and am fairly sure that I got the forms figured out and filled out properly. All that was left then was to send them off via email. Simple, right? Well, it only took about two hours. First, I had to sign one of them, which meant that I had to get it printed out, so I went to the marina office and they said, "Sure, no problem.", but when I handed him my MacBook, the guy stared at it and said he couldn't print from it and that they'd need the file on a thumb drive or SD card. That meant I had to go to the motorhome and get one. I got both, returned to the boat and copied the files to both disks, just so I'd be covered. I returned to the office with both drives, gave them their choice, and they discovered that their PC wouldn't read either of my Mac formatted drives. One hour wasted, or, as my brother would say, "One hour spent trouble shooting and discovering what doesn't work." Back to square one. I emailed them the files, they printed them, I signed them, they copied them to file, (after spending about thirty minutes figuring out how to go to a file instead of to the printer), and they emailed them back to me as PDFs. I returned to the boat, composed my email to the Coast Guard, double checked to make sure all the files that needed to be included were there (and that the whole thing would be less than 10mb, another CG rule), and sent it off. I got a confirmation email within about 5 minutes. YES! DONE! I think. I may not REALLY know for months since the lady at the Coast Guard said that as of today, they are starting to process the applications that were filed on March 11th. That, and the fact that, as several people have told me, if anything is not exactly as it should be, my application will be set aside to be done "later." Pray for me!
                  I worked 'til about 8pm organizing stuff on the boat.

Wednesday Morning, 8 July - I brought more stuff over to the boat this morning and have been organizing. Lots of books. More than I have shelving for. If I get stranded on a desert island, I'm going to wish I could eat books. I have enough that I could stay fat for a considerable time. Since the previous owners left SOOOOO much stuff, much of which I MIGHT need, I'm already running out of room to store MY stuff. I knew I was bringing way more than I'd need and expected to have to donate or otherwise get rid of stuff, but, boy, I'm gonna have a HUGE amount to dispose of...but I do keep finding more, hidden storage spaces under the sole (floorboards) of the saloon, in or behind the settees and bunks, and in other places. I just found one space of about 1 1/2 cubic feet below the floor of the space under one of the settees in the saloon. The problem is, once I fill that space, I'll have to empty the upper space before I can get to the one below. Not only that, but if I put something that I need frequently, it will be a nuisance to get to, or if I put something there that I don't need often, by the time I need whatever's there, I'll probably forget the hiding spot exists and have to tear the boat apart to find it.
                  Gotta get back to work.

Oops! Just one more random thought. What if God hadn't invented air conditioning or evaporative cooling so that man could discover them?

            Until next time,