Saturday, 19 September 2020 - I'm still keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Wilfred because it is still south of us, but Teddy looks like it will move so that we're out of its dangerous area, so for at least about a week, we seem to be out of harm's way. Who knows what the future holds.
                    Susie and I were on her dock today and she notice that the step down from her patio has pulled away from the concrete pad of the patio by about an inch and a half. We really can't tell what has moved, the patio (not likely), the dock (if that were so, the pilings would be leaning), or the seawall. The seawall moving should have pushed the dock against the pilings, making them lean, too, but they aren't. There has been a super moon lately, along with the unusually high tides to go with it, but I can't really see how that could have affected it, either. We're certainly hoping she doesn't have to have the seawall replaced. That would be very expensive, especially since the patio overhangs the seawall by about three feet. She'll be calling an engineer to look at it on Monday.

Sunday, 20 September - We got a better look at the seawall today, but I really can't see any displacement. It does have a long, thin crack in it, but the alignment isn't off. High tide is hiding most of the wall, however.
                    Later, about 4 pm and when the tide had dropped about a foot, I slipped into the water with my phone, which has a water proof case on it, and discovered significant damage. The seawall, which is about 11 or 12 inches thick has major cracks in it and has, in one section, dropped about 4 inches and moved seaward about two inches. We could see that the step on her dock had moved but couldn't figure out why the pilings still looked vertical. I believe that, perhaps the outward movement was counteracted by the downward movement of the wall causing the pilings to appear unaffected. Repairing it certainly won't be cheap. Now, I guess the question is, will the seawall's and dock's demise be quick, or will it stay about the same for twenty years? If global warming sinks the island in ten years, it might not be worth repairing. Susie's going to have an independent engineer look at it soon. We are both afraid that if she has a seawall company look at it, their own desire to sell her work will influence their diagnosis and that if she contacts the city's engineer, he may insist that it needs to be fixed immediately, regardless of cost.

Monday, 21 September - I had planned on sucking the water out of the bilges in the engine room today, but realized that I don't have any large disposable containers to put it in to take it to the marina for disposal. By noon, I realized that I could just empty one of my 5 gallon buckets, use it to transport the fluid, then clean it up again, but by then the wind was picking up and it was threatening to rain. A front moved through here this morning and high winds were predicted for this evening in the 40 mph range, but I don't think it got above about 25. I did furl the deck awning in anticipation of the winds and rain, then made what I thought would be a quick trip to the marina to pick up two packages that I had received delivery notices about. Only one was there. This has happened to me before and the last time it took three or four more days for the package to get delivered. The tracking on a third package shows me that it should have arrived today but left Illinois on the 17th and traveled to Opa Locka, Florida, near Miami, by the 18th, then to Atlanta, Georgia on the 19th and then to West Palm Beach on the east coast on the 20th, and is now back at Opa Locka again. Aargh! Who knows when it will end up here. I'm not sure the USPS in doing quite as good a job as they would have us believe. I hope you're having better luck with the USPS than I am. I'm not sure I want to vote by mail.

Tuesday, 22 September - I sucked up the water in the engine room bilge today with the oil removal pump then went ashore and picked up...guess what...the package that traveled from Illinois to Florida, to Georgia and back here. It was a 50 cent item that I had to pay about $20 for, but at least it finally showed up. Now if only the speaker system that I ordered on Friday and was told on Sunday that it had shipped from Phoenix, then was notified that it had arrived on Monday, would appear, that would be great. Now I can't even track it because it's been reported as delivered.

Wednesday, 23 September - I, once again, defrosted the freezer compartment of the fridge today. Also, as happens frequently here, it was a beautiful day and it's already feeling a little cooler. However, we did receive a short shower about 4 o'clock. I had seen it coming and raised the dinghy and pulled the plug so it would self drain just as the rain started. Shortly after I did so, Kendra and Bruce on S/V Southern Cross, my next door neighbors, called and explained that they were over at Dockside and hadn't been prudent enough to close the hatches on their deck before they departed for shore and asked that I do so for them. I got it done just in time to avoid a second short rain shower.

Thursday, 24 September - I went to the marina today expecting to get the cushioned seat with storage bag for the dinghy. I'd gotten a notification that it was out for delivery today and expected it to be delivered mid-day, so I dinghied in about 4 o'clock. It wasn't there, but my genoa sail sleeve was. I'd hoped it might make it today, but expected it tomorrow, so that was a happy surprise. Vickie, who mans the office counter hailed me and said she needed to talk to me after she finished with the boater she was helping at the moment, so I hung around. She had a package that had arrived on Monday with addressed to some girl and wanted to know who she was. I had no idea. Then she pointed out that the package had my name on it, too. I realize that the package must contain the speaker system that I'd ordered last Friday and was notified that it was shipped Sunday night. I had believed it was to be shipped from Phoenix, but it came from an Amazon warehouse in Kentucky instead. I still don't see how it got here over night, but I had overlooked it because it had the other person's name on it. We opened it to make sure it was mine and I used it tonight to boost the volume on my phone as I watched an episode of JAG. I told Vickie that I'd been notified that UPS was to deliver a package today, but it wasn't there and she told me that the UPS driver is mad at the marina for making him wear a mask in the building, so he won't enter the building and has started delivering packages there just as they are trying to close the doors. I didn't have anything pressing to do so I waited the twenty minutes till he finally showed up and, indeed, the seat was on the truck, so I got three packages in one day...Christmas in September. That's a lot better than getting another hurricane.

Friday, 25 September - I did some research online about telltale placement on sails because, while I have the yankee sail, my large foresail, off the boat, I want to install telltales on it. I believe they'll help me visualize the airflow across the foils as I sail in order to get better performance from them. Tom Krueger also came over for a visit.

Saturday, 26 September - Susie had overnight visitors, so I returned to the boat, where I caught up on some reading - "The Rescue Ships", about the British Merchant Marine ships that accompanied the shipping convoys between the Americas and Europe during WWII to pick up survivors from the ships that the U-boats and German aircraft sank.

Sunday, 27 September - After breakfast and the Cruiser's net at 9 this morning, Susie took me to West Marine to get some telltales and mousing wire for the boat, then I spent the day with her again.

Monday, 28 September - This evening, I started reading "Desolation Island", the fifth book in a series of twenty written by Patrick O'Brian about British warships during the Napoleonic era.

Tuesday, 29 September - I started to get out some gray fabric that I've had stored in the saloon dining table today to measure it for use as a seat cover for the new dinghy seat, then realized that I really have no idea what else is in that compartment. I also found that I'd never inventoried that space and entered the contents into my database. One thing led to another. I salvaged fabric and Velcro from the old seat that will still be usable, did the inventory, and finally measured the fabric about 5 o'clock this evening.

Wednesday, 30 September - The wind was very light today and I had intended to install telltales on the new yankee sail, but instead picked up "Desolation Island" and didn't get around to dealing with the sail because I finished the book about 1 AM.

Thursday, 1 October - I checked the fuel level in the tank today on the boat. I hadn't done so since I went to the Everglades last time but since they are starting to talk about more storms south of us that might cause problems, I thought I'd better get prepared again even though they predict that it will turn to the west after it passes the Yucatan Peninsula. The measuring stick indicated that I had about 51 gallons in the tank, so I expected to make three trips to the fuel dock with my five 5 gallon jugs. Two trips for 25 gallons each to top the 100 gallon tank off and one trip to refill the jugs to store on the deck. That didn't happen. I returned from the first trip and siphoned 15 gallons into the tank and it overflowed. What the heck? Good news and bad news. The good news is that I didn't have to spend as much and the boat isn't using as much diesel as I'd assumed. The bad news is that the dip stick is way off. The tank has non-parallel sides so the increments on the stick are closer to logarithmic than linear, so somewhere along the line the markings have been set down wrong. Thank goodness the tank overflowed just as the jug I was siphoning from ran out. I spilled an ounce or two, but if it had overflowed right after I started siphoning the 5 gallon jug, I'd have had one helluva mess. Anyway, as it worked out, I only had to go back to the fuel dock for 15 more gallons. For buying fuel they gave me forty pounds of ice, for which I have no use, so I got on my handheld radio on the way back to the boat and found four other boaters to give ten pounds of ice each. I'm glad that's done. It's not as easy on a boat to refuel as it is on a car. When water condenses in a diesel fuel tank the water sinks to the bottom and bacteria grow in it, so Island Time's previous owner highly recommended that I always treat the fuel with a biocide and that I, also, run any fuel that I put in the tank through a Baja Filter to remove any water and small particles from the fuel docks tanks. He said he always did that and never had any trouble with his fuel, so, so far I have done as he suggested. It's a lot slower than pulling up to the dock and filling the tank, but then, I haven't clogged any fuel filters and killed the engine just as I needed power, either.
                    I'm enjoying the length of the days now. I like it when we have 12 hours of daylight or more, although I like the temperatures better when we have approximately equal amounts of each.

Friday, 2 October - Wow! I narrated the Cruiser's Net on the VHF radio this morning and in preparation, I checked the weather outlook. In doing so, I noted that Invest 19L down near Honduras was predicted to pick up steam, but at the moment, had no circular motion to it at the moment at all. Three hours later, at 11:20, I received a notification on my iPhone that it is now called Tropical Storm 25 and has an obvious and significant counter-clockwise rotation with a diameter of 150 nm with winds up to 30 mph. I'm sure it will become more powerful, however, at least for the moment it is predicted to turn west after it passes north of the Yucatan Peninsula. I hate to wish these things on other people, but I hope the weatherman is right about it turning westerly.

Saturday and Sunday, 3 & 4 October - Invest 19L evolved into Tropical Storm 25, then got a name, Gamma, as it picked up in wind velocity, but it's still expected to head west as it passes north of the Yucatan. I spent the weekend on shore with Susie and had a great time.

Monday, 5 October - Tropical Storm Gamma, although it will, hopefully, pass several hundred miles to our west, is still going to make it quite breezy and throw some rain on us, too, for the next several days. It its a weird storm. There is currently almost no rain anywhere near its center. I received an email from the NOAA Weather Service in Key West to be prepared for winds up to 40 mph. Of course, Tropical Storm Delta is only a day or two behind it, down just south of Jamaica, and looks much more ominous, but, it too, is predicted to miss us, although we'll pick up some wind and rain from it, too. Right now, they're predicting it will travel fast, pick up in wind velocity, perhaps to hurricane force, and head up toward Louisiana and Alabama. Those people don't seem to be able to catch a break at all the last few years.
                    Since it is going to be so breezy and wet for several days, today I opened up the deck awning for about an hour to make sure it was dry, then collapsed, folded it back into its storage bag and stowed it in the forepeak of the boat. I also went in this afternoon and picked up a package of books sent to me by my brother. Having finished "Desolation Island", I started reading "The Fortune of War," which arrived on Friday along with three other books sent by my brother, the sixth of the series of 20.

Tuesday, 6 October - Today, once again, I defrosted the freezer and started planning a pattern for a cover for the seat I recently got. I want to make a simple cover for it to keep the sun off the fabric so it will last longer this time. Although the rains that were predicted haven't developed, it's still quite breezy, so I haven't had a chance to install the telltales or mount the genoa yet. It's also looking like the storm south of the Yucatan will pass quite well to the west of us. I was amazed to get a notification on my iPhone about it saying that strengthened and it had been classified as a category three hurricane, and less than thirty minutes later, that it had suddenly grown to be a category four hurricane. Wow! That was fast!

Wednesday, 7 October - I needed to be in Key West for lab work related to my annual health checkup at 10:45 this morning, so Susie took me to the VA there. We arrived early and I checked in, had blood drawn and was back in the car within about 20 minutes. I think it was only about 10:30 and we had the rest of the day free so we headed downtown to walk Duval Street, have breakfast, see the sights, explore the art galleries, etc. We were amazed at how many of the buildings were closed and empty. Upon talking to a salesman in Mel Fisher's store where they sell treasures from the three Spanish treasure ships that he and his crews found and brought up, we learned that because of the Covid 19 virus causing the city to shut down all cruise ship traffic and that the town had taken advantage of the opportunity to repair a small bridge into town, over 140 of the businesses in Key West closed shop for good. The city's occupants are at odds. People that are retired or otherwise not reliant on the tourist trade like the calm that banning the ships has brought and want to ban the large cruise ships permanently and the shop owners rely on the ships heavily. For Susie and me, it was quite nice to not have to fight the crowds and bumper to bumper traffic that Duval Street usually has and we had a great time.

Thursday, 8 October - I headed to shore this morning and took some canned goods to the marina and donated them to KAIR, a group that feeds the needy here in Marathon, then biked the short distance to the tax office to renew the registrations on the dinghy and the boat. On the way back, I met Mike Barber and asked if he had any fabric I could use to make a cover for the new seat I recently acquired. He pulled several boxes out of his storage bin, found exactly what I needed and just gave it to me. Very generous indeed. The piece I got is of an odd shape and I spent most of the afternoon measuring the seat and the fabric and redrawing my plan for the cover so I could figure out the best way to keep from wasting fabric or having to cut and quilt too many pieces together.

Friday, 9 October - Mostly because I only get one chance to get the cutting of the fabric for the dinghy seat, I spent all day drawing the pattern out to scale on the computer, but a lot of that time was because I use the drawing program so infrequently any more that about half the time is really refreshing my memory. That, and the fact that just as I had the drawing almost done, either the program or my computer started acting up and wouldn't draw the lines properly.

Saturday, 10 October - Over at Susie's, we socially distanced by doing a whole lot of nothing for most of the day, then taking a short kayak ride with her paddling both of us around in her one-man sit-on kayak so she could build up the strength in her arms.

Sunday, 11 October - I needed groceries so Susie suggested that we do like she does during these viral times, order online from the local grocery market. We did, then had to be by the phone while the appointed shopper shopped for us and called several times to say that the store was out of this or that and did we want to substitute one thing for another. Then, when the food was delivered, we had to sort Susie's from mine, then mine by like items to be able to check that we got what we ordered...and there were wrong items, too many of one thing and not enough of another and four cans of chili didn't make it at all. To me, it hardly seems like it is worth the effort to let them do all the work, plus the online prices are higher than the in-store prices, there's a "shopping fee", and you are expected to tip the driver. I think I'll pass on that next time.

Monday, 12 October - As soon as I got back from Susie's I put away all the food, had breakfast, and since there is absolutely no wind, I then headed to the municipal tennis courts with my genoa to spread it out and attach telltales to it. With no wind, it's gonna be hot, hot, hot. Later... Boy was I right. I haven't sweated this much since I was weighing the anchors up at Little Shark River...and there I was working hard, here, I wasn't; just being on the tennis court, standing in the hot sun with no wind. That took about two hours, then it was back to the boat to install the sail on the roller stay. That was harder than I thought it would be. I lubricated the sail as it went up, had the bolt rope feeder installed, a Harken pre-feeder mounted below that, and it was still so hard to raise the sail that I had to use the winch to crank it up. I had thought I'd be able to stand by the stay to arrange the sail, with the halyard in hand, and be able to pull it up without help, but I couldn't raise it more than about 8 feet without moving back to the winch. That's a disappointment. I'm starting to wonder if the bolt rope on the new sail isn't too large for the track.

Tuesday, 13 October - I installed both of the new registration labels on the dinghy and the boat today. Thank goodness we had a nice 10 to 15 mph breeze to keep us cooled down today...much nicer.

Wednesday, 14 October - This morning I received a call from my primary doctor at the VA to inform me of the lab test results and discuss my general health. Apparently, I'm still very healthy...and lucky to be so. All my labs were within normal parameters. Later, I finished the book I was reading, "The Fortune of War".

Thursday, 15 October - There wasn't much to do on the water today other than listen to the Cruiser's Net and respond to a couple of boaters that wanted to contact me. A third one said he'd "get back to me right after the Net" so I could give him the contact information about a dinghy repair shop on the island, but he never did. I even hailed him numerous times, but he must have turned off his radio. I don't know how we're supposed to communicate with the radios off. The only other item on the agenda is to get this message out, so here I go.