Wednesday, 1 November 2023 - I had defrosted the freezer last Saturday, but since I was low on groceries and the next three or four days are supposed to be very windy and rainy, I defrosted the inch of frost that had built up again to make room for food, then went grocery shopping. The registrations for the dinghy and boat expired yesterday so I also walked over to the tax collector's office and reregistered both of them. Well, as I wrote this about 10 pm I thought the day was about at its end. However, the excitement was only about to begin. At 11 o'clock word came over the radio that a boat had broken loose in the mooring field a couple of rows over from me. It's about 75%deg; out but, of course, very windy, so I quickly donned a jacket, lowered the dinghy and headed out into the darkness toward about three other dinghies crowded around two boats. The mooring pennant on Walt Avery's boat "The Gloaming' had parted and he had drifted down and hit another, thankfully, very softly. His boat had run over the pennant on the other boat and the pennant caught on Walt's rudder, holding the two boats together. It took about two hours to run mentally run through several scenarios of how to get the boats separated and we finally cut the mooring pennant on the other boat and pulled them apart so they wouldn't scrape their sides together and get hung up on each other again. I had gotten on the other boat and pushed them apart as the line was cut then hauled the cut pennant aboard and took the mooring line off of it, then we went to another mooring ball and I picked its pennant up, ran the mooring line through it and secured it. We finished about 12;45.

Thursday, 2 November - I thought I got to bed late last night but I talked to Walt this morning and he said he was so hyped since it was his boat that broke loose that he didn't get to bed until 6 am. It's still breezy today, blowing about 20 mph, but, so far, we haven't gotten any of the rain that had been predicted.

Friday, 3 November - As I mentioned Monday, the pennant on one of the moorings parted and let Walt's vessel drift into and hit another. That is the second time that has happened recently and boat owners here in the mooring field are very concerned about it, especially since both incidents occurred during winds of less than 30 mph. As far as is known, during hurricane Irma in 2017 which apparently had winds of over 100 mph here in the harbor, only two of the moorings failed. The rest of the boats that left their moorings were because the boat owner's weak lines failed, the cleats on the boats were ripped off the boats or other vessels hit the boats and broke the boater supplied mooring lines. That was actually a pretty good record; 2 out of 226 moorings. Obviously, proper maintenance is now lacking. The moorings are cleaned twice each year and, in the past, were inspected during the cleaning procedure. I know, I had to move to another ball a couple of years ago after my ball was cleaned, inspected, and determined to be defective. That contract cost the marina, I believe, in the range of $700,000 or $3,100 each, an, in my opinion, very exorbitant amount, especially since each one only takes the cleaning crew of four about 20 to 30 minutes. This year a new contract was made and I wonder if they inspected the moorings as they were cleaned. It would appear not. During cleaning or shortly thereafter is about the only time inspection can occur because later, marine growth on the moorings covers any faults. The other night I was lucky to not get cut by barnacles as I threaded the boat owner's mooring lines into the eye of the new pennant on a different ball to which we reattached his boat and it's only been about three months since they were cleaned.
                    This evening I headed over to the tiki hut at the marina for the Friday night get together but before I even got my snacks opened up, I got a call from Tami Shelton inviting me to join her and Jay Klassen for dinner at El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant, an offer I couldn't refuse.

Saturday, 4 November - This is the first Saturday of the month and we had our harbor Nautical Flea Market at the tiki hut at the marina. I did better than usual. I sold two freezer packs for $3 each and only spent $1 for a Dr Pepper.

Sunday, 5 November - Susie and I went in my dinghy to help Roland Kok pick up his mooring pennant today but arrived about 3 minutes too late. His wife Leta fell yesterday and broke her clavicle. That's going to make living aboard a boat tough. Immediately after meeting with Roland, Susie got a call from her sister saying that her 91 year old mother just had a seizure so we left and Susie immediately booked a flight out of Miami and flew home to Ohio. Her mother was taken to the hospital but has already been released and is home again. I suspect Susie will stay up there about a week but I'm sure that will depend on upcoming occurrences.

Monday, 6 November - The trailboards that I purchased awhile back are still taking up space in the cockpit. They are about 82 inches long and there's really no good place for them to be except mounted on the bow and for that to happen I need to have the boat hauled out of the water. That costs several hundred dollars so it won't happen for quite awhile. I throughly cleaned them up today so they won't get other things dirty on the boat. I think they are going to be temporarily into the aft cabin on the section of bunk that I don't sleep on. Jeff Gordon, the owner of S/V Nautilus and the husband of Sheila, not the race car driver, arrived in the harbor from The Glades Boatyard via Fort Meyers Beach and Little Shark River. He came down single handed and Sheila is now driving down from Michigan where their home is. I went out in my dinghy to facilitate his picking up the mooring ball right next to me. At the end of the afternoon we went to Dockside to celebrate his arrival with dinner and a couple of beers.

Tuesday, 7 November - Jeff needed help getting his 9 hp, four cycle outboard engine off the deck and mounted on the transom of his dinghy. He was planning on manhandling the 140 lb., awkward monster over the safety lines and down 7 feet to the dinghy but I suggested we use his boom as a crane. It was still cumbersome but much more controlled. We didn't bang anything up, draw any blood, drop anything, or end up in the water. I left to let Jeff rig the dinghy's fuel lines and put tools away.Jeff couldn't get the outboard to run well so later we headed to Dockside in my dinghy again. Susie called and said her mother is doing Ok and has been taken home but needs 24 hour nurses to attend to her. Susie will fly back to Miami and drive back to Marathon tomorrow night.

Wednesday, 8 November - Jeff started working on his outboard motor early this morning. He removed the upper cowling and discovered that a mouse had built a cozy, not so little nest inside. The motor had been almost new when he stored it two years ago and, to be honest, who would have thought of a mouse building a home in there. After numerous trips back and forth between my and his boats, we used my small shop vacuum and air compressor to get, hopefully, all of the nest out. Unfortunately, the water pump flow indicator on the engine is not emitting water and, after a few minutes of running, the over heating indicator light comes on. After I thought we'd given up for the day and returned to my boat, Jeff called the local outboard guru, Owen on S/V Ryans Freedom, and was informed that although we had tried to clean the orifice out with a wire, it is possible to blow air through it in reverse to clear it so I returned with the air compressor and we did that. Air came out the water intake screen just fine and we're told that even though the engine is virtually unused, the water pump's impeller must be bad if it wouldn't pump consistently afterward. We had fooled with it all day and couldn't get the water to flow consistently. He's decided to take it to the Suzuki dealer as soon as Sheila arrives from Michigan. That will deprive them of the ability to travel between the boat and shore so I suggested that we might work on my 8 hp, two stroke Evinrude tomorrow and if we can get it running, he can borrow it until his Suzuki is repaired. We'll see how that goes.

Thursday, 9 November - Jeff and I removed my Evinrude engine from the stern rail this morning, took it by dinghy to the marina's project room and mounted it up on the test barrel full of water. Some months ago I had been running it on the dinghy instead of the Yamaha, but it faltered and I couldn't get it to start again. I had attempted to work on it but found one bolt on its top that felt like it might break if I applied more pressure. I had given up on it but now need to get it running so I can loan it to Jeff and Sheila while their Suzuki is being worked on. We hooked the fuel line on it today and on about the fifth pull on the starter cord it started right up. I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately, we also discovered a tiny crack in the plastic float bowl so it will need to be replaced. That won't keep it from being useful for the present. We tested the compression on the cylinders and they seemed ok so we started it several more times and ran it a bit more to make sure the first start wasn't a fluke then reassembled everything and took it back out to the dinghy. We headed to Home Depot for a can of WD-40 and Sea Foam and a 5/16 ring bolt but by then it was lunch time so we stopped at the American Legion and had very good pulled pork sandwiches and a beer. Just as I was about to drop Jeff off back at his boat, Sheila called to say she had arrived in the parking lot, finishing her drive down from Michigan with the car and two cats. I left Jeff on his boat to leave more room for her and the cats in the dinghy and I went ashore for her. They then brought me back to my boat and took my dinghy back to the marina to fetch their two kayaks that she brought with her. When they finished they brought my dinghy back and we celebrated with a couple of margaritas each aboard Island Time, then I took them home to their boat, Nautilus.

Friday, 10 November - First thing this morning, the freezer got its two inches of frost melted. I have to turn the refrigeration off and move everything out of the freezer and put it into a large cooler, defrost and wipe all the excess moisture off all the surfaces, then put everything back in and turn it on again. That only takes a bit over an hour in warm ambient temperatures but I'd rather only do it about once every two months or not at all if I could, instead of every week. Midday was spent online trying to find a replacement carburetor for the Evinrude. I only need one plastic piece about 2.5" square, the float bowl and the gasket for it. The float bowl is about $40 and the gasket almost $20. I bought a whole new carburetor for the Yamaha for $65 so I thought I might do the same for the Evinrude but I can't find one online at all for this 1993 model. At about 5 o'clock I made a short appearance at the tiki hut at the marina for the Friday evening get together. Wow! The harbor has filled up fast! For the past few months about 15-20 showed up. This evening there were 40 or 50. I had to meet Susie, Roland and Leta at Havana Jacks in Key Colony Beach so after only about 20 minutes I called a cab and met them there at 6 PM to listen to Ty Thurman, Bob, Bob, and their new member, Ty's old duo partner, Cory Young, who adds significantly to the group.

Saturday, 11 November - Veteran's Day - Right after the Cruiser's Net this morning Jeff and I removed the 8 hp Evinrude from my aft rail, lowered it into my dinghy, and then towed his dinghy, which still had his non-running Suzuki outboard attached, to the marina's dock and used their crane to lift his motor off the transom of his dinghy. We then installed my Evinrude onto his transom and moved the Suzuki to his car so he can take it to the repair shop on Monday. This evening Susie and I met Roland and Leta at Dockside to listen to Donnie McDaniel and Four Sheets to the Wind. Donnie is a close friend of Roland and Leta and a snowbird and has just re-arrived back in Marathon from up north. In the past we have been entertained by them over at Skipjack Resort and will again soon, too. They don't play at Dockside very often.

Sunday, 12 November - This was the first time in a long time that we've had a Sunday brunch at the marina. Lots of good food including several omelettes, quiches, several items I'd never had including shrimp grits, which was really good and something I don't remember having since I got out of the army and really like, S.O.S. Most of the guys in my unit hated the stuff, but no me. Susie joined me and we met some new arrivals in the harbor and got reacquainted with some of the returnees, too. The harbor has been really filling up lately and I was told today that there are only about 20 of the 226 mooring balls left open.

Monday, 13 November - I headed over to the Marathon City Park and played pickleball this morning. As I arrived back on the boat two fellows pulled up wanting two items I've been trying to sell for a year or more, a whisker pole and a Raymarine RCU-3 remote control that will let you change the screens on a chart display from a short distance away. This evening I spent, once again, trying to find an Evinrude carburetor #0439984 for my 8 hp outboard. Still no luck.

Tuesday, 14 November - Pickleball was on the agenda again today. Afterward I cleaned out the vinyl tubing that delivers rainwater from the bimini top to the filter at the water tank inlet by blowing a small piece of course fabric through the hoses with air from my compressor several times. Heavy rain is expected for the next couple of days. At 6 pm I met Susie, Roland and Leta, Michele McDaniel, Kim Brown-Stamp and others to listen to and dance to the music of Donnie McDaniel and "Four Sheets to the Wind."

Wednesday, 15 November - This turned out to be one of the wettest days I remember here in Marathon, By two o'clock in the afternoon it had already rained three inches and was still pouring and blowing. That's not a lot for some areas but it is for here. I've now been told that we received 9 inches today and the wind hit over 40 mph for awhile, This is a very low lying, about 4 feet high in most places, and almost flat island and some areas and roads are getting flooded. That is, of course, not a problem for me. My boat is just floating nine inches higher. My weather channel on the VHF keeps sounding an alarm, too. Along with the heavy rain there have been a couple of water spouts showing up on Doppler radar in the area. The good thing about the rain is that it has topped off my water tank.

Thursday, 16 November - This was a much better day for pickleball, after which I checked my mail and deliveries and discovered that an iodine filled thermometer that I had ordered was delivered. Upon opening the package I was surprised to see that it read 115°F. when the room temperature was only 82. I brought it to the boat and put it in the freezer but it never moved. I don't know how that can occur. I called the supplier and will get a replacement.

Friday, 17 November - Well, one, hopefully last, possible storm that might have given us trouble and started down near Nicaragua or Panama apparently dispersed while trying to cross the southern end of Cuba. That's good news for all of the Caribbean and us too. More snowbirds are moving south. I was told that there are only 6 mooring balls left in the harbor, our evening tiki get-togethers have about tripled in attendance, and we had four pickleball courts full today. Roland Kok asked that I go check on his boat today since we've had so much rain and wind. Since Leta can't get aboard the boat right now, they're staying at Kim Brown-Stamp's house ashore. Roland wanted me to check for excessive bilge water, check their battery levels, and to turn off their refrigeration. This evening Roland and Leta picked me up at the marina and we met Susie, Karen, Kim, Gary and Marsha, and others at Havana Jacks restaurant and bar for cocktails and dancing. Actually, Leta, who has a broken clavicle, Roland, who fell yesterday and hurt his shoulder, Susie and I were the only dancers in the bunch. Roland an Leta are 87 and 84 respectively and are unstoppable.

Saturday, 18 November - I woke up to a light rain this morning. Around ten o'clock, Jeff Gordon texted me that my mooring lines were, once again, tangled around my mooring ball so I launched the dinghy and untangled them. I had to replace another female snap on one of the straps that holds one of the dodger windows up, too. When I opened the freezer to get out some meat for lunch I realized that the two inches of new frost on the evaporator since last Friday needed to be melted again and spent an hour doing so. At 7 PM I went to the Tiki at the marina to watch "Water World" on a screen brought by one of the boaters.

Sunday, 19 November - Much of today was spent online trying to find two 3 inch, swiveling, quad blocks with beckets and two of the same without the beckets that don't cost an absolute fortune. No luck so far. At six in the evening I met Leta, Roland, and Susie at Dockside.

Monday, 20 November - I played pickleball this morning then went to the marina and stuffed 1000 flyers into 50 Cruiser's bags and checked my mail. My annual Coast Guard registration for the boat arrived, as did the replacement thermometer.

Tuesday, 21 November - We had about 30 pickleball players today. The snowbirds have definitely started to arrive. As soon as I finished pickleball I returned to the marina to help Jeff Gordon reinstall his outboard motor onto his dinghy after having been repaired, then he helped me put my Evinrude, which he had borrowed, back on the rail of my boat. Susie and I later met Roland and Leta, kim Brown-Stamp, Gary and Marsha, Pete and Dee Schwarz, and others at Skip Jack Resort for a drink and an appetizer, then walked back to Dockside to finish off the evening.

Wednesday, 22 November - After pickleball today I filled the gas tank in the dinghy with leftover fuel from when Jeff was using the Evinrude. I'm using the Yamaha and it uses a gas to oil mixture of 100:1 whereas the Evinrude uses 50:1, so I had to add two gallons of gas with no oil in it to the two gallons he returned to me. Later, I went next door (boat) to Jeff and Sheila's boat to have a margarita, then to shore and we all went in their car to El Molcajete for a great Mexican dinner with Susie.

Thanksgiving Day, 23 November - We had about 10 pickleballers this morning, then Susie came to the marina and met me for the Boot Key Harbor Thanksgiving Pot Luck Dinner at 2 PM. It didn't seem like we had as many participants this year but there were still LOTS of wonderful dishes and deserts and, as usual, we ate too much. Later Susie and I watched an action spy movie and a Christmas movie at her house.

Friday, 24 November - Susie cooked a turkey breast, stuffing, biscuits, broccoli, and wonderful mashed potatoes for us for lunch, then later we met Roland and Leta at Dockside to be entertained by and dance to Popeye. Unfortunately, it was just him and the house band, not his own band, the Easy Street Band that was advertised, but we still enjoyed ourselves in spite of the fact that we had to move our tables to get out of the rain about halfway through the evening.

Saturday, 25 November - I heard on the VHF radio this morning that Kokomo , Roland and Leta's boat, is listing to port. Since they are off the boat until Leta's broken clavicle and the scabbing in her left arm, which has gotten infected, get a bit better, I went over and checked their bilges out. There was no excess water there so I, and they, assume it is listing because they recently filled their water tanks which are on the port side, with 160 gallons or 1,280 lbs. of water. I returned to my boat and made a few small repairs. The dinghy light that I recently purchased had a wire tie on it that has broken and my bathroom soap holder that was attached with suction cups repeatedly falls off so I cut off the cups and adhered it with double sided tape. I also cleaned the connections at the base of my mast for my masthead light. It has been very dim lately. I doubt that the connections that I cleaned were the problem but I'll see as soon as it gets dark. Since the connections looked pretty good I now suspect either the connections on the photoelectric switch or the switch itself. They only seem to last a couple of years and I have a spare that I'll try to remember to replace it with on Monday. I also need to try to figure out why my Fluke multimeter seems to give me erratic readings. That will entail a call to my brother, Mike. He's the electrical and electronics genius in the family.

Sunday, 26 November - After a great breakfast an Susie's we strung up about 200 feet of Christmas lights along the eve of her house and on the fence than runs the length of her property. This evening Susie and I met Roland and Leta at Dockside for music and dancing.

Monday, 27 November - After pickleball this morning I returned to the boat and defrosted the freezer then removed the electricians tape from the wiring at the photoelectric switch on the mast for the masthead anchor light and cleaned each of the three wiring connections. It appeared that water had gotten into the connections and corroded them so I was sure that was the cause of the problem with the light. After dark when I could see the light, I was proven wrong. The light still is not lighting up. Perhaps the switch itself is bad. I'll replace it tomorrow.

Tuesday, 28 November - Since cleaning the mast base connections and the connections at the photoelectric switch didn't make the masthead light come on, I replaced the switch itself but within about three hours, when darkness returned, I could see that the replacement didn't make the light come on either. I guess I'm going to have to climb to the top of the mast to replace the light itself. That might involve two trips, one to determine what kind of bulb I need and another to replace it. I have a couple of LED bulbs that "might" be replacements, but I'm not sure. I take them up the mast just in case they are.

Wednesday, 29 November - It was too windy to go up the mast today so I started a book on loan from Jeff and Sheila Gordon and paid my mooring fee for the upcoming month.

Thursday, 30 November - It looks like tomorrow will be a better day to climb the mast so I finished reading "The Unexpected Spy" by Tracy Walder, an interesting autobiography about her experiences working for the CIA and FBI.

            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