Thursday, 29 October 2015 - Since I got behind on writing this and am filling it in on Wednesday, the 4th, I haven't a clue as to what I did this day. Worked on the boat, I guess.

Friday, 30 October 2015 - My birthday! Marcus Libman treated me to a margarita and barbecued ribs and stuffed mushrooms here at the bar in the marina at dinner time. He's a very generous, helpful and pleasant friend, soon to leave for the Bahamas and points south.

Saturday, 31 October - Halloween! I had hoped to sail today, but the tides (too little water) and winds (too much) wouldn't cooperate.

Sunday, 1 November - I went out and actually sailed today. The first time I've soloed with the sails up. I learn a lot about the boat, its capabilities, and my limitations every time I go out.

Monday, 2 November - Well, I'm not a sailboarder any more. I took all my sailboard equipment down to Fort Meyers, to a fellow that Kenny Crocket recommended, that will sell it all off on consignment. It took all day to drive down there, unload, and drive back.
                  When I pulled into the parking lot back here at the boat launch where I park each day, there was a fellow waiting for me. He lives across the street and was curious about how I was able to park here each day and wasn't aware that I leave each night. I explained the situation, then he mentioned how lucky I was that so little damage was done to the motorhome when the second tree limb fell on it. Apparently, the limb really did actually fall onto the top of the motorhome, but since it broke a power line, the electric company and the city park crews came out and removed the tree from the top of my vehicle. He said the limb virtually covered the front quarter of the vehicle and that, had I returned before they removed it, I wouldn't have even been able to open the door to get onboard. In this case, I think ignorance was bliss, although that probably explains why my TV antenna is so hard to raise now.
                  He then proceeded to invite me to his yard to show me the 46 foot wooden catamaran that he has been building for the last 10 years. He has one of the hulls almost complete and it's a real work of art...but he'd better pick up the pace!

Tuesday, 3 November - This afternoon, I'll no longer be a sailboarder or sailor, I'm taking all the sails off my sailboat, so it will only be a powerboat ...for a few days. This morning I took down my inner staysail (the boat has three sails, two ahead of the mast.) by myself before the sail repair man showed up to help take them down, then we went over to his sail loft to inspect them spread out on his floor. He'll be doing some restitching and preemptory repairs to the sails and I should have them back before the weekend.

Wednesday, 4 November - More internet problems yesterday and today. I don't know if I'll be able to get this post out today.
                  Since I have unloaded the sailboarding gear from the trailer, it's time to get it totally emptied out, cleaned up a bit, photographed, and sold. I bought signs for the sides this morning, then came to the boat to put my phone number on them. I planned on going right back to the trailer to put the signs on, but realized that I needed to pay the slip rental. While I was there, I talked the marina's internet guru into come to the boat to check out my wifi system...again. He spent a couple of hours here, but walked away baffled. He promises to return with more knowledge soon... a day or two, after researching my specific wifi components and configuration.
                  I'm not sure about what it's doing in your part of the world, but this is the warmest November I've experienced in a long time. It hit 92 degrees here today with a humidity of a mere 61%, then will be in the high 80's for most of the next seven days.

Thursday, 5 November - I woke up really depressed, thinking of giving up on this expedition. Being able to break the head off a 1/2" stainless steel bolt with my fingers really has me worried. The really bad part is that all the damage is totally hidden. I've found two bolts like that now. If my chainplates that are mounted it the hull and keep the mast from falling over have similar hidden damage, I could be in real trouble.
                  Only three of the more than twenty chainplate bolts ore visible. The rest are hidden behind interior walls and cabinetry, so I put a socket and ratchet wrench on the 3/4" nuts and tightened each one just a little. If any one of the three had broken or even felt mushy, I think I would have called it quits and sold the boat, but that didn't happen. That doesn't mean that I'm in the clear, but I do feel considerably more at ease about that. Those two bolts are something that I feel the surveyor who inspected the boat before I bought it should have found, along with some other serious damage. There is a broken stringer under the cabin sole that he should have spotted, too. I can and will repair it, but he didn't notice it when he looked in that part of the bilges. THere's one more, serious spot that I've noticed at the bow that I think he should have noticed, too. I'll have it inspected when I have the boat hauled out this coming Monday for other work.

Friday, 6 November - I got my sails back from the sailmaker today and need to install them, but there's no rush. They're stacked in the cockpit. It would be nice to sail this weekend, but the boat will be hauled out for a week or so on Monday anyway. I still have plenty to do ashore. I just listed my trailer on Craig's List this afternoon. I hope I get better results here than my brother Mike and I did in SLC. The only responses we got from the hundreds of ads we posted there were hundreds of scammers. I really don't think I sold anything on Craig's list in SLC. People here seem to use it here in this area with better results.

Sorry this is so slow getting out. I haven't had internet on my boat for several days, and still don't. I've had to come into the boater's lounge, where the internet wifi does work, but the problem with being in here is that I usually get drug into conversations and can't accomplish anything. Today, I'm lucky on this, my second try. I'm alone in here.

            Until next time,
                        Dream BIG, or Live Bored.

                                          Rick