Thursday, 22 December 2016 - I decided to do a little bit of preventive maintenance on the boat today, so I replaced the sacrificial zinc anode for the engine. My timing was pretty good. The anode was about two thirds used up as it should be. That means it's been protecting my engine and the heat exchanger that I had to repair last year. That done, I decided to check the shade in the refrigeration water pump, too. In the process of removing the anode and in spite of the fact that I was using two opposing wrenches to remove the plug, I somehow managed to crack the tubing on the cooling pump coil. Arrrrgh! (That's sailor talk, you know.) I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how I am going to repair that.

Friday, 23 December - I started working on the refrigeration problem again when I happened to notice a boater that is anchored two boats down out in his dinghy, away from his boat and trying unsuccessfully to start its engine. I launched my dinghy and went to help him. I made a new friend. His name is Gene Ramos, an Army veteran from Puerto Rico in an older power boat he's owned for about a year. He thanked me for the help and said he owed me a beer. I went back to my boat and continued trying to figure out how to repair the broken coil on the refrigeration without having to cut the coolant lines and remove the whole unit. The place it cracked is very hard to access, of course. I also went to the post office to find out if the water pump switch I have ordered had arrived. The post office here is not open on Saturdays and won't be open on Monday either, in observance of the Christmas holiday. The switch wasn't there, but one of the postal workers told me to check bacx in the morning even though the post office won't be officially open. He said they'll be sorting in the back and can check for me to see if it came in. About dark, I heard someone hailing my boat. It was Gene with beer. I quickly invited him onboard and we talked boats well into the evening, drank his beer and a couple of mine.

Saturday, 24 December - I went to the post office to check on the switch. Not there. That means even if it comes in Tuesday, they won't sort till Wednesday. I sure hope it comes in soon. Gene mentioned he was going to go to Lowe's hardware and asked if I'd like to tag along. Sure! I figured I could at least get a couple of 3/8" X 24 nuts to replace the ones I bought last week and put in such a safe place that I now can't find them. We went to Lowe's, but they didn't have those nuts in stainless steel, and on a boat, there's no sense getting anything but the stainless. We went to Marine Trading Post, arriving just before the were to close, but they'd already locked the doors. We could see them inside, but they ignored us. We then went to ACE Hardware and I got my nuts. Gene got some 5" bolts that he later discovered were too long. On the way back, he asked if I needed groceries since we were going right by Walmart. I did, so we stopped and I bought some canned goods and drinks that I needed, then returned to his boat.
                  Gene mentioned that someone had given him a bottle of Ménage à Trois Wine and asked me to share it. After that, I had told Mark DesErmia that I would stop by his boat. He wasn't there, so I checked the marina boater's lounge. He, Steve Monaghan and Judy were there. We all went to eat at one of the restaurants on San Carlos Blvd. and I think I had the best seafood dinner I've ever had. After that, we somehow ended up at the Mermaid Bar, stayed there till it closed at 2am, then several of us went back to Steve's boat for a couple of hours. I got back to my boat a little late, or early, depending on how you measure it.

Sunday, 25 December - Christmas - I got up a little late this morning for some reason. Started disassembling the refrigeration unit because I can't figure out how to fix it without doing so, then, since I would have to cut the coolant lines, I decided that this might be a perfect time to fall back to my old friend in the fix-it business, JB Weld epoxy. I stopped disassembling and started cleaning, then about 8pm, I applied the JB Weld and will let it setup overnight. I'll check it in the morning and reassemble the unit if it looks like it will hold. There's a chance it won't because I had to apply it to the underside of the fitting and, since it's a little thin, it may have run or sagged, and be too thin to hold well.
                  One nice thing about not having the use of the refrigerator is that it being off leaves me with lots of spare electricity, so I listened to Christmas music piped over the boat's stereo system from my phone all day while I worked and I still have a 96% charge on the boat's battery bank. The refrigeration would normally deplete the batteries by about 20% during the day and another 20% at night.

Monday, 26 December - I checked out my repair with the JB Weld after letting it set all night and it looked good, so I reassembled the water pump and restarted the refrigerator. Everything seems to be fine; no leaking and it seems to be cooling just fine now. Now that I have refrigeration again, I went and bought some milk. Now what I need is for the switch for the fresh water pump to be delivered tomorrow.

Tuesday, 27 December - I went to the Fort Myers Beach Library and updated everything I could think of on my computer, phone, and charts for my chart plotter. I also took the opportunity to get more water for the boat and swing by the post office to see if by some weird chance they had both received and sorted the package containing my water pump switch but by the time I got to the post office, it was closed.

Wednesday, 28 December - I tried to determine how water is leaking into my bilge again today and realized that there is indeed still a tiny leak where I "fixed" the coil on the refrigerator with the JB Weld epoxy, but certainly not enough to have drained my water tank. I cleaned more of the fitting and tried again to patch it.

Thursday, 29 December - Started looking for leaks again, but was interrupted by Gene Ramos asking me to help him dock and fill the tanks on his trawler. I wasn't much help. As we came in with the current, I could see we were approaching too fast and bow first instead of coming in sideways and letting the current push us to the dock. I suggested that we back off and try again, which he did. The second approach was looking better so I went to the bow to handle the forward spring line when we docked. Unfortunately, just as I realized the stern of the boat was still being affected by the current more than the bow, I looked back just in time to see the stern davits, which he had just mounted for this trip to hold his dinghy up out of the water while traveling, catch one of the pilings and break the tips off both of them, rendering them useless. He was not a happy camper and this certainly wasn't a good beginning for his trip to Key West. He filled the fuel tanks and headed out of the pass, slowing just enough for me to step into my dinghy from his boat, start my engine and go to my boat as he passed. His plan was to head south about 15 miles, stop and clean the barnacles and scum off his boat, then continue south and anchor out for the night, in spite of the prediction of strong winds and a small craft warning. I tried to talk him into pulling into a harbor at Naples or Marco Island for the night. The problem is, he has a deadline. He needed to be in Key West by 2 January to start a college diving course.
                  I got a call from him about 5 o'clock. He had scraped the hull and was making good time with the clean hull when the engine started running rough and died. He was dead in the water and had just called for TowBoat US to come get him. Perhaps it was for the better in the long run. He complained about the 1 to 2 foot waves making the boat roll and hard to steer. He was in 10 to 15 knot winds and at midnight they were supposed to hit 20 to 30 with gusts even higher. Waves today probably were in the range of 6 to 8 feet most of today out where he would have been, maybe higher. I even let out 30 more feet of anchor line tonight in anticipation of the strong winds expected at midnight. Unfortunately, his aspirations for the diving course are now put on hold for another 3 months or more. He arrived back here in the bay about 9 o'clock and anchored right where he left this morning. He's not happy, but at least he's safe and sound.

Friday, 30 December - I rechecked the patch on the coil. It's leaking again, but I'm so tired of trying to determine where the leak that drained my tanks is that I need a break. I filled the tank with about 30 gallons of water and restarted the refrigeration. I also realized that I've been waiting for the pump switch when I didn't need to. I checked my database and came to the realization that I have a spare pump in a locker in the forward birth. I installed it and now have running water again whether I ever get the new part or not. I think the guy I purchased the switch from sent it to the wrong address and went to see the grandkids for the holidays. He doesn't answer either phone number I have for the business, email, or text messages. Gone fishing', I guess.
                  Now that the cold front has passed, it's only 54°F. I think that's the coldest it's been since last winter. Brrrr. I need to go put on some shoes!

Saturday, 31 December, New Year's Eve - A new acquaintance from a nearby small sailing vessel came by today to help me look for a leak. He was amazed at the complexity and redundancy of the systems on Island Time, triple refrigerators, fresh water tank and water maker, auto pilot and manual steering, etc. and all the accompanying wiring and hoses running everywhere. No leak was found either. I've about decided that since the water pump was malfunctioning, I must have inadvertently left the galley sink faucet open, then during the night, the pump came on and ran the tank dry and shut off. The sink drain runs directly overboard and away went all my water. That's the only way I can imagine all my fresh water disappeared, since I can't find a leak. I got more water today, so I'm back up to about 120 gallons.
                  Steve Monaghan, Mark DesErmia, Gene Ramos and I had big, thick hamburgers fresh of the grill thanks to Mark's generosity and Steve's cooking skills, then we headed over to the main drag on the island for the evening's festivities. We ended up going our own directions later and I settled in at the island's Times Square fireworks display at midnight. Ghost, the organizer and leader of the band at Bonita Bill's Monday night jam sessions, his beautiful girlfriend Shirley, Scott, one of the repeat singers on Monday nights, and his girl friend were there and I spent quite a bit of time talking to Ghost. He must have a million interesting anecdotes about the years and musical groups he's performed with. He started playing guitar at age 14, is now 75, and has played bass guitar with many well known groups, including Rick Nelson, Chubby Checker, and the Dell Vikings, touring all over the country.