Week 37 ~ St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach, FL

     Sunday, 5/7/23 ~ Day 3 in St. Augustine  ~ We have been on the fuel dock for 2 days. Now that we will be here another 4, we moved over into a slip. I had planned to make eggs & Taylor Pork Roll for breakfast, but then remembered, no propane!

 
     We have the car reserved for 2 today and our shopping list ready. While I went to Publix, Pete continued on to Tractor Supply for propane, PetSmart for Tillie’s food, and Lowes for washers and painter’s clips for the enclosure.

     Monday, 5/8/23 ~ Day 4 in St. Augustine ~ If we need a place to stay, this marina isn't too shabby! Pete has been busy with work. I took Tillie for a walk and some training. The training was a disaster, but I got my flowers fix!

 

  

 

 
Oh yea...I also found an unusual transom boat name AND a sleeping manatee!

Once back and after lunch, I sat up above and wrote the blog. 

     Tuesday, 5/9/23 ~ Day 5 in St. Augustine ~

Pete captured the beatuiful sunrise this morning

     Pete’s busy work week continues. He did get a call from First Mate’s Office. There is a box that was delivered today with his name on it. Pete reassured her that Justin had ordered the part (the engine water pump) and would be by sometime tomorrow for the install. Around 3, Justin and the part were here, and it was installed. Pete had also requested that he change the filter on the engine as everything else has been replaced. No problem! Justin was finished in about 45 minutes, including running the engine.

Tillie and her toys

     Pete and I discussed leaving tomorrow as opposed to Thursday. With work so busy and the slip paid up ‘till then, it is wise to just stay put.

 
     We also reviewed all the resources for a possible jump from Fernandina to Charleston, Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Accuweather, NOAA Weather, Passage Weather all appear to be in agreement. Winds out of the SSE/SE 5-15, with wave heights 1-3 feet (sorry, forgot to note the periods) and possible showers 10-40% chance. If we can do the jump, we successfully avoid Jekyll, Kilkenny, Thunderbolt, GA, Beauford, and St. Johns, NC. We skip 5-nights stays, but more importantly, the shallow low tides of Georgia!

 
     Shortly before dinner, I heard from Amy, SV ROWAN. She has been here in St. Augustine for the past year and a half. Work commitments haven’t allowed for cruising. If she doesn’t have a phone conference with clients in Australia tomorrow, we are going to try to get together.

     Wednesday, 5/10/23 ~ Day 6 in St. Augustine  ~ The craziness continues with Pete’s work. It was good that we stayed. Now he could really concentrate on the data, reports, and take the conference calls.

 

She wants to help
 me bring the laundry
on board 

   I took advantage and wash the floor while Pete and Tillie were taking a walk. Dogs have a mission in life to make floors dirty and messy, between their chewing, toys and play and walking or digging (as Tillie prefers), and her dancing around the artificial turf (the peeing and pooping grounds) in the cockpit, a lot of ick gets brought in. I also did the laundry. It is great to have 4 washing machines, 2 top- and 2-side loading machines to choose from. . .and the 4 dryers are wonderfully hot and efficient! What is not to love with this marina: The great staff, the facilities (I love the showers), the 2 loaner cars, the floating docks, the protected harbor, great on-site mechanics, the manatees that love to sleep in the marina, the new floral landscaping, the Historic Downtown of City of St. Augustine only a mile away! Even the Internet is great! The only negitive at the marina is that it is in a cell phone deficit area. We usually can only get 1-4 bars of LTE service. Even our MiFi has problems.

 
      I was able to download most of the photos for the blog. I still have more processing, but I am getting there.

 
     Amy was able to pick us up around 6 and we headed over to A1A Ale House in town. Since the skies looked very iffy, we opted to eat inside. It was so good finally catching up. Needless to say, great food and wonderful company makes for a super evening!

 
     Everything is set to leave in the morning. If we depart at 7:30, we will be about an hour shy of low tide. The marina has had major shoaling at the mouth of the harbor since the dredging last fall. I guess the hurricane and all the rains were the major contributors. The marina is currently building jetties on teh southern side of the entrance and extended out to the ICW to help prevent future shoaling.

 

     Thursday, 5/11/23 ~ Day 7 in St. Augustine  ~  Tillie had another bad night, waking up 3 times to go out due to loose bowels. Pete had very little sleep, but he did research and thinks that her problems might stem from us allowing her to lick out our yogurt containers. Apparently, dogs can be lactose intolerant. So, not more sharing with Tillie. Hopefully, that is the cause.

     As we were preparing to leave, the lovely couple, who are under contract for the trawler next to us, stopped by. This is their first boat, and they have lots of questions. They have our card and we invited them to call us one evening and we would be happy to share information and resources. Today, is their survey and sea trial. Hope all goes well for them. They plan to do The Loop with her. We said our good-bys and headed off around 7:40. Temps are already in the mid 70’s with a breeze from the SSE. We had no problem getting out of the marina. The lowest depth we saw, was 1.6 feet. As Pete made the turn to port to head up the Tolomato River, the engine started to surge and sputter as well as the engine temperature began to climb. The anchor was dropped, the engine cut, TowBoat US called, but didn’t answer the phone or hail, called the marina office, explaining our problem and requesting a slip. They heard our hail and offered to call the TowBoat Captain as he usually doesn’t get to the office before 9. 

 
Tillie wants to meet our TowBoat crew

      The TowBoat captain called and towed us back. We were back in our slip by 9, and the mechanic would be stopping by around 10:00. By 11, the seals on the Raycor System were replaced, the engine was run in reverse (to put a load on th engine) for about 15 minutes with no problems, and, ah, I was gently reprimanded for closing the engine’s water intake by mistake.

 

       It is now 10:45 am and Pete has conference calls at 11 and 1, and reports that have to be ready for that second call. We will leave tomorrow.

 
     His calls went well, and it continued to be a busy day for him. I "unprepped" for the mechanics, putting things right once they had left. Since Pete was able to get more painters clips, I was able to secure the enclosure better and hang our name sign on the back. With possible showers in the forecast, I wanted to be prepared. I also spent some time working on the blog. Everything is written up to this point, but there are still photos that need attention. We’ll see. . . .

     We have rechecked our resources and the 24-hour jump Saturday, Fernandina Beach, FL to Sunday, Isle of Palms (Charleston, SC) still looks tight but doable!

     Friday, 5/12/23 ~ Day 8  in St. Augustine ~ Both Pete and Tillie had a rough night. She was up 4 times needing to use the grass pad in the cockpit.  Before she needed him, I had some wild dreams and kept him awake for about 30 minutes, even though he tried to wake me.  He’s going to sleep real good tonight.  I volunteered for Tillie duty tonight. 

 

  

    We were up and out by 7:30 Back in the slip by 8:30! YUP! We made it a bout a mile north of the marina when the engine chocked again. Backed down the RPMs and turned around while Pete switched the Raycor and checked everything he could. We are riding an outgoinng tide, so we opened up and prepped for an emergency anchoring (if the engine crapped out near the mouth of the marina which is only about 100 fee from the bridge.)  After the marina and mechanic were contancted, lines were reset and we headed back to "our" slip.  We made it in with no problems.

  

Tillie supervising
our setting the lines

     Tillie has found that there is a front topside of the boat and she found a way to get there! She was so proud of herself. This means that we will have to be consistant in attaching her to her safety line, especially when preping for underway and making way.

     When Pete paid the bill for today, the manager suggested he pay for 5 days.  This way ofice personnel can not give the slip away while we still might have problems. The unsued portion will be refunded. DONE! 

     Pete had work to do and I opted to work on the blog. By dinner I had the past 2 weeks posted and this week's entry is done up through Thursday.

    Justin came by after lunch and spent another 2 hours trying to track downthe problem. Everything has been checked and rechecked.  He reviewed the proper wiring for the the pump and filter that was recently changed out.  He wants us to really give PEKABU a long sea trial.  He is not available this weekend so any problems will need to be addressed on Monday.  I guess that it is good Pete booked the slip theough Tuesday. As we once again have a outgoing current,  we will take her out tomorrow morning after 10, when the current is more favorable for our exit and enterence to the marina.

Saturday, 5/13/23 ~ St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach, FL

Today:          65 miles                   11.8 hours                S/M 716.8

Total:           1126.3 miles              190.8 hours 

Guess this is his spot

     Tillie slept until 4:30 am, quick out, but didn’t do anything, then slept until 6:30!! YEA!! Leisurely start to our morning. Lots of discussion: if sea trial continues positive after 7 miles (1hr) should we continue? YES. Since we waited for slack tide at 10 am, (so we wouldn’t have problems with the current when leaving the marina, and heading to the bridge if the engine failed) should we do the 10 hours to Fernandina? YES. We rechecked our weather resources and the window maintains until dinner time on Sunday. If we drop anchor in Fernandina around 8 pm, we will catch 3-hour nap before pulling anchor and heading out St Mary’s inlet heading to Beauford. We should arrive 6:30-7 pm if all goes well. YES!!!

Unsusal lighting at
the airport

   Everything still worked perfectly at the 2-hour mark /14 miles north on the Tolmoto River. Pete called Camachee Cove Marina before noon and cancelled our remaining reservations for the slip. Pete then confirmed Beauford for Sunday night.

     As we approached “Rosco Row,” there was a large dredging operation on the west side of the ICW. Bob423 had noted shoaling in this area earlier this spring.   The amount of boat traffic in this area was notable.  We must have been passed by 25 boats, southbound in just a mile of travel. There was one trawler mixed in with this traffic as it passed the dredging.  All the small boats had to scoot around him as he hogged the magenta line. As we passed him, I got concerned. No one was at either the lower or flybridge nav stations.  I finally saw the “captain” sunning himself on the sun deck and checking his phone, seated about 5 feet from the helm.  There is no way he could possibly know what might be happening in front of the boat.  I really hope an official boat sees this and either tickets or fines him!

 

 

  
Various parts of the "Dredge Train"
. . . and the skies are darkening

    The skies continued to get cloudy and rain could be seen about a mile ahead.  We put up the enclosure.  I really miss all the zippers.  Modifying the old enclosure to fit the new geometry with our new dodger and Bimini now requires about 10 varying lengths of ½ inch molding along with about 30 painter’s clips.  The back and half to the sides is already in place.  The forward panel requires 4-5 hands, additional molding, and about 15 more painter clips.  It not watertight, but about 95% of the rain remains outside. Tillie loves the dips and tries to catch them as they fall.

Once the rains stopped, we opened the side flaps and enjoyed the cooler temps and fresh air.  Tillie climbed into my lap and fell asleep.

  
The current against us at pablo creek

Graffitti under the bridge

     We knew that we would be against the current when approaching Pablo Creed new Jacksonville.  Our speed fell from 7.0 to 3.3 mph as we passed through the bridge. About a quarter of a mile south of the bridge, I spotted an eagle on the shore with something. At the same time there was another eagle and a osprey circling above the one on sore. The eagle actually was chasing the osprey and when close enough I saw the claws extended towards the osprey.  I was too fascinated to look away or grab the phone to video it.  Pete was too absorbed in navigating the strong current as we approached the bridge.

 

Brand new heavy lift boat

   Our slow travels continued until we crossed the St John’s River.  There was an unusual ship on the hard that looked new. It was a heavy lift supply boat, designed to carry cargo that goes above and beyond the size and weight of the kind of items usually found on container ships. This is a smaller one probably used for oil rig supplies or smaller costal port deliveries.

  
Pete's basket of snacks for tonight, and Tillie in her favorite spot on board.

and yes, our little lady is a bit proper and crosses her legs!

     While underway, I made up individual snack packs for tonight, extra soda in fridge, bagel w/ cream cheese for over night meal.  Pete wants to be at the helm during darkness. I will take the first light shift.

     Once back in the cockpit we were approaching the Fort George River.  We could see lots of smaller boats running about a mile east and paroling the ICW. Then they came south on the ICW in “flocks” of 10 – 15 boats. We must have seen a total of 50+ boats, and 3 or 4 “flocks” that passed us heading south.  There appears to be lots of shallows and sandy beached on the various islands in and around the river.

 
Boats in Ferandina Beach

 

   
Made it in time to catch the sunset

   Pulled in to Fernandina Beach around 7:30 pm and snagged a mooring ball northernmost end. Just in time to catch the nice sunset. The boat was secure and we were in bed by 9. It was warm and humid so the hatches opened. Temps began to drop after sunset. As we were securing to the mooring ball, there was a tug & barge that was repositioning just north of our position.  They must have practiced or certified all night, doing circles about 100 feet from us and periodically spotting us with the flood lights. 

     GPS anchor alarm went off at 11:20 pm. For some reason the alarm is now very low (not piercing as it has been), but somehow, Pete heard it and jumped out of bed. I soon followed.  The boat is still, kind of, in the same place. Pete thinks that he didn’t factor in enough chain on the mooring ball. He usually sets the alarm so that there is only about 5 feet grace beyond the arc of our anchor and scope (anchor line).       Well. . .we, and the Tillie, are definitely awake.  Our wake-up alarm is about to go off (11:45), so not going back to bed. Since we are up, we finalized everything for leaving11:50 instead of midnight. As Pete went to start the engine, Tillie stuck her head through the steering wheel. He immediately turned the ignition off and put her on the safety lead. When he tried to restart the engine there was NOTHING- no lights on the panel, no engine alarm test, no warning lights. Repeated attempts, and still nothing. By 1 am, Pete was breaking the seal on the helm’s instrument panel. By 2:30, the ignition switch was replaced, & power restored to the helm, but still no joy. Checked internet wires moved, and still nothing. We finally headed back to bed. Will deal with marina reservations & TowBoat in the morning. Our window for ocean travel closed around 8 pm tonight and remains closed for at least the next 8 -10 days.  BUMMER!!! (Well. it's better than some other words that might have been more accurate!)

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~    K & P

Week 36 / Week 28 ~ Ft Pierce and Heading to St. Augustine

     Sunday, 4/30/23 ~ Checked if I needed to add anything onto the shopping list. Neil drove Pete to Publix and we once again have fresh fruits, cold cuts, and drinks. The rest of the day was spent chillin’ and reading.
     

     Monday, 5/1/23 ~ I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT'S THE FIRST OF MAY!!! WE'RE STILL IN FT. PIERCE! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

     Both Pedros and their helper returned this morning. As they retraced the wire, they found a break in the ground. This is the current culprit, but when the alarm was replaced last in Key West, apparently it was improperly installed and hasn’t worked since then. We have traveled over 4000 miles without the safety of the engine alarm. Boy! Have we been lucky. The good news: when they pressure tested the engine it should test between 56 and 60 pounds of pressure. With a 20-year-old boat, with 5300+ running hours, we would expect to see it at the lower 56 pounds. She came in at a full 60 pounds, which is super!!!

 
     We believe we are once again set to leave tomorrow. We said our good-bys to Sue Ann and Ray, Charlie and Elisha, Georgia and Scott, Taura, Joe and Leo, and Dave. Stay tuned!
     

Tuesday, 5/2/23 ~ Ft. Pierce to Eau Gallie

Today:               51 miles                   8.1 hours                S/M 965.1
Total:           1051.3 miles              166.0 hours

North Bridge, Ft Pierce
1st bridge north bound

     Tillie was walked, engine started and running without problems, electrical and water detached and coiled aboard PEKABU, and final lines removed and secured with the help of “Chief Dave.” After 6 months, we are finally on the move again. We made the 7:30 opening of North Bridge. We got lucky and rode the flood tide north. That extra ½ to mile per have adds up at the end of the day.

 
     We spotted a number of dolphins as we traveled. They were mostly near the inlets, but we are as excited with these as we did with our first sighting.

 

There be dolphins!

 

     Near the Sabastian Inlet, the 200-foot, sand spit that has formed off of one of the spoils islands by G 64 continues to grow into the ICW. It was impressive at the current tidal level. I am not sure if it was high, low or somewhere in between as we passed.

 

 

Views along Wabasso Island

 

 

Views of Sabastian area of Indian River

 

Buoys serving double duty as weather stations as well as ATONs

 

     We pulled into Eau Gallie around 3. This is the first time we were assigned the very first slip rather than on the seawall. Once in, Pete went to plug into the pedestal only to find there was no electrical connection at all and there was no way to reach the next pedestal. Thankfully, the harbor master came by. He was also surprised to find it missing. He then headed out to West Marine for an extension. By 5, we had electricity and air consitioning!

 
     I have to make some room in the freezer, so we had left over corned beef and veggies. I have about 12 prepared meals frozen and, when we get to St. Augustine, the plan is to order an extra pizza from Nick’s (our favorite pizza place) and freeze for further up the ICW. I really like having leftovers in the freezer as we cruise. Good variety of meals with little forethought, little prep, no mess, and delicious!

Wednesday, 5/3/23 ~ Eau Gallie to Titusville
Today:          49 miles                   6.2 hours                S/M 878.0
Total:           1100.3 miles              172.2 hours

     We cast off lines around 8 and continued north on the Indian River. The winds built during the day to about 15 from the SSE. Not enough to make way motor sailing until we were approaching Titusville Marina. Of course, with the narrow alleys, and half finger piers, we need to back in. Pete went about 5 boat slips past our assigned dock so that he had control backing down to the slip. My captain once again made the perfect docking maneuver! Our dock hand like to be authoritative, but his directions were not always appropriate. He contradicted Pete a number of times, but we finally were secure around 3:00.

 

  

A sailing sail boat, the new and the old Addison Bridge, and Tillie keeping watch

     Pete had some work to do so I read for a while. Around 4:00, he and Tillie headed over to the “new to us” dog park, at the north end of the marina. They have 2 huge areas for the dogs. Pete opted for the smaller dogs as one of the large dogs was acting a bit aggressive. He and the other furry parents sat in chairs provided under the trees. The four-legged ones, ran, played and tumbled in utter abandonment. Everyone will remember Tillie as the one who ran till exhausted, but still tried to drink while totally prone against the water bowl. Only the larger dog enclosure had 2 kiddie pools for the dogs. Pete wondered if Tillie would have sought one out to cool down. The good news is that she was exhausted. (and maybe sleep later in the morning?)

Thursday, 5/4/23 ~Titusville to Daytona

Today:          51 miles                   7.8 hours                S/M 829.0
Total:           1151.3 miles              179.0 hours

     We were once again moving around 7:30. As we pulled out of our slip we followed an iridescent, Peacock-blue hulled catamaran out into the approach to the marina, through the mooring field. For some reason, he slowed down and just drifted out to the channel. Pete had to throttle back a number of times as there was no apparent reason, (I guess he hadn’t had his hi-test coffee yet!) Thankfully, he headed south as we turned north. Just past the RR bridge, we encountered a large pod of dolphins, in groups of 3 and 4. There were probably about 50 in the group. We also noticed a strong wood-burning smell and the haze was noticeable, but we couldn’t see the source.

 

Both clearing and hazy areas of Haulover Canal

Hope this works ~Video of the manatees "frolicking" in Haulover's boat basin

     Once in the Haulover Canal, we were amazed at the number of manatees. They were everywhere, in groups either resting in the shallows near shore, or “frolicking” in the deeper water of the canal and boat launch area. There were easily about 75 or more in the approximately 2000-foot-long canal. There weren’t as many people fishing as we have seen on weekends, but those who were there, either on shore or in boats, were watching the manatees. What an experience!

 

  <---   The manatees usually just surface enough to break the water tension as seen in the last photo.  They  do rest and sleep in shallower waters, but the angle of the sun has to be just right to see them.  If you look closely at the last photo, there is an elongated light brown manatee, close to the surface, just right of the first water disruption.

     The closer we got to Smyrna Beach, the more smoke we saw to the west. As the breezes were only 5-10 from the west, so we thought it might be a controlled burn. While watching the evening news, 2 wild fires were reported, the one near Smyrna Beach, and another a couple of miles north. Thankfully they were not in populated areas.

 

 

Views along Ponce Inlet, pretty homes and the unusual site of a dredge barge being towed by 

2-Sea Tow boats.  Apparently the pushig boat had engine problems.  

An inlet is not the place to have engine problems!

     It is still remarkable to see the amount of sunk and grounded boats between Smyrna and Daytona. There seems to be more than we saw on our trip south. (Now that I think about it, the damage may have come from hurricane back in November.) With the light breezes scheduled for tonight, we entered the anchorage in Daytona, south of Hallifax Harbor. Tillie has done very well with us on the move the past 3 days, so we are trying to see how she does while we are at anchor. We anchored at the southern part of the anchorage as we found the shallows further into the anchorage lasts time we dropped anchor here.

                  2 of the 15 sunken boats we saw today 

     We sat up in the cockpit and enjoyed the breezes, scenery, and our books. When we herd the “puf” sounds nearing the boat, we all looked out to see a large pod of dolphins approaching our boat from the north. Tillie was intrigued and curious, but not fearful. Once again, they were in groups of 2, 3, and 4’s and so were their “pufs.”
 

  We read for a while, then had dinner. After dinner, Pete hooked up the Honda generator so we could top off the batteries for the night. It also allowed us to catch Young Sheldon and Ghosts before shutting down. Though the breezes lightened for a while, they quickly resumed to 5-10 from the east. The full moon rose and it was beautiful.  It was a great night for sleeping.

 
Full Moon over Daytona 

Friday, 5/5/23 ~ Daytona to St. Augustine
Today:          56 miles                   8.5 hours                S/M 775.6
Total:           1151.3 miles              179.0 hours

Getting up early
takes it toll!

     We have been ignoring Tillie’s “WAKEY, WAKEY!! TIME TO PLAY!!” Barks at 5:20, 5:35, or 6:15. Now, the “wakey wakies” are softer and shorter, we are down to 3-1/2 barks and a 30-40 min interval. Each day less and less! WOO HOO!!! We’re winning! Today, she let us sleep until 6:50am. After she used the mat again, we pulled anchor and set out around 8. Not problem with the Main Street Bridge opening as she is on demand. It was a nice ride north. The clouds slowly built through the day. Pete had to take a conference call just before we at the LB Knox Bridge. As I was starting to accelerate after the bridge, the engine suddenly throttled down. I immediately slowed and Pete popped his head up to find out what was going on. When I mentioned that I didn’t do it, he went and switched the Raycor fuel system to the second filter. When he changed it out, it wasn’t really dirty, but better safe than sorry. After lunch he returned to the helm. We experienced 3 more “chokes,” the last one as we were entering the Bridge of Lyons behind another sailboat. Pete requested that the sailboat in front of us increase speed and pull to the right so we could maintain speed due to the problem. Pete thinks it is the fuel filter. I went into the forward berth locker to see we had two new ones in reserve. Pete called Comachee to let them know we had a problem and to get the name of the mechanic they use. They can accommodate us for a second night at the fuel dock. The mechanic will be here around 8:30 in the morning.

 
The new Daytona Bridge and beautiful condos by Smiths Creek

Fort Matanza and The Bridge of Lyons

New Smyrna Beach                          St Augustine

  

Unusual clouds to the west

St. Augustine Inlet ~ 

The Lighthouse, the buoys, the current, the people, and parking on the inlet beach!

Nope! Not PEKABU

     Once secured to the dock, I went up to settle the bill and to request the car for tomorrow afternoon. We need a few things. I also called in our order for pizza and headed over, while Pete took Tillie for a walk.

 
     Pizza, for Vinney's NY Style Pizza, was delicious as remembered and I have enough for 2 more meals. YEA!

 
     Pete spoke to the owners of the boat behind us on the dock. It is a 59-foot Marques, MV BELLO. They started in Illinois and worked there way here. They are doing the ¾ loop. Unfortunately, they are waiting for the diver to install the 6th prop of their trip. They keep finding the shallows! He just found BOB423 and has finally downloaded the tracks. The boat will summer in Hilton Head while they head home. They will bring it south in the fall and hopefully, make it to The Bahamas next winter.

     Saturday, 5/6/23 ~ Day 2 in St. Augustine ~ Since Beau retired a year ago, Justin Mc Nabb and his dad have taken over the First Mate Boat Mechanics here at the marina. He was here at 8:20. The “stuff” was already moved and he had access. He was done in about 90 minutes. Once the fuel pump was installed and the engine running, he and Pete inspected the engine. That chirp that we heard intermittently while traveling on Friday was coming from the engine’s water pump which currently has a fairly steady leak. This is new and if it hadn’t been found now, we might have been in big trouble. It is dripping because the first bearing seal is compromised. If the second bearing seal went, the engine would be toast. Once again, we were very lucky!

     While Justin was on board, Tillie and I went to sit in the picnic area overlooking the marina. Between the high 60 temp, the dampness and the 20-25 mph winds coming from the east (straight at us) it was too cold, even once I had my jacket on. We tried to find a place out of the wind. The seat across the street that faced west, overlooked the marsh area. I spotted a 3-foot alligator in the reeds close to shore. It was still too windy and cold, so I found a lea area among the marina offices breezeway (properly named, I assure you.)

     Thankfully, Justin was done in about 90 minutes. This is when Pete informed me about the engine water pump and our extended stay through Thursday. The part will be ordered on Monday, hopefully delivered on Tuesday, and installed on Wednesday.

 
     We were supposed to have the car at 2. Somehow a cruiser borrowed it this morning and hasn’t returned.. . And his info wasn’t captured so the current crew has no idea of who has it! They will call when it’s returned. At 4, we got the call and Pete headed to Publix for NiteQuil for my cold and the Half-and-Half so I can make the Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits to accompany the Tuscan Ham and Bean soup for dinner (Another leftover!)

 
     Once he was back, I pre-heated the oven, The pilot was lit, but the burner took a long time to ignite, but it finally did. I mixed up the biscuits and placed them in the oven as the soup reheated. The timer went off but the biscuits were still cool. We are out of propane! So, it was soup and buttered bread.

 
     After dinner we watched a movie on a disc. The internet and cell coverage for this marina is terrible. Hunter Killer, a military story of a US sub and the brink of war with Russia was really good!

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~     K & P