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Published: February 21st 2015
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Day 2--Kit Ship Log--Weather: Partly Cloudy High around 70, Wind and Seas to get High-Sick Bay Report: Dan Still Has Cold, Bob' s Shoulder still Unusable.
As explanation for those who don't know, my right shoulder is screwed up from a snowmobile accident in which I hit a large deer a couple weeks ago. It was better a few days ago, but for some reason, the pain flared up again.
After a breakfast of huevos rancheros, we received our weather briefing from Capt. Steve. The forecast was for increasing winds from the north and seas of 3 feet in the afternoon. If we were to go to the Dry Tortugas, we would be returning the following day and that forecast was for even rougher seas. So after some discussion, we decided we would sail back to Stock Island Marina and spend the night there. It was just as well because we all felt it was just too cool to go snorkeling, which is supposed to be outstanding in the Tortugas. By the way, Tortuga is Spanish for turtle and Marilyn was really good at spotting several sea turtles along our way.
After getting under
way, Steve, Marilyn and Dan went on deck to deploy the mainsail and jib while Kathy helmed the boat. We were all excited to go under sail back to Stock Island. Even though I couldn't help crew the boat due to my bum shoulder, I got some sailing lessons from Capt. Steve. I learned that sheets are not sails, they are actually the rigging ropes on the boat. The three sails on this boat are the mainsail, the jib and the spinnaker. We sailed with the mainsail and the jib deployed. Once the sails were up, it was so peaceful with no engine noise and just the power of the wind driving us. Steve put some music on and Dan and I cracked open a beer while Jan and Marilyn had Margaritas. It was smooth sailing all the way back. As usual, Kathy plied us with a delicious lunch and we all took turns taking naps on the way. Not a bad way to spend a winter day!
Along the way, the plugged up head incident occurred. Let me first say that Capt. Steve is a big guy and, as I mentioned, the heads are kind of
small. So Capt. Steve descended into the head to do whatever repair was required. (I didn't want to ask for the details) It took him quite a while, but he eventually ascended and declared the head repaired.
We arrived at Stock Island Marina late in the afternoon and we took advantage of the marina's land based showers before dinner. We opened wine and Capt. Steve and I sipped the single malt. We were treated to another great dinner of huge chicken breasts grilled by Capt. Steve on his barbecue grill, salad and mashed (probably the wrong term) cauliflower. All so delicious and filling. We are going to gain weight on this trip!
After dinner, Dan, Steve and I decided to amble down to the outdoor tiki bar in the marina. The wives said they were too tired to go. The bar had 2 outstanding musicians playing, a guitarist/singer and a bass player. They played a very interesting version of "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and some other great tunes. They had a fire pit burning and it was all very nice. We bellied up to the bar and ordered beers. The bartender was a
Captain and Crew Raising the Sails
Notice Sailor Dan's Helping Hands. guy from Boston that had more energy than anyone should be allowed and told us many good stories. Steve headed back to the boat and Dan and I decided to have another cold one. Unfortunately, around 9:00 (boaters' midnight remember), Some boat people complained to security that the music was too loud. So the owner of the bar had to shut down the entertainment. Bummer! With the music over, Dan and I headed back to the boat for a good night's sleep.
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Fuzzy
non-member comment
shouldering your load
Ive gotta hear about the deer incident!