Given that our only plan when we woke up this morning meant a trip to the post office, today turned out to be full of surprises. I find it very easy to while away my mornings reading my latest e-library book on Kindle. Since I knew we wanted to bike to the post office and I thought that it would get "sticky" hot as the day progressed, I forced myself to abandon my novel and get busy. I figured I could always read later when the day became hotter.
We managed to be on our way to the post office shortly after 9:00, which is amazing for us. Clark decided that we needed a stop at The Home Depot as well which just happened to be on the way. I stood outside and waited with the bikes at both locations so they did not need to be locked up. We often let one person go in and the other wait if it is a quick run in / run out situation.
Yesterday Clark waited while I ran into Publix. When I came out, however, he was deep in conversation with a boater named Rick and his wife Annie from a sailboat called Snow Goose on a mooring in Marathon. I could have shopped for a full shopping order, instead of just the four things I bought, in the amount of time they spent talking. Seven years ago the couple moved from Michigan to Florida, so they enjoyed talking to Clark about all the places in Michigan we visited on our trip.
I tend to be not quite so sociable with total strangers I meet in front of stores. As soon as Clark came out of the post office as well as Home Depot today, I was ready to go. With our scheduled chores done, I suggested that since we had the bikes out perhaps we should make use of them and go for a ride to Sombrero Beach. In response Clark said, "I was thinking about taking the boat out for a run." That is all it took to get me agreeable to an immediate return to the marina. We haven't had the big boat out since we got here.
We debated about whether to go before or after lunch and decided to eat before we left. We got underway somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00. Clark's main reason for taking a trip pertained to boat maintenance. When he dove under the boat the other day to clean off junk from the boat's bottom, he saw a slight bend or imperfection in the port propeller. He wanted to investigate.
Clark wanted to see how the boat performed and if he felt any vibration as a result of the ding in the prop. The good news with that is that I got to drive since he had to be down in the engine compartment looking around and checking for a vibration. He came back with a report that the port side seemed fine, but the starboard side seemed to have a vibration.
I never know what Clark will come up with as far as places to go and things to do. The boat ride itself was a big surprise -- our destination an even bigger one. I thought we were just going to go for a boat-check boat ride though I did say that I would like to stay out for a while and not rush right back to dock. After Clark got through assessing the situation in the engine compartment, I noticed that he kept going and I began to wonder where we might end up.
Eventually it became clear that our target destination was the Sombrero Reef Light mooring field.
 |
| Sombrero Reef Light (with $59 helicopter-rides helicopter circling above) |
 |
| Mooring ball field at Sombrero Reef |
Since this particular place is one of the reefs where folks go diving and snorkeling to check out the fish. I asked Clark if he planned to go in the water. He said, "I'm still trying to decide. Do you want to go in?" In response to that I said, "Of course. I'm sure as heck not going to stay on the boat while you have all the fun."
The water seemed very rough to me. Rough seas do not generally bother me, but being down in my cabin trying to put on my swimsuit and dig out my snorkel and fins etc, I could definitely understand how a person could start to turn green. I decided to a) not think about it and b) take a peak at the horizon periodically. That worked!
Pulling out our gear, or more specifically Clark's gear, was a bit of a production as it is stored under the bed in the second state room. Fortunately we had just cleaned up this area yesterday, so the work was minimal compared to what it might have been like to get in there. We donned our wet suits (Clark bought me a vest recently.) and jumped in.
I have not used a snorkel and fins in ocean waves ever before in my life. I struggled to figure out how to use my new equipment that Clark bought me for my birthday. Snorkeling in a marina pool is a lot easier than snorkeling with waves crashing over the top of the snorkel. I came up sputtering more times than I would have liked, but I persevered!!
One big problem I had was keeping track of Clark, the boat, and my relative position while having my head in the water. I found it rather disconcerting that I had no idea where either Clark or the boat might be. After explaining my concern to Clark he came up with the idea of us taking a fender with a short line attached. He held one end and I held the other. That way he could worry about where we were and I could focus on trying not to swallow too much salt water.
For his birthday Clark got a waterproof camera bag for our little Canon camera so he could take pictures underwater. What a great gift idea from Devon, Jeff, and Sierra! The first pictures he took under water were of our props.
 |
| Prop looks okay! |
 |
| Fish at Sombrero Reef |
I reached out with my hand to see if I could touch one of the fish because they seemed so close. In reality they swam several feet away from me, so I had no hope of coming close to touching one. Even with all the sputtering and swallowing of salt water, I found the experience well worth the effort. I am hoping that it will be easier next time I go out. Perhaps we can find calmer water to play in. I think I have to practice with the snorkel in the pool some more - specifically I need to figure out how to get better at clearing the water out once it gets in!
With a surface temperature of 73 degrees, the water felt cold when we got in. Clark had hesitated to don his wet suit, but I convinced him he should to retain his body heat. I have a lot more blubber to keep me insulated than he does. I only have a wet suit vest, but that seemed sufficient to keep me entirely comfortable the whole time we played in the water. Thank goodness we bought that in Venice, Florida when we did.
Clark wanted to dive down to get closer to the bottom. The water was around 20 feet deep. However, he could not manage it. The wet suit made him so buoyant that when he dove down, he popped back up like a cork. He decided that next time he needs to wear his weight belt. After I got out of the water and before he got out, I got his weight belt and weights for him, and he calculated that he needs between 21 and 24 pounds of weight to counteract the buoyancy of the wet suit. No wonder he was bobbing like a cork!
After rinsing my equipment and drying myself off, I noticed that I had text messages from Jane on Jammin Jane. While we were out playing, some boats had come into the marina for a rendezvous. She said one came in today and some 9 or so Krogen Express boats in total will be at Faro Blanco for the next few days. How exciting! If we ever decide to change boats, a Krogen Express is our first and only choice for a Sea Moss replacement.
After he heard this big news, Clark made a b-line for the marina with hopes of talking to some owners. Ben called Clark as we made our way back and confirmed that they were indeed Krogen Express boats in port (not Kadey Krogen as we had heard from the dock hands). To expedite our return trip Clark took a short cut under the Seven-Mile Bridge. We had to lower our radar tower and all our antennas. Even so, it looked tight, but we actually had 18" to spare as we went under the lower of the two bridges, i.e. the old railroad bridge.
When we got back to the marina and walked up to go check out the Krogen Express boats, we found the marina set up for a wedding. They have a nice set up here for special events. Clark snapped some quick photos as we walked by.
 |
| Couple reciting their vows at the open-air chapel at Faro Blanco |
 |
| Bride and Groom Receiving Line at the Point |
 |
| Sailboat-Themed Outdoor Reception by the pool |
When we got out to the docks with the "Big Boats" (around 50' and over), we found not one but three Krogen Express vessels docked there. Like a "kid in a candy store" Clark just could not wait to find an owner on one of them and start talking. Lucky for us the owners of Wilhelmina were on board and talkative. Clark asked Ed about the fuel consumption and RPMs while I talked to his wife, Willy, about the boat's layout and full walk around design.
While we chatted, the sun set and what a sunset we got tonight. One picture did it no justice since every two minutes we got a whole new show. I could not decide on just one picture for the blog! We had a red / orange / yellow sunset in the west
and a pink sunset in the east. Amazing! Clark ran back and forth along the docks to get shots in both directions. He must have taken 20 or more sunset photos in total.
At 7:00 we still stood on the docks talking to the owners of the Krogen Express Wilhemina. They assured Clark that they would be in port until Thursday, and I finally managed to pull him away. As we walked past the lighthouse, however, we found more folks to talk to sitting at the docktails seating area. Another half hour later I left Clark there and went back to the boat alone to start dinner. After such a full day I needed to eat and the food would not be cooking itself!
Before he left, Clark got a couple of cute shots of Sammy from Namaste.
We ate a dinner of steak and mashed potatoes shortly after Clark got back to the boat. After dinner I made my blog entry. I never did get back to that Kindle. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment