Marathon - dreary morning

Sunday 2/18/2018
Maintenance Run on boat

We woke to rain and dark, cloudy skies this morning.

After two very busy days, we needed a relaxing one. To accomplish this I spent most of the morning on the boat reading a novel that I dearly wanted to finish. Although the story line kept me interested, I needed to move on to a book with a cheerier plot. I made great strides but did not accomplish this goal.

By late morning the rain had stopped and the day looked considerably brighter. I decided that I could read while the laundry washed and dried itself, so I walked up to the laundry room with a load of sheets. Along the way I found Yasmine who offered me a ride to Publix later in the afternoon (she too had laundry to complete first).

Yasmine texted me that she was ready around 2:15 and we went shopping. When we got back about an hour later, Clark was "chomping at the bit" to take Sunset Delight out for a run before the windy weather moved in for the next several days. I shoved my groceries in the fridge and said, "Let's go!"

Since the time approached 4:00, we made it a very short run - just enough to deter growth on the hull. The wind in our faces felt refreshing. Give it a couple of days and that would most likely be a saltwater spray in our faces on the same run. The ride was uneventful until we returned to the marina.

As we entered the narrow entryway into the marina, where a big sign warns of rapid current, we encountered the Pigeon Key Ferry trying to get off the dock. They struggled against the strong current to get their boat around. Clark had seen them as he approached the marina. He considered hanging outside but decided against it because he thought they would be out of there by the time we came in. No such luck!

Being on the stern, starboard side of the boat, I did not have a view of the action. I could, however, hear boat noises. Clark was working the bow and stern thrusters, and I could hear the ferry. I did not know what was happening. All I knew was the fuel dock was getting closer and closer to the stern quarter of our boat.

I tried yelling to Clark to tell him to use the thruster to keep us away, but he could not hear me. I later learned that Clark's approach to the fuel dock was intentional as he planned to shift as far right as possible and then lay the boat against the fuel dock if necessary to wait for the ferry to extricate itself. The ferry got out of the way before we reached the fuel dock. All was well.

On the way in to our dock, we passed a boat with two pelicans on the bow pulpit. All I could think was, "Thank goodness that's not my boat!"

Pelican perch at Faro Blanco Resort

Yasmine and Mel, fellow boaters at Faro Blanco, greeted us at our dock and helped us secure our lines. Boaters here are so friendly! The whole outing took less than an hour including tying up upon return.

Since I had just stuffed my groceries in the fridge when we left for our boat ride, I immediately set to repackaging meats to be frozen and stowing groceries I had left on the counter. The sheets I washed earlier in the day needed to be put back on the bed. By the time I finished all my chores, sunset rapidly approached, so Clark and I took a walk to get a sunset picture.

Afterwards Clark suggested we walk along a portion of the docks we rarely visit. There we met a couple on a boat named Hotei. We introduced ourselves and talked about their boat name. I asked if it was pronounced "hotty" to be funny.

The boat had this name when they purchased it, and they decided to keep the name. Hotei is the "laughing Buddha" who carries a sack with him. We had a very long and enjoyable talk with them. When we finally departed from there, the sun was long gone, and it was well past time for me to make dinner.

It being Sunday night, we noticed that Clark's favorite Faro Blanco performer, John, was on tonight. As we walked past I asked if he planned to sit out and listen. He surprised me by saying, "We can hear him from the boat." While cooking and eating our dinner, John serenaded us on his guitar.

We finished eating around 9:00. Clark said he wanted to walk up and hear the end of the last set, so he disappeared for a short while. When he came back, I asked him to play some CDs because I had enjoyed listening to John's music. Clark put on the CDs he purchased from John a couple of weeks back. Even though I had just heard some of the tunes, I enjoyed hearing them again.

I finally finished my blog update and went to bed at some ridiculously late time of night. Typical!