2022: Exploring Marathon by Dinghy

 6 January 2022 - Thursday

Dinghy Exploration

A few days ago, "All Talk II" contacted us and asked us to join them to go exploring by dinghy. We had other plans that precluded us partaking of that particular outing. Having checked the weather, they asked us to join them for another outing today. Thursday is our scheduled holding tank pump-out day, so we said we could leave as soon as that was done. 

When we woke this morning, we had a strong wind generating waves in the bay. I wondered if that meant our dinghy trip would be cancelled. A quick check of the weather app indicated that the wind would drop off around noon. I had discussed an 11:00 departure time. Besides "All Talk II", another couple, Mike and Mary, planned to join us on our adventure. 

As 11:00 approached, there was no sign of the pump-out crew coming around. I started to worry about timing for our outing. While I waited, I used a boat hook to sweep away sea grass. After that I vacuumed the boat. Finally, the pump-out guys came by and we got that job done. 

Meanwhile, something had come up with "All Talk II" and they were not yet ready to depart, so we did some more waiting. The whole morning as I anxiously awaited our dinghy trip, Clark was in his work clothes polishing the starboard side of the boat - the same side he worked on all day yesterday. He's been trying to get it to look good and it has been tough going!

He stopped to do the pump-out, and then went back to it after. When the wind settled down, he took the dinghy down and topped it up with gas ready for our trip. We got word from "All Talk II" that we should eat lunch and go after, so at just after 1:00 we were finally ready to set off for the unkown.

The motors on our dinghies were not at all matched. "All Talk II" has a 70 hp, we have a 40 hp, and Mike and Mary had a 9.9 hp. I thought "this should be interesting". Before we got going on the exploration part of the trip, Mike said they needed to get gas at Faro Blanco. Clark decided we should take advantage and go visit our friends there. 

We met friends visiting Sandy and Bill, and we chatted with Mel on "Morning Star II".  What really caught our eye in the marina was a strange raft with a ladder on it. "What in the World?!" As we stared at the contraption, our old friend and staff member at Faro Blanco climbed aboard the raft. Someone yelled that we should give him a tow, so we through him a line and towed him away from the dock. We have towed a number of boats in our day, but this was indeed a first!

He asked that we drop him off at the first pole - one we used to be tied to when we stayed at Faro Blanco. His mission, should he be successful, was to put caps on the poles to keep the pelicans off.

Josh with black cap for the pole. 

No way on earth anyone would convince me to climb a ladder on a raft!

Josh ready to get to work.

Josh's last words to us as we pulled away to rejoin our dinghy caravan were, "I should have brought a paddle!" I am left wondering how he managed to get back to shore.

After some discussion, we decided to go look for the yellow submarine near Boot Key.  As we left Faro Blanco to start our dinghy voyage, we noted that we were not the only ones enjoying the now calm waters of the bay.

Kayak and SUP
Person on SUP was worried, but we made no wake for her.

Parasailing Trip further out in bay

Not surprising with our dissimilar engines, Mike and Mark came along in 3rd place.

Mike and Mary

Having just biked to the 7 Mile Bridge yesterday, I was interested to get the view from the water.

Park at entrance to 7 Mile Bridge

After passing under the 7 Mile Bridge, we saw the Sunset Grill restaurant. Lots of boats were zipping through this area and stirring things up on the water.

Sunset Grill in background

Susie and Steve on "All Talk II" Dinghy

Sadly, the wave action turned out to be too much for Mike and Mary. They told All Talk it was too rocky and turned around to return to Marlin Bay.  We continued on to find the entrance to the site of the yellow submarine.

We found a lot of boats, mostly sailboats, anchored near Boot Key. Clark traveled at no-wake speed and it took a while for us to get past all the boats at anchor. Finally, we got to the entrance to the mangroves where a number of sunken boats reside including the yellow submarine.

The entrance into the mangroves is shallow and marked with white sticks - some with red tape on them to show the way in.  As we got closer in, Clark lifted his outboard a bit for the shallower water.

White sticks show the channel into the mangroves

Bit of yellow ahead - must be the sub

Yep! There's the rusty, yellow sub

More sub pictures ...

Yellow sub with boat docked right around behind it

The bow is deep in the mangroves

All Talk wanted a closer inspection than we
were interested in!

With more than one path / off-shoots through the mangroves, we decided to keep going and explore some more.  We passed a place that is obviously set up for fish trap handling with long wooden ramps to move the traps in from any returning boat.

Fish trap landing

We saw many reflections of the mangroves as we
toured the area.

We found the end-of-the-line here at these boats.
"No Trespassing"!

The boats were wedged in at the end of the waterway with lines tied to both sides. Clark wondered aloud what was beyond the boats, and I worried that he would try to find out. I saw many ways to get into trouble here with lines tied across the waterway and very tight quarters. He wisely decided to turn around, but in the close quarters had difficulty getting the dinghy turned. I found it more than a bit nerve-wracking with things in the water and obstacles on the shore. We backed up to a wider point where All Talk had turned around and made an about face there!

Now "All Talk" is in the lead

As we left the area, we got another look at the area where the fish traps come in. 

After that we turned down another side channel to explore some more. I knew that, in the past, at the end of this part of the waterway, there was a boat graveyard. It was still there.

Most of this boat is underwater

The underwater hull can be hard to see.
I was worried when we got close that we might hit.

Other side of the channel - another "dead" boat.

Several sunken boats together.

Now we know where old boats go to die.

View of a different access point for the
fish trap processing setup.

After seeing the points of interest in the mangroves, it was time to exit and explore elsewhere.

Heading back towards the Atlantic Ocean.

A few days ago, Sandy drove us around and showed us Coconut Cay Resort, which is near the Marathon Airport, from a car point of view. I wanted to see it from the perspective of the water. We set out for this new destination. We had to pass back under the 7 Mile Bridge, past Faro Blanco, past Marlin Bay Marina, and further on until we approached the airport. We could see and hear planes coming and going. 

The waterway into Coconut Cay is all manmade canals. On practically every dock we saw a "no wake" sign warning us not to speed through the area. Before entering the canals we saw an amazing sight.

The Proverbial GLASS House!

People who should not throw stones!

What a difference to go from sunken and derelict boats to nice homes on the water.

Entrance to canals

"Idle speed no wake on almost every dock"

Some folks exhibit a lot of creativity / imagination. The house shown below has a fenced property. It looks like there is a hedge at one end. It is not a hedge. They took outdoor carpet / fake grass and hung it on the fence to make it look like a hedge. It is a little obvious up close, but from a distance looks quite nice and must be so much easier to maintain than a real hedge!

Nicely decorated home with fake hedge

They even have their very own Tiki Hut.

Other boats at dock on the canal

We came to a V in the waterway. From the chart Clark believed that Coconut Cay would be on the right fork. We took the left fork first and were surprised by what we found.

Hidden behind the brush, we could see an RV Park
with lots of large motorhomes.

They even had a dinghy dock area for the RV
owners.

We knew we found Coconut Cay because all
the white chairs said so.

After passing by the entrance to Coconut Cay Resort, we came into a wide and deep section of water.

Tree house - complete with child's easel and chair.

Nice docks for private home.

After exploring all the nooks and crannies of this end of the canal, we made our way back out to check out the other canal branch.  We turned at the colorful chairs to make our way down the other side of the V.

Lovely pastel chairs.

One never knows what one will see on the water. It can be very interesting and creative. 

Boat ramp with its own garage.

Boat named "Conchtail Hour"

Uh oh! If we wanted to explore we would have to pass through a section clogged with sea grass. Clark plowed ahead!

Sea grass ahead

Looks pretty thick

In the midst of sea grass, we can see a clearing ahead
and a kayak enjoying the sea grass-free waterway.

The path through the sea grass had a shallow 3-foot depth, but the far side was deeper and free of grass. When we got to the other side of the sea grass, Clark put the dinghy in reverse to clean out the sea grass from the props. I could not believe how much grass floated out in clumps.

As we passed along some docks, Clark said, "What IS that?" I looked at something that looked like an old rubber carpet moving up and down in the breeze / waves. Upon closer look, I realized it was the flapping tail of a manatee out of water. By the time I recovered from my shock and grabbed the camera, the picture had passed. The manatee is only slightly visible as it swam away underwater.

We continued until we found the end of the canal where we saw a prominent sign for Coconut Cay Resort.

"Coconut Cay Resort"

Rental Units

Kayak Rentals with nice launch area

We got a good look at the canal construction here. 

Canal carved out of the coral

Having reached the end of the line yet again, we turned around to head back out to the bay.  Clark liked a house there on stilts.

After that, we had to cut our way through the sea grass. We could see our path where we came in before, but we still had to plow a field to get through. As we progressed Clark said the dinghy became more and more sluggish. When he commented our situation to Steve on "All Talk", Steve replied, "It's not so bad back here!" Of course they were traveling through on our trail!  Clark replied, "I wonder why?"

One more trip through the sea grass then
on to cleaner water

My picture taking ended at that point. When we reached the bay, we had a decision to make - tour more or return to Marlin Bay. With a 3 for and 1 acquiesce, we decided to explore the other resorts / marinas between our current location and Marlin Bay. Clark was ready to head back. The rest of us were okay to continue exploration.

We found our way to Crystal Bay Resort where we could see nothing of interest due to the boom they had in place to keep out sea grass. Unfortunately, it kept us out too. Curious as to what we missed, I stole a picture from the internet.

Aerial view of Crystal Bay Resort 

 Leaving there somewhat disappointed, we moved on to poke our noses into Black Fin Marina. All the boats appeared to be stern in, so we could not read any names. With no "Koastal Karma" or "Nuclear Fishin" there to greet us, we departed and headed over to see Banana Bay Marina. There we saw the boat "Reflection" - we met the owners of that boat on the Great Loop. They too are from NJ. No one appeared to be on board.

My next stop was back to the boat. Clark and the folks on "All Talk" went into the inner harbor to see Mike and Mary before putting away the dinghies. I desperately needed a restroom break, and knowing how Clark likes to talk, I did not dare take the chance on going with him to meet folks.

All told we were gone on the dinghy tour for almost 3.5 hours and traveled about 15 nautical miles. Clark showed me the path we took as displayed on our charting software.

The yellow line shows our path for 
all of today's travel.

When Clark entered the inner basin, he did not find Mike and Mary, but he did find two folks he wanted to meet on a boat of the same manufacturer as ours. Ellen and Kevin bought Hull #16; we have hull #8. They bought the boat last year. Clark and I have met the previous owners when we first took possession of our boat. When they stopped around to introduce themselves, we practically dragged them into the boat and asked them to show us how to operate the stove - it was that new to us!

When he got back to our slip, Clark used the dinghy to facilitate washing the port side of our boat - the side we cannot reach from the dock. The hull had salt-spray residue all over it and desperately needed to be cleaned. He used Awlwash to give it a good cleaning.

As the sun set we returned the dinghy to its stowed position, and enjoyed a quiet evening of shows on CBS (the only television station we get).

2022: Exploring Marathon by car and bike

 4 January 2022 - Tuesday

My boating friend, Sandy, heard that the farmers market that used to be in Key Colony on Tuesdays was now in Duck Key, and she wanted to go check it out. She picked me up at 9:00 and said she had a surprise stop for me on the way. The surprise was the local farmers market that is normally only on location on Saturdays. I picked up some great looking tomatoes and delicious corn on the cob before we continued on our way. 

Duck Key is about 15 miles from where we are in Marathon. Not knowing it was that far away it felt like we were half way to Islamorada before we finally arrived. We saw the sign at the entrance to Duck Key saying Tuesday Farmers Market. As we drove through Duck Key, we thought we must have passed by it when, after crossing over a quaint (cement) bridge, we saw yet another sign. We were well into the heart of Duck Key before we actually found the market.

Duck Key appears to be the middle of nowhere, so we wonder why the Farmers Market left Key Colony.

Marathon to Duck Key Map

After loading up on succulent cherries and pineapple as well as a variety of homemade breads - all grain, cranberry / walnut, and chocolate chip / walnut, I climbed in Sandy's car, and we headed to Publix to supplement our finds at the farmers markets.

The distance from Publix to our marina is about a mile or so. I have learned that I have to contact Clark early on if I want him to meet me at the gate to help with the groceries. I contacted him just before I checked out so he could grab a boat cart to meet me. If I leave it until after I am done with Publix, Sandy is pulling up to the marina entrance almost before I finish texting!

Clark got to the meeting place with a cart about 5 minutes before we arrived. While he stood around waiting, he watched a butterfly in the local shrubbery. I am glad he found entertainment.

A cold front rolled in today and brought "freezing" temperatures in the 60s! I almost needed a sweater! Clark took some pictures of the cloud cover with the sun trying to sneak through!

We thought it might actually rain, so we decided to take a walk before any bad weather appeared. We walked the docks until we got to our friends on "All Talk II", and that was the end of the tour. We climbed on board, and as usual, chatted away for ages. While I talked with Susie inside, Clark and Steve discussed boat polishing on their cockpit. Steve had a polisher in hand as that was what we interrupted when we arrived unannounced.

A while after we arrived, as I sat talking with Susie, she said, "Looks like Clark is leaving." Sure enough I looked out just in time to see the tail end of him disappearing. I asked Steve, "Is he coming back or has he abandoned me?" Steve said he thought Clark was gone. I shrugged and kept talking.

It is a rather long walk from the tips of the U-shaped outer basin docks from one end to the other. "All Talk II" is towards the end of one side of the U, and we are on the other. 

Circled area shows U-shaped outer basin 
at Marlin Bay Marina

After however long it took Clark to walk that distance, collect up his polishing equipment, and march back, he reappeared to show Steve his equipment and discuss polishing techniques.

It never did rain. We returned to our boat just in time for the 6 o'clock news and to make dinner.  

5 January 2022 - Wednesday

Bike ride.

Clark woke up excited and ready to tackle boat polishing. I woke up deciding it was a perfect day, weather-wise, to take a bike ride out to check on the 7-Mile Bridge reconstruction project. I had heard the bike trail would open this month and wanted to check on progress. While Clark donned his work clothes, I put on my bike shorts.

My bike ride took me only 45 minutes. The bridge is not yet open to pedestrians and bike traffic. The construction trailer and equipment has all been removed. Soon I hope the fence will disappear as well.

Clearly they are working on finishing touches at this point. I see the "road" lines indicating slow and fast lane markings have appeared each way on the bike trail.

Cement chairs have been set up along the trail for folks to rest and enjoy the view.

One of them is located outside the gated area.

The view at the park is always glorious. I am anxious to be able to travel along the bike path for more great scenery!

When I was done enjoying the view from the top, I biked down the ramp to the park below before turning and heading back to our marina.

When I got back, Clark was still busy with his polisher. He kept at it all day long. Progress seemed to be particularly slow.

After my fun ride, I had chores to do. I told Clark to be prepared to refill the water tank later as I needed to do laundry onboard. I hoped it would be 2 loads, but it turned out to be 3. Darn that washer is small!

I walked out to see how Clark was progressing and noticed that a section of handrail had rust-colored spots all over it. Next thing I know I am pulling out my "Barkeepers Friend" cleanser and heading out to scrub the railing. Unfortunately, I could not get close enough to clean it as that was where Clark was running his electric polisher. 

While I waited from him to move along, I decided to work on the boat railing as it had spots as well. I cleaned the port railing, and he was still polishing that spot. I cleaned the starboard railing, and he was still in that same spot. I finally asked him to take a rest for 2 minutes while I cleaned the railing I set out to clean at the start of it all. 

For all I wanted to clean one small section of handrail, when I was done, I had covered the entire boat except for the flybridge where he still has up Christmas lights.

Nice and shiny handrail that started
my hard work!

While I was at it, I also polished the metal of the windlass, visible portions of the cleats, and various metal covers on the boat. When I was done, Clark was still busy polishing. 

Rolling my eyes, I decided that I needed a dip in the pool to cool down. With the cold front that rolled in yesterday, the air temperature was a little chilly but the pool felt wonderful as I stepped in. I had the pool to myself and I entertained myself doing water aerobics before I finally climbed out. 

I debated going into the hot tub after my "swim" but decided I did not want to get that hot. I dried off for a bit sitting by the pool with two towels draped around me. Eventually I pulled on my shorts and a cover up over my wet swimsuit and walked back to the boat. Now, that felt rather cold as the north wind whistled through my wet swimsuit. When I got back to the boat, I had to interrupt Clark's polishing to have him pull the boat over so I could climb on out of the cold air.

Clark did not stop polishing until the sun went down. I have to say the starboard side of the boat is now a bright white and feels smooth to the touch. When he finally stopped working, he took a sunset picture to add to our collection.

Sunset at Marlin Bay Marina

2022: Water Pump Repair

 3 January 2022 - Monday

No boat travel.

When the toilet on the boat got flushed for the last time last night before we crawled into bed, the water pump did not run. It always runs when the toilet gets flushed. Clark decided he needed to investigate. The only problem was that it was after midnight when this happened. As soon as I learned that Clark was going to crawl under the floor boards to look at the pump, I decided that I might as well read some of my most recent novel because I would not be getting any sleep any time soon.

The water pump has been intermittent and giving off alarm conditions that basically indicate that the pump thinks it has run dry. Clark tried reprogramming some settings on the pump. This seemed to make the pump run more often for no apparent reason. Around 1:30 or so, he decided to call it a night and look into it more in the morning.

Around 9:00 this morning my friend texted to say she was going to the store at 10:00 and wondered if I wanted to join her. I slept through her text and did not become awake and aware of her message until 10:30. I apologized for missing her note. In fact I planned on going to the food store this morning as I needed some items, so I was disappointed to have missed her text.

Clark told me yesterday that a front would be coming through today bringing rain and colder temperatures. We planned to bike to the store for provisions before the storm hit. By the time we were up and around, we could see the sky already appeared ominous. We missed our window of opportunity to bike to the store. We decided that we would postpone this activity until another day.

Storm coming

We met a couple today who just arrived here at Marlin Bay. Their boat is docked just a few down from us so they have to walk past our boat to get to theirs. The front rolled in as we talked. Before the front came through, our boat was pushed up tight against the dock pole on the starboard side of the boat. That made it easy to get off the boat to talk with these new folks. 

 After the front came through, the wind pushed the boat away from the pole by at least 18 to 24 inches. It went from an easy on / off the boat to impossible. Clark pulled on the line to bring the boat over. He got it about half way and could not get it closer. He said if I wanted it closer, I would have to pull also. The wind was that strong that he could not fight it alone. We managed to get the boat closer and climb onboard, and after that, we stayed onboard the rest of the day.

The rain, when it came, was heavy but passed quickly.  Rain has been so scarce here over the past month, I took a picture to prove it actually rained!

Rainy boat window

The winds, however, stayed for the rest of the day.

Stormy sky in Marathon

Waves crashing onto the island Clark
explored the other day in his kayak

45 minutes later ...

Storm has passed

Sitting on the boat, we heard a big splash. It sounded like someone had dropped a huge rock in the water behind our boat. Clark looked out to see what fell in. What he saw was a bit of a surprise. 

The splash came from a pelican diving into the water behind our boat fishing for his lunch. I guess he was hungry because we heard a loud splash a second time, and when I looked out, I saw him swallowing - he must have caught something big and was choking it down!

Noisy bird fishing from rocks
right behind our boat.

 

Given the lack of success last night with the water pump, Clark made a phone call this morning to customer service of the pump manufacturer to see what insight they could give. Their response was disappointing. They said that the life expectancy for that pump was 5 to 10 years. With a date of 2007 stamped on the pump, it appears that it is original equipment with the boat and has lived more than its 10 year expectancy. Their response was "buy a new one". Easy for them to say! 

Fortunately, Clark remembered that he had seen a box stowed on the boat that he hoped contained a spare water pump that would be in workable condition. He pulled it out from storage and found that it was indeed a new pump that presumably the previous owner had on hand in case the existing one failed. 

Belated Merry Christmas to us! We would not have to fork out a fortune to fix the problem, and we could address it right away instead of trying to find a new water pump and waiting for it to be delivered.

Of course the water pump had to be in a pretty inaccessible part of the boat. Clark had to pull open a hatch and climb in under the floor to reach the offending equipment.

Cozy quarters for the pump

After fighting to disconnect the hoses, he managed to remove the old pump and remove the plumbing fittings from the old unit to reuse with the new.

New unit on desk; old unit on floor.

Since he was replacing a water pump, water was involved. I stood on standby, and he passed me buckets of water to be disposed. Some came out clean from the pump, and some dirty water he sponged up off the bilge floor. On my end, the clean water conveniently got dumped down the sink in the guest head. The dirty bilge water, I hefted up to the main level and pitched overboard.  Besides dumping water, my jobs included opening and closing taps as needed, turning on or off breakers, and as usual being the "go fer" for tools, etc.

When I wasn't fetching and carrying, I was entertained by a kite sailor having fun in the waters behind our boat. He took advantage of the strong winds. At times he was flying high in the air. I wanted to watch him put on a show, but Clark kept calling out that he needed me for something, and I had to keep stepping away to do work! Sigh!

Going up

Way up!

Speeding along!

After Clark had the pump installed, we did the real test. Drum roll please! Did it work!? I turned on the tap in the galley and water came out in a rush, followed by a burst of air, and then the water slowed to a trickle. Since that was the full force we could achieve, we figured there must be something clogging the tap, but we did not know how to clean the filter. 

Clark took the nozzle off the faucet to take a look inside. He figured he could maybe rinse out whatever might be clogging the faucet. When he turned the water on, we both got a shower of cold water. The hose for the faucet spun around like a wild fire hose. We were both drenched. 

Eventually he figured out how to remove the filter in the end of the faucet. He figured it out for the master and guest head sinks and then used that information to figure out how to remove the filter for the galley sink. When he opened it up, the backside of the filter was coated in white (calcium deposit?), and none of the screen of the filter was even visible. It's a wonder any water came through! He cleaned it out, reattached it, and it worked perfectly with full force water! Job done successfully! 

The whole time we (mostly Clark) were working on the pump, the boat was rocking and rolling due to the heavy winds. What I could not understand was how Clark did not get seasick crawling under the floor boards in the hot and stuffy guest stateroom. I am just happy that he did not suffer any ill effects.

When we went to bed, the boat was still rocking away. It did not take long for me to be rocked to sleep!

2022: Happy New Year from Marlin Bay Marina

 31 December 2021

A few lose ends from last year. 

First, we got good news on the 30th that we did not need to change slips for January. Initially we were told that we could stay past the 31st of December, but we would have to move to a larger, more expensive slip. On Thursday they gave us a choice - stay put or move. We opted to save some money and stay put in our current slip. 

Second, Clark was disappointed that I did not discuss what he spent his time doing on New Years Eve while I worked on the Blog entry. An indicator light had burned out in our electrical panel. He replaced the burned out 12v LED with an incandescent 28v light. It is a tad brighter and redder but close enough to be acceptable. He got the part from our neighbors on "Bagus 2" who had extras in their spare parts bin.

Old, burned out LED light

Replacement, glowing red light 

With me working on the Blog all day and Clark replacing wiring, we were both ready to do something else. Clark convinced me to get up and get off the boat to walk the docks and see who was around to say "Happy New Year" to. We found a few folks to speak with. Many boaters, however, appeared to have turned in early as no lights on their boats shown at all. 

As we walked back to our boat, we heard and saw a few (what appeared to be) amateur fireworks near the marina. They looked like they might be coming from a small park nearby. To kill some time until midnight, we watched a movie since the Nashville New Years Eve party on CBS (the only channel we receive here in the Keys) was not that interesting to us. 

Around 11:30 I heard Clark go out on the bow of the boat to see what action may be taking place. I decided if I wanted a New Year's kiss, I better follow him out there. At midnight we got quite a show just standing on our boat. Many places ushered in the new year with fireworks shows.  From our boat we could see fireworks on display from several directions. I counted 8 different shows - there may have been more.

Though I keep telling Clark that he should watch the fireworks instead of trying to capture them on the camera, he refuses to listen to me. He took several still photos as well as videos. Here are a couple of the better ones.

Looking towards west / Faro Blanco

Looking towards southeast / Marathon park

After the shows ended, we came in and went to bed. For many minutes after we turned in we could still hear pop pop, pop pop!  Talking to our boat neighbor the next day, I learned that she had gone to bed early. During the night she thought her son was opening and closing doors. After I told her about the popping sounds, she decided that must have been what she heard!

Besides listening to pop pop sounds, we got to hear our phone light up with text messages every few minutes to wish us Happy New Year. One of Clark's friends on the west coast decided it was the perfect time to reconnect.

1 January 2022

Today was a lazy day where Clark and I spent a relaxing time reading. I had a novel I was finishing and he is reading a very detailed book on Ham Radios called "Now You're Talking!" I am certain I would be sound asleep after the first paragraph, but Clark is thoroughly engaged with it.

We could have gone to Faro Blanco for the fireworks last night. I said it was too dangerous to travel by foot or bicycle along Route 1 after midnight on New Year's, so we stayed home. We could have gone to Faro Blanco again for their "New Year's Good Luck" Potluck lunch, but we opted not to as we were too busy vegging out with our books. 

2 January 2022

I had two things planned for today. One went well --  the other not so much! Although there is a shower for boaters to use here at the marina, there is only one and it is kept under lock and key. Anyone wanting to use it must sign in and then a staff member unlocks the room. Clark had been using it but decided to start showering on the boat for convenience. He jokes that it's weird that the staff knows his shower schedule.

Since I planned to dye my hair today, we decided he should shower first and get that out of the way. Then I would take over the head / bathroom afterwards. While he showered, I decided to walk up to the marina restroom to conserve space in the boat holding tank. 

On my way back to the boat, I ran into a couple that just arrived at the marina that we know from prior encounters - once at Legacy in Fort Meyers and other times at Faro Blanco. Fortunately, we only spoke for a brief time. When I got back to the boat, I found that Clark had been waiting almost the entire time for me to return because the water had shut itself off, and he needed me to reset the breaker. 

I turned the water breaker to off then on. He got water and finished his shower. I have not really had this problem when I showered, so we have been trying to figure out why it has happened to him at least twice now. 

Today, I got my turn! I color my hair myself using an herbal product that is environmentally and Evelyn safe. I prefer not to pour chemicals on my head. After letting it set for the appropriate amount of time, I got in the shower, started to rinse the color out, and then got hit with the no water problem. 

It happened at the worst possible time. I had hair dye running down my face and stinging my closed eyes. I could not even open my eyes because it would hurt too much. Panicking, I loudly yelled for Clark (it took a couple of yells), and he toggled the breaker for the water to flow again. 

The procedure for dying the hair includes using a special shampoo followed by a heavy duty conditioner. The conditioner has to be on for 5 minutes for best results. After the allotted time, I started rinsing the conditioner out and, boom, no water again! Once more I yelled as loudly as I could, "Clark! Clark!" It took a couple of times to get a response. Then I yelled, "WATER!" 

He flipped the breaker and nothing happened! After trying again, he decided he had to pull open a hatch and climb into the bilge to get to the water pump directly.  Besides water in the bilge (the bilge pump had been accidentally turned off), he found a red error light shining brightly indicating the pump thought it had run dry. After what felt like a very long time to me, Clark did whatever he had to do to get water flowing, and I quickly finished my hair rinse and jumped out of that shower!

With that ordeal completed, I had nothing on my agenda until later in the day. Once again Clark and I lounged around with our respective books. Around 2:30 I got a phone call from Susie on "All Talk II" asking if we wanted to go exploring with them by dinghy.  We had dinner plans with the folks on "Bagus 2" for 5:00 this evening. It takes us a rather long time to deploy and stow our dinghy. Given that and a time constraint on return, we did not think we would have time to enjoy much of a ride between times, so we had to decline and hope to go on another day.

Mid-December, Anette on "Bagus 2" said we should get together to do a potluck dinner where we each brought something to put on the grill. Her daughter came to visit over the holidays and has since left, so yesterday, we agreed that tonight we would get together for this dinner. Anette invited us to come to their boat for this dinner as they have the grill setup on their stern. We do not.

I took over steak for Clark and me, asparagus, and homemade applesauce cake. Anette prepared potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and hamburgers. Anette's husband, Bill, did all the grilling. We had quite a feast including cheese and crackers for starters and applesauce cake and cheesecake for dessert. Anette and Bill kept us entertained all evening long with stories of their foreign travels and lives living abroad.

We watched the sunset while we ate the cheese and crackers. It was not as spectacular as some sunsets we have seen, but it was still enjoyable.