The Marina: A New Lifestyle for Mom - by Mary

Athena and her Friends!

Going to have to separate my tales of living on the sailboat in Florida because there is so much to talk about and put up pictures for. First I am going to cover the Marina. Not being involved in boating at all when I was growing up (I once was on a row boat when I was twelve but that is the extent of my boating experience as a youngster!), I found the marina itself an interesting community and the setup of the marina fascinating with its built in “nature walks” every time you needed to use the facilities. In New England most of the salt water and even most of the fresh water marinas are very obvious to passersby from the roads nearby. The population is so dense near the waters that when traveling in New England along the coast one just expects to see all the boats along the shore and accepts that view as being the most natural one. At this Marina in Florida, one can’t see the land vehicle traffic from the slips. That was a big surprise for me.
On our first night arriving at the marina, some of the boats still had lights strung up for the holidays and it was late enough in the evening so it was very peaceful and quiet. We walked from the car with our baggage down the dock and the dock led through a passageway in the mangroves and then we came upon the slips. It was like walking into a private paradise right out of a storybook. The fish were jumping in the waters around the slips and in the little cove to the side of the boat slips, which residents have to pass to get to the boat slips. When you finally arrive at the boat slip it is as if you have walked out to the middle of the cove and in actuality you have. Besides the fish leaping out of the water frequently along the walkway, even at night there are treasured sightings of bird, fish and reptiles. So each walk along the long dock can have a special treat of a heron or a dolphin or a tree crab. Once you have been residing in the marina a few days you begin to notice the “regulars” including “that damn osprey”. Besides the wild nature regulars there are also interesting people who are also “regulars” and reside at the marina as well. Very quickly, one gets familiar with who belongs and to which boat slip they belong and also their dogs names since many have dogs living aboard as well. It all makes for a delightful, friendly community and a sense of neighborliness that one doesn’t get in the cold of a New England winter.
Left on our own (Bev and I) or on my own when Bev left during the day while Sailorette went to work, we explored the Marina Store where we could by coffee and coke and many other pieces of fishing necessities for which we had no necessity. But the woman behind the counter was friendly and we enjoyed our time on the “Veranda” of the Marina Store watching all the goings and comings of the fishermen, their boats and the dozen or so brown pelicans that come to feed from the fishermen’s leftovers as they clean their fish. Having nothing in particular to do but just watch the comings and goings of the birds and the fishermen had a remarkable healing effect on my overwrought and overtired mind. Giving up cell phone, TV, and computers essentially for the twelve days of my stay has left me remarkably refreshed and realizing how stressed I feel after a day of dealing with all this technology and all the people that can reach you through the technology. I must try to remember that “Disconnecting” has important benefits for me and for those around me in the long run.

The picture above shows the rows upon rows of boats in drydock that are hoisted out of their drydock each time an owner wants to go out.
I will continue tomorrow with more of my experience in this great life adventure of living on a sailboat (even if only for 12 days).