It's going to be a long summer....

It's not even June yet, and I put the AC on the sailboat tonight.
mid 80s and humid on the sailboat at 9:30pm was just not going to be good sleeping conditions.
Rainy season has also come upon us early this year too with rains starting in mid-May. a few weeks earlier than I expected and I didn't get the leaks sealed up...
Had to go through the sailboat this past weekend and take a lot of clothes off the boat, Goodwill or other bound. With leaks setting in, there's no room for too many clothes. Some new leaks have started to get my cookbooks too :(
A big storm blew threw at midnight last night. healed the boat over at the dock, shook the mast for a minimum of 30 minutes non-stop, lots of lightening, torrential rain.
It's 11pm this next night, and I hear thunder again :(
Not sure I can take another summer of being freaked out by lightening storms.
Thinking of sleeping in the salon tonight. With the AC on and the curtains, perhaps I won't hear or see the storm so much as when I'm in the v-birth...
Nights like last night make me think moving into a land-yacht (my friend's Airstream) might be a nice idea... Camera got soaked, accidentally, in last night's storm. Hope it works so I can photo Airstream rehab ;)

Boca Grande Inlet...

Boca Grande Inlet can be quite a force to reckon with at times...
The first time I went through the inlet, back in last November, it was a dark dark no-moon night, the weather was calm, the water smooth like glass, and the current rushing us along into the harbor.
This time it was quite different and the boat didn't quite make it through in one piece...
Patty told her version of the "story" in a previous blog. It took a number of days for her to recover to "normal."
I'm still surprised she's still on the boat. In fact, quite cuddled up to me this evening as I write. There's some spotty rain this evening pitter pattering on the topsides and Patty has never liked the rain very much. I still can't help but think she has some fear locked inside from her experiences, whatever they were, during Hurricane Wilma. She was found walking down the street, less than a half a pound, the morning Hurricane Wilma went by.
Anyways, I digress talking about my little love born and raised in Florida.
We did have quite a scare going through the Boca Grande Inlet though. I take full responsibility for that scare as there were many things I could have done or changed to avoid the situation.
Many lessons learned.
My sailing mentor, Russell, has always told me that she (the sailboat) will take as good a care of me as I of her. I have actually had many constant reminders of this fact. Another being the day going through Boca Grande Inlet.
I didn't think it was going to be a fun entry. I knew the wind had been blowing, rather strongly than predicted, off shore for a number of days in a row now, which can only mean the "emptying" of Charlotte Harbour, which takes me back to December 2008 and the month living up the Harbour in Punta Gorda. I figured no matter what the tide was actually doing, the water would be blowing out. We'd be going directly against the wind, and who knows what the surface water would be like. I tried to plan it so we would have at least some current bringing us into the inlet. Not sure that was the best decision.
As we rounded the shoals on the northwest side of Cayo Costa, we entered the channel. The chop on the water was severe. We pressed on. We stayed on the southern side of the channel, but not too close to the shallows as it wouldn't take long to be blown onto them.
The waves now coming directly at us continued to grow, approaching six feet as SV Athena's bow raised into the air and dipped down into the water. It was getting rougher and rougher as we were almost through the island pass and into the harbour, when what I most feared happened. I heard the anchor chain quickly tumbling over the roller. The anchor had freed itself and was now plummeting to the bottom of the channel.
My immediate fear was that the anchor, once loosened, had swung down and smashed its pointy tip into the bow of SV Athena. The fear that SV Athena would be punctured and taking on water caused me to grab the top board to the companion way, and I would later learn, send it off the boat like a frisbee, right through the lifelines.
That was my immediate reaction. I never did make it to taking the second (of three) boards out of the companionway before I changed action and ran to the bow to gain access to the anchor locker. The anchor rode needed to be cleated off before I feared it would rip off the boat. This was not an easy task. I've always fretted over the crumy set-up of SV Athena's anchor locker. This day was the very reason why. Before being able to open the anchor chain locker, the 8 foot plastic dinghy needed to be lifted off the hatch. No easy feat when the wind was threatening to grab it from my very hands and fling it off the boat. Finally, between myself and my friend crew, Nate, we got the dinghy off the access hatch without loosing it off the boat, and were able to open the anchor chain locker. Nate was able to cleat off the anchor rode, but not until all 96 feet of chain had gone overboard. Luckily there is another 100+ feet of rope attached to the chain.
There was one moment of relief.
But now we had to assess our situation and figure out how the heck we were going to get the anchor and chain back. The channel was about 30 feet deep in our approximate location.
In our dilema, we realized the anchor had caught, and we were, in fact, anchored in the south of middle of the Boca Grande Inlet. Things were "slightly" calmer since we weren't fighting to make headway against the waves. But, before taking next actions, I needed to make sure Peppermint Patty was safe. As, she does have quite the nice sense of timing for jumping out on deck during the least opportune moments. I knew that if she came out on deck during these conditions, I would surely loose her overboard. I went to make sure the companionway was closed back up, because I knew I had initially started to go down below...
But, I found no third board (pic left taken after adventure). I asked Nate where the third board was. His reply, "it went overboard." I assumed at that moment that it had bounced or slid or fell overboard...
At any rate, I didn't ask questions, I just quickly went down below and checked on Peppermint Patty. She was huddled in the bow birth. I closed her in by shutting one of the interior doors. I felt so bad that it was the bow, of all places, that she should be riding out this weather. But, there was nothing else I could do at this point. I had to get back up above and remedy our situation.
We kept our heads on and somehow managed to get the anchor and chain back up onto SV Athena. It took a combination of boat maneuvering and muscle power (thanks Nate!). Keeping in mind we're in the middle of Boca Grande Inlet with 6 foot waves and shallows very nearby. I tried to keep the bow downwave, since that seemed to keep the bow bouncing to a minimum for Nate working on the bow at getting the anchor back. At the same time using the motor to position the boat to ease the resistance on the chain allowing Nate to pull the chain up. Then, we had it, phew. I headed us out of the channel to keep our ride as calm as possible while Nate better secured the anchor. Once secured we made several attempts at trying to turn SV Athena back up into the wind and back through the channel. But her underpowered motor, even with sail up, could not turn us up into the wind and waves. We turned back down defeated, heading back out of the channel into the Gulf.
It was difficult to imagine making another long trek back on the outside of the islands.
I was dreading it.
Thinking clearly in my mind, this is why it's difficult to sail on a calendar.
Nearly on the Gulf side of the islands, we decided to make one more shot. We went in a lot closer to the shallows to get out of the heavy waves. Still a bit fearful of the shoals, knowing we would be on them instantly in this weather if anything else should go wrong. Some rough waves, but we made it through and into the intercoastal waterway. We decided to anchor close behind an island out of the wind to take a break and recollect ourselves.
It was so amazing the difference behind the small island we purposefully anchored behind.
It was hard to believe the boiling Boca Grande Inlet was just minutes away.
Our anchor spot was calm, quite warm in fact. Nate took a swim and checked our prop and bow for damage.
We laughed heartily over and over after Nate had informed me that I had, in fact, thrown the third companionway board overboard in my adrenaline rush. It's been 2.5 weeks now, and my left arm/shoulder is still not quite right.
The anchor spot is one of my favorites, we ate a yummy lunch and relaxed, but unfortunately, we couldn't stay. We still had miles to make this day. We lifted anchor and set on our way.

P.S.
I owe my eternal gratitude to Nate for making our trip that day through Boca Grande, one that we all (myself, Nate, Peppermint Patty, and SV Athena) can look back on in this life as an adventure that we made it through.
Nate may look at it differently, but I think we made a pretty good team that day :)

It was for me however, a shakeup, and a hard earned learning experience.

Lessons learned. She (the boat) will take as good a care of you as you of her.
Things I should have done differently: 1) had an anchor lock put on the boat!; 2) turned us back around when the water started getting rough and rechecked the anchor ties; 3) gone through at slack tide (Russell's advice); 4) not had a calendar timeline; and, 5) been wearing our lifejackets when the water weather started to get rough.

As an additional side note: I had for a bit been thinking about buying a house. This weekend "adventure" caused me much pause. How was I going to be able to keep up with a house AND the sailboat, if I wasn't keeping up with SV Athena now. There's a lot of responsibility to boat ownership.

P.S.S. where's my boat woodworker? I know you're out there. I don't have your number on my phone and Nate is still out of the Country as far as I know... How are the new companionway boards coming? Peppermint Patty is getting frisky to escape.

P.S.S.S. My cell phone also got soaked with salt water during the "adventure" as saltwater was coming into the cockpit from the rough waters. I tried to "wash" my phone in fresh water... It never revived.

Weekend Out

Well, after many failed opportunities to move the sailboat back to Goodland... because of weather, lack of crew, or inability to take off from work at a moments notice... the weekend had finally arrived that SV Athena would once again be moved... or, would she? Now a month behind the original move date, after the universe had made many valiant attempts at getting me to stay in Ft. Myers for the summer...
It happened. on the way home from work, less than two days from setting off. I was walking down the dock and ran into one of the dock masters. I told him I was getting ready to leave in two days to move down to Goodland. He said, "oh, i thought you were going to reconsider staying here..." "No," I said, "but don't be surprised if you see me back here this time next year..." and I walked the long walk down the dock to the sailboat... Deep in contemplation. after all.. why, on the thought of coming back here this time next year, wouldn't I just stay here this time this year...? By the time I had walked the nearly 0.25 mile walk down the dock, I had decided to stay!
What with summer mosquito season soon to come, no sense rushing to get closer to mosquito zone...
Since we were all set to go and the weather looked liked wind, we decided to do a three day trip anyways, because I really felt the need to get off of the dock!
and make a loop around Sanibel, Captiva, Cayo Costa.
Pic on the top left is heading down river.
Pic top right is the Sanibel bridge in the distance.
We made it down the river to the sanibel bridge in about 3 ish hours. Not bad, the wind and the tides with us.
Of course, as soon as we got beneath the bridge and had to start heading out and around the Sanibel Shoals... we were beating pretty hard against the wind and making little progress under sail only. Other sailboats in the distance, under what appeared to be full sails, were heeled over near 45 degrees, while others simply dropped sail and motored. Under reefed sails, if we were ever going to get anywhere, we decided to motor sail. One of the problems with sailing on a calendar... Having to get somewhere by some time regardless of the weather...
Finally making it around the shoals and turning into a broad reach, the engine was once again put into rest mode and we enjoyed a whirlwind sail up the coast, even with two reefs in the main and reefed jib. The wind was blowing pretty good (I really would like to get a handheld wind meter - hint hint) and we were finally in stride with the waves.
past Sanibel... past lower and upper Captiva...
But we weren't going to make it through Boca Grande inlet before dark. The current charts were predicting strong outward current most of the late afternoon and into evening. I didn't want to beat against that and the wind in the dark, so we decided to hide out from the wind up behind (Gulf side) Cayo Costa (bottom left pic) and watched the sunset (bottom right pic). We still had quite a bit of wind and it was a bit of a rocky night.

ooohhhh... and, as I'm writing this, a dophin is swimming behind the sailboat, I'm sitting top deck, there's a cool breeze, the sun is setting, and peppermint patty is out and about chasing the wind :)

Do tell Miss Peppermint Patty...

Well, you see Tom-cat, how I ended up in the back alleys of this city...
It all began the day I jumped off the sailboat onto the dock, never to return.
It had been quite a weekend out on the sailboat, which is indeed a strange place for a cat, one might think.
The trip started well enough with the first morning off the dock the usual pleasant adventure. It was windy, so the sailboat was moving right along. My owner and friend sailed the SV Athena down the river, around the Sanibel shoals, and then right up the coast of Sanibel, Captiva, and Cayo Costa. The mainsail was double reefed and the only way I was allowed top decks was by leash. We didn't quite make it up to sail through the Boca Grande pass in time before dark, so we anchored Gulf side of Cayo Costa, which provided some shelter from the winds that had been blowing out of the east for some time. It was quite windy and the Gulf swell made it's way to our anchor spot and set the boat to rocking most of the night, albeit not as bad as I've seen it on previous occassion. The next morning we set off for the pass...
It was rough and getting rougher. SV Athena was heading with current but plowing directly against the wind and waves. I was tucked up in the v-birth when the bow started to oscillate up and down in larger and larger swings, 5 feet up, 5 feet down. The sound of waves splashing over the bow into submergence and water filling the anchor locker. Then it happened... The sound of chain plummeting over the anchor roller! The anchor had made its way loose and was now sinking towards the bottom of the tumultuous channel! Prior to continuing its decent it banged into the bow of the boat, which often results in the sinking of not so well made boats...
My owner also heard this sound and started shouting in a very concerned manner. I heard one of the companion way boards being removed and wondered if this might be my time to escape! I like to drive my owner crazy by darting onto the deck during the most unopportune moments. I decided to forego this time and stayed below. More action and concerned voices above on deck as my owner and friend frantically moved the heavy wind catching dinghy from the bow to access the anchor locker and cleat off the anchor rode, but not until all 96 feet of 5/8 inch chain had gone over. Luckily the chain was attached to 100+ more feet of rope. With the anchor rode cleated off, things seemed to settle down. Then my owner came down to check on me and close me into the bow birth so that I could not escape through the companionway, which it seems was now missing the top board...
Then my owner and friend somehow managed to raise the anchor back onto the boat and we were heading out the channel as things were better secured. Several attempts were made to turn the boat around and head back through the channel, but the engine just could not power through the wind and waves, even with the assistance of some sail. We headed back out to the Gulf, nearly defeated. After some time, now almost all the way back out the channel past the islands, one last attempt was made to get through the channel using an approach closer to shore. There was still some rough waters, but we made it through. It remained fairly windy the rest of the trip and I didn't dare venture out top deck. I vowed to leave the sailboat upon returning to dock. I was so scared and tears in my eyes. Even though I love my owner very much, I did not think I wanted to continue living the sailboat life...
Upon docking the next day, my owner's friend had set off, and my owner was about the marina doing errands. I jumped onto the dock, and only looked back once.
and that, Tom-cat, is how I ended up in the back alleys of this city...

of note, the above is a story. Peppermint Patty still resides on SV Athena, although the other facts in the story are true and many lessons were learned. more to come.

The Owl

The happiness I feel within bursts without and I see beauty everywhere.
Even in the city skyline built of manufactured environment in hopes of happiness.
They are all beautiful beings within searching for happiness without.

The wonderful windy breeze brings coolness through the sailboat.
I lay with a feeling of weightlessness and hear two owls conversing in the distance.
I wonder what they are saying.
One then draws very near.
I peer out through the darkness into the sky above.
Perched on the top of SV Athena's mast, the owl hoots some more.
Then swoops and soars into the night...


Is there a significance to the owl? or is it all just random......
Perhaps there is only significance if it helps us in our journey.
it is difficult for me not to want to see the connection between the sailboat, SV Athena, so named after the goddess that was said to often be seen as or with an owl...
not to mention the very tattoo artistically placed on my back of a sailboat with an owl (the Athenian owl) sitting on the spreaders from the mast.
At the very least, what seeing the owl really brings to mind is one of the reasons I was thinking of leaving Fort Myers... and, that is, because I thought I was missing out on seeing wildlife (the natural kind) by living in the "city."
The beautiful owl in the pic is from my friends lovely Lynne and rad Russell. Thank you!

Dichotomy?

A good friend asked me earlier this calendar year...

- How is it that you live life every day going between life on the water and life on land...?
I kinda shrugged my shoulders and didn't really know what he was talking about...

but, the words have stuck in my mind ever since.

Days like today... I could go without living on the water.
Yet another cold front has slammed through this week. The winds from the north screaming across the river lifting the water to a frothing boil tossing wetness and sea jellys onto the dock. I got completely and utterly soaked walking to the sailboat today, and it wasn't raining. shoes, socks, pants. soaked. soaked with brackish brown river water. I changed and put my slicks on to walk back down the dock and back to the office. took my slicks off at the car of course.
These are the days I think it is seriously a pain in the ars to live on a boat and try to have a "normal" professional job.

working so much, I find it much more difficult to maintain a sustainable "happy" life aboard the boat. I'm considering moving off. I'm not really sure how I genuinely feel about that.
I just haven't found a marina that allows live-aboards that is close to work and doesn't have what I consider some kind of "fatal" flaw. There was my favorite dock (except for the summer bugs) that is over an hour away from one office, over 2 hours away from my other office, and 3 hours from the main office... there was the way overpriced dock on Casey Key with the smoking drug addicts and midnight boarding... there was the fixed dock that was nearly impossible to get onto during low low tide and that Athena slammed against because the "nice" dock staff would loosen her lines at low tide and not retighten them... and now there's the floating dock (which is cool, but) that is 17 miles, or about 4+ hours of motoring, away from the Gulf and sailing. It has officially been 3 months since I've taken the boat out; 3 months since I moved up this darn river. Sailboats shouldn't be up rivers.
It's definitely more difficult to find a place to live on a boat these days, then it is to find a place to live on land.
There are other things I miss. some things I could change about the boat in order to miss less. but, I just don't seem to have the energy with all the time consumed by work.
something big just slammed into the hull of the boat...
Perhaps, I don't deal well with going from boat life to land life. I just don't think the two mix very well. not as a low key sailor trying to carry on a full time professional job anyways... there's a lot to deal with. although, i guess mainly, my issues are primarily finding a good place to live that is near work. If my favorite marina was near my office, things would be so much better.
something just slammed the boat hull again...
Time to retire to my floating bed.
things keep hitting the boat hull...

The problem with time-based plans...

The problem with time-based plans...
In 1,751 days from today (March 21st, 2009), 1,751 days will have passed, and it will (hopefully, universe willing) be January 5, 2014, regardless of anything I may or may not have accomplished.
We cannot speed up, or even stop, the passing of time.
The passing of time isn't a plan, it's a given.
Simply passing time waiting around for a certain date to finally appear on the calendar, or waiting around for anything in particular, does not prepare one's self for the date's arrival.
It reminds me of an example from a motivational tape I use to listen to a long time ago... A marathon runner that decides they need to sit and rest their muscles to save their energy in preparation for a marathon will not be able to run the marathon when the day arrives because their muscles, not having been exercised, will not be able to function!
It makes me wonder... if I'm not able to practice happiness while I'm sitting around waiting for time to pass, will I be happy beyond the arrival of the desired date?
Perhaps sailing, or anything for that matter, is just a side-bar to the overall life goal of finding happiness within rather than outside of one's self...

Lounging Lunches

Living close to one of my offices is great. I get to come home for lunch! and, Peppermint Patty is always eagerly awaiting my quick mid-day visit. Sometimes she watches the birds...

Patty has been mischievously doing some exploring with all our new neighbors... Two nights in a row she's jumped up onto the Catamaran sailboat next to us. Last night the owners were aboard, luckily they like cats... the previous night, they weren't aboard and Patty decided to make a full on exploration out of her adventure!

Patty and Plants...

Living on the sailboat, I've been missing shrubbery!
One of my friends for the holidays gave me Paperwhite blubs, which I've been trying to grow but is difficult with Peppermint Patty around... see pic on left of her munching their tips!
This past weekend I decided to purchase a couple more plants, a staghorn fern (which are very popular in florida) and a boston fern. Patty likes to nibble the boston fern, see pic on right.
Ya, they may not be very practical on the sailboat... but, I'm enjoying them all the same. I'll have to come up with a plan for securing them better. I'm thinking of getting some orchids and bromiliads too!

Winter

Winter
by Wren Rogers
My eyes draw down the darkness.
Dim lights glow warm but cold.
They flicker and go out,
Leaving uncertainty of the path,
In the shadow that is no more.
Sometimes one brightens,
But I must turn away from the light too bright.
My eyes, they are use to the dark.
Winter's wind chills the air.
No warmth can penetrate.
Words muffled through the depths,
They cannot lead me beyond where I am.
I keep walking.
My eyes, they are use to the dark.

So, I have this plan...

It's my "five year" plan.
I think every boater has a plan... to someday depart the dock they are currently tied to...
I use to think I would not (emphasis on 'not') follow through with my plan if I was still single when the select date arrived.
On this, the very day that everyone celebrates love and being in love (phewy), I've decided I'm going whether I'm singlehanding or not.
So, only 1,786 days to go... or 255 weeks... or 58.5 months... or just under 5 years... to go.
January 5, 2014.
It is sort of bleak though, when one is looking down a five year tunnel from the very beginning of that tunnel.
Although... saying I'm 8 months into a 5.5 year plan does sound better... maybe. except. it doesn't actually put me any further along than I am today.
But, perhaps. One could almost say that I'm half way through a ten year plan. since this whole sailing adventure started almost 5 years ago now...
There was falling in love with the sailing dream, March 2004, I think it was. The beginning.
Moved to Florida October 2004. Fell in love with Florida.
Sailed SV Tybee from Key West to Ft. Myers Beach February 2005. Furthered the fall in love with sailing.
SV Athena found me October 2005. Under a different name at the time, but according to legend the old boat name is not to be spoken or written again...
Received a card from a dear friend that contained the writing that inspired SV Athena's name December 2005.
Moved aboard SV Athena July 2006.
One year anniversary of SV Athena finding me, and first sail on Athena with friends October 2006.
Officially named SV Athena, and first singlehanded sail November 2006.
Now it's been 3.5 years since SV Athena found me and just over 2.5 years since moving aboard.
And all the other hard work in between to make it all possible.
Day 1786 is almost up.

Somehow I managed to...

First night back on the sailboat after traveling for a few days...

Somehow I managed to leap out of bed from the v-birth and dash into the salon area to find out what the strange noises were that I heard of potential water leaks...
before I woke up... standing in the middle of my salon....

It's been a while since I've slept walk to my knowledge... kinda freaky when one lives on a boat...

I did have a great time traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina. Traveled for work but got to spend some time with a family friend. We ate at some great places as follows:
The Kabob Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant. www.kabobgrill.com
yummy vegetarian combo of hummus, tabbouleh, baba ghannouj, falafel, spinach pie, yalanji and potato harra.
The Pewter Rose Bistro. www.pewterose.com
Had fantastic vegetarian lasagna with butternut squash.

As we were leaving dinner from the Bistro, an awesome duet was singing a wonderful song from Toad the Wet Sprocket that for some reason always fills me with the desire to go sailing...

"we spotted the ocean at the head of the trail
where are we going, so far away
and somebody told me that this is the place
where everything's better, everything's safe
walk on the ocean
step on the stones
flesh becomes water
wood becomes bone
and half and hour later we packed up our things
we said we'd send letters and all those little things
and they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same
it seemed they'd already forgotten we'd came

now we're back at the homestead
where the air makes you choke
and people don't know you
and trust is a joke
we don't even have pictures
just memories to hold
that grow sweeter each season
as we slowly grow old"

Sink the boat sink

On a very Florida chilly day... I discovered the sink drain had cracked and separated completely from the sink. For those that don't know... the water level rises up the sink drain to the level equal to that outside the boat. For SV Athena, this means not too much further below the point where the sink drain separated!!! It is always best to keep these fittings up above the water line!!! Upon discovering this near drowning... I plugged the old sink drain pipe still stuck in the drain hose attached to the thru-hull (pic top left), and then closed the thru-hull, which this one, unfortunately, has had some deterioration over the past 30 years of its life and allows water to pass even when closed, although not at the rate as if it were wide open. Needless to say, I had nightmares about water being over the floorboards that night....
The next day, after considering getting a new sink, which I have considered previously, I poo-poo'ed the thought (because I couldn't find a close enough match) and went out to obtain new attachments. Not without first, unfortunately, being befuddled by car flat tire... urgh. My bad car kharma never ceases to amaze me... although I'll take that over bad boat kharma! Finally, with car tire plugged (hours later...) and new parts in hand, I attempted to attach new part to the sink... (pic top right) this was not done on a first time trial. Gave new meaning to me to the phrase, "if at first you don't succeed... try try again..." and then try try try again! each time with added brute force and ignorance... all of a sudden, wa la! it went on... never to get back off again when I attempted later after frustration at trying to get hose onto new attachments.... Since I'm always learning something new it seems, I'm not always approaching things in the bestest ways.
Well, unfortunately, given the statements above regarding water level... my new fittings required cutting about an inch and a half off the existing drain hose, however this is still above the water line... while she's sitting nicely at the dock and not heeled over that is...
It was near impossible for me to get the new drain part into the existing drain hose. Not a new frustration. Although thankful in many ways that these fittings are usually very tight, since I'd rather have them tight than loose. But, distraught and fearing not getting this done led to my calling my hero, Russell. After talking through the options, I decided to sand down the barbs on the new plastic attachment. After that, the new drain slid nicely into the drain hose. Not that I'm all that thrilled about the the somewhat now loose fit. I suppose I could have not sanded so much... You can bet I tightened those hose clamps on as tight as I could (bottom pic right).
I may add a third!
Sink is working again, and life aboard can return to some kind of "normality..."

More Florida Cold...

Another cold front, though not quite as windy as the last one.
Pirate Peppermint Patty and I are huddling in the boat this morning.
The temperature indicator displaying mid 50's in the boat at 10am... I'm sure it was much colder than that during the night...
My awareness awakened from sleep with the winds, and I thought, "it sure is a cold one."
The "nice" thing about the cold is that it doesn't matter much that i don't have refrigeration on the boat... orange juice stays good... soyogurt stays good... smart balance buttery spread stays good... baby spinach stays good...
AND, peppermint patty has all of a sudden become a lap cat ;)
meow.

More fronts...

Well, life in Florida isn't all sunshine and summer fun all year round...
I'm not sure what count we're up to for this winter season 08-09, but I was once again awoken at 2AM by a front passing through like a freight train and wondering if a tornado was lingering somewhere near... my eyes straining into the darkness but afraid to look at the same time. It's at these times I most do not wish to be alone...
The boat was rocking this way and that, I felt like I was at the arcade on the bucking bronco! the floating docks were oscillating up and down and sideways on the chop and I could see in the faint light emanating from shore that white caps were crashing over the dock, probably like the one I "caught on film" this afternoon during my lunch time break home to check on things (p.s. the splash I caught in this pic is not even as bad as many I otherwise saw and got soaked by...). I added yet another dock line to SV Athena. Now up to 9 dock lines and 5 tie points.
of course at night, everything is heightened. Peppermint Patty and I were huddled in the salon from 2am to 3am waiting for the winds and waves to subside, checking the internet weather and seeing the front line roll down the Florida peninsula. I watched as it headed south towards my "more southern" friends...
Today, after spending the morning in my office feeling like I was still on a boat and continually finding myself swaying in my chair and feeling the need to hang on to something... my walk down the dock for lunch was wet (meaning, i got wet) and I watched as the dock undulated beyond and saw the 3 inch up and down oscillation and 1 inch side to side slide on the pilings. sometimes I think because I live on a dock I kinda sorta live on land... today I do not feel like I live on land!
lunch time, day light, as I write this, Pirate Peppermint Patty is meowing to get out... and I say... "you do not know what you wish for...."
and, I think to myself, how many times have you found yourself longing to escape from where you are, but seemingly withheld by some other force beyond yourself. Perhaps not knowing the storm that is brewing or thrashing just beyond... Perhaps there is just no way for you to know what you wish for... Perhaps something larger than you knows what is best...

Peppermint Patty Spot

Another Peppermint Patty spot. I may have to change this blog to "Patty's Sailing Adventures!"
Enjoying a lovely evening on the dock. Jazz music in the air as Jazz on the Green plays into the evening in the park on the river a stone throw away.
Down below I'm washing dishes thinking Patty isn't roaming down the dock too far...
Well that sly cat, she was!
I decided to check on her and she was no where to be found! I started to panic a bit... tried not to... but she has fallen into the water before on the previous floating dock that we use to luxuriate on.
So, the scene is familiar... I'm wondering around the dock calling "Peppermint... Peppermint..."
and now the jazz music is seeming really too loud as I'm straining for any signs of splashing because she is no where to be found in the general vicinity!
Still trying to keep the panic at bay... I continue further down the dock. then, i spot her! on someone else's boat, of course!
Her nick-name isn't pirate peppermint patty for nothing!
She continues exploring the boat while I try to coax her my way so I can grab her by the scruff of her neck. She'll have none of that... she wanders further away to the far side of the boat, eventually jumping up onto a skinny portion of the deck. I walk over to another area of the dock for a better view and keep calling to her. There may be some gentle swearing in there at this point.... I have been known to swear occasionally...
then, in horror, i watch her try to jump up a very steep part of the deck to an upper area that's about her front paws stretch as she stands on her back paws. The jump is unsuccessful as she comes skidding back down to the skinny part of the deck with no toe rail. I don't know how she does it, but she manages to stay on the boat while I'm freaking out thinking she's going right over, three foot drop into the water! not being successful at getting to the top deck... she tries again! right in front of my fearful eyes!!! now i'm really swearing "nicely" at her to get the flock off the boat! it's then that i realize there are lights on and hatches open in the sailboat next door... well, that's about it, I can't have the neighbors listening to me swear at my cat that's sneaking onto other's boats. Finally I grab her and haul her back home and stick the leash on her! infuriated she stares into space with a scorned look. Eventually she decides to come back down below. We're sitting nicely in the warm glow of holiday white lights with the jazz in the background, writing this story... when suddenly, she makes a break for it and leaps out the companion way which only has two boards instead of three. I grab her through the v-birth hatch by the scruff, drag her down below, and ground her!

Enjoying the New Dock

Since docking from the 8 day trip a little over a week ago, I've been working every day straight. It's already difficult to imagine that I even had any time off. It feels years ago.
It seems surreal that I was on SV Athena for 192 hours straight except for a one hour jaunt to Panther Key.
Even more surreal that the first time I stepped on land in the year 2009, it was January 4th!
The really weird thing thinking back, is that the first time I got in my car after returning, and driving down the street... I felt claustrophobic. Hard to believe I felt claustrophobic in the car on the road when I'd just spent 8 days on a 30 foot sailboat.
That evening driving back to Punta Gorda to pick up the car left behind, it was difficult to believe we were missing the sunset... We'd only just watched them for 8 days straight. It's sad. It seems difficult now to make and take the time to enjoy. I just don't understand how this working life is "real" life.
Anyways, as usual, I digress ;)
Peppermint Patty and I did steal one evening over this past weekend to enjoy being at the new dock on a beautiful evening.
It was such a beautiful evening, I did feel that we were stealing time, or more like lost in time.
The floating dock has been nice since we've had at least a couple good cold fronts come through that would have kicked our butt again had we stayed at the shallow fixed dock in Punta Gorda.

Food on the Trip

There's nothing like good food on a trip! Here are some examples of what we ate.
For New Year's Eve dinner we had a feast! pic on top left is New Year's Eve dinner consisting of yummy organic butternut squash, rice pilaf, sauted fresh asparagus, sauted portabella mushrooms, and... Lynne did make a fantastic turkey that I admit, I had a piece of.
For New Year's Day dinner (pic on top right) we had mashed organic sweet potatoes, fresh steamed green beans, and couscous.
For our sunset dinner at Keywaydin (pic on bottom left) we had organic flax pasta with spagetti sauce enhanced with leftover barbequed garlic rosemary marinated zuccini, tofu, muchrooms, and peppers.
For some lunches (pic on bottom right) we had avocado, pepper, mushroom wraps with carrot sticks.
yum yum yum yum yum yum yum.
Lucky for my crew, I did all the cooking and most of the cleaning. I do find it quite enjoyable to cook, and even clean, when out and about in SV Athena. It's such a different feeling when there's no real rush and one can partake in the preparation of and relish in fantastic food.

8 day trip, day 9

Wait, huh? Day 9 of an 8 day trip...?
Well, you see, our trip was a full 8 straight 24 hours, i.e. 192 hours. I think I did that math right.
But, that 192 hours was started halfway through a saturday and ended halfway through a sunday.
So, after a relatively calm night... we were awoken mid night by a quick front that passed through and stirred things up a bit... We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise on day 9. After a relaxing morning and debating whether or not we really needed to go back to the dock... I reluctantly raised anchor and headed us up river, a five hour motor from our anchor spot. There wasn't much wind to speak of, but it was a pleasant motor. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful warm Florida winter day. And, we safely passed beneath bridges that are luckily not as close as they appear...

There were some inconsiderate boaters out and about however.
At one point I thought life could potentially end instantly... here I am, motoring along at a pace some can walk faster than, and this motor boat is speeding right towards us down the skinny channel of the miserable 4 miles, no where for me to really go. Their one miscalculation on a boat wake and they'd be on us in an instant, and I do mean on us, in the cockpit with me. Examples such as this also bring out sailors' swearing.
Dear inconsiderate speed boaters:
It's one thing to risk your own life.
It's quite another thing to risk the lives of others.
Don't be an idiot.
I know you may not think it will happen to you, but people do in fact die while having fun boating. and they die on nice sunny warm days too.
Really, where have you got to go?

so, for all you conscientious boaters out there, don't forget to use your power!
All Hail to Channel 16:
"Security Security Security (pronounced 'securitae'), warning to all boaters in the such and such location, there is a boat of such and such description traveling at high rates of speed in such and such direction."
Don't worry, it's unlikely that said inconsiderate boater will hear your call over their motor(s) warning others of the ars, i mean, idiot heading their way...

8 day trip, day 8

Well, after a rocking rolling night, we woke, I mean, that would imply we were sleeping... we finally rolled out of bed, raised the anchor and got the flock out of there.
Now, I'm not the type of person to subsist on very little sleep... So this last full day of our trip was already starting off on a little bit of an unsteady foot... As we raised sails and headed north, there was also the realization that this was indeed the last full day of the trip. I have this bad habit of finding myself in a really bad mood when I know the end is near...
Which reminds me of the torture I put my friends through on New Year's Eve night when I sang....
"And now, the end is near, and so I face, the final curtain.
My friends, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full, I've traveled each and every highway.
But more, much more than this, I did it MY WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
- Frank Sinatra
and, I'm instantly brought back in memories to standing on a football field with marching band fans singing along and tears running down my eyes, huge smile on my face, for a show well done and a life lived fully and intensely.
I know we all think we know how everyone else should be living, but really, the only thing we know is how we ourselves should be living.
And sometimes I think were pretty lucky if we even know that much.
The best we can do is live life in our own way, fully and intensely.
Like a snowflake, or even like a sunrise or sunset,
no two lives are ever the same.
Anyways, I digress.
My mood this day did not improve as the winds once again died on us and I really did not want to motor, but there was no chance in "pure hell" that I was anchoring off shore again this night.
I made two attempts at getting the flasher sail up... By the second attempt I was fuming and my sailor's mouth was in full force. I could not get the darn thing untangled. Some kind of disaster had happened with the lines and I had no patience. I'm sure my crew was beginning to wonder if we'd make it through the day... I swore at the flasher I swore at the lack of wind I swore I swore I swore... and then.... I swore some more!
And then I went quiet. My mind flustered and traveling to other places. wondering how indeed I'm suppose to be living this life. Then the off shore wind which had died, suddenly switched and came screaming on shore. We raised sails and were off like bandits. Hauling past Bonita and Ft. Myers Beach. We passed under the Sanibel Bridge for the return, traveled down the sheer hell miserable 4 miles, and anchored behind Sanibel for a most incredible sunset.