Still Near Long Key

Day 17: Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Sunrise off of Long Key

The winds are still blowing and the anchors held again for another night.  The weather forecast is still calling for high winds through Friday.  Today, they ran 20 knots gusting to 25.  The waves in our anchorage are small but the winds keep the boat actively swinging and twisting continually.  We are both acclimated to the boat so this movement is of little concern.

We started our morning with a pancake and bacon breakfast and after our usual straightening and cleaning, we returned to our reading routine.  I spent some time in the forenoon sharpening my knowledge on some of the capabilities of our GPS/Chartplotter.  The machines are amazing in the number of tricks that they can perform.  For instance, I can monitor and control the plotter with my iPhone.  The way I have mounted the chartplotter, it is a bit unhandy while actually sailing.  The chartplotter is on a short swinging boom just inside the cabin door.  When in use, I swing it around into the door opening.  The tiller is at the back of the cockpit, so, to see details on the screen, I need to leave the tiller and walk the 5 feet to the door.  Now, with the remote capabilities downloaded on my phone, I can do those tasks from the back of the cockpit.

Just before noon, I again ventured back to Seabird Marina to get some ice and fuel.  I also took our 4 Kroger bags of trash which the lady at the marina allowed me to deposit in their dumpster.  The gal who runs the place (and is possibly the owner) has a deadpan personality but is willing to talk and is full of interesting insight into the whole boating/cruising thing.  I asked if we could come back and tie up the dinghy so that we could walk about for some exercise.  (We haven’t been off of the boat for 7 days now.)  She pointed out a place where we could tie up and offered advice on a small restaurant nearby. 

Back at the boat, Janine had already started lunch so we decided to forego the restaurant plan for our evening meal. 

After lunch, we were back to reading.  In the middle of the afternoon, I detected a minor change in the activity of the boat and upon checking, found that the little backup Danforth anchor had broken loose and the boat had drifted back a bit.  We are in no danger of hitting any other boats or obstruction, however, I don’t like to drag.  I pulled the little anchor in and coiled the line on the deck. I got in the Dink and pulled up alongside took the anchor that Janine handed down and motored out and reset the anchor.  (Again the little Honda motor has no neutral or reverse gears so I had to catch the anchor somewhat on the fly!) I frequently checked the anchor and found that within about an hour, the little anchor again had lost its grip. But the main anchor now appeared to be holding. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and checking our position and happily we were staying put. 

And another sunset

For dinner we enjoyed an appetizer of smoked oysters on crackers with a glass of Gnarly Head Marlow.  The main course was spaghetti and meat sauce with two chocolate chip cookies for desert.

Our evening entertainment was a rousing game of dominos. For my winnings, I was awarded the grand prize of a mini Snickers bar provided by our friends, Karen and Dick.  Bed time was 9:00.