January 2020

By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:45

My dad arrived around midnight, having driven from the Orlando airport to meet us at the marina in Stuart.  The next morning we used his rental car to buy some groceries, soda (10 12-packs), and beer (maybe 150 cans or so?).  At the time it felt like we were making a significant dent in our provisioning for the Bahamas but in retrospect it was just a small start.  It was enough to fill up half the rear seating area of the rental pickup.  Then we rode the marina bicycles about 20 minutes to Total Wine to stock up on some liquor.

After a day or two of rain, the weather was OK for sailing outside so we departed early in the morning to head south.  The bridge right by the marina was just opening for some other boats so we skipped our planned stop at the fuel dock for diesel and water and just kept going.  Sailing conditions were brisk with a sustained 20 knots coming from shore.  By staying within a mile or two of shore we kept the waves below a foot or two but they were still splashing off the hull and then the wind would blow the spray sideways into the cockpit.  We might have enjoyed being even closer to shore.  As we approached Port Everglades we determined that we would be stuck there for 3-4 nights due to weather so we decided to push on to Miami.  We fired up the engine to make maximum speed (there was plenty of wind but it is only desirable to heel so much) and were able to anchor in marine stadium just before dark.

The next day (Christmas Day!) we set off towards No Name Harbor for a cruisers potluck that afternoon.  We got the anchor up but then noticed that the engine exhaust sounded suspicious and quickly determined that it was not getting water for cooling.  So we dropped the anchor and Randy and I jumped in with snorkel gear to find out why the seacock was jammed (I hadn't been able to close the valve even).  I found a plastic bag that had been sucked in, pulled it out, and we were back in business.  We had a bit of a tailwind so had a nice leisurely sail for the few miles south to the harbor.  It looked pretty full based on our count of masts visible before even going in the harbor so we anchored outside.  The potluck was great fun and many of the other cruisers were also waiting for decent weather to cross over to the Bahamas.

More rain and winds were predicted so the next day we went over to the Dinner Key area and found a mooring ball available at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club.  Their mooring balls are protected from the waves of Biscayne Bay so we had a very comfortable few nights there.  We spent some time exploring the area and some time preparing for the Bahamas.  Anna decided that a major reorganization was in order so everything came out of the back bedroom storage shelves.  Almost everything got repackaged into plastic bags and stowed away in a much more compact manor.  Lots of work! With many items no longer in their boxes we needed some structure so that things would sit nicely in the shelves, so we ended up with a bunch of small plastic totes and a few milk crates.  The totes stack pretty well and so far have stayed in place during some moderate heeling.

There was a possible weather window right at the end of my dad's stay but we had a prescription that needed to be picked up still and didn't quite feel ready.  So he didn't get to see the Bahamas with us and had extraordinarily rainy and windy weather...sorry we couldn't deliver an excellent vacation!

In the few days after Randy left we did so much more provisioning that it seems comical that we thought we were ready before (I'm sure we would have survived just fine, but still...).  We overflowed two shopping carts at Wal-Mart and right before crossing filled a cart at Publix.  AND we still did a couple last minute grocery runs after that.  Time after time Aaron would declare that there was no more room, then we would agree that we needed some stuff, and then we would rearrange yet another compartment and create just a little more room.

And then finally we went over to No Name Harbor with intentions to leave early the next morning to the Bahamas. (And did a quick trip to the grocery store and liquor store there for MORE stuff!)

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:21

We arrived in Stuart on December 13th.  All the mooring balls were full so we anchored between the mooring field and shore for two nights.  We went to the marina office to get a couple packages that we had shipped in.  We could not find one package, and the next day someone had returned it after they realized they had mistakenly taken ours.  Then in the morning I was out and about in the dinghy and saw that a mooring ball out in the far field was open.  So I tied a fender to it and then we prepared to move over there.  On the way we stopped at the fuel dock and a guy was there on his dinghy.  Somehow we found out that he was hoping to get on that mooring ball which we had just claimed, and he was currently on one closer in.  But he had a bigger boat than was supposed to be on his current ball.  So we agreed to trade and got the closer mooring ball (after some debate with the office about technicalities of whether even our boat was too big for that closer mooring ball).  We enjoyed the marina's Christmas party that night with Steve and Susie.

Then construction of the new cockpit canopy (combination spray dodger and bimini) started.  I installed the new stainless steel bow and then rigged all the tubing in place with strapping tape.  Then I put up pieces of patterning material, basically building a temporary complete canopy in place.  We removed those pieces and traced them onto fabric in the marina lounge late one evening when it wouldn't bother too many people.  They were big pieces--most of them 12-14' long and 3 feet wide.

My dad was going to be arriving in a few days to spend the holidays with us and hopefully cross to the Bahamas with us, weather dependent of course.  So we needed to get south towards Miami to work towards that goal, but we decided to stay in Stuart to finish the canopy.  So for the next three days I spent 8-10 hours each day sewing on the boat.  The first day was hot so it was a sweaty process slinging around all of that heavy fabric.  The next couple days were cooler so then it was just normal exhaustion by the end of the day.  It was fascinating to see how slowly and poorly I would sew on the last stitches of the day but then the next morning the very same thing would seem easy and turn out so well!  You have to know when to call it a day.

Eventually all the pieces were assembled so it was time for a test fit.  Amazingly it went up and stayed up!  It was slightly loose but to go from patterns to a fitting assembly of 5 pieces summing to about 12 feet by 20 feet felt so good.  Then we took it back down for another day of sewing--lots of finishing touches.  But we got those done and had it up by the time my dad arrived.

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:12

Some people love frontier justice
But then all they can do is miss
They run out of ammo
Bad guys hit them Blam-Oh!
So they must put on a poultice.

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:09

Louise was a dog with black fur
She loved to run network fiber
Lash it to her tail
She'd pull without fail
For each run I would reward her.

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:07

My good doggie loved to whine
When she wasn't given our time
She wanted a sratch
On her white chest patch
Eventually I said fine.

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 09:04

My fiancée makes apple crisp
And not just when we have a tryst
Better than apple pie
Makes me a lucky guy
I won't fade away to a wisp.

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 08:57

(Anna was watching a Netflix series on people growing marijuana in Humbolt County.)

Joe passed time in Humbolt County
Of weed he grew quite a bounty
Thieves came for his crop
And he made them drop
On police he could not account-y

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By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 08:29

A collection of enjoyable stories by Mark Twain.  I have only previously read his most famous works, and that many years ago.

As the foreword alludes, these stories get darker as you go further into the collection.  I enjoyed the lighter ones more but the darker ones did make me think.

Strangely, this book did not have an ISBN number in it.

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By aaron.axvig, Mon, 01/13/2020 - 20:54

Wacky. It's about people being abducted by aliens for mind control purposes, so basically all of the stereotypical stuff with a mild plot wrapped around it. A little cheesier than I expected.

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