Sunday, April 3

I spent the morning doing laundry while the guys spent the time working on the various mechanical problems.  Craig was so nice; he came over and spent hours trying to figure out the depth meter issues!  They didn’t find the problem but they eliminated a lot of possibilities.  David dove under his boat and found a huge clump of sea grass wound up around his prop.  That appeared to resolve the engine’s speed problem, although not his long-term smoke problem. 

I say something really cool!  As I was walking along the dock, a manatee surfaced, and then rolled over into a dive and was gone.  That was so neat!

 In the afternoon we declared a moratorium on work and to the pool.  We even had some adult beverages.   We deserved it!   We splashed around and floated on our noodles.  The water was a perfect temperature.  It was wonderful! 

 After that we hit the hay very early as we were still exhausted from the trip.

Monday, April 4

Pat and I spent the morning grocery shopping.  This was quite involved since we have no car.  We put on backpacks and walked down to the trolley stop.  One came along and we were off to Publix, we thought.  Unfortunately we had gotten on a city bus instead of a trolley (how would we know?), so we ended up downtown at the bus station.  We then got on another bus (with the same crabby driver) and eventually got to the store.  It’s quite different picking out groceries with the constant thought in mind of “how much can I carry?”  Since I had to get two quarts of milk (and two bottles of wine), I was pretty limited on the rest of my purchases.  Thank goodness for the backpack!  On the way home we were fortunate enough to get on a trolley right away, and the driver was wonderful.  He brought us right to the Yacht Club!

The guys spent the day trying to contact various mechanics about our various problems.  It was very frustrating; it took the entire day to get any help.  Finally, however, both of them got in touch with someone who was knowledgeable about the problems.  Sam made an appointment with the Ray Marine rep to come check out the depth meter tomorrow, and David made arrangements to sail to Treasure Island tomorrow so he could work with the Yanmar people there. 

Tuesday, April 5

In the morning we were hit with a ferocious storm.  I had left the hatches open when I went to the club, and had to race back when the torrent started.  I was drenched by the time I got there, and so was the galley and our bed!  I shut everything up and hung up all the dripping clothing, towels, bug nets, etc.; hoping the bed would be habitable by evening.

We spent the morning tucked in, reading and taking naps.  I'm making two afgans for the boat, so I got a chance to do some knitting.  It was lovely!  

 Around noon the Tyes pulled out on their way to Treasure Island.  The Ray Marine man, Don, came and worked on the depth meter and the autopilot.  It’s SO NICE to work with an expert!  We feel like a ton of bricks have been taken off our shoulders.  Yes, there’s a lot wrong and yes, it’s going to cost a lot of money, but it will be fixed on Thursday.  Hooray!!!!!!!

To celebrate, we went to the yacht club and had a great dinner!  Clearwater is a beautiful place, and we really enjoyed being here.

Clearwater Yacht Club

The CYC patio and pool

The pool!  We had so much fun in it!

Having dinner at the club.  Yum!