Jan 22 -- on the water

We did get a late start, but we did get out. It was supposed to have been cloudy through much of the afternoon but even before we left the house the sun was out. We did make two trips to the marina -- David and I went over first and took off the cover and installed the batteries. I also started the engine using the muffs to ensure that we'd be ready to go -- it started immediately -- great ! When we got back with the full gang it was already after noon. We headed up to the inlet and out onto the ocean.

The only day that it was calmer out there was the day last year in the Bayliner with Angelika when it was glassy. We cruised to the outer buoy and then headed north towards Daytona. I kept a close eye on the depth, not wanting to get much shallower than 20 feet. I wasn't sure if there would be irregular sandbar patterns that might trip us up.

It was dolphin day or rather schooling fish day. Clouds of seagulls were dive bombing en masse. It was amazing to watch. Schools of dolphins -- yes there were some singles & doubles, but there were large groups cresting together -- 8-12 dolphins tightly side by side. I drove for a while at maximum wake to see if any would play in our waves, but they were much more interested in the fish buffet under the water. We drove quite a few miles north, pausing for a while to eat our lunch off of the "North Turn" restaurant and then eventually headed back to the inlet. I suppose that after a while such a display might simply seem like more dolphins ... yawn ... but we don't seem to tire of them. As we headed back one dolphin jumped right out of the water only a few feet away from the bow.

Before stopping at the island we went to Down the Hatch to use their restrooms. We give their restrooms a lot of business, but I don't feel guilty because we've spent a lot of money there over the past 30 years. Off to the inlet we stopped for a short while but the tide was quickly going out and I didn't want to get grounded. Also the wind had shifted, blowing from the ocean to the land, which is typical once the sun creates updrafts over the land, and I did not want to the wind to blow us aground. I worry too much, I think.

The water was cold. I stepped out into almost waist deep 59F water and pulled the stern into knee depth for Meagan, Sandy and Abby to get out. David and Kim opted to wait on the boat. After fiddling for a while setting the stern anchor I was used to the water temperature, but certainly wouldn't want to go swimming !

Back to the marina, David, Kim and Sandy went back in David's rental car while Meagan and Abby waited for me to do some boat cleanup. The inside of the head compartment had gotten quite damp underneath the boat cover and had some black mildew in spots so I used some dilute bleach to wipe the area down. I probably should have pulled out the porta-potti because I suspect that it's water supply which also has some deodorizer in it, could use flushing (no pun intended). I should probably leave it dry because I can always prep it from the freshwater tank when someone needs to use it.

When we got back home David was already lying down -- he had somewhat of a headache from dehydration, not drinking as much water as he usually does. After a bit I went out for a short Harley ride, getting to the park just as they were closing the gate, so I came back. That's ok, I only intended to go out for a short ride anyway. David has yet to go out ... he's saving it ... for something.

We went out for sushi. Meagan ate all her sushi meal, raw fish and all. The only fish that she didn't care for was the tuna but she readily ate the snapper, salmon etc. Kim and Sandy had the same as Meagan; David and I had the slightly larger plate. After the sushi came desert. We ordered the deep fried cheesecake and the "martini sundae", I think that it's called. The cheesecake is dipped in tempura batter and then quickly done; the martini sundae was huge, with four banana pieces also done in tempura batter. With five forks and five spoons we ate most of it. I need to get back out on my bike !

Back home, we watched part of the Haiti fundraiser on CNN and then I turned in close to 10pm. Sandy came to bed around 11 ... at least as far as I can remember :).

Today's weather is supposed to be sunny but a couple of degrees cooler. Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy but close to 80F. I think that we'll go back on the boat tomorrow ... today Sandy and Kim are going to Bed Bath & Beyond so that Kim can purchase some additional knives to go with her Henkels set that we got them as a wedding present. I'm not sure what else we'll do. Tomorrow evening we are planning on going to the SYC for dinner.

That's it ... onward !

Alternately cool and warm on the water you could feel the boundaries between the air masses -- some chilled by the 59F water and some quite warm west winds coming from over the Florida mainland.