The last several months was personal time , so I did not blog much... I will however, give some highlights on what it is like to live a board a 36' boat with no shore power, relying on the boat engine and solar power to keep our lights, refrigerator etc, functioning with some degree of comfort.
Well we have done some snorkeling at the reef, seen manatee's, dolphin's, barracudas, rays,
herons, osprey, turkey vultures, hawks... but no sharks. The sign in the harbor states that this is "Shark friendly harbor... catch and release.. " Remember Memo...We certainly heard of them being around, but not lucky enough to see the tell tale fin streaming through the water.
We have taken several trips up and own the keys (Key West, Key Largo, Islamorada, Big Pine key...)
We have been involved in several community events at the harbor... potluck Christmas dinners, music jam nights in the tiki hut, participated in group discussions on going to the Bahamas, or Cuba, reading weather forecasts etc. We have seen lighted Christmas boat parades, Santa parade in Key West, interesting as there were almost more adults than kids... Superbowl party, memorial day parades...
The weather in December was breezy and the sun was shifting south and lower in the sky and the available hours for charging our batteries was decreasing. Our solar panel went from a daily charge of 40-50 amps per day in November , down to 15 amps a day in late December. We were having to start the boat engine to supplement the charging of our batteries more and more. After Christmas, we decided to shut down the refrigeration system which was running about 30% of the time... not too shabby and switch to ice. This enabled our solar panel to keep our batteries well charged without having to supplement with the boat engine. We now could listen to radio and watch video's whenever we wanted, without worrying about the battery charge. Both of us started to again fully enjoy the life on the boat.
We had a pre -booked trip home to Barrie in January. Joanne had some medical treatments to be completed. It was great visiting family and friends for 8 days. It was cold but not a lot of snow.. we did mange to get out skating a few times. Katie/Nadia were gracious in picking us up and dropping us off at the airport
When down here we have had time to better understand the requirements of staying here as foreigners... We recognized we are restricted to 182 days ( 6 months ) and as this stands we have to return to Canada by March 4-15. Further to this although our cruising permit is for a year (ends September 2015) , we have to leave the US for a few months in order to build back some time , which would enable us to get the boat back to Canada before the end of August. It is our intent at this point to store the boat in Indiantown, Fl. for 3 months, then return in June and work our back to Canada.
This being said in early February, when the winds and weather cooperates, we will leave the Keys and go to Vero Beach. We will take a mooring ball for a week and met up with Jack & Shirley and Peter & Eileen, fellow Barrie boaters. This trip is about 250 miles. We will then bring the boat south about 30 miles to Stuart/Indiantown for it o be hauled out. We chose this location on the Okeechobie canal as it is in fresh water and it should kill a lot of the barnacles and seaweed growth on my hull. It will also allow me to scub the salt off the boat and flush the engines with freshwater before storing it.
This area is a bit of a hurricane hole and makes my insurance premiums will drop a bit while it is on the hard.
Well we set off tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.
Tarpon feeding
Marathon Harbour Christmas lights
Key West Christi pride
Looking out beck of the boat at sunset
Christmas lighted boat festivl
more lights
and more lights
Sunset Boot key
Dinner with the Grand kids
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