Chanukah Lights

11-27-13  Chanukah Lights on Ihana

Wood Stork

11-27-13 Wasn't this bird named after a great concert in upstate New York, several decades ago?

Monsoon in Indiantown

11-21-13 Monsoon Rains on Ihana. The monsoon rains have arrived! Very heavy rains for last 24 hours. Still pouring. Several inches so far; our floating rain gauge (the dink) is filling up.

The river is rising; had to loosen the dock lines. And might have to do it again soon. Lake Okeechobee is filling up and draining out into the cross-Florida waterway where we are docked.

Part of the parking lot is draining down the ramp into the marina. Wow.

We're dry inside the boat and getting some indoor projects and organizing done. Hell of a way to run a drought ...

The good news is that we are getting the boat washed.

Broke out a bottle of Pussers Rum, while waiting for the beer to get cold and Ilona to cook supper.

Ilona on Ihana. Happy girl. Rain outside.

More power to us ...

11-19-13 Might need to get solar panels to run all the electronics we have aboard. And of course the refrigerator. Too bad we don't have space for our own nuclear power plant. ...

SSCA GAM (road trip, Indiantown to Melbourne)

11-15-13 Dinner at Squid Lips in Melbourne. Same place we ate with Diane & Frank last year.  At the Seven Seas Cruising Association's Melbourne (FL) GAM.

Sails are on

11-12-13 Sails are on! Got the broken bolt out of the furler and a new bottom plate installed.

Boat is almost ready (need to change the secondary fuel filter & raw water impeller; a 1 hour job that probably won't take more than 1/2 day). Most of the van and storage locker have been loaded on the boat. Still on the maybe list: Satellite Phone; Davits or mounting bars; solar panels. Still on the maybe not list: [see above.]

It's almost 5:00 pm. Off to join Ilona and other boat workers on the patio at the Indiantown Marina - enough work for today.

Either it is cooling off or I am finally adapting to the heat. Cold front coming in tonight; tomorrow will be in the 70s with low in the 60s. Possible rain. Gale warnings out in the Atlantic - everyone is staying put.

Should we drive 1 hr 45 minutes to Melbourne FL for the SSCA GAM this weekend? It's a big maybe, or a probably not.