A Bunch of Middle Age Cruisers Celebrate the New Year

Rich with his drum machine, and Hans with his new keyboard. Some serious music is about to take place!

This little guy was left out of most of the festivities and he ended up sulking below in our berth.

 

When we ended up at anchor on New Year's Eve around 2 PM we realized there was no way we'd stay awake to ring in the new year. But just after the sun went down we were surprised to get a call from another live-aboard couple in our marina who had finished up their work day. They were on their way out into the bay and did we want to meet up with them?

They ended up rafting next to us and I have to tell you this was a first for the Knotty Cat!! I'm just not a rafting up-let's party till all hours-act like a bunch of idiots kind of person. Especially on what I've always referred to as Amateur Night.

Really, I'm not.

Yet we had a great time. We laughed about anything and everything, witnessed a beautiful full moon rise over the bay, and by eleven o'clock we were back on our own boat with a pouting pitty. We hooked up our TV and antennae, and while Wilbur refused to budge from under his blanket, Hans and I actually witnessed the ball drop at midnight.

Getting up in the morning wasn't so easy but by 11 or so we were finally moving around and enjoying breakfast and mimosas.

Danee patiently waits on her boat while we try to wake up.

On New Year's Day, Hans got the chance to use his new keyboard. Rich and Danee's good friend's motored out and before we knew it, all three of our boats were rafted together and don't think the Knotty Cat wasn't hugely proud of herself. All three boats hanging on her anchor!!! What a girl!

 

So we ended up spending New Year's Day sitting at anchor with good friends and music. The wind also kicked up and many boats with smiling, happy occupants sailed past shouting out greetings to us (at least they didn't tell us to shut up).

Luckily, we got back into our slip with no mishaps since Captain Hans was at the helm and not me.

 

And now we're back to reality and of course our vehicle has decided that the Knotty Cat gets way too much attention. Therefore it decided to light up the dashboard with many alarms and then screamed and beeped at me and Wilbur the whole way to the Doggy Park. I then drove a very scary 4 miles enduring the mushiest brakes in the world to our local mechanic.

The good news is that Wilbur thoroughly enjoyed the ride back to our marina in the courtesy van where he gave our driver many big pitty kisses the whole way.

Here's to hoping this isn't a portent of things to come.

 

Happy New Year's Eve (I Hope)!!

Wilbur does his sniffy thing at our anchorage

I'm attemping to use Blogsy from my iPad and I'm not feeling too good about it. Here's keeping my fingers crossed that I can actually post.

After a quick trip to Publix this morning I have to tell you I feel far safer here at anchor than on land. Something I've learned since moving to the land of Newly Wed's and Nearly Dead's is this; keep clear of all Cadillacs. This is because whether parked or in motion, those that are parked may soon leap into motion and those that are already in motion don't have a clue as to where they are going and often mistake the accelerator for the brake. But let's not discriminate here. The occupants of all the other vehicles are either on their cell phones, texting, and the true multi-taskers are texting in addition to swooshing their fingers over their iPads (and you can't blame them as concentrating on the road must be so boring).


So after dodging a couple of Cadillacs in Publix's parking lot alone and then wading my way through a myriad of people just to get a couple of very necessary items (bourbon and beer) I was hugely relieved to arrive back at the boat where Hans had everything ready for a quick getaway.

Now, I've taken the boat out of the slip quite successfully a few times now and I had no doubt I'd be able to do it again today. But I didn't count on the fact that the Knotty Cat loves an audience and she hates to be taken for granted. And after today's launching I have a feeling that our new neighbors on our port side with their beautiful Beneteau, and the captain on the boat directly across from us (and right in our forward path) whose huge frightened eyes still burn in my brain, are telling everyone in our marina to stay clear of the crazy blond on the Island Packet Cat.

So yes, I do feel safer at anchor right now but imagine how the poor folks at our marina feel knowing that we'll be coming back in tomorrow.

 

A Foggy New Year's Eve

I'm sure a lot of people are pretty foggy after celebrating New Year's Eve but that's not what I'm talking about here.

After flying to Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve for the holidays, staying in a different hotel every night (in addition to one very fun night at an old friend's home), eating too much, longing for a minimal amount of family drama, not enjoying the cold gray skies and hoping we wouldn't end up in a ditch like lot of other travelers we drove past on the Interstate during a particularly slicker than snot snowfall, we finally landed back in sunny Florida.

Hmmm, we wondered, what should we do for New Year's Eve?

We decided if Mother Nature would cooperate we'd go ahead and anchor out for the night and relax.

Check it out.

No snow, no gray skies, and no winter coats.

Only sunny skies and a smile!




We only went a few miles out into the local bay and by 2 PM or so we dropped the hook and realized it's been at least seven months since we last anchored.

Another couple in our marina also headed out for the evening and we ended up anchoring next to each other. Rich dinghied on over shortly after we anchored and the general consensus was that we'd all go ashore later on and enjoy some local sights.

At one point we happened to glance up and realized the far shore line had disappeared and it was only about 4 o'clock. And just like a horror movie we watched as a dark gray cloud rolled over the water headed right in our direction gobbling up all boats in its path. It was moving along at a pretty good clip when Rich decided it was time to head back to his own boat.

Then a sail boat appeared out of the mist and we watched them try unsuccessfully to drop their anchor several times. Perhaps they thought we looked like we wanted company because the next thing we knew they were right beside us and the captain ordered his crew to drop their anchor. Hans quickly got their attention (I very seldom hear Hans yell and yes indeed his voice carries through fog!) and let them know they needed to move on along. He also told them there was tons of room directly astern of us but instead they continued blindly on into the anchorage.

I have no idea where they ended up.

By 6 PM we couldn't see beyond our life lines nor could we see one anchor light. I'm just glad we anchored so early, I wouldn't have wanted to be underway in that mess and needless to say we never did go ashore.

But by 9:30 or so, the fog lifted and we were treated to a beautiful view of a perfect half moon, tons of stars and anchor lights, and an unobstructed view of the shore line.

What we didn't enjoy were the fireworks because we never saw any! There were a few small displays far inland but that's not what we'd been expecting.

Wilbur gave Hans his New Year's kiss early. After a day on the water and only being able to use one light inside since our house battery bank informed us that it too would like a vacation, we were in bed and asleep by 10:30. This is the first time I can remember in my life that I didn't ring in the New Year.

Wilbur enjoyed his stay at Doggy Day Care while we were gone but was glad to get back home and hit the water. He's a true Salty Dog.

He was kind enough to hold this pose while I ran to get the camera. He knows everyone looks forward to pictures of his handsome pitty self.

It was an interesting year for us but thankfully we got through it and somehow I don't think this year will be any less crazy.

Happy New Year!!

My first memory of New Year's Eve is of me and my sister spending the night with our great-grandmother (my mother's grandmother). We would ring in the New Year with Grandma Mabel, Jackie Gleason, Lawrence Welk, and Grandma's tuna macaroni salad with Ritz crackers.

My favorite New Year's Eve memories are the years my son (who will be 28 this April) and I spent watching Nickelodeon's Count Down while we held night long Yahtzee marathons.


This New Year's Eve finds Hans, Wilbur, and me in our little apartment along with my youngest daughter, who, while on Christmas break, is apparently suffering from a nasty bout of food poisoning (I'm not sure if she'll ever order a grilled chicken sandwich from a mini mart again). So far today, all she's been able to ingest is: one bite of toast, some Gatorade, and a half can of coke. Wilbur has been full of sympathy and has spent far too much of his time with his head deep in the toilet with my baby girl who could really do without his concern.


Maybe not the best way to start off a new year but hopefully things will get better.


This Thursday, Hans, Wilbur, and I will drive to Charleston, South Carolina where our Knotty Cat has been languishing since the beginning of November. We will then restart our journey south to Florida, and hopefully the Bahamas.