What Happened to July?

I mean, really; where did a whole month go. Or more like a whole month and a half.

Well, at the beginning of July, Hans left his desk job and is now selling insurance (health, life, etc...) via the internet. Hans has always been in sales (he put himself through college selling books door to door) and many years ago he sold insurance when he lived in PA. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, you no longer have to give up an entire evening while you meet with your insurance man; you can now have an online meeting, get some quotes, make a decision, and be on your way. But let me be the first to tell you, getting a license involves passing many tests and more than a bit of financial investment. At this time he's licensed to sell to Florida residents only but at least he can do it from the boat.

On the 18th we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the day we met (which for some reason is more important to me than our wedding anniversary). Our celebration involved walking a few hundred feet to the steakhouse behind us where you can get a really great prime rib dinner as one of the early bird specials. I guess we've finally reached genuine geezer status if the term 'early bird special' gets me all excited.

Then at the end of the month Hans turned 59.

How does time fly by so fast?

 

On a more important note; Wilbur, and 'the cat next door', have become reluctant friends (more like fast friends but c'mon! a guy has a reputation to keep ya know!). This has been about a two year long endeavor and I no longer worry that Wilbur will be torn to shreds as Neighbor tends to leave right around the time Wilbur starts shoving his nose up her butt.

Sssshhhhh, don't tell anyone

And I finally dug out the Knotty Cat's original main sail where it had been sitting (and obviously fermenting) in a sail bag for far too long and even though it's hotter than hell here in Florida right now I decided it was time to do something with it. But, when I unfolded it, I was shocked at how dirty it was. I finally just cut off a big hunk and then spent the better part of two days cleaning it. I soaked it in Borax for hours, scrubbed it with Soft Scrub, and finally hung it up to dry. Needless to say I was very relieved to find that it cleaned up so nicely.

 

I had to weigh the sail down with water jugs to keep it submerged in a Borax solution

All nice and clean and hanging up to dry

After a nightmare time of splicing the handle; finally a finished bag

6 big pockets inside and also a small secure pocket for a wallet or cell phone

This leash is sewn to the top of the bag and drops down inside. That S hook works slicker than snot and attaches to a key ring in a snap.

 

Trying to splice an aesthetically pleasing splice for a bag handle is not as easy as I thought it would be. We both spent an entire day attempting such a feat and still weren't happy. Hans actually got up at 5:30 AM on Sunday and when I woke up he surprised me with a finished product that made us both happy.

Future bag handles will be knotted.

 

Hans takes his splicing seriously

 

Wilbur tries once again to look humble as he models his Knotty Cat Sail dog collar. It's made of sail cloth and has red and blue nylon accents.

Wilbur has worn his new collar at the dog park where he's rolled in dirt and so far I'm happy with it. I hit it with a shot of Krud Kutter and it seems good to go.

Now that we're half way through the dog days of August and we really do enjoy the pool I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Happy Anniversary!

To us!

It's been a month since we moved aboard, and what a month it's been. And check out my blueberry muffins complete with pirate flags (I have to find some way to amuse myself!).

I think we've learned a lot and if I were to ever do this again I would certainly do a better job of provisioning. We have a lot of room on board and I'd rather store 10 boxes of spaghetti purchased at three for a dollar than have to rely on a marina market and pay $2.50 a box.

I would also probably rethink the whole dog issue. We love Wilbur but unfortunately the U.S. is way behind the times with their no dogs allowed policies. This makes any shore trip a lot more complicated. In Europe we often see dogs in stores, restaurants, and even subways.

When we were in Solomons Island we met Steve, who's a liveaboard, and he invited us to a morning coffee get together at Woodburn's, a local grocery store/market, in order to meet other liveaboards.

One couple has lived on their boat for twenty three years! Another couple is starting on their thirteenth year. But the couple that I was in total awe of was from Sweden and they sailed their twenty six foot boat from Sweden to the states. They built the boat themselves and you should see it. I have no idea how two people can sit in the cockpit, it has a wooden tiller, no motor (except for a 2 HP for emergencies), and instead of a keel it has a centerboard!! A centerboard!!

Anyway, some people have generators, solar panels, wind generators etc... and everyone was eager to share their advice and stories.

I then met a woman in the laundry room at Point Lookout Marina and we laughed at our very similar 'starting out' stories. After two months spent replacing the transmission in their engine five times they finally got a new one before being able to set sail. They are just now finishing their first year and are going to have to decide whether they want to continue. They did get to the Bahamas and loved it but they were also stuck in Florida during last winters cold. That might not sound so bad but they bought their boat from a man who removed the shower, hot water tank, and refrigerator!

We have all of these features and I'm going to try real hard not to complain (I said I'll try!) in the future.

All I can say is that living on a boat is a totally different life.

Never in a million years would I have thought when asked if I thought I wanted a shower, I would sniff my armpits and say, "You know I really didn't sweat that much today, I'll take one tomorrow."