This time last year we were stuck in Panama City, waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico. I remember the cold snap with shocking wind chill, and having to turn the heat on inside the boat.
Well, some things don't change. Another cold snap has had us turning the heater on again:) It must be winter in Florida, because one day you are sweating in 86F with 90% humidity, and then overnight the temps drop 20 degrees and we have jeans and sweaters on again.
The ideal temps are like today. 74F inside the salon, but a cool wind blowing outside, which no doubt lowers the temps there. We haven't been outside much today...being a cleanup day.
We have been waking around 9am, these last few days. I think we have suddenly 'hit the wall', both of us. No real desire to get out of bed, and much desire to snooze and snuggle in our dark lair. Dark because the windows in the bedroom are below ground height, and look out underneath the dock! We do see all those oysters growing on the seawall and the dock legs, though. Not that we would eat any of them!
Waz and I enjoyed a Wally's Ribs dinner, last night. It was the perfect end to a 'Do Nothing' day.
On Tuesday, we went south to Cape Coral to visit with Paula Sue and Todd, from Ocean Breeze. That boat is no safely tied to their new home dock! They had bought their Cape Coral home a couple of years ago, intending for it to be just a Winter retreat. They hadn't anticipated selling their home in the northern climes and relocating full time. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?
On the way to their place we stopped off at two JoAnn's stores to get what Olefin fabric, in Marine Blue color, that we could find. We need 21 yards of it for various projects on the boat. The most obvious one being replacing the Fender covers. This is the same fabric I used to make the Dinghy Cover!
We found enough fabric, coupled with the fabric we have already sourced elsewhere. I think we might just have our required yardage. Woohoo! I can start sewing!
We arrived at Paula Sue and Todd's a little early, around 11.15am. We had arranged to go out for lunch. It was great to re-connect, trade stories and get the .50c tour of their lovely home, just off the Caloosahatchee River, in Cape Coral, before hopping back in the car for the lunch date.
Apparently the Boat House Restaurant is well known, though PS and Todd hadn't been there before. Sitting outside, with quite a breeze blowing, was pleasant and comfy. The food was excellent and the service exemplary!
Todd giving me the "What is taking you so long' gesture:)
We drove around for an hour or more, looking at Real Estate. You think WE are bad...these two are worse!! Seriously!! lol. It is always interesting to see what is on offer in any of these towns and cities, and PS and T had done them all!
We happened upon a Farmers Market, which was a blessing, as I needed eggs (free range, farm eggs...whoohoo!) and a cabbage. I bought both...AND a German Christmas Stollen with marzipan inside AND two German Poppyseed twists from the German Baker. First we visited the nearby Starbucks...this real estating is thirsty work!
We arrived back at PS and T's house just on 5pm. It is easy to forget, when you are retired and on vacation, that the rest of the world still works for a living, and the traffic was at THAT point in the day...Rush Hour.
Waz and I returned to Pt Charlotte along Highway 41, instead of going back along the freeway Hwy 75.
With a large lunch under our belts, we didn't much feel like a proper meal, so we had a light one. I made Waz a pork sandwich and I finished off my poppyseed twist! yum!
The days go by so fast, don't they?
Here it is, Saturday night, already, and Thanksgiving has come and gone. WOW!
We enjoyed a lovely Turkey meal with Stefie and Len and their guests in the evening. Mia (8 months) entertained all the adults in fine style before hitting the wall and needing a nap. She is very sociable and a real flirt!:) she is also big into jumping!
Friday ...yes, BLACK Friday, we went looking for some clothing at Bealls Outlet in Punta Gorda. Time to get me some size 14 jeans and shorts. I also found two tops I can wear this festive season. At least these ones don't hang on me:) Mission accomplished! We also went to Fisherman's Village Marina to see if our friends John and Sara had arrived. The office told us they are due on the 1st December. We look forward to seeing them then.
It was cold with a freezing wind. This little fella (heron) was out of the wind, catching some Vit. D!
We have been busy doing 'stuff' on and to the boat, and today I even got the vacuum cleaner out again:) Not my favorite job, but it has to be done.
I also got the Sewing Machine out.
First up was some rope chafe guards. I have made these before, and perhaps made them too complex. Today's chafe guards were SIMPLE! I had some red Olefin fabric left over from another job (Windlass cover, before we started the loop), so I used that.
Next up was to cut out and sew the first of the new fender covers. I am making three red covers with blue detail...they look great! Will photograph when we have pumped up the fender some more. Have to find a pump first!
After a long and busy day, we had to go to JoAnn's for more sewing notions, so we decided to visit our friendly Chinese food folks and order dinner. We like paying less than $20 for a dinner that gives us both a lunch as well! now THAT is value for money!:)
Sitting at the dinner table, tonight, we mulled over some of the statistics from our Loop.
We thought some of you might be interested to know some of our stats. on the Loop, this past summer. Bear in mind that we are a 55ft motor yacht/trawler.
We journeyed a total of 5,228 statute miles (4,543 nautical miles) from Port Charlotte, FL, and return.
While we prefer to anchor out, it is necessary to Marina when we need food or we feel the marina is a good place to go out and about and tour other places from.
We spent 50% (exactly) of our nights in Marinas or on a mooring buoy, and the rest at anchor (obviously). Our 'nominal' cruising speed was 8.3 knots, with an average speed of (statute miles) 8.4mph ( 7.3 knots). . Our engine hours for the journey were 624, and Generator was 481 hrs. We used 4,176 gallons of Diesel at a cost of $15,800, with an average fuel cost of $3.78 per gallon. These are the numbers we can pin down so far. There are so many variables on a trip of this nature that it is hard to say that it will cost X to 'do' the loop for any one boat.
So many items are unplanned...like the $3,000 week in Midland, Georgian Bay, waiting to get our bent prop straightened...the cost included marina fees (7days) plus a new anchor (30kg vs the 20kg we had on board), parts for the raw water pump, the prop. fixing, and haul-out.
Lots of incidentals to take into consideration and I will be interested to see the numbers when I finally get my year end Visa card statement which breaks all items down for me into categories. I love it! Nice to see exactly where we spent our dollars. So, those numbers will arrive in the new year.
More sewing tomorrow. Lets hope it is another lovely day. We took the curtains down to allow windflow and I set up on the cockpit deck...being cooler than the fly deck, which is a bit like a sauna at times.
Ciao for now, and for this week. We hope those of you in the USA had a great Thanksgiving, and that you didn't get trampled in the Black Friday sales!
Great pictures...and we so enjoyed your visit :-) Interesting statistics, too!
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