As I write I am sitting at the desk in the kitchen of the housesit we currently occupy. I guess that is what you would call it?
We had arranged this housesit over a month ago, applying for it just as we decided and made arrangements for the boat to come of the water and onto the hard for some necessary work to be done on her.
It was with much anticipation that Waz set out, on Monday morning at 9am, accompanied by our neighbor at the dock, Ken, to make the journey down the St John's River to the Boat Yard that would be her home for the next two weeks.
We could have (at a pinch) lived aboard her for the duration, but it would definitely have been a hardship.
I was needed on dry land to help with the dock leaving (ropes et al) and driving the car the 50 minutes east to the Boat yard. I checked in with the folks who would be hauling her, filled out all the necessary paperwork and texted Waz to see how far away he was.
With 20 minutes until 12 noon lift out, he was right on time...well, so we thought! What we had both forgotten was that there is a 2 hour lag time on the tide turning....and we thought he was entering the travel lift at the turning of the tide...NOOOOO!
There she goes! I almost forgot to take the photos, so busy was I removing the fenders and getting the last of the ropes off the dock...duh! 9am on the dot!
...and out of the marina and into the Ortega River. I could see him calling the road bridge to request an opening. Fortunately this bridge opens on demand, unlike some of the others.
I was left with the 'stuff' including the full laundry bag and the orchids:)
This is the barge that preceded him...going UP the river. I believe this one had come from Puerto Rico, and would tie up at the container dock just up the river from here.
As he came down the river, there was a HUGE barge, accompanied by a tug pulling, another steering from the rear, and one on the side to help her get around the corners, going UP the river. This of course made for quite a wake.
I spied him just after he turned the corner on the river... and he then appeared to go sideways crossing over the wake. Look how small we are compared to the Tug and barge!
She was dancing around a lot, and the river was running very fast. I'm standing on the dock next to the Travel Lift and the staff waiting for her to come into the space for lift out, which isn't that big!
I had phoned to tell them to get two stern ropes on either side of her, to stop her going backwards once in the dock.
Untide is now making the turn into the dock...well, kind of.
This is where she was bound for. As you can see, not a large space, so he had to be spot on when going in, and fast enough so that his stern didn't swing down-river as he went in. The slings were a bit slow getting into the water, so he had to make a 2nd run at it, backing out and then coming in again.
Coming in second time for the docking into the sling... The current wanted to take the stern with it.
With a bow line , they can now pull her into position dead center, and start moving the straps into the right places for weight distribution before raising her. You can see how close that tug boat is!
Waz and Ken sorting out the ropes on the bow.
They brought the bow this close to the dock up front to allow the two fellas to get off the boat. Then they backed it down and raised it up.
You can see where Waz and I did some patch-painting in Bayport, Ontario, when we bent our starboard prop on the Trent Severn waterway.
The fellas at the marina would wash her and position her on supports in another part of the yard where we can then work on her.
We came back again after going to the Housesitting place to off-load the freezer stuff and our food in the fridge that had been in the cooler in the car, all day.
We arrived back at the boat yard around 4.30pm, to find our girl already in place. We were very impressed that the tarps were already down on the ground ready to catch all the stuff we intend scraping off and flicking there.
And to top it all off, behind the boat...directly, in fact, there is a chicken coop with this gorgeous fella moving the ladies along.
Not that WE will be doing much of that. Waz and I will be scraping and then sanding and THEN painting her bottom to make her all beautiful again.
So...we have slept in the bed for two nights now, and last night was a better sleep than the previous night. We were both exhausted after our early start, and the rather nail biting job of getting her down the river and into the sling. This is when I feel my age! lol.
It is a bit weird being in a big house. I guess I should have expected that, being in such close quarters on the boat, but I like my galley...I know where to find everything...I know where EVERYTHING is on the boat, come to that, and being in a strange house is 'interesting', to say the least.
The 18 yr old blind cat that we are looking after is no trouble, but she also doesn't know who we are, although today she responded to our voices a bit better and came for strokes. She wont be happy with her mom and dad gone. She does take her meds well, which is a blessing, and is eating and drinking well, which had been a concern...especially the drinking bit. I go and get her and put her in front of the food and drink, and go out and close the sun room door so that she doesn't get distracted. So far so good!
We went out for dinner tonight. Waz had 'bought' a coupon with his Mileage Plus miles...what few he had in his account....and we went to Ocean 60 restaurant down the road at Neptune Beach. Nice food, but not startling.
Because today was a day off, we took it easy first thing...breakfast and a coffee and walk. Waz checks his Fitbit for our 7, 500 steps to complete on our walk. We mostly do it, but I'm thinking we should just walk for 50-60 mins each day. I hate being a slave to this Fitbit!
We decided to check out some equipment at West Marine, after our chicken salad lunch at home, but found the items we were looking for cost way more in the store than online. Normal?
We came back via Jacksonville Beach, or Jaxbeach as it is known around here, apparently.
There were almost no people out and about, that we could see, but when we went over the board walk, we found they were actually ON the beach:)
Some photos of the area follow.
We could barely see anyone on the beach before cresting the hill on the boardwalk....and then
We parked the car and walked, of course, but nothing took our interest in particular. One beach destination is pretty much the same as the next, along this coast.
Tomorrow is a work day. We need to start cleaning and sanding the bottom of the boat. We have a contractor working on the essential things on the body, and hopefully he will be there tomorrow too. We are a bit disgusted that the paint we ordered online has not appeared, and after following up, it appears they have been trying to get hold of us to verify that we are bona fide, given the large dollar amount of the sale. I remember that we had trouble with this company last time we ordered something from them. They assure us they will do their best to get the paint to us tomorrow or Friday. Well, that is ONE week down, and we have to be back in the water by the 21st of the month.
Cutting it a bit fine, we are.
Anyway, I'm off to read the mail and sit with Waz and watch something that makes us laught:) sound good?
Ciao for now.
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