4.28.13

 

Our view from the forward door.

We are spending the afternoon and night at Butcher’s Bend, marker G109. It is a loop around an island. I think the reason there are so many “jug handles” on this part of the river is they straightened out a lot of the sharp  bends for barges coming to Sanford. So glad they did. Great anchorages and most are Manatee Zones….idle or slow speed.

The is a view  of the island  from our boat.

The last time we anchored here, Jim heard Roosters crowing….well…they are on the island.

We saw 3. One black and 2 white. No hens, but they could have been setting some where. If not….then someone needs to bring a few girls in for the boys. It’s a good sized island.

I spotted this Heron on our dingy ride around the island. Hiding in plain sight.

“Cruiser” made sure no one snuck up on us from the water.

We were going to spend the night and pull out Monday morning….checked the 5 day forecast and 50% chance of rain tomorrow, so we’ll pull out this afternoon. Our front door does not have a good seal and driving in pouring rain will just soak the floor. Don’t need any more mess or stuff to work on.

We are getting the loading of Meander down fairly well. No problems. Got home OK…no rain.

Jim has a few projects he wants to work on for the next trip out.

So far our routine is….run the generator to make coffee and put a quick charge in the batteries.( They are usually low after running the fridge all night).Shut it down, sit on the rear deck and enjoy the morning. Once under way…we start the generator and hook to shore power. That way there is no drain on the batteries and they charge much quicker……and you hardly hear it over the Honda 50 hp. We run the ice maker for ice water and put some in the freezer for our evening red wine on the rear deck. Once the ice is done we can turn on the  water heater so I’ll have hot water for dishes. We make sure the fridge is not running and unplug it for the 10-15 minutes it takes. The generator isn’t big enough to run both at the same time.

It isn’t as simple as on Slow Motion…she had a 100 amp alternator for charging underway and a water heater that heated from the engine. You always had hot water if the engine was running or had been run. It was also 110, but I don’t think we ever stayed tied to a dock long enough to need it.

Slow Motion now has a new “liveaboard” owner and is heading for the Keys. When we talked to him last night he was anchored near Dragon Point, just N of SM 915. They got held up for a couple days waiting for parts for the “buddy” boat traveling with him. I’ll check with him and if he doesn’t mind….I’ll post his progress.  I am thrilled every time he calls…..he’s doing what I have wanted to do for several years……live aboard……and travel. It’s just not practical for us….leave anything sitting in FL for any length of time and it rusts or rots. Plus, I haven’t figured out how to take the Honey Bees, or Jim’s ‘28 Buick, not to mention the cats we feed.

I’ve also come to realize that Jim is a worker….he can sit around and read just so much, casting a line doesn’t take much energy,  then he wants a project, and there are plenty at home. He’s out there working on one now.