Mer Sea

 

 

So…of course getting away is never as smooth as you’d like it to be, no matter how much planning you’ve done to make it go like clockwork. There is too much to do and remember, too little time in which to do it, and all those extra things that you keep remembering to add to the list. We’d taken the attitude a couple of days before leaving that if we forgot or didn’t get around to doing something, it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world, and we’d cope when we got to Punta Gorda. So here we are, and you can believe me that the coping isn’t all that bad.

We forgot a couple of things we’d bought for our “office,” a few food items, and a pair of black shoes to fit a certain pair of female feet and which would have gone with the pair of black slacks. But on the whole, we did remarkably well, and probably couldn’t fit anything else on the boat, anyway! Our car looked like it belonged to one of those families you see heading south who have their every living possession stuffed inside, and a few hanging out and bobbing in the wind as well. Come to think of it, that does sound familiar...

We arrived at about 3:00, after stopping at the grocery store, and were happy to find a parking space in the lot closest to Mer Sea. We decided not to try to unload everything at once, so we chose the essentials and loaded up two wheelbarrow-like carts the marina keeps at the docks for just this purpose, and headed for our new home.

Mer Sea is as lovely and commodious as we remember her. She swallowed up our belongings with nary a complaint, and with room to spare (good thing, since there’s plenty more where that came from!). We had a simple supper and went to bed.

Wednesday morning was downright cold, but a shot of heat made it comfortable on board. Our plan was to get our holding tank pumped out first thing. One doesn’t want to use the toilet when the tank is full, which it was when we’d left after New Year’s weekend. We had carefully planned our arrival this trip to coincide with a Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00-11:00 AM pump out schedule. The marina will send someone over to your boat on those days if you call and let them know that you need their services. We did.

The guys came at the appointed time, hooked the big hose to the place on the dock, and discovered that they didn’t have any suction. They fiddled around a bit, and there ensued a discussion about getting “Maintenance” to fix the problem and when that could be accomplished and what time it would be then, and could we still get pumped out. It’s amazing the things that become a focus at various points in your life!

We agreed to hang around and see if they would be able to get things up and running, so to speak. In the meantime, we emptied the car a bit more and got things organized on board. We brought most of the rest of the “stuff” from the car and found places for it. Again, I must say that I am impressed with the storage capabilities on this vessel. She is awesome! We found a very special place for a particular parrot who seems to have made the journey with us, and who I know will give us many laughs and much pleasure. You’ll have to visit to truly understand!

At some point during all this organization the “wine cellar” hatch was open (this is the name we’ve given to the storage area under the salon – it’s large, dry, and a bit of a catch-all). I was working on something, and heard the sound of water dripping. We are on a boat, remember, so various water sounds are to be expected and perhaps, even, one must learn to ignore them. This is what I was thinking right before I decided to see if I could figure out what it was that I was ignoring. I followed my ears, and saw a hose in the “wine cellar” that was spurting water!! Fortunately, it wasn’t hitting anything we’d stored there, but it was, of course, of concern!

I called Roy in from what he was doing, and we realized that what was leaking was the “site tube” for the fresh water. We had just filled the tank earlier in the day, and perhaps created some pressure in doing so, and there was plenty of water to now leak out (150 gallons!!). As though by providence, George, the previous owner, happened by just then, and we asked him if he had any ideas. He said that he thought he had a piece of tubing of that exact diameter that we could cut to size and use to replace the leaking one. He was as good as his word, and returned in short order with the tubing. Roy got out his tools and proceeded to fix the problem. George has been tremendously helpful and generous with us as we’ve been making this transition to our new life. He of course knows the boat inside-out, and has meticulously maintained her, so he’s a wonderful resource for us, and we’re grateful that he’s so helpful.

The marina guys returned at about this time reporting that they thought they had the problem fixed, so we again prepared to pump out the tank. They handed us a special fitting that we attach to our pump-out orifice, and then we handed the long fat hose over to Roy. He attached it to the fitting, flipped a lever, and “let the sucking begin!!” It doesn’t bear spending too much time thinking about what was really going on during this process, but let it suffice to say that our tank is now empty!

Also on our agenda for today was figuring out the internet situation. It is imperative for us to have an internet connection for communications, bill paying, etc. Fortunately, the issue turned out to be easily addressed with a wireless modem from Verizon Wireless that just plugs right into the computer. I have to say that I have been very impressed with the product and their service. We had some problems sending email at first, but their tech support was friendly, helpful, and acquired without any long wait on “hold.” Now things are totally up and running, and it’s truly amazing to be sitting in my salon working on my laptop online. No wires, no fuss, no muss! Haven’t tried it at sea yet, but stay tuned!

In celebration of my “49 th” Roy wanted to take me out for a nice dinner, so we got some good advice on a place, which we promptly ignored in favor of a place we found in the phonebook. We called for directions, which seemed simple enough, so headed out. The only problem is that the person who gave us directions apparently didn’t know her left from her right. We drove and drove and drove, and then called again (thank God for cell phones), and then drove some more in the opposite direction, and then stopped to buy a map, (we were through with directions from the “help” at this point) and got some other directions from the clerk in the store. We finally found the place, and it was fine, but we should have gone with the recommendation we’d originally solicited! It was the end of a long day!!!

So we’re settling in, still putting stuff away and buying more. One of our friends on this dock, who is an experienced “cruiser”, told us what to do when you get too much “stuff” on board. “What you do when you get so much on board that you sink below the boot stripe is get the boat out of the water and paint a new stripe higher up!” We’re looking at that possibility.

We were planning to go out on the Gulf today, but decided the small craft advisory was a clue, and did some major provisioning instead. Good decision, since the winds have really picked up, even in the marina. But on the way back from the shopping, we had a flat tire, and then Roy stepped in a fire ant mound while trying to get the spare out of the trunk, so I’m not really sure that it’s any safer on land… However, we are still looking forward to our first outing, which we have planned and charted, if the weather will only cooperate! Stay tuned for more adventures!